Hogwarts, not so farfetched!!!

My next pet - Buckbeak!!!! He was actually moving...

Goodafternoon!!!

I decided to dedicate this day to Harry Potter. Or, J K Rowling, his mother. You see, some years ago, when our girls were too small and one of our friends boy was ju st the age, we gave him a book for his, hm, 11th birtday I think. I for one, thought it was pure rubbish, but he opened the parcel and then we couldn't get a word out of him for the rest of their stay!

So, what is it with Potter, what makes people become Potterheads and visit this place over and over again, the Warner Brothers studio in Watford, England. Why do young people, and their parents, dive into these thick fairytalebooks?? One after the other, and then perhaps engulf the films as well, as we have done? To increase the fun of it, I'll add Paints glorious music again:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y57sYHIDP_Y

I'd say you mustn't put more into a story than the author ment to, but this is different and I think she really HAS put in more than meets the eye. Her referenses are equal to mine, I guess, we are about the same age. Let's go inside through these doors and think for a while!

The portal to the main hall - we were all in such a state!!

Harry is born a wizard, both parents wizards, that makes him a "pureblood". As an infant, he lives through the most dramatic events when the most evil wizard of them all; Voldemort, kills his parents but fails to kill Harry, his mother Lily takes the blow. The only visible mark on the baby is a lightningshaped scar on his forehead. The house here below is the one used in the film.

He is secretely moved by people from Hogwarts school of magic and wizardry, to his only living relatives: his aunt and her frightful family. The day he turns eleven, school calls him and his "family" find themselves in an akward position, they never told him the truth.

The actual school is a universe in miniature, what makes it so charming, besides the wellwritten story, are the people inside. The goodhearted and brave headmaster , Dumbledore, that takes care of the less fortunate, like the caretaker Filch, born by wizards but without powers, a squib , very shameful to him but headmaster never tells. There is also the giant gamekeeper Hagrid, once falsely accused of a horrible crime and sent to the infamous Azkaban, only one believing in him is .. yes.. the headmaster.

There are teachers with tragic secrets, teachers that actually transform into monsters and teachers that are actually dead but never noticed so they keep teaching. There are teachers that appear bad but carries the truth like a burden, professor Snape would be one of them. Dumbledore tries to keep calm among all these.

The school itself was founded by four wizards of whom one had another opinion of who is worthy and who is not, or in other words, pureblood or mudblood, i.e born by nonwizardparents or just one.

Here is something important to note: In the world of ours there have been opinions of that kind, who is pure and who is not, savage or civilized, black or white, worthy or unworthy, arian or not. The more you read the more you understand that the battle is not just between good and evil, there are hidden messages to the next generations; never, ever divide people like this!

Dumbledore and his beloved teachers fight for all children who wants to be in the school, whatever their origin.

Voldemort, who grows stronger by the minute through his followers and "disciples", is a brilliant picture of the evil that can only be defetead with love and bravery. His followers are bad to the bone, rotten to the core, but there are those who are mostly afraid. Harry, the boy who lived, is the hope for the future. The only one that Voldemort fears and the one he must eliminate, in order to become Lord of utter darkness. Harry is no savior, no Jesus, but the fact remains - the battle can only be won with unselfish love and great sacrifice. The books dig deeper and deeper into these issues and there is a scary tone that also is strong in the films, the border between good and bad isn't all that obvious, you have to make the right choices. You need help. And you can't be sure that the enemy actually is the one you thought, and that friends are not always friends by appearance only.

You can still see the hole in the roof where Voldemort made his entry.

So, no, Harry Potter isn't a book just for children, although it's easy enough to read. If you fancy a classical fairytale you will find that inside it, just like in all good fairytales, are hidden AND obvious references to adultknowledge of this world and mankinds inner thoughts and feelings, experiences and fears. I think I'm a Potterhead and as soon as I possibly can, I'll be back in Watford to be amazed and charmed by the filmprops and masterwork presented there. And I still have books to read!!

In Florida they are building an actualsizecopy that you can walk in to! See the amazing craftmanship of this!