Harry Potter, you've come a long way!

Three years ago a friend popped by to borrow I canrsquot recall exactly what but letrsquos assume it was sugarA cameraman films a display of wand boxes during a preview of the Warner Bros Harry Potter studio tour The Making of Harry Potter in north London on March 26 2012 The Making of Harry Potter which opened on Marchi 31 2012 relives the boy wizardrsquos adventures from book to film PicAFP She opened the unlocked door and was aghast to see me sitting on my couch and bawling away Since we were studying in far far off Costa Rica she was concerned that something had happened back homeLR Emma Watson JK Rowling Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe arrive at the premiere of Prisoner of Azkaban at Leicester Square London The said friend enveloped me in a comforting hug and asked haltingly what had happened ldquoDobby diedrdquo I wailed clutching her hand Puzzled friend responded ldquoDobby whordquo I pointed at the TV screen where Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows mdash Part 1 was being broadcast and Dobby the free elf had bravely rescued Potter and his friends and succumbed to aknife injuryA view of the costumes of the professors at Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry at Universal Orlando in Florida PicsAFPFriend of course thinks I am nuts but thatrsquos muggles nonwizarding people for you For Potter heads the Harry Potter films may be far from perfect renditions of our beloved books but they are now a wonderful way to revisit our favourite stories It was thirteen years ago that Harry Potter and the Philosopherrsquos Stone hit the silver screen and although the eightfilm series got 12 Academy Award nominations it didnrsquot end up winning any of the OscarsBritainrsquos Catherine Duchess of Cambridge looks at the costume for the character Hagrid on display on the set used to depict Hogwartsrsquo Great Hall in the Harry Potter films during the inauguration of Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden north LondonBut do Potter heads care No Are all the films flawless No Could we have expected more faithful toeing the book line Yes But do we complain now NoCommuters ride in a traditional English doubledecker bus adorned with an ad for the fifth Harry Potter book the Order of the Phoenix in central London on June 19 2003 Thatrsquos because for Potter fans the films are a portkey that transport us back into the magical world that JK Rowling created where we can leave behind our muggle one Therersquos something comforting yet thrilling about the films mdash the certainty that Neville Longbottom played by Matthew Lewis will grow up to be the more good looking of that particular Hogwarts batch that we will nod sagely when Dumbledore says ldquoIt does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to liverdquo in The Philosopherrsquos StoneA view of the Hogwarts Express at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley grand opening at Universal Orlando on June 18 2014 in Orlando Florida Also that we still feel that Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince could have ended with a better faceoff between Snape and Potter while shaking our head exasperatedly because seriously what on earth was Ginny doing tying up Harryrsquos shoe laces in that movie11yearold Daniel Radcliffe with director of the first Harry Potter film Chris ColumbusWe know what will happen next in the movies we can rattle off the dialogues and yet we will watch them again and againPeople queue up outside the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square for the first public showing of the Harry Potter movie in Londonrsquos west end November 16 2001 British cinemas reported the highest prebookings ever for the movie based on JK Rowlingrsquos books Bijal Vachharajani is a selfconfessed Potter head who spends her salary from Fairtrade India on collectibles of which she has a sizeable collection nowRubber masks of goblins at Gringotts Wizarding Bank on display at a studio tour The Making of Harry Potter in north London She wonrsquot say no to a Sorting Hat though