10 points to Gryffindor

[shoorn]

I fell in love with the books and the whole story! I remember going to the movies to see The Half-Blood Prince. It was great to go as a family.

[Deanna13]

I love Harry Potter! Read all the books and saw all the movies. Of course, the books were so much better with lots more details! My fondest memory would be starting out reading the books and picturing all the magic in my mind. Tales at the school were always exciting and loved the idea of the moving staircase with the ghosts.

[joannie]

I watched the HP movies while I scrapped all last week! I was disappointed when I was through!! I have my favorites and my least favorites!! But I love them all!! 

[alone_inacrowdedroom]

I'm a huge HP fan! I even re-read the entire series every year around Christmas time. I remember waiting for midnight at the store to get the final book when it came out.

[sherelm]

I'm a Moaning Myrtle fan - so I guess that makes me a Ravenclaw fan.

My "not so I want to memory" of Harry Potter was the day they delivered the last book to everyone from Amazon at the same time.  That Saturday morning, my mailman knocked on the door with it.  He had been my mailman for many years, but now I was living alone at the lake.  Well he pushed his way in and said "Here's your book, sweetie" and planted a kiss on my lips!!! YES, he assaulted me!  I asked him to leave, and he said he was sorry, he thought he could. . . and I cut him off (He was married even!!) . 
I had had plans to read the book that day, and couldn't get past the first chapter, I was shaking about how presumptuous he had been.  So I reported him to the USPS.  They sent a detective/investigator to my work (with a gun and all!!) and he told me they spoke to him first, and he completely confessed.  They asked me what I wanted done to him, I could even ask him to be fired.  I said "He has never pulled anything like this before?" and he said no.  So I said then just keep him away from my home. 

 

[sdwhru]

I'm a Moaning Myrtle fan - so I guess that makes me a Ravenclaw fan.

My "not so I want to memory" of Harry Potter was the day they delivered the last book to everyone from Amazon at the same time.  That Saturday morning, my mailman knocked on the door with it.  He had been my mailman for many years, but now I was living alone at the lake.  Well he pushed his way in and said "Here's your book, sweetie" and planted a kiss on my lips!!! YES, he assaulted me!  I asked him to leave, and he said he was sorry, he thought he could. . . and I cut him off (He was married even!!) . 
I had had plans to read the book that day, and couldn't get past the first chapter, I was shaking about how presumptuous he had been.  So I reported him to the USPS.  They sent a detective/investigator to my work (with a gun and all!!) and he told me they spoke to him first, and he completely confessed.  They asked me what I wanted done to him, I could even ask him to be fired.  I said "He has never pulled anything like this before?" and he said no.  So I said then just keep him away from my home. 


 

That is just damn scary!

[scrappinmom99]

I have been loving the response to this thread! I've been reading on my phone but I am not so good at typing on it. I just sent out some sprinkles and I have more to chat with you guys about Harry Potter but I am getting chased off the computer for Mother's Day lol. Computer is near the dining room and I think I am not supposed to see the set-up yet LOL!

PS: I changed my avatar back so now you can see my Gryffindor scarf LOL!

[PezKat]

Sher your life is never dull! 

Tammey that is my favorite quote as well.  (Perhaps 2nd is Snape after Dumbledore sees his patronus and asks "Still?"  and he replies "Always!")  Not only do I have a favorite book in the series (#3, Prisoner of Azkaban), I have a favorite chaper, "Cat Rat and Dog", which I have read many times.  I love all the reveals about the older generation and how everything ties together between the two!

I love the fantasy/sci-fi genre in general and even before I'd read any books had discussions with friends involved in the controversy of children 'being forced to read books about witchcraft' in school; of course I defended the books and later after I had read some wrote an article for our church newsletter. So not my best related memory but I was perhaps able to shed some light & bridge some gaps between 2 'sides' of the issue.

It was so fun for me when I started reading, because I waited until the year the 1st movie was to come out!  So, I got to read a book I knew I'd enjoy & anticipate seeing it on film soon afterward!  Of course the movie was very disappointing because of all they left out - Harry's deep longing for his parents as well as all the fun wordplay (The Mirror of Erised - "desire" backwards, Diagon Alley, etc.).  But also thrilling to visually see the castle, the stairways, the portraits, etc.  And yes, the casting - Alan Rickman was born to play Snape!

My former boss & I had tons in common and she & her family were big fans as well; DH and I went to see several of the movies w/them.  It was fun talking about the story w/her and her daughters, and as the books came out near my birthday she actually bought me several of them!  And I remember one time the power must have been out a the office (either that or there was a blizzard), and she was calling me to say I could wait & come in later... she said "Stay home & read Harry!"   (great boss!)

I did go to the release party for the last book and have a layout about that:

 

[MacSarah]

I wasn't.

Until January 2014.  I do not give my nieces and nephews gifts for their birthdays.  We have day dates, where I take them to do something one on one and spend time together.  My niece, Rose, had just finished the 3rd HP book, thus earning the privledge from her parents of watching the 3rd movie.  So the plan was I would pick her up, we would go to the store for snacks and lunch, then get to my house where we would snuggle in to watch all 3 movies.  At the end of the 3rd one, she said she really wanted to know the rest...  so we cheated and I borrowed the rest of them from a neighbor.  She had to pinky promise me that she would finish the books and never let her parents know that we cheated.  She DID finish the books, and we have kept this secret.  It has become a great memory that we share, and this past January for her birthday, we did a whole marathon and watched them all over again.

[scrappinmom99]

By the time Half-Blood Prince was about to hit the theaters, I got my son thoroughly hooked on Harry. He'd seen the first five films back to back, and I had free tickets to the sixth one. He thought I was so mean, because I made him read my copy of the book before we went. After it was over, and we were walking out, he said, "I'm glad I read the book first. The movie left a lot out." Which it did. The movie left out my personal favorite part, where Dumbledore himself comes to retrieve Harry for school and had some choice words for the Dursleys.
 

Oh what a mean mother you are!!!   I am a firm believer in the book is always better. I always loved when the Dursleys had to interact with any of the wizards, esp Dumbledore!

[scrappinmom99]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Harry Potter books and movies. I didn't start reading them until the first 4 were out--they were given to my son when he was in kindergarten, and I got hooked on them. My favorite HP-related memory is recently going to Universal Studios and seeing Harry Potter world. It's amazing!
 

Even though I had a first edition hardcover, it went into our Y2K time capsule unread. So when I read it to DS it was the first time for me too. I've read the entire series 3x now. I would love to go to Universal Studios just to see HP World! Have you done layouts yet?

[scrappinmom99]

I haven't read any of the books and have only seen 1 movie.  My dh and I went to Universal Studios last year.  Harry Potter world was kinda cool (so many people couldn't stir them with a stick even though the rest of the park wasn't crowded).  We loved the Dragon Challenge ride (rode that several times).  We did go ride the "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" ride.  Oh, my gosh.  It was intense.  Once was enough for me.  After we got through and was coming out of the attraction, there was a guy in his 40's/50's that was hurling into a trash can (sorry for the grossness).  
 

LOL! Poor guy must have been a Muggle

[scrappinmom99]

I have not read the books but have seen all of the movies. I love them. I have a quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone that I love, Dumbledore: It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.
 

That is a great quote and so true. There are so many quotable and teachable moments in the series. You can read it so many times and still find something new.

[scrappinmom99]

I love Harry Potter, we used to listen to it on tape in the car when my boys were little. The youngest one couldn't read very well yet, so we listened to them.
 

I should try that. I have never listened to audio books.  We don't drive but I could see how listening to books on tape would be a great thing to do in the car. You could pretend you were with Harry & Ron in the flying car. You did pretend that, didn't  you?

[scrappinmom99]

Adore these books! My favorite memories involve going to midnight release parties for them. I particularly remember book 6 because the store had fire eaters in the streets and live owls and a hagrid look alike inside. So much fun and then I got to read the book too!
 

Oh that sounds awesome! Have you done layouts??  We missed out on the midnight release parties as we were always behind the new ones until Deathly Hallows. Sounds exciting!

[scrappinmom99]

That sounds like fun! I took Jory to the "Grand Hallows Ball" at our bookstore when Deathly Hallows was released in hardcover. He had a BALL!!! It came at just the right time, because he needed some fun that week, so we went. He dressed up like Harry Potter, and played all the games. We split a Rice Krispies treat, and just had a fun mother-son evening.
 

Oh how lovely!! Sounds like a great mother-son evening! How could I forget to list another favorite memory...my son dressed as Harry Potter for Halloween in 2007.  And my avatar is actually me on Halloween a few years ago. I was "Lily Potter" (red hair, Gryffindor scarf...lol). Too bad I hadn't made that scarf the year he was Harry LOL!

[scrappinmom99]

My youngest daughter grew up with the Harry Potter books.  I first saw JK Rowling do an interview the summer she turned 9.  It sounded like a book she would like and boy, was I right!!!  Once we were on the road traveling home and we had to stop at a book store so she could get the latest novel.  We never heard from her the rest of the trip.  She has read and reread these books.  She turns 25 this summer. 
 

Great call! I love to hear stories about kids clicking with books. One thing I love about JKR is that she never "dumbed it down" for kids. She never lost faith that kids WOULD read such big books. And read them over and over. Kudos to her for that!!

[scrappinmom99]

I love that the author has created a totally different world - it's so inventive.  Also, I love some of the words:  muggles, every flavor beans, platform 9 3/4 (I think that's the one).

so fun!
 

Aren't the words and "reality" so rich? I loved in the later books how we learned that the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister of England were in touch with each other and things like that. Have you ever had Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans?? DS got some one year and I had 2 of them. OMG ICK!!! One was VOMIT flavored and the other was PEPPER.  Disgusting LOL! There are some regular flavored ones but you don't know what you get until it's too late!
 

[scrappinmom99]

LOVE Harry Potter!
I remember Amazon delivering the last book on release day, and finishing it about 5 hours later.
Also went to the midnight screenings for the 4th through 8th movies, very fun 
 

Five hours - that's amazing!! The only time we saw the movies in the theater were DH 1 and 2.  We were behind on the books and we (DS and I) wanted to finish reading before we saw the movie. But then....when he was in 6th grade, Deathly Hallows 1 came out and we hadn't read it yet!!! His school was having a field trip to go see it ....so what to do, what to do??? We decided to break the rule to see it in the theater, so we didn't know WHAT was going to happen which was an odd feeling for us. Certain parts (Dobby) really hit hard...!!!  Anyway then we both read the books and were ready to see when DH2 came out in the theater.  DH had not read any of the books but saw all the movies.  DD was too little to see this on the big screen so we got a baby sitter and took DS to the movie. DH loved seeing at least one of them in the theater lol. We finally, after many years, convinced DH to read the series. It's not his usual reading genre - he prefers biographies and nonfiction. But he loved it.

[scrappinmom99]

with each book release we went to the local book store for a big party that went on until midnight when the book could be sold.
My kids would dress up as their favorite characters and one year ds won 1st place in the costume contest.
His prize: A ticket to the front to the line to purchase the first book.
 

Oh how awesome! What cool memories! Have you done layouts yet? Who did they dress up as??