Finding a Harry Potter fan is, personally, an exhilarating experience every time. A few weeks ago, during rehearsals for StudentFest, a fellow performer pulled a replica of Bellatrix Lestrange’s wand out of her bag, and I pretty much almost had a heart attack. The questions flow easily after that. “Who’s your favourite character?” “What’s your Quidditch position?” “What’s your House?” “What’s your favourite Hogwarts subject?” “Do you own any other merch?” “Whose death made you saddest?”
And always, one of the most important questions to ask: “How old were you when you got into it?”
Sometimes, I get people who say that they were pretty young when they did — I, personally, read The Philosopher’s Stone at the age of six — and others admit that it was only when they were around fifteen or sixteen that they actually read the books, but they’d watched all the movies anyway. Nevertheless, you will find the same level of dedication between those who can answer all the questions you ask, no matter their age. And we call these people, not only fans, but members of the Harry Potter Generation.
A generation, by dictionary definition, means "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively’. While Harry Potter fans span across all ages, the Generation in itself can only be made up of people who experienced Harry’s story from a young age. Strictly speaking, if you were 11 when you read the newly released first book, then you literally grew up with Harry all the way to The Deathly Hallows. However, also strictly speaking, Harry’s age in 1997 was seventeen, and the first book was released in that same year. So if you were seventeen in 1997 and a fan, then you were technically also part of the Generation.
So what about those other people who started reading the books a few years later, or watched the movies and then read the books? Are they part of the Generation too?
In my opinion, absolutely.
While the word "generation’ means strictly those people born in a certain age, the Harry Potter Generation spans across the years to include those who would normally not have been accepted. My brother, at thirty-two years old, is a definite member of the Generation: at eighteen years old, he was just as obsessed as I was at six. He and I have shared the books, watched all the movies together, bought each other merchandise and had long, lengthy discussions about the books and theories and what House we each belonged in. Simply because he is currently in his thirties doesn’t means that he’s any less of a member of this (not so little) group as I am.
So what makes the people of the Harry Potter Generation so unique? There have surely been other fandoms like them —those who grew up watching Spock and Kirk travel the galaxy, those who pretended that they were actually Hobbits on a quest, even those who came after Harry Potter who think about ways of surviving The Hunger Games. The Potterheads, as they affectionately call themselves, grew up relating to Harry in ways that these other groups of fans, however, couldn’t.
When most of us started reading the books, we were all at the age when magical worlds filled with unknown creatures and secrets appealed to us. Harry was an eleven year old thrust into a world where, not only was he admired for something he had done as a baby, but where he belonged. Who of us didn’t want to belong to a secret world like that as preteens and adolescents? Harry lived a life we could only dream of — a life where he learnt how to cast spells, had a pet owl, met all manners of creatures and interacted with a world that we all so desperately wish existed. Sure, Harry was the one who had to face Voldemort, but who of us wouldn’t have been glad to at least be a normal, average student at Hogwarts?
One thing about growing up reading the book that’s extremely important is that as the characters grew up, so did we. Harry became a reflection for our lives and feelings. Who of us didn’t sympathize with him when he started to (finally!) crush on Ginny? Who of us wasn’t a little bit aggravated at Ron when he failed to compliment Hermione properly at the Yule Ball? I’d be damn surprised if at least one of us wasn’t struck by OWLS as much as every other person at Hogwarts was — probably we read that part when we had just found out about our O Levels ourselves!
As the books progressed, Harry matured and the writing changed from that of a young and bright eleven year old’s view to somebody slowly growing up and experiencing the world. And as he grew up, we grew up too. We all started to understand what it meant to grow up and for things that were once viewed as beautiful and magical to have an underlying, dark feeling. We all suddenly understood what it meant to have somebody close to you die. We now understand what it’s like to have a figure of great wisdom in our life appear flawed. Harry was our way of understanding that the things that happened to us as we grew up were perfectly normal — “If it happens to somebody who’s meant to save the world, then I can get through it too!”
The book series also brought onto us a new way of looking out ourselves and our peers. Hogwarts Houses became something of immense importance to you. Growing up, we all search for an identity. J K Rowling gave us the perfect answer with the four houses.
For those of you who aren’t very familiar, here is a breakdown of the houses:
Gryffindor, House of the Courageous, the Lion
Ravenclaw, House of the Wise, the Raven
Hufflepuff, House of the Loyal, the Badger
Slytherin, House of the Cunning, the Snak
By giving us a sure fire, easy way of classifying ourselves related to characteristics we all know we have inside us, the Hogwarts Houses gave us a sense of belonging. Even if Hogwarts isn’t real, we can at least feel like we belong by classifying ourselves into one of these four, and knowing that there are other people out there just like us, who belong in our House and will stick up for us in times of crisis. Hogwarts Houses helped us form an identity in a time when doing so in our lives was important. And maybe we may not have worn it as a badge of pride for the most part, but it was still an intricate part of us.
(Of course, this isn’t the case for me — I wear my Ravenclaw scarf with pride whenever it’s not in the wash, and have gotten multiple people tugging at it and grinning at me when they see the House emblem stitched into it.)
Speaking of Houses, the Potter-verse also gave us the chance to have a whole group of people just like us. Potterheads are found all over the world, and striking up a conversation with one of them — even someone you just met five minutes before — ensures that you have found a friend. Conversations can go on for hours, and when you’re not speaking face to face, you’re sending each other links on Facebook chat or reblogging each other on Tumblr. It’s opened up your doors to new friends, and in a way, a society that only a certain amount of people know the language to. Sure there are the small time fans, but then there are the fans that know everything and have theories and know their stuff. And they all speak the same language, and that, in my opinion, is absolutely beautiful.
There is nothing better than knowing that, if at least the people in your group of friends don’t understand you, at least there are people in the world who do. Because Harry Potter’s world gave us hope, and an identity, and opened our mind to a world both real and fictional — of dragons and spells and Quidditch, and friends who pretend to cast "Lumos’ in a dark room and have taken a picture of Platform 9 ¾ and listen to you rant your theories out. It showed you a society of people that are willing to have a marathon with you of every movie, and try making homemade Butterbeer. It showed you that you are not alone, and you never will be, because Hogwarts is our home just as much as it was Harry’s.
So together, Potterheads, whether you roar or hiss, wherever in the world you are, the next time you see somebody wearing a House Scarf, or hear somebody talking about the books, see somebody with a Time Turner necklace, or even see somebody brandishing around a plastic replica wand, whatever their age — a sixty year old who started reading because of their children, or a six year old whose parents are fans – know that they speak your language as well as you do. Know that the world you both belong to is welcoming, and that you are never truly alone.