The series, not the character. I mean, I adore Harry himself, but in the title of this post, I meant the entire series- books, movies, fanfiction. Everything. JKR, Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson and her new haircut. I mean everything.
1.
I've grown up with it. My mother handed me the first book when I was six years old and said, "Read this." I suppose she'd heard of it somewhere and decided that her voracious reader of a little girl would adore it. I loathed it at first, insisting "It's a grown-up book!" Thank God she made me finish it.
2.
The characters are realistic. Dumbledore doesn't do everything right. Harry's an angsty bitch. Hermione is... well, a total nerd. And Ron's a dipshit sometimes. Each of the characters has his or her own plethora of faults- some minor, some major.
3.
Lots of people die. And I mean that in the least awful way possible. Really. I learned through the books that good people die eventually, and so do bad people. Everyone dies. Thankfully, I didn't learn this slightly depressing lesson until, y'know, the fourth or so book, otherwise I would've been emo at the age of twelve.
4.
JKR's writing style is bitchin'. I mean, seriously! That woman can write! She's never been an eleven year old boy, or a twelve to eighteen year old boy, but she can definitely get into Harry's head and write as he would think and speak.
5.
I learned about patience. When you have to wait a year and a half between books, or two or three years between movies, you start to figure out that patience is indeed a virtue. 'Nuff said.
6.
Rereading the books is fun. I swear to God, every time I reread Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I find some line I don't remember from the other dozens of times I've read it, and I chuckle quietly to myself, a habit that is certainly not helping me convince my mother I'm not schizophrenic.
7.
Daniel Radcliffe. Do I need an explanation for this one? He may not have green eyes, but
damn.
8.
The characters are relatable. When I was younger, I wanted to grow up and be Hermione Granger- then I realized, I'm already her! Everyone has a character they can relate to. Some days I feel like Granger, others I feel like Snape, but I can always find a character I can sympathize with.
9.
I have fellow fangirls and fanboys. Harry Potter has the biggest and most loyal fanbase I've ever seen. Try insulting Harry Potter in front of any one of us- you will wish you had never been born (or at least never done it), I promise. If we don't cut off your head and make you eat it (supposedly impossible, but we Potterheads have our ways), we'll at least make you miserable.
10.
'Cause I can, dammit. This is how I end top-ten posts when I can't think of a tenth thing to put on the list. Heh.
