So, thank you to everyone for indulging my "decades late to the party" interest in the Harry Potter series!

My favorite character, as some of you guessed and many of you decided was "too obvious," is Snape. And the reason why is because, if you'll recall, I'm a sucker for the soulmate thing, and the enormity of his love for Lily Potter, the purity of it, really moved me.

I suppose I should have cried when Dobby died, or Hedwig, or even Lily, but I didn't. I cried once only, when Dumbledore was telling Snape that Harry had to die to stop Voldemort, and Snape objected, and Dumbledore said, "Don't tell me you've come to care for the boy?"

And Snape performed the Patronus charm, and we saw the doe sparkle around the room, then vanish. And Dumbledore says, "Lily? Still?"

And Snape says, "Always."

And I got tears in my eyes.

Normally it's not the romantic love in a story that moves me. There were so many big, huge themes in this story, and many of them were incredibly powerful. I'm really not sure why that was the one that got me. But Snape was EVIL, he was a Death Eater, and he betrayed Voldemort, returned to Dumbledore, risked everything for years after, protected a child he detested, and ultimately suffered and died, to honor this person who was kind to him, and treated him as a friend and equal. Yes, he was in love with her and she wasn't in love with him, but even in ending their friendship she at least showed him the respect of doing it for good reasons (his douchebaggery) rather than some silly misunderstanding.

The only other thing I'll say is that I'm firmly in the camp that doesn't want to dip a toe into the fanfic side of HP. I'm very happy with the canonical relationships and characters, and how everything was resolved. And you know me, I have a hard time leaving canon behind even when I'm NOT happy with it, LOL!

But I'm really glad that I finally read the books and saw the films. I had no idea how many cultural references I'd been missing... Harry Potter terms and concepts have pervaded culture everywhere, and now I know it when I see or hear it.

I also just plain enjoyed the experience of reading a long, well-plotted series, followed by an even longer series of films that were brilliantly acted -- the casting in them was stunningly good.

So while I'll never be a fangirl, I'm definitely a fan.

And again, thanks to everyone for patiently listening to me discover something most of you have known all along.

Love,

Xie