My Fandom Life
When I was seven years old, the Harry Potter series started getting very popular among kids at my school. I was hesitant to start reading it, but my sister convinced me to give it a go. Being from a bilingual family, I read the first four books in French first, then in English. I got sucked in, and now I can’t imagine my life having not read Harry Potter.
When I saw the first Vanity Fair photos of the actors in 2001 (see Harry Potter), my sister and I couldn’t be more excited; our favorite books were going to brought to life before our very eyes! Sadly, when we were watching Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time, I was eight years old, and terrified of the smoldering sight of Voldemort singed into the back of Quirrell’s head. A family friend had to walk me out into the hallway of the theatre and wait with me until I calmed down. Looking back on that now, I can’t believe that I was scared, but I guess it was just part of the experience.
In 2007, my sister went to her first Harry Potter convention, Prophecy, in Toronto, while I was stupid and stayed home with our family. She brought home some souvenirs for me, though.
On the night of the 20th of July 2007, my sister, my sister’s friend, and I were waiting in line for the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. While we kept an eye on the clock, I couldn’t help but realize that I would probably never agonize over a book the same way again. My sister and I received our copies, went home, and promptly began reading, even though we had promised our mother that we would try to sleep.
In 2008, there was a Potter event in Boston where the Leaky Cauldron, a prominent Harry Potter fan site, did a PotterCast podcast show live with some wizard rock acts playing beforehand. This is also where I got my first fandom shirt.
From left to right: Frankie Franco, sister, me, Melissa Anelli, John Noe.
In 2009, once again, I did not accompany my sister to LeakyCon in Boston, but I can’t remember why. I’m pretty sure it had to do with some scheduling issues (also because my sister was staying with a friend in Boston). To make me feel better about not being there, she sent me photos of Melissa Anelli and Frankie Franco (prominent members of the Harry Potter fandom) holding a placard, wishing that I were there.
From left to right: Melissa Anelli, sister, Frankie Franco.
In the summer of 2011, I finally made it to LeakyCon. There had been a limited amount of tickets for people to get into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, and I was not able to get a ticket. I stayed in the hotel while my sister went out with her friends to the park.
My sister, however, is a total angel, and gave me her pass to go see the Team StarKid (famous for A Very Potter Musical) keynote that was going to take place later that week to make up for the fact that I couldn’t get into the park with her. After the keynote, we all got to take photos with members of StarKid, and I sat between the guys who played Voldemort and Quirrell.
Shortly after, the final Harry Potter film aired, and it was very bittersweet for all of us at the convention. It was the end of an era, but this wonderful book had brought us all together.
Due to the lack of new Harry Potter material, my sister and I delved into more British things to occupy our time. Her new fandom? Sherlock. Mine? Doctor Who. I am now a die-hard Whovian; in fact, I made a parody of a Taylor Swift song about Doctor Who:
I'm hoping that by Christmas, I'll have converted my sister and mother to full Whovians as well. Wish me luck!