She adds Magic to my life : J. K. Rowling

The magic of J. K. Rowling - posters in my room!

My earliest memories of the Harry Potter series are of my father reading it to my sister and me before we went to sleep, at night. Then, my sister started reading the books. I couldn't wait to read them too.

Reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (the fifth book)

When I finally got my chance, I finished reading the entire series along with the companion books of the Magical World of Harry Potter before my ninth birthday.

Then, on my birthday, I had a Harry Potter themed cake. It was just magical!

My Birthday Cake!

J. K. Rowling took me into a world of magic, witches, wizards & magical creatures. When I read the books, I felt that my imagination had come alive. The characters she had created were so realistic. I felt as though I was attending school at Hogwarts along with Harry, Hermione, Ron and all the other wonderful characters. My absolute favourites were Ginny Weasley because she is such a strong character and Luna Lovegood because she is a very positive person who is curious to know about things.

Luna and Ginny (played by Evanna Lynch and Bonnie Wright in the movies)

I found the language of the books easy to read and understand (when I did not understand something, I used a dictionary). I learnt a few Latin and Greek words as well. These were the words which were used in the names of some of the witches and wizards, books, subjects and spells; Accio to summon, Lumos for light and my favourite Silencio - I am sure my teachers would love this spell (and maybe use it on me)!

The Magic Spells

The books also introduced me to some beautiful and wonderful magical creatures.

Unicorns - the beautiful, white coloured magical horses with silver hair and a single horn on the forehead (that is why they are called Unicorn. It means single horn.)

Unicorn (from pottermore)

Centaurs - the magical creatures from Greek Mythology, they had the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. (Maybe my sister will tell you more about centaurs sometime in her mythology website www.mytho-nova.com)

Centaur (from potter more)

Hippogrifs - the majestic, beautiful dangerous and proud half-eagle, half-horse creatures that Hagrid introduced us to in his first lesson as a Care of Magical Creatures teacher (Buckbeak the Hippogriffs had a major role to play in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban the third book).

Buckbeak the Hippogriff in Hagrid's hut (from potter more)

And, Bowtruckles - they are small creatures that look like twigs and are supposed guard trees from whose wood wands are made.

Bowtruckle (from potter more)

A few days ago, I went on a picnic with my parents and my sister. There, I think I found a real Bowtruckle! So, we brought it home!

The Bowtruckle I found!

My favourite magical creature is the Niffler. This is a cute but naughty creature. It has a long snout and it burrows in the ground. It is attracted to anything shiny and can be used for finding treasure!

Niffler (from harry potter.fandom.com)

Now, let me tell you a little about the author, J. K. Rowling.

J. K. Rowling's full name is actually Joanne Rowling. She added the initial K for Kathleen (her paternal grandmother's name) when the first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was to be published. She has famously said that she was travelling on a train from Manchester to London, when the character of Harry Potter "came fully formed" into her head.

J. K. Rowling (By Daniel Ogren - Flickr: 100405_EasterEggRoll_683, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15164977)

J. K. Rowling has faced many problems in her life and overcame them all to achieve success in life. After being rejected by 12 publishers, Bloomsbury decided to publish the first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone because the chairman's daughter loved the story. This part of her life reminds me of a story my father once told me of Robert the Bruce and the spider where Robert saw a spider try numerous times to spin its web until it succeeded and this motivated Robert to fight for the freedom of Scotland. The moral of the story was Try, Try, Try Again until you Succeed. It is because of this that J. K. Rowling really inspires me because of her strength as a person and her character and I want to be an author like her when I am older.

J. K. Rowling's story telling is a delight for readers of all ages and keeps the readers glued to the books. There were some beautiful quotes in the series. My favourite one is when Dumbledore says, "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one remembers to turn on the light".

Dumbledore (played by Michael Gambon) (By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12409513)

The entire series of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts have been made into movies. I must say that the movies were very well made but I still prefer reading the books rather than watching the movies.

With my sister and my cousin!

So, Happy Reading Everyone!