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The Voids of Summer
by Cooper Lewis
June 3, 2005
Ah, summer. It is the time when, inevitably, thousands of Pottermaniacs, previously in internet-hibernation induced by tragically overfilled workloads awaken, unburdened by summer break, and the membership of internet fan sites boom, particularly late on Weekday nights.
Additionally, the Summer of 2005 isn't exactly a boring one for the Harry Potter fan, with the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince filling shelves as soon as July 16th. This breaks the summer into several distinct parts:
Memorial Day to July 15: We wait, our extreme levels of excitement barely concealed by pathetic attempts to research the secrets of Star Wars Episode III. As HBP-Day gets closer, and closer, and closer, we will become crazed, crazed, crazed, spontaneously letting out banshee-like screeches in grocery stores when we see advertisements, and probably rushing to re-read the other five books.
July 16 (and 17, for the busier fan, or the attention-deficit one): Read and complete Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
July 17-18: Columns and Editorial madness begins. Let’s face it, we columnists and editorialists have been running out of material, and HBP should give us another year’s worth of material. ‘Spoiler Alerts’ will run rampant.
Until November: While trying to avoid revealing HBP’s secrets to friends who have not yet read HBP, we will eagerly await the release of the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, building our own Goblets out of craft noodles and forcing unwitting bystanders to participate in mock Triwizard Tournaments.
But what am I personally doing for July 15th? Well, my friends, I’m glad you’ve asked. Right now, I am investigating ways to train owls, or people dressed as owls to deliver invitations to my ‘Potter-y Party.’ I sort each person invited into a house and give them their dress code, noting any particular character issues.
I have been gathering ‘Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans’ for months, and I have spent weeks trying to make the perfect pumpkin cake. Polyjuice Punch is expected to be on the menu, as well as attempting to create (cruelly) hippogriff meat by connecting a roasted lamb with a roasted chicken. (Somehow, on many levels, obtaining a roasted eagle and a roasted horse seemed very, very wrong.)
I’m gathering wands from local...wand shops…and I am currently attempting (unsuccessfully) to persuade my own father to don a long white wig and do card tricks. My sixth grade brother and his band of cohorts, fortunately, are the perfect size for house elves. With a few gunny sacks and a bit of face paint (and several bribes), I’m sure that my house with have a guest staff that rivals Hogwarts.
Back to The Sugar Quill
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