Warning!!

Warning! If you have not read the Seventh Harry Potter book, do not continue reading this post! I had people spoil it for me and I don't want to do the same for you, so I beg of you, stop reading this, even if you don't think you'll ever read Harry Potter. Okay, on to the post...

Last Tuesday I was a poll worker for my Water District on Election Day. Well, it just so happens that the boundaries for Water Districts and Voting Districts are not the same, and only a fraction of the voters in my Voting District also live in the Water District I was working for. So what that means is that of the 220 voters that came in that day, only 20 of them voted for the Water District. Which meant that I got to sit and read all day, because there was rarely anything for me to do. And when I say all day, I mean ALL day (6:30 am to 8:30 pm). And guess what I read? H.P.!! I finished the Seventh Harry Potter minutes before we needed to wrap up (i.e., sign a hundred documents saying essentially the same thing). If it hadn't of been for H.P., I think I might have gone crazy that day, but with H.P., it was quite an enjoyable day.

Well, sort of.

And I'll tell you why it was just sort of. #1: I was in anxiety all day about what was going to happen in the book, and #2: I had to keep it all inside, because I was in a public place! There were numerous times I wanted to laugh, cry, scream, groan, sigh, exclaim warnings or retributions, etc., and I couldn't! That was hard.

Okay, so if any of you non-Harry-Potter readers disregarded my first warning and are still reading this, I'm telling you, it's your last chance to bail before you will seriously regret it.

The main reason I was in such anxiety all day is that before I started reading the Seventh H.P., I had it from more than one source that the book did not finish well and that Ron died (and I believed them!). Now, I like Harry and all, but I LOVE Ron and Hermione. I just love them! And so when I heard that Ron died in the seventh book, I was so mad at J.K. Rowling and upset that I wasn't going to like how it all ended. So during the whole book, I was so worried that Ron was going to die in the next chapter! Not to mention all the other things J.K. Rowling gives you to worry about throughout the whole book. To tell you the truth, most of the book really stressed me out, and the fact that I couldn't express my stress, worry, and frustration as I sat there in a public voting place made it all the more stressful.

But it was worth it! Because when it ended, I was absolutely ELATED! And the high lasted a good two days. I kept thinking about Harry, Ron, Hermione, the magical world, and my heart just wanted to burst with joy for how happy I was for them. I experienced all this nostalgia from all the previous books, and I just loved them more than ever. I was so HAPPY that Ron didn't die! And the ending couldn't have been better, showing how they all made wonderful families and continued to love, laugh, and grow together.

Usually after I finish a Harry Potter book, I get depressed for how it's over, but it was the exact opposite this time. I was so relieved that Ron didn't die, all the unhappiness of it being over was swallowed up in the joy that their lives continued together. And the happiness still continues. So thank you, ill-wishers, you made my last Harry Potter experience all the better.

P.S. In case you couldn't tell, I really get into the books I read. :)

P.P.S. One good thing about reading H.P. in a voting precinct is that it was a much less scary place to read it than your home at night when you're the only one home (the way I had read the first few chapters.) During those times, I was always so happy when Chad came home, and would tell him, "Chad, save me from Voldemort!" :)