Where Were You the Day Dumbledore Died?

My husband and I have been listening to a podcast during our down time and they happen to be analyzing the Harry Potter movies. As they were going through the sixth movie, I felt my chest tighten because I knew what was coming. Even now, after reading the series twice and watching the movie hundreds of times, I still feel myself growing faint every time I think about Dumbledore's death. This is a death that happened almost ten years ago (wow, I feel old) and I still found myself crying when they played the audio for Dumbledore dying.

Every time Albus says "Severus, please", not begging for his own life but begging Snape to kill him for Draco's sake, I can't stop the tears from flowing.

In my lifetime, my parents or other adults would often tell me that there are moments in life that I would remember. You will remember what you where doing when {fill in the blank}. I'm sure they meant historic things and I guess there are a few of those too but the moment Dumbledore died is among them.

I had just started working at Books-A-Million at the time and they were in a flurry preparing for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I went from new employee to heading the whole thing when they caught wind that I was a fan. Here I was, 18-years-old in my first job ever and tasked with the huge responsibility to entertain hundreds of folks showing up for the release of the sixth book in the Harry Potter series... I'd never been more excited for anything in my life.

That week I was tasked with making huge house banners (seriously, these things were eight feet each), helping every "house" plan their activities for the evening and organizing the rules and prizes for the costume contest. Plus, I had to get my costume together because Trelawney wasn't going to magically appear unless I made her. I even learned a few magic tricks for the occasion since I claimed Gryffindor which had kids from 5-10 in it.

What all this amounts to is that I had to work well past midnight when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was released. By the time I got home and showered, it was well into the early morning hours. Not that the late hours stopped me. I read most of the night, completely hooked even though I was scheduled to work at 3 PM the next day. After only a few hours of sleep, I drove to work with the book resting in my front seat mocking me. I parked in the spot I always parked in (three spaces from the front all the way on the right of the parking lot) with twenty minutes to spare and I read. I read as Dumbledore paralyzed Harry and watched in horror as Dumbledore tried to convince Draco that there was still good in him. With three moments to spare, Snape said the irreversible words and Harry was freed from Dumbledore's spell. Dumbledore, the man who had guarded Harry and I through five books, who even Voldemort was scared of, was gone. In a world full of magic and wonder and miracles, there was nothing Harry could do to bring him back.

With tears streaming down my cheeks, I walked into the bookstore and tried to put on my apron so that I could sign in. I tried to be brave. But I was now walking around in a world where Dumbledore was no longer there to protect me and that killed me. My manager, who happened to find out what happened in the morning since she wasn't a huge fan, let me have a few moments to pull myself together but it was pretty useless. I was already gone.

We weren't allowed to read behind the counter even when the floor was empty but that night, I happened to be putting up a Half Blood Prince for my entire shift.

I remember where I was the day Dumbledore died. I remember grieving with so many of my friends who also found out, discussing it with the customers that came in and just needed someone to talk to, and trying to figure out how the Harry Potter world was ever going to be the same.

I can't imagine writing a series like that. Of crafting characters and books in such a way that I can devastate the literary world. I think as a writer and as a reader, I'm always searching for that feeling again. Because for me, the day Dumbledore died is a part of my history, not just a writer but as a human being. Harry Potter shaped me, like so many other folks, and to this day it still moves me.

So I want to know your story. Where were you the day Dumbledore died?

Books Read Out Loud

I've been slightly distracted lately by this series of Youtube videos I found... I'm not proud of this.

Alex Reads Twilight



Now let me explain. I love Twilight. I honestly, truly, do but I can get why people want to make fun of it and this guy really does a good job of it. But this entire series of videos really got me thinking. I started wondering how stupid most books would sound if you read them out loud and went it wanting to hate them.

I say this because the way Alex reads these passages is full of mockery. But I've also listened to the Twilight audiobook and the way the woman reads on there makes them sound endearing and truly gives me a voice in my head. This is because of the way they both set out to read them. Alex went in with a lot of prejudices and was looking for reasons to hate Meyer's writing and book so when reading them, especially out loud, the passages sounded stupid. I honestly think that any book you go to read aloud can sound dumb if you want it too. I know for a fact if you were mocking my novel, it would sound stupid. So I don't give too much validity one way or another. Alex has a right to his opinion and I respect it, but I just wanted to point out how interesting two different reader's perspectives can be if they go in with different mindsets.

In a way, this exercise really helped me deal with the rather harsh feedback I got back from one of my beta readers.

I also want to point out that for most novels, the protagonists gender has a lot to do with how others are going to react. Sure, there are plenty of female leads that guy's are going to get behind and there are plenty of male leads that women can enjoy but particularly with the genre, this can have a lot to do with the the enjoyment of a novel. A guy doesn't instantly want to cry when everything isn't going their way but an emotion girl might. I also imagine a guy reading about the way some other guy's lips feel isn't the most comfortable subject either, especially when it's being repeatedly hammered into the novel.

For example, my husband felt basically the same way Alex does about Twilight. Bella's whiny (and she is but I get why) and he didn't like reading about how beautiful Edward Cullen was. But Twilight is essentially a romance. On the other hand, when my husband read The Hunger Games, he mentioned to me how often Katniss was naked in the novel and how he didn't really think much of it. Katniss wasn't really portrayed as a sexual character and The Hunger Games is a book that isn't making you think about love and sex the way Twilight does.

These are just some of the things going through my mind when I was watching these videos-- yes, I watched all of them last night. And yes, some of the reason I watched is because I loved Alex's accent but I digress.

So what do you guys think? I'm interested to hear your opinions. Am I way off base? Guys, you chime in too.