Reliving The Magic: The Philosopher's Stone

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love."

"Oi, Potter!" - I get that a lot.

Well then, that was a bit of bloody good fun, wasn't it?!

This was literally the second time I've read this book and, when I was younger it was my favourite (I've always been a big fan of origin stories) so this was a real treat for me.

What surprised me was how little of the detail I actually remember, within the book we learn about Uncle Vernon's job and Harry's school life before Hogwarts, whereas in the film a lot of these smaller details are, (understandably), omitted. It was, however, in light of my decade's worth of knowledge and wisdom, an incredibly easy read. Unsurprisingly, the language is stripped down and simple and, given that Rowling, throughout the series, allows her readers to grow up with the characters, it's easy to see why she started on such a basic level.

With this in mind, however, I must stress that while the language is fairly primitive, (a niggle I found even at the age of 11 or 12), it is still, to this day, one of the most gripping and original books I've ever read. From the moment Harry starts receiving his letters from Hogwarts I felt that familiar stirring in my stomach that meant we were in for a ruddy good ride.

And that's true, from Hagrid finding the Dursley's on the little island in the middle of the ocean, to their trip to Diagon Alley and the vaults of Gringotts, it's a warm, enchanting and thrilling experience.

When we get to Hogwarts, of course, not much changes, only now we have the added level of danger and
the wonderful ability to loathe Draco Malfoy who, thanks to 'A Very Potter Musical', I couldn't help but imagine, not as Tom Felton, but as the wonderful and hilarious Lauren Lopez.

Lauren Lopez as Draco Malfoy.

It was intriguing to see how quickly the story moves and, as a result, how quickly I read it. I'm currently very busy with dissertation writing and all that lark, but even then it took me just a few days to power through it. As a child I think it took me a lot longer, mainly because I wasn't as well-read and verbose as I am now, and probably because I was often because I was quite lazy when it came to reading. A few pages would often constitute 'a lot' of reading for me, but ho hum.

If anybody is considering restarting the Potter books, I'd strongly recommend it, now it's a great time to do
it, especially as the films are over and if you are, like myself, part of the original generation, it'll be a warm and happy experience still full of excitement and wonder, even now I'm 21 and graduating from university in a couple of months, I couldn't help but be transported, time-turner-esque back to those wonderful, seemingly sunny days when I couldn't want to join Harry and the gang back at Hogwarts for a game of Quidditch.

I'm still hoping for that ruddy Hogwarts letter. Maybe I can do an MA there? I'm sure I'd be great at potions!

See you next 'term'!