The Day I found Magic. How Harry Potter changed my life | by Ammu Abhi | Quirky Rants

Few stories have the power to change lives, and for me, it was
Harry Potter.

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As a sixth-grade student in a small school in India, I was a cheerful little girl with lots of friends who loved going to school every day.

I loved all subjects but was particularly fond of English. That year, our English teacher started the ritual of making us read storybooks.

We were supposed to pick books of our choice from the library and read them. My first book was Famous Five, a small book about friends solving cases in their town. Each week, I borrowed another from the series, feeling comfortable as a first-time reader.

One day, I couldn’t find a new Famous Five, so I asked the librarian. She suggested a new book that had just arrived. The cover showed a boy flying on a stick with the title Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I had never heard of it, and it was much bigger than the Famous Five books. I told her it was too big for me, but she gave me a look and I borrowed it immediately.

At home, I reluctantly opened the book, wondering how I would ever finish it. I couldn’t skip reading either, since there would soon be a class activity about this week’s book. After all, I was that perfect little student. So I started reading.

Soon enough, I was captivated by the idea of Hogwarts, the spells, and the friendships of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Everything felt so alive in my mind. I kept reading until I felt sleepy. The next day at school, all I could think of was getting back to read the rest.

For the first time, reading was not just about finishing a story; it was about entering a world I didn’t want to leave. That’s when I realized books could be more than pages; they could be magic.

Now, as I finished the book, I was so thrilled by this new discovery, I wanted my friends to feel it as well. I convinced them to pick up the book, and as expected, they experienced the same.

This led to having our own little Harry Potter community, where we discussed what we loved, what we didn’t, and everything in between.

We even schemed on how to get hold of the next part of the book as soon as it arrives. It included getting on the good side of our librarian by helping out with odd jobs at the library during free hours. And sure enough, it worked in our favour.

After the Harry Potter series, I thought to myself, what’s next?

I had to find something similar, magical, and I discovered “Chronicles of Narnia”. Yet another series that gave me the same high. After which, there was no stopping me; I kept searching for books. Some were hard to find, but I didn’t give up.

As years passed and I grew up, my obsession with Harry Potter faded, but what did not fade was my love for reading. My reading interests evolved, sometimes I was drawn to mysteries like The Da Vinci Code, other times to fantasy worlds, crime thrillers, or romantic stories.”

As I sit here today, I can’t help but wonder if I would have ever discovered the magic of reading, had I not picked up Harry Potter that day… perhaps not.

Today, I’m grateful to Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, my librarian, and my English teacher