All things Harry

Well, the days are flying by and soon the last volume of the HARRY POTTER books will be in the stores and mailboxes worldwide.

I must confess that I am a total fan of the series and feel that regardless of the outcome of the books' finale that J.K. Rowling has done something that is, in it's own way, a feat of magic.

She has made reading books cool again, even for boys.

I have been reading with great interest the various news and quasi-news articles about what must certainly be the denouement of the series.

In reading an article in an unrelated subject, I came up with the answer to it all. Because Harry has known through sacrifice what true love really is and truly represents, I honestly believe that love will be the determining factor in the outcome of the series.

The only issues have been those of love and hate in the books. Everything else stems from these 2 vital concepts. Motivations for actions are strictly determined by love and it's flowering care or hatred and it's withering glance.

Harry will most certainly be faced with the choices that all those who battle against hatred and it's attendant ills must wade through. There are always sacrifices on the idol of violence and hate and this will be no different.

Sacrifices by their very nature must be of someone who is decent and pure or they cannot make the powerful testimony against the evil that is required to vanquish it forever. Only when someone who loves powerfully allows themselves to be the willing victim to spare others is the hold of the evil one broken.

This parallel is not only a main theme of great literature, it is the absolute metaphore for the Atonement of the Savior. That is, after all considerations, the GREATEST story ever told. Without the sacrifice and expiation of one who willingly takes on all hazards for the benefit of others, all is truly lost.

I look forward to seeing how J.K. Rowling weaves the tapestry together that will form the colorful and vibrant storyline that will lead, thread by thread, to the climax and that final moment of 'Aaaah' or 'Ooooh' that we are all awaiting.

I will continue to keep these books on the shelf of my personal library because despite the critics, the reviews and the oddities of public opinion, they are masterful works of great literature. Beyond that, they have carefully told us time and time again that the best that lies within us all is something that can't be replicated with a wand or an incantation.

For better or worse, who we are defies charms and potions and we reveal our true character in the actions we perform for good or ill in the lives that come in contact with our own.

I already have 'dibs' on the book when it comes in. I read the fasted and I paid for it. That and I will allow myself a moment of undiluted self interest in this particular case. Harry Potter has become more than just a character in fiction.

Harry has become family. Hermione and Ron are children by extension and the Weasley family (even poor misguided Percy!) are the cousins we didn't know we all had until the transcendant spell of J.K. Rowling was cast over us all.

July 21st can't come soon enough!