You and your wonderful, magical world have been as much a part of my life as breathing. I cannot imagine growing up without knowing any of those spells, or how many Knuts there are to make a Sickle. I could never imagine not wishing I could play REAL Quidditch or how much I wanted to learn Transfiguration, or ride a Hippogriff. My life would not be as awesome had I never known Dumbledore’s Army, or thought about what I would see in the Mirror of Erised. My existence would have been utterly boring had I not known what a Dark Mark in the sky meant, or be in possession of the knowledge of every hidden passageway at Hogwarts.
Like all the others, I wished--nay, I prayed for a letter when I was 11 years old. And I am still in unconscious denial: my owl simply got lost in the Manila smog.
My heart went out for you when you found out how your parents died, when you thought their best friend had betrayed them, when you lost those others you loved, when you visited Godric’s Hollow, when you had to go back to Number 4 Privet Drive when all you wanted was to get away.
I cried when Dobby died. When Fred died. When Dumbledore died. When Sirius died. I was devastated when Hedwig died, when Mad-Eye Moody died. I was torn between pity and sadness, and a bit of bitterness over Snape’s story, and his death. I was shocked to find out who the Half-Blood Prince was, and who Tom Riddle was. I was horrified when Nagini came out of Bathilda Bagshot.
I was there to share the happiness when you won your first Quidditch match, when you finally asked Cho out, when you first got a glimpse of Diagon Alley, when you made your first real friends, when Fleur and Bill got married, when you first kissed Ginny, and when Ron and Hermione finally, FINALLY kissed.
I was there as you progressed from an innocent young wizard without a care in the world except for Chocolate Frogs and your best friends, and Quidditch and making mischief, to a man hardened with experience, who had seen so much and gone through so much, and who cares so much for everyone around him that he would rather suffer alone.
But you were never alone. You had your godfather, Dumbledore, the Weasleys, your teachers, the DA, Dobby and of course, your unfailing and ever-loyal best friends. Ron and Hermione are the epitome, the realization of real friends, aren’t they? They stuck by you through EVERYTHING. Through the fun in Hogsmeade and the Burrow, to the horror everywhere else. You get so bitchy when your scar hurts or you're all confused, but they never left.
And you had us. You had me cheering you on through everything. I went through everything with you. You brought me to a world of magic and love and amazement. You brought me along to a world of horror and corruption and terror.
You brought me along to your life. And for that, I am immensely and irrevocably grateful. This entry cannot suffice all that I want to tell you. Yes, this may be shallow, writing an open letter to a fictional character. But see, you are one fictional character that has had the most impact on my life. My childhood would not have been the same. At all. You made up a huge chunk of my life, and I need to tell you that you are still there.
On my 9th birthday, someone gave me a book. And it has enormously and obviously changed the course of my life forever. I am 20 now. This is proof of that.
Happy birthday, Harry James Potter. Thank you.
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