Adults are wild about 'Harry' too

By Katie Dean
Madison, WI
While it comes as no surprise that kids around Madison will don their Hogwarts robes and wave their wands to welcome the final Harry Potter book on Friday, Harry fandom is just as intense for some adults in the city.

Bookstores are expecting long lines and will host parties on Friday night to celebrate the launch of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the last in the seven-part series. The book will be available to fans just past midnight. And while many of the events will be geared toward children with face painting and potions labs, alongside the pint-size witches and wizards will be members of Madison's Harry Potter Meetup group, whose founder is one of the youngest group members -- at age 22.

"I felt a little goofy because I'm older than you should be" to start a fan club for a children's book, said Amy Morgan, a student at Herzing College in Madison, studying for a bachelor's degree in business administration. She wondered, "Am I too old for this?' But clearly, I'm not.... everybody's pretty much older than me in the group."

Morgan, who fell in love with the series after a friend "demanded" that she read them, started the Meetup group in January this year. (Meetup.com is a website where people can form their own community groups online based on shared interests, and then meet in person).

"I was kind of surprised that there weren't many younger people," she said.

The group, which includes about 10 regulars and 25 in total, has gathered to watch the Harry Potter films, played "Scene It?", a DVD trivia game based on the Harry Potter movies, and have pondered important questions like, "Is Snape really evil? Is Draco Malfoy going to turn to the good side?" and "Is Dumbledore really dead?"

Assistant organizer of the Harry Potter Meetup Group, Carrie Fox, 34, said her mom was the one who urged her to check out the books. She was instantly hooked.

Fox hasn't caught much flak for being an older fan of the series, though one person made a wisecrack when she was reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on the bus.

"I just kept reading," she said.

Adult fans say the characters and great stories are appealing, but it's also Rowling's keen portrayal of adolescent struggles with friendships and relationships that hook older readers.

"It focuses a lot on fantasy, but it parallels a lot of things in real life that adults can relate to," Morgan said. "A lot of people don't see that -- they just see it in the children's section and see it as a kids' book."

Paul Wiesner and his wife, Roberta, both in their 30s, are also avid fans and a part of the Meetup group.

He appreciates the series because "it never panders. It never dumbs down.... Rowling "recognizes that (kids') emotional lives are complex."

Roberta added, "there's levels of humor and moral choices that aren't in most children's books."

The pair flipped a coin to see who gets to read "The Deathly Hallows" first and Roberta won. She plans on reading it Saturday.

Eric Stimson, 29, is looking forward to reading the books with his twins, age 5, when they are a little older. Stimson, who is studying to be an elementary school teacher, became interested in the books after watching the first movie.

"I've been a hardcore fan ever since," he said. "You really get emotionally invested in the characters. As far as emotional attachment, Dumbledore is my favorite character."

When the gentle but powerful headmaster of Hogwarts is killed in the sixth book, "I couldn't help but break down and cry," he said.

Stimson also admits to being a fan of "wizard rock," bands of musicians that sing songs about Harry Potter and the books. "Harry and the Potters," the original wizard rock band, will be performing (for free) at the DeForest Area Performing Arts Center on August 6.

"If I can find an adult to go with me, I think I might try and go," he said.

Harry Potter has stretched beyond the pages of book for some adults, inspiring art, travel and even led to friendships and relationships for some.

Audra Leslie, 22, is a graphic design student at MATC and assistant manager of the cafe at Barnes and Noble in East Towne, and started reading the Harry Potter series when the books first came out ("I had just outgrown my Babysitter's Club phase," she said). She's incorporated the boy wizard into a number of assignments for her art classes.

She painted a portrait of herself reading "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and created a copper reliquary in the shape of a book to preserve her Harry Potter movie ticket stub. She's also designed her own Harry Potter book cover called, appropriately, "Harry Potter and the Bookstore Barista."

A Harry Potter convention called Prophesy 2007: From Hero to Legend is geared toward adults and takes place in Toronto next month. Kids 14- 17 must have a chaperone to attend, and those under 14 are not permitted. The Meetup Group's Fox and Morgan are planning to attend.

On the agenda are speakers and panels stocked with academics who will discuss the literary and cultural impact of the series, including the negative response to the wizard's tale from some conservative Christians.

Other activities include feasts, a "decade of enchantment" ball, and social time, complete with signature cocktails like Unicorn's Blood, Polyjuice and Veritaserum, in addition to Butterbeer (alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions available).

"This will be my first convention. It will be kind of significant because it will be the last big bang after the release of the book," Morgan said. She is going to dress up as Hermione (one of Harry's best friends) for the gathering.

Fox is planning an outfit as a student from Slytherin, one of the four student houses at Hogwarts. She bought several clothing items and props off of Ebay for her costume.

Fox also met her boyfriend through an online Harry Potter chat group.

"Harry Potter brought us together but when we started talking about our other interests, we just had everything in common," Fox said. The two will meet in person for the first time at Prophesy.

Roberta Wiesner also has had Potter-related plans in the past: she drove to Ohio to watch the the first film in 2001 with friends she had met in an online role playing game. In the game, players pretend to be students at Hogwarts.

Whether it's adults or children, the demand for the last installment in the series is "unprecedented," according to Sean Sundwall, a spokesman for Amazon.com. Pre-orders for the book hit 1.25 million and counting on the website.

Barnes and Noble also topped 1.2 million pre-orders across the country, the largest pre-order for a book in company history.

Sundwall said that the cross-generational interest in the series is part of its appeal.

"Kids like it, parents like it, they can read it together," Sundwall said. "There aren't a lot of books out there that can cross that chasm."

While standing in line for a recent midnight screening of the latest Harry Potter movie, "Order of the Phoenix," kids who have grown up with the books explained its appeal to them.

"I really just love the characters. Especially Hermione. She's not afraid to be smart," said Justice Winrich, 11, while sporting a shirt that read, "All this and brains too."

She has read all the books "at least five times," she said, and "Order of the Phoenix" is her favorite.

At 16, McFarland High School student Katie Duggleby is about the same age as the young wizards, and has been following the series since it came out. She said she relates to the changes the characters are going through as teenagers.

The books "have such great plots and characters," Duggleby said. "They can be serious and funny at the same time."

"Since we've grown up with them, we've grown so attached to them," added Kyle Annen, 16.

As for the fate of Harry and his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, fans are hopeful that they survive, but Rowling's comments have hinted that several characters could meet their demise.

"I have to think that there are really sad things that will happen," Stimson said. "You can't defeat the dark lord without having a few people get killed off."

"Obviously a couple of people are going to die because she has to finish off the series," Winrich said. "It's going to be sad. I'll definitely still read it."