After the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” and subsequent culmination of the series this summer, fans packed away their robes and wands, ready to face life after Potter. However, the franchise will come to an official end Friday with the 11/11/11 (appropriately epic date, true to Warner Bros. form) DVD release of the final film. The last installment will take its ultimate resting place on my shelf, and on shelves across the country, where it has had a reserved spot for nearly a decade.

In honor of the close of the series, the Harry Potter Alliance released a book titled “Dear Mr. Potter” in which fans (including Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood in the films, and John Green, New York Times bestselling author) wrote letters to Harry to show appreciation for the series. In honor of the bittersweet release of “Part 2” and completion of my movie collection, I think it’s time I send Harry my thanks as well.

Dear Mr. Potter,

The day I said goodbye to you eerily coincided with a series of goodbyes — to my family, all my high school friends and my home town. It was like some sadist producer decided I should have to bid adieu to my entire childhood in the course of a week. So much for baby steps.

I guess it wasn’t really a goodbye in the sense that all of those people and things continue to exist. Your books will always be on my shelf (even if they have to be housed in gallon-sized plastic bags for fear of losing the pieces they’ve broken into: spine, cover, and pages), and my high school friends will always be just a few hours’ drive away. But it won’t ever be the same, not really.

There won’t be any more staying up past 1 a.m. on a school night with a flashlight in hand and sheets forming a cave over my head (well, maybe, but I’ll probably be reading something painfully dull, like an economics textbook). I won’t have to whittle my own wand out of a tree branch to complete the perfect Hermione costume or use permanent red hair dye to turn my best friend into a convincing Ron Weasley. There won’t be any more hype, any more midnight premiere parties or any more anxious hours spent waiting in line for the next installment of the series.

The things that will stay with me, though, are so permanent and relevant that it hardly matters your written story is over. And don’t let this get to your head, Mr. Potter, it’s not all about you. It’s about the world you live in and the characters you interact with. The magic of the place stirred my imagination and filled my dreams with potions, charms and dragons. I spent so much time with your friends and family that they weren’t just characters, they were classmates.

You have given me so much, and as Green put it so eloquently in his letter to you, you were my “uncommonly generous friend,” Mr. Potter, just as you were for millions of others. And though the days of growing up with you are over, your stories will continue to affect the lives of children around the world. I am so grateful to you for doing your part to instill in me a passion for reading, code of ethics and love for life, and I hope that I will be brave, adventurous, and caring the way you taught me to be.

Sincerely,
Julia Bush