Fan Focus: Helena – December 5, 2010

HELENA
Age 18, United Kingdom

First off, how did you become a Harry Potter fan?

My Granny gave me Philosopher’s Stone when I was six, and I wouldn’t read it for a while because it had a boy as the main character… I know, I was strange! Anyway, she kept asking me about it, and I started reading. I got to the bit with Fluffy and got so scared I had to stop, but finally plucked up the courage to continue and have been hooked ever since!

It has been over three years since Deathly Hallows came out and we found out how the series ended. Do you have the same reaction to the ending now, as you did then?

I don’t think my opinions have changed too much. What with all the sleepless nights and obsessive excitement before Deathly Hallows came out my feelings were bound to be magnified at the time. I was and am very happy with the ending: although so many people died (Fred *sob!*) it was appropriate. You cannot go through a war/conflict without loss on each side, and I think this makes it all the more real and relatable.

OMG! DEATHLY HALLOWS! Loved it? Hated it? Thoughts!?

OH. MY. GOSH! I have just watched it, and it was FLIPPING AMAZING!!!! I really think it exceeded my expectations: it was so close to the book, but still, Yates made it his own, stylistically. I was so pleased that they didn’t overshadow the Ron/Hermione relationship because for me that was such an integral part of the series. I found it a very tense, emotional film. Ron’s departure was heartbreaking, but when he returned and he spoke about the deluminator light going into his heart I was practically in a blubbering heap on the floor! Overall, I am immensely pleased with it!!

What was your favorite part that changed from the book? That stayed the same?

There were a lot of details that were different from the book which I thought were really in keeping with its tone. Naturally, the bit where Bellatrix carves “mudblood” into Hermione’s arm was horrific and absolutely perfect. I also liked the bit in the forest when Hermione has put the enchantments around the tent and the snatchers walk right past: it was so tense! As for what stayed the same, this is a very difficult one, but I think I’m going for either the Seven Potters scene, which was both amusing and exciting, and Dobby’s death which was heart-wrenchingly sad!

Comparing book to movie, What disappointed you the most? Also, what part was better than you expected?

I really feel like I need to see the film again now, there was so much to take in! I would have liked to see more of the Wedding scene, where Harry discovers more about Dumbledore. His feelings of being ‘betrayed’ by the man he most looked up to and the shock of Dumbledore’s past wasn’t emphasized enough. I felt it was a bit of a back story. Otherwise, Malfoy Manor was definitely better than I expected. I thought Bellatrix was madder in this film than any other and this scene shows more of this. It also shows the desperation of the Malfoys to ingratiate themselves with Voldemort again. I thought it was excellent.

Now knowing where the split is, and feeling the way the movie ended, do you feel it was a good choice?

I think it was a good choice. I’ll need to see it again to be absolutely sure, but I felt that it finished rather abruptly. I know there’s only so much you can show of Voldemort leering at a corpse and taking its wand, however, it was very sudden. I would have liked a longer burial scene for Dobby, but I do think it was a good place to split it: a proper cliff-hanger.

Did the movie live up to all of the epic hype that surrounded each trailer?

Yes. The trailers were incredibly exciting, I loved how they said it was the series that has bewitched the generation (excuse the pun!) and I definitely got that from this film. It felt completely different from the previous films: the beginning of the end. It was epic. Sitting there at the beginning watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione preparing to leave their homes behind it really hit me that this is the end, and I’m so glad to have been a part of this.

Do you have anything else you’d like to add? Maybe a theory you still believe to be true, a shout-out, praise for yours truly?

Firstly, thank you SO much for choosing me, Fan of the Week people, I love you! Also, I would like to say that Harry Potter has honestly affected my whole life. I began when I was six, I’m eighteen now and I still haven’t got over it. I’m studying English in University, and one of the first things a lecturer said this year was, “JK Rowling can’t write”. I think we can all agree that this statement is completely futile, as her stories have brought us all together, formed a community of people whose faith will never fail. Fashion, celebrities, and music all come in and out of fashion, but with a series like Harry Potter, which deals with the timeless concepts of good, evil, and above all, love, every generation can relate to it, which is why it will live on to inspire new generations to lose themselves in the wonderful world of Harry Potter.