27 Signs You Will Always Love The Harry Potter Books

1. Few things make you feel as old as the fact that the first book was published 16 years ago.

2. But few things make you feel as young as the opening line that “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say…”

3. You can recite the rest of the opening line by memory.

4. One of the best things about having kids will be when you can read the books to them at bedtime.

5. You have fond, fond memories of waiting until midnight at a bookstore to get your copy of the latest book.

6. You still remember how many hours (not days) it took you to read each new book, and that it was a badge of honor to be in the 8 hours or less club when The Order of the Phoenix went on sale.

7. Any orange cat not named Crookshanks is missing out on a prime naming opportunity, in your opinion.

8. You swear you could tell where the Ron/Hermione love affair was heading all the way back when she first told him he had a smudge on his nose on the Hogwarts Express.

9. The line in The Sorcerer’s Stone that Harry had a distinct feeling that Snape could read minds will always give you a mixed feeling of awe that J.K. Rowling had the foresight to put such a pivotal clue in the very first book, and rage that, well, you passed over it as a throwaway line when you first read the book.

10. You have a deep distrust of rats as a species.

11. You wonder if anyone would notice if you named a child after one of the minor characters.

12. You have a favorite Weasley twin.

13. If you ever see an owl in real life, you wonder if maybe it had just finished delivering a letter.

14. Had you seen this child wandering around Penn Station, chances are very good you would have burst into spontaneous tears.

15. You regularly reread the books, and are constantly picking up things you missed the first time around.

16. You know which three books feature a bezoar.

17. Any time you see somebody walk a large black dog, your heart skips a beat.

18. Every so often, you think to yourself how much easier everyday tasks like commuting to work, cleaning your apartment, and finding things you misplaced would be with magic.

19. No, but why hasn’t anyone invented an invisibility cloak yet?

20. You could write a doctoral thesis on why your favorite book is better than the other six.

21. You felt a small surge of pride when everyone praised Alfonso Cuarón’s work in Gravity, because you knew his potential as a director all the way back in 2004 when he did utmost justice in adapting The Prisoner of Azkaban to the screen.

22. When you reread the books, you hear the narration in a British accent in your head.

23. You own a cape, because it is the closest thing you will probably ever get to everyday Wizarding robes.

24. You have ridden a broomstick around your house… as an adult.

25. Every time you see somebody reading the books in public, you give them a little nod of solidarity.

26. Visiting King’s Cross Station is on your bucket list.

27. You’re still waiting for your letter from Hogwarts.