An Ode to Potter and Ilk

What does Harry Potter mean to me? This question has come up on a few occasions especially after the last epic Deathly Hallows movie. Yes, i was emotional. Yes, I cried. Yes, I sighed after it finished. Just like everyone else who really gets it (don't you hate it when the non-potterheads try to put their two cents about it, get all frustrated, and then proclaim: HP is so overrated!).
Unlike those who actually grew up reading Potter through their school and college years, i picked it up in my mid-20s, while i was enjoying my first taste of independence at my first job. I still remember reading the books on the train (and maybe a couple coffee breaks at work) or being stuck in a cab on the way to office. There were a few of us in the office who were reading the books... as one finished and passed it on to the next... it was all we could talk about in the summer of 2000. as the years went by and many of us went our separate ways- going to different jobs, cities, and even countries- the lure of Potter stayed with us. When Phoenix and Deathly Hallows came out, the same bunch of us stayed in touch and discussed who had the first pre-order delivery date from Amazon. Just as he was growing up, so were we. Just as he was coming to terms with his fate, in a sense, so were we. Just as Harry defeated the dark forces, we faced our own demons. Could i be more dramatic, you say? But this was a coming-of-age for all sorts of ages, so why not us.
Since i can remember i have been an unabashed fan of science fiction fantasy or any kind of fantasy fiction. If I associate the Enid Blyton and CS Lewis with my childhood, i can just as well associate Star Wars with my pre-teen years, on the heels of Asimov and Tolkein. If we can be moved by epic stories of great human emotions, it is an equal, if not greater, wonder to be moved by sagas of the same emotions played out in mythical places and by mythical creatures. People who don't "get" those places and creatures are sadly living in a dark corner of their own little world instead of the opposite!