"We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust."

Dumbledore famously proclaimed repeatedly the value of friendship in self-actualization and success.  In my decade as an HP super-fan, the boy wizard that defined my childhood conjured myraid friends and transfigured casual relationships into long-lasting companionships.

But I think Dumbledore probably also said something about the horros of lying, given his moral uprightness.  And lying about Harry Potter granted me one of the best friendships of my life.

In fifth grade, none of my fourth grade pals had the same teacher that I did, so I sought new friends.  One girl, Alice, competed in Battle of the Books with me, but I knew her only casually.  At some point our highly nerdy conversation shifted to one regarding the Number #1 Harry Potter Fansite, Mugglenet, of which I am a total fan.  She threw in some fancy lingo, something about Mugglecast, Rowling like Bowling, and a guy named Andrew.  I figured that was some fancy post on Mugglenet, and my pride made me respond as if I knew exactly what she was talking about, smiling, laughing, and agreeing at the opportune moments.  My reputation as a true fan lay on the line. 

So often those lessons that your mom teaches you never have relevance in your life.  Like the always wear clean underwear in case a bus hits you one.  But the one about spiraling lies?  First hand experience.  For the next days...weeks...months Alice continued to engage me in conversation? monologues? about Mugglecast.  We grew closer through our mutual? love of the thing.  Finally, I knew that I had to figure out what in the world she was talking about.

A couple of years later, that guy Andrew (the head host of the podcast) answered my live call on a show regarding the first Harry Potter HBP trailer.  May have been a highlight of my young life.  The conversations of Andrew, Matt, Eric, Micah, Mikey, Laura, Elysa, Nick, and Jamie were a total sanity lifeline for most of middle school.  My addiction to Mugglecast extended to Twilight Source then to SmartMouths. 

Alice and I are still besties.  Madalyn Collins and I also formed our relationship off of Mugglecast.  That Andrew fellow met his partner, Matt, at a Harry Potter convention.  Because Harry Potter shaped my life and the lives of so many others, I'm a lifetime member of DA.