For the first time ever in my life, I am reading the Harry Potter series. As a child, my parents were against the books, so I never had the opportunity to read them. Now that I'm back at school, a good friend has loaned me all seven books, and I am working through them one by one.
I have seen all of the movies thus far, but I am trying to read the books before the newest movie is released in November. The movies were fantastic, and sparked my interest to read the novels.
I must admit that I am enjoying reading the books as well; they are well written and entertaining. I love living vicariously through Harry, Ron and Hermione. However, while reading the novels, I've found that I've had the most magical dreams.
Friday night, I was leisurely flying on a broomstick. I was wearing a dark robe, and I was speeding through the sky, faster and faster. I flew over Hogwarts. I swooped and glided all over campus.
A few days ago, I dreamt that a dragon was chasing me. It blew fire at me as I swerved on my broomstick, trying as hard as I could to get away. It was just about to capture me when I woke up.
On another occasion, I was wearing my invisibility cloak and wandering around Hogwarts. I snuck around for hours, wandering the hallways.
I typically read the books right before I fall asleep, and almost every night since I began reading the novels, I have had a Harry Potter-esque dream.
Sometimes the dreams are peaceful. I am studying in the library or mixing a potion. I've also dreamt that I was receiving letters from owls and talking to ghosts.
Other dreams are more like nightmares. One night I was facing Voldemort. Incidentally, I woke up with a splitting headache that morning, which, according to my dream, was from the scar on my forehead.
In another dream Dementors were chasing me. Their black cloaks swooshed around me. Slowly, they were sucking the life out of me. I woke up with a jolt, panicked by my darkened room. Luckily, I was only dreaming about Dementors, and I didn't find any in my room.
The scariest dream I had involved Snape. While watching the movies, I really liked Snape. However, while reading the books I have formed a different opinion. In my dream, Snape was trying to kill me. I was flying on my broomstick and Snape was trying to make me fall off. When I managed to stay on, he tried a variety of spells to disable me. He glared at me and continuously spouted out spells, trying to harm me.
I've also dreamt about Quidditch. I've had several dreams where I'm chasing the Snitch. In many of them, I successfully retrieve the Snitch and win the game.
I look forward to finishing the series, and I can't wait to see the newest movie. I have really grown to love the Harry Potter series. Even though some of my dreams are scary, I am still excited to see what magical adventure I'll be on each night as soon as I fall asleep.
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Alicia Smith at asmith01@stmarys.edu
