Yes I know its the talk of the town, the last movie's here, and so is the gentle reminder that the wait is over. No more books, No more movies. 

Every child has his own reason to admire this breathtaking creation of a human mind. My reason was escape. I loved the idea of belonging to a different world, the idea of being different, of being special.

This idea had so sunk in, that I was actually convinced that there is a wizard world out there, how else could J.K.Rowling have been so detailed about everything. Surely, she must have paid a visit to Hogwarts for her research or better yet, she is a witch herself and is now retired, and a part of the muggle-wizard peace-keeping force and her books are an attempt to make us understand and accept what lies beyond our senses.

There. That explained it all.

And then of course there was a whole other possibility. If Hermione could be accepted into Hogwarts despite being a muggle, didn't we all stand a chance? This was a most overwhelming thought for me at that age. I started having long elaborate dreams on my journey to Hogwarts. Some of them, even visited by Prof. Dumbledore himself, where he would mostly sit next to me and answer all my questions. In one of my dreams I asked him "Professor? Students start their term at Hogwarts when they're 11. But I'm already 14. Won't I lag behind?" 

And he never disappointed me. Always coming up with the most satisfying replies ever. I don't exactly remember his answer to this particular question, but I faintly recall him mentioning the option of an accelerated course for late admissions.

The potter-fever was on.

The movies and books were releasing one after the other, each one only reinforcing my faith in the other world. One of my habits from those days was going up to the terrace after dinner and spending the next 30 minutes, just enjoying the sky, listening to the night air, thinking about the day, planning for the next, basically just clearing my mind before I went to bed. 

This habit couldn't keep up for long though. Mostly because I moved to Singapore and became a cyber geek. But I distinctly remember looking out for an owl on each of those nights. An owl carrying my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Nothing compares to the innocence of that age.

Somewhere inside of me, I knew this was just being stupid, and yet, I went on fantasticing about this whole other world, where there's so much fun, where there's magic. And I remember keeping it a secret until one day when I shared it with my best friend and till date, he mocks me for being so silly.

Ah well, I'm 20 now and clearly not eligible, even for the accelerated courses at Hogwarts. I still believe, however, that there is magic, in this very world. All you need are those eyes from your childhood.