Again, no spoilers. You’ll have to wait until Tina and I do an episode about the Harry Potter series on Television Zombies — and yes, that is a plug.

It’s been two days since I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and I’m afflicted with a strange sense of loss. I’m reminded of the long car trip home after my two week stay at the Duke University Young Writers camp — slouched in the back seat, trying to do anything but think about the fact that all the friendships I’ve just made were over forever.

Although I wouldn’t consider myself an uber fan of Harry Potter, I was very fond of the books. I looked forward to them and formed my own (mostly correct) theories about what was to come. The thing that makes literarture so much more powerful than televison or film is the strange sense of ownership a reader has over books. With the story acted out in one’s imagination, it becomes a part of you. I feel like Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Dobby, Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore, etc. etc., etc. are all mine, despite the fact that the only books more beloved by the human race are religious texts. Millions love these books, but since reading is a solitary activity, each of us feels a proprietary interest stronger than say the love Star Wars fans have for that series.

And now that Harry’s adventures are over, I will miss seeing him and his friends every two years. I didn’t think I would be so affected by the series’ end, but I am. I look forward to sharing it with my girls when they’re old enough, of taking them on a ride through all the wonderful moments and surprises, but for me, there will be no new revelations. I know everything there is to know. And it makes me feel a little sad.