The Wizarding World

I was intrigued by a sign at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was in front of a rollercoaster. Now, this rollercoaster was nowhere near interesting. It was, presumably, in the tunnel that I saw from the outside. The tunnel was completely straight, with no loops. The oddest part was that the tunnel was extremely long. So, as I passed by, I took a look at the name of the ride: “The Highest Heights and Lowest Drops”. Something just below the name of the ride caught my eye. Dear visitor, this is our best rollercoaster yet. We, the managers, promise that if you do not cry/scream/have a mental breakdown or anything of that sort, we will personally see to it that you get a full refund of your money. Well, that was odd. Some people were immune to roller coasters, and this looked nowhere near scary. If I stood a chance of getting a refund of my money, I was going to try it out. The age limit was 11 years old. Clearly, they only allowed wizards who had started schooling. Perhaps they were afraid that a young wizard, unaware of his/her powers, might mess up the ride somehow. I stepped into the queue, feeling brave. The queue entered a small, dark room. When we entered, we were given 3D goggles. I sat on the roller coaster, fastened the metal bar, and pulled on the goggles. Then the rollercoaster took off. It started out slow, then came to a stop. I was confused when it halted so suddenly. Was this supposed to happen? Then, I saw Hagrid. He burst through the door, pulling the door right off his hinges. I heard the sound of rain pattering on the window. I was in a small shack in a great storm. I looked around. Sitting in complete shock were Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley and Dudley Dursley. Hagrid wished a happy birthday-- to me? I was Harry? Wow! The whole scene played out as it had been in the books. Not as it had been in the movies, but with the right lines, right pausings. When I opened the box and saw the words written in green icing, my eyes watered in happiness. I wanted to reach out and hug Hagrid, before I remembered that he was only virtual. Before I had time to process anything else, the roller coaster set off again. Before long, we had stopped in front of some bars. I seemed to be in a room again. Ah, I thought. Classic. This was the spectacular flight to the Burrow. But that didn’t stop me from whispering when Ron arrived. “Ron? Fred? George? What are you doing here?” I heard Ron answer, and witnessed for myself in first person Fred and George picking the lock to get Hedwig. I heard Molly -- the real one, not the actor -- scold Fred and George. I saw the famous clock with hands pointing different ways in the house. I was amazed and almost cried for the second time. But all too soon, the roller coaster moved off. I tried to grab on to something to stay, but to no avail. It stopped in a graveyard. No, a voice whispered in my mind, hoarse from screaming in happiness earlier. No, no, no, it went. I don’t need to see this, it’s just going to break me further… But I still kept my eyes open. I heard Cedric asking Voldemort who he was. I saw the green spell fly towards him. I heard myself cry out, “NO, CEDRIC!” I needed to do something, he couldn’t be dead… not again, no… If only I had done something, I could have saved him. I held his cold, lifeless body in my hands. I hadn’t spent enough time with him when I was whisked off again. Still in shock, I stared down at my hands, which only just moments had held a body. I felt spells being thrown about all over me. I saw Lucius Malfoy screaming at me to hand over the prophecy. No, not another death… But it was so. I saw Bellatrix. She cackled, that sick voice that made me want to punch her in the face. That character of hers that belittled everyone else. Of course, Sirius wouldn’t lose, would he? He was hit with the killing spell, the one I had seen used on Cedric just moments ago. I saw Sirius Orion Black enter the veil, he smiled, looking at me. In that moment, my heart shattered. I heard pieces breaking apart as Sirius faded away. It was bittersweet, seeing that genuine smile from Sirius. It was warm and that kept me from leaping after him, besides the fact that Remus was holding me back. Then the screen went blank. I heard a mechanical voice telling me to get off. Dazed, I took off the goggles. Back in the sun, I saw a huge sign. On it were the words, Hello there. Have you had a nice trip? As promised, you get a refund if you did not cry, scream, have a mental or any of that sort. You also get a whole lot of admiration from the cast of Harry Potter and us managers. If you did cry, but are still up for the challenge, this is only the first of the many. And, if you feel like you are done with these, goodbye! I laughed. Pranksters, putting me through that mental torture. But I must admit I did enjoy it. After a while, I would come back for more. (Disclaimer: this is not a real ride. I did not experience it. This is merely canon. However, all the events mentioned are real, as you should know.)