You asked my son what brought him to comic con, and he paused, unsure how to answer, and like all overbearing mothers, I stepped in and responded for him.
"You. We saw that you were going to be here and knew we had to make it happen."
Instantly, this 31 year old married mother of two was reduced to the same 15 year old girl that first opened the cover of her first copy of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. We didn't exchange many more words with you, my son told you that he was obsessed with Harry Potter... The books, the movies, and that his mom had introduced him to them. I was filled with pride, and so much was weighted in those simple words that didn't come across to you.
My mom was a teacher, and there was talk of Harry Potter being banned from her school library. She was against book censorship, so, of course, we decided to read them together. We were instantly enthralled with Harry's world... The magic, the wonder, the passion with which the story was written. We read through them together, and made it through The Goblet of Fire as a team.
Unfortunately, she passed away before the release of Order of the Phoenix, so I finished the series on my own, with the bittersweet longing for her to get to know how the story ended.
When my son was old enough to have his passion for reading ignited, it blazed with a fire stronger than I could have hoped for, and the second those books were in his hands, they became as beloved to him as they ever were to my mother and I, and we shared them over and over again, having movie marathons that brought our imaginations to life in our living room together, over popcorn and hot cocoa, reading to each other, even visiting the Wizarding World in Orlando this past summer.
So when you asked what brought us to Tulsa to see you, this is the long-winded answer that was behind our response...
Our family has been brought together through these stories and movies... Your portrayal of Draco Malfoy has affected our lives in ways that seem trivial but are only the surface of a deeper relationship that started when I was a teen and carried through my life into my own children, and allowed me to share my own mother's legacy with them even after she was gone, and when I'm gone, I'm positive my son will share the same passions for them with his children.
It's so much more than just a book or movie when it becomes part of your life.
And that is what brings "people like us" to Comic Con. Your interest in the subject of fandom and passion in your fans created a five minute memory that will last a lifetime and bring true a dream for my son, and myself, that neither of us will ever forget. Thank you for letting him know that it matters on the other side of the screen too.
Sincerely,
A true fan.
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