I first heard about Harry Potter in Pakistan in the late 90s when a friend told me about a book which was all the rage overseas. I had to wait a few years until I got my hands on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when a friend at school lent me her copy in Australia. I fell in love straight away. I’d promptly finish one book and ask for the next until she refused to bring in fourth one which was over 600 pages long.

“Humpf! I’ll get my own”, I decided and that’s where my collection began. From the fifth book onwards, I bought the book on the day of its release. The Order of the Phoenix remains my favourite. I remember the craze before each book’s publication. Everyone was dying to know what happened next. I remember reading about bookstore staff being sworn to secrecy and someone who had just bought their book ruining it for others by reading the last page out loud. Mine was a more muted affair. I stood in line and waited for the bookstore to open which had been decorated and collected my book from a staff dressed in black robes and a witch’s hat.

While I read at home, a sibling would sit at the foot of my bed and wait until I was done. I’d try not to cry audibly during the emotional scenes. I got into an argument with my sister once when she borrowed one of my books without returning it properly as it lay casually on the sofa!

I discovered these books when I could immerse myself completely in a make-believe world and read as much as I wanted to. Now the pages are yellowing and the books lie untouched until today’s exercise. I discovered an inscription in the fifth book where I wrote down the date of purchase and who accompanied me like it was an event never to be forgotten. The last three books are first edition but its true value lies in the associated memories for me.