A skinny boy with messy black hair and startling green eyes was taken to a magical world at the age of eleven. With that boy, many children and adults alike embarked on an adventure in Magical England. I was no different than those kids who found an escapade from reality in the adventures of the bespectacled Boy Who Lived.

I was never the one with the ability to converse freely. So, often, I was left to my own devices. Reading was something that rescued me. It taught me that it was okay to be alone and not feel lonely. I was in a world of my own, figuratively and literally. Eventually, these books introduced me to my love for writing.

Harry Potter series take credit for bringing out the reader and writer in me. Reading was simple. I was hooked to the books.

Yes, they were a great adventure. The first time I read them I was just too excited to read all of them and know what happens. But eventually, I re-read the books and realized why I loved them so much.

The books are filled with subtle life lessons, and the most amazing aspect is that everyone takes a different lesson from the book.

Something to do with the sub-conscious, Freud might say.

Anyways, Harry Potter taught me an important lesson. Something that helps me even now in making important decisions of my life.

"Being different is not a bad thing, if you are brave enough to be yourself."

I mean just look at the beauty of the statement. All my life I had been asked to be distinct. But I was also ridiculed for not being like the others.

It was weird I preferred books over recess. It was even stranger that even though I scored good in Science I wanted to pursue Arts. A constant storm raged trying to find the perfect balance between having my own identity as well as belonging somewhere and being like someone. But when I saw Harry Potter characters, not just Luna but even Harry, Hermione and Ron. I realized that I did not need to be like someone to be their friend. I don't have to go out of my way to be different. All I needed in life, was to be myself.

The key was never to be different, unique or exactly like someone, it was being yourself and embracing your identity.

Another lesson I was taught by the books was to be proud of where I come from. A small town, barely known by anyone. A college with not the best education available. Or a developing nation where people are more enamored by the West than they are by what they have.

"I'm hunted quite as much as any goblin or elf, Griphook! I'm a Mudblood!"

"Don't call yourself —"

"Why shouldn't I? Mudblood, and proud of it!"

Why should I be ashamed of from where I come? After all, this place, this setting and these people around me made me who I am!

And then there were fanfictions.

Oh, how I love them. And Harry Potter fanfictions? Oh, they are a world entirely of their own.

Just go to fanfiction.net and when you go under the books section, you will find that there are 752k fanfictions about or based on Harry Potter.

Isn't that crazy?

Isn't that extremely unnerving?

Many of these fanfictions cross the word count of 100k. These people have dedicated a lot of time and energy for writing these books.

It angers me when I hear people say that fanfiction is not actually writing. As a person who started off writing with fanfictions and eventually evolved to original fiction, I can stand by my statement when I say: Fanfictions require as much effort and research as original fiction.

There are so many alternate universe stories I have read. It is amazing to see people come up with their own perceptions of the book and then change it entirely. Their character analyses of some characters are mind boggling.

But it is not all serious stuff, at times fanfictions are just for fun with no head and tail to the story. Other times, some fanfictions are mildly (or a lot) disturbing.

One such instance is when I had joined a Harry Potter community. The introduction post asked a question, "What was your first brain bleach moment?"

Now, I was a girl who had not dabbled much deeper into fanfictions and was skirting in shallow waters. So, I replied, "I haven't had one, yet."

Of course, that could have been easily remedied, the members of the community linked me to two or three fanfictions. One of them was a fanfic about Kreacher and Dobby...

Yeah...

But all in all, Harry Potter Fanfiction land is something amazing. It was a wonderful place to hone my writing skills. I got the opportunity to actually showcase my writing and receive really helpful feedback.

It is a strange world much like our own Wizarding Community in Muggle world. Not everyone understands where you are coming from or what you're trying to say, but that doesn't make you any less significant.