How Crazy Are Harry Potter Fans?

The rest was Potter history. DeGeorge and Slack still run the operation together, and Harry and the Potters still donate part of their music proceeds to the HP Alliance. But lately, the wrock side of the enterprise has been suffering. With no new books to supply material for lyrics, and no more book-release bonanzas to attract audiences, Harry and the Potters have scaled back operations, from 100-some concerts annually in 2007 to just 15 or 20 in the past year. The Harry Potter podcasts have also been scaled back—they aren't weekly anymore, and they mostly focus on Harry Potter movie news.

Once the movies for the seventh and final book (the book has been separated into two films) is released in 2010, where will all the Harry Potter fans go for comfort? The Harry Potter Alliance might be their best refuge. "It's a way to continue to live the Harry Potter dream," explains Robert Thompson, a pop-culture historian at Syracuse University. Thompson—who says the HP Alliance is the first fandom-based philanthropic organization he's heard of in any fan community—speculates that many Potter fans are probably shifting their attention toward philanthropy since book discussion is no longer an option.

Thompson added that part of the appeal of the Harry Potter Alliance might lie in its similarity to role-playing games. "If we really want to be Harry Potter, we can't all go out and find a basilisk to slay," he explained. "But if you're thinking of ways you can be a Harry Potter-esque hero in the real world, one of the things that suggests itself is philanthropy. We can defeat metaphoric Voldemorts that way."

The Alliance will even take their fight to the movies. At screenings of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this weekend, members plan to stand in ticket lines and recruit new members. They'll hand out stickers that say DUMBLEDORE TAUGHT ME … and you can fill in the blank yourself. (One possible answer: "Don't go searching for lockets in caves.") If you think this sounds borderline ridiculous, Slack himself would agree with you. "Of course the Harry Potter Alliance is silly," he says. "But that's one of the reasons why it's so effective. Look at Harry. When he's not fighting Voldemort, he's playing Quidditch or Exploding Snap." Slack and his followers might not be able to levitate their broomsticks, but that won't stop them from spreading their own brand of magic.

© 2009