I hesitated to read the books, believing that they would be too juvenille for my tastes.

I finally broke down in early 2007 and decided to read the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone".

I was instantly transfixed and drawn into this magical world filled with wizards, witches and mythological creatures.

I have always been a huge fan of fantasy, but these books soon became some of my favorites.

The final book was due to be released in July 2007. Our local Borders Book Store was having a Harry Potter costume ball and would be open until midnight when they would be able to begin selling the book.

I had pre-ordered my copy, which was a good thing.

I thought about what character I should go as, and originally considered going as Dumbledore.

But being the horror fan that I am, I decided upon going as Lord Voldemort.

I applied pale makeup with a slight greenish tent. I used putty to make slits for my nose.

I already had a black robe and a magic wand, so I added these to my costume.

My youngest son Alex went as a Dementor.

When we arrived at the bookstore, it was very crowded. There were all kinds of cool costumes and excitment was in the air.

Alex and I won first place in the men's category and received a Border's gift card.