I had to get away from it all

Supermarket worker Christian Peris, 19, was sucked into Potterdom when he was grounded as a teenager. ''The only place I was allowed to go was the library and I started to read it. I was immediately drawn in because Harry was living in a cupboard under the stairs and I was more or less confined to my room. I felt very close to him.'' ''I didn't have the best childhood,'' says Shelley. ''I guess I could identify with Harry wanting to get away to this magical place where anything was possible. My parents divorced at a young age and they always fought, so it could be quite hard at home, especially having to go from one parent to another. I felt that isolation big-time. By the age of 13, I was aware that families didn't come in one set type and they were all pretty much stuffed up in their own ways. I longed for what Harry wanted the perfect family with two parents who loved him.'' McDonald's employee Vanheusden, 20, whose home in Frankston is adorned with posters, went through a similar experience. ''When I was 12, my parents separated and I had two younger sisters. I felt I had to be there for them all the time and not focus on how I was feeling. I had to get away from it all. Reading Harry Potter was about focusing on me for a change and not everybody else. I felt very alone. I couldn't go to anyone. I had to be there for my sisters, but there was no one really there for me, so these books were a form of escape.'' The books also served as a moral compass, informing young readers' choices on how to live. When The Philosopher's Stone first came out, it caused an outcry among some religious members because of its use of magic. But the entire story spun out over seven volumes revealed itself to be an intensely moral fable with the tenets of Christianity at its core; namely, good triumphing over evil, life and love winning out over death, and justice meted out to those who deserve it. Harry triumphs over adversity using old-fashioned courage and integrity, as well as magic. And he's so ordinary! Not blessed with film-star good looks Rosetta Stone or a particularly high IQ, like swotty Hermione, he's a shining beacon for normality. Every day, his actions are repeated around the world by regular Joe Soaps reaching unprecedented heights for causes they believe in. Says Crombie: ''It does have huge effects on the decisions I make in life. I'll base a decision I make on what happens in the book. For instance, I dropped out of school when I was 17. I didn't have much motivation, but I've gone back to do my VCE now and the main reason I chose to do it is because I want to do social work. What I learnt in Harry Potter is that if you don't have motivation to do something for yourself, you should do it for the greater good. That's Harry's whole life.'' Says Shelley: ''I definitely have Harry moments. A lot of my conflict management is paralleled with the way that Harry deals with things, being the bigger person trying to settle things in a fairer way as possible. I definitely draw upon his wisdom.'' When Rowling typed the last words of Deathly Hallows holed up in room 552 of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh in November 2006, she ended a chapter in the lives of millions of fans. No one could have predicted how the chronicles of Harry, more than 17 years in the making, would become embedded in the psyche of millions of children of so many different nationalities and cultures. So far, the books have been printed in 65 languages, with the first four titles setting records as the fastest selling books in history. Deathly Hallows sold 11 million copies on its first day. And then there are the films. Shortly after we meet, Peris is off to London to carve out a space in Trafalgar Square as close as he can to the red carpet for the premiere of Deathly Hallows Part Two. He says melodramatically that he will kill himself if he doesn't catch a glimpse of Rowling. And then what? ''I don't know how I will feel,'' he admits. ''I remember crying through the last chapter of the book, so I don't know [how] I'm to cope in the movie.'' None of the fans are ready for it to end.

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