Harry Potter: A Love Story

The media continues to grasp for anything related to Harry Potter. Hear-say, hoaxes, trivia - anything.

One of the hot stories at present is the boy wizard's first kiss. Sources say that the entire film crew gathered to watch Daniel Radcliffe lay one on Katie Leung; seeking to make that kiss realistically awkward, Leung refused to practice the scene before filming.



Marketers love romance. Love stories sell.

Of course, people don't want to see Pride and Prejudice in everything they read, but in any coming-of-age story, they want to see the characters, well, come of age. Spoofing the sentimental connection that many readers feel with Harry Potter, one man offered the following prediction of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

"Harry, having seen off Voldemort, sweeps Ginny up in his arms in a Richard Gere in An Officer And A Gentleman type way but in overly camp wizarding clothes. I will cry for hours on end I can feel it now. Public outcry will force Rowling to write another book."

In creating this romance, J.K. Rowling's storytelling has been especially effective. By writing budding love relationships as mere secondary plots, she has attracted an audience far beyond the typical "chick lit" readership. Plus, by building romantic tension throughout the series, reserving official coupleship - Ron and Hermione? Harry and Ginny? - until book seven, page seven hundred, she ensures that her fans keep those pages turning.

Readers are more than willing to invest in a subtle love story.