Harry Potter, Now with More Harry Potter!

I saw an article with this headline: "Chrissy Teigen and John Legend had their baby and her name will thrill 'Harry Potter' fans."

First I tried to remember who John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are; I'm not one for keeping up with the popular things. After I'd correctly identified John Legend as the guy who sings that "All of Me" song that's both soul-wrenchingly beautiful and annoyingly repetitive, I wondered what Harry Potter name they'd given their baby. Ginevra Legend? Minerva McGonagall Legend? Hermione Hermione Hermione Legend?

The answer was: Luna. Luna Simone Stephens (so I guess "Legend" is a stage name? I knew it was too cool to be true).

And I was all, "Luna? How does them calling her Luna even justify mentioning Harry Potter at all, much less in the headline?" Because yes, one of Harry's good friends is the oh-so-delightful Luna Lovegood. But I'm not sure that's the automatic association that people have with that word. After all, it means "moon" in both Spanish and Italian. It was the name of a character on Bear in the Big Blue House. Luna is the name of the space colony in the very-popular Lunar Chronicles. It's the name of my great-grandmother. So why only mention Harry Potter?

It's because everyone loves Harry Potter. This isn't the first article I've noticed that flaunts the phrase "Harry Potter" in the headline when there's only the loosest of connections. I don't think it's coincidental that when Alan Rickman passed away, most of the articles I saw used a picture of him as Snape. The news people know that like 90% of the world is like 90% more likely to click something if it references Harry Potter. Harry Potter is beloved throughout the world, and hardly anyone dislikes it. It transcends languages, countries, cultures, religions, and political parties. Romeo and Juliet would have ended much differently if Harry Potter was around in Shakespeare's time. The play would have ended with the Montagues and the Capulets reconciling their differences through their common love of Harry Potter.

On a related note, La Petite is just barely discovering the joys of Harry Potter. She had never read it until I forced it upon her and Madam President a few months ago. La Petite read the first book with some hesitation but tore right through the second, third, fourth, and fifth. She texts me about Harry Potter, speculates to me about the sixth and and seventh books, and regularly pins Harry Potter pins. She's obsessed, and I love that she's obsessed. Obsession is the funnest when it's brand new.

To indulge her obsession, I brought some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to share with her and Mr. La Petite. We giggled and exclaimed as we tried the different flavors. Then I put the half-full box in my purse and forgot about it.

The next day at church, I was looking for a breath mint. I instead found Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans scattered about the bottom of my purse.

AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: One of these might work on my bad breath.

Completely forgetting to proceed with caution, I popped a yellow one into my mouth. I thought it was lemon.

AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Nope...rotten egg.