I like to think that my life is an open book.  I really don’t hold much back here in my column, and I’ve been quite honest about my opinions on a variety of topics.

But it’s about time I come clean.  What I’m about to share with you is a dirty little secret of mine, a confession really.  Forgive me, Father, for I am a Harry Potter addict.

I was introduced to the drug *cough — books* back in 1999, when the series really took off in the States.  Since then, an obsession has unfolded, consuming 12 years of my life — my entire childhood, really.

This isn’t your typical mild-mannered, general approval or liking of the Harry Potter series.  It is a way of life.  I attended nearly every midnight premiere of both the books and movies, dressed up, of course (Harry would expect no less of me).

I feverishly devoured all of the books the night they came out, becoming a hermit of sorts in my bedroom.  My family had to send out rescue squads.  It was serious.

I even cried when I turned 11 and didn’t receive my letter from Hogwarts.  I was utterly devastated. But my inner 11 year-old felt vindicated this year when she learned that J.K. Rowling was going to launch Pottermore, a “unique online Harry

Potter experience.”

Users can travel on the Hogwarts Express, visit Hogsmeade and get sorted into Houses (virtually, of course).  All at once, my eyes grew wide and I couldn’t help but smile.  Finally, I would get my Hogwarts letter.  Nine years late.  But better late than never.

Starting on July 31, and continuing for seven days, hopeful Potter fans could try to find the “Magical Quill,” which would ask a trivia question about one of the books.  If answered correctly, one would be assigned a username and be granted early access to the site.  Those who found the Quill would be allowed in on a staggering basis.  The site will open to the rest of the Muggle world in October.

So, like the devout Harry Potter fan that I am, I stalked the site for days, trying to find the Quill.  Finally, miraculously, on the fifth day, it appeared to me and I was assigned a username.

Giddy and overjoyed, I could not wait to get on the computer and leave the Muggle world behind me.  I reread my confirmation email more carefully and it said that I would have to wait a few weeks to be allowed into the site.  I slumped in my seat, disappointed.  A few weeks?  That’s a little vague.  Brush it off, Killion.  Patience is a virtue.

The excitement of my confirmation email to Pottermore has faded.  It’s been nearly six weeks, and still no word from Pottermore.  In just a little more than two weeks, it will be open to the rest of the world.  It makes me wonder why I spent hours trying to gain early access.

When I was 11 and didn’t receive my letter, I tried to give Hogwarts the benefit of the doubt.  It takes an owl a long time to cross the pond, I justified.

But Pottermore has no such excuse.  I would have had very few problems waiting a few days, but six weeks is really starting to test my patience.   I feel misled by Pottermore.

I was promised early access, but with the site going public in just a few weeks, I still have yet to reap the rewards that go along with such a privilege. I almost want to avoid Pottermore at all costs once it opens in October as a sign of protest.  But I don’t think my discontent will be enough to keep me away from Diagon Alley or Quidditch Matches.   Still, the magic seems a little less magical after such a long wait.