Is there a statute of limitations on "Harry Potter" spoiler alerts?
Spoiler alert: If you don鈥檛 want to know what happens in "Harry Potter" Book No. 6 ("Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"), stop reading now.
OK, thank you. For the rest of you, let鈥檚 debate this question: Is there a statute of limitations on spoiler alerts?
I ask because my 8-year-old son is only reading "Harry Potter" Book No. 5 ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"), published in 2003, but he already knows that Dumbledore gets killed off in Book No. 6, published in 2005. His best friend, who has read the whole series, told him the news. And, since my boy announced the fact in the car when driving home from his friend鈥檚 house, his 4-year-old brother also knows. (It鈥檚 not as big a deal when you can鈥檛 read, but still.)
I don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 reasonable for me to feel so annoyed, to try to deflect the information with a lofty 鈥淲ell, you won鈥檛 really know until you read it for yourself.鈥� Dumbledore met his doom a full six years ago, after all. How long is it supposed to be a secret?
But I still feel there鈥檚 a code of honor when it comes to plot twists, especially when we鈥檙e talking about a classic story. (Our family didn鈥檛 see the screen version of 鈥淭he Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,鈥� for instance, because it didn鈥檛 seem fair to rob the 4-year-old of seeing the story unfold for the first time on the page someday.) I forced my older son to go slow on the "Harry Potter" series, holding him at the earlier books long after his friends, because I felt he was too young to understand the story. I still think he鈥檚 too young to appreciate it or get the plot nuances, really, but he鈥檚 enjoying it 鈥� and he鈥檚 glad that he鈥檚 finally allowed to read what his friends are reading.
His friend is also almost 9, and I know she didn鈥檛 mean any harm. She just wanted to share her excitement about a series she also loves. And I guess it鈥檚 natural for kids to want to tell secrets 鈥� to revel in important knowledge. Isn鈥檛 that 鈥� and isn鈥檛 true friendship 鈥� part of the attraction of the "Potter" books themselves?
I鈥檓 going to ask my son to keep the knowledge to himself around others who haven鈥檛 read the series, though. I鈥檒l hope his little brother soon forgets what he鈥檚 heard. And the next time the friends are playing, maybe we can steer the conversation to secrets we wouldn鈥檛 mind him learning. I鈥檓 still not sure about books, but after all these years, I do think the statute of limitations has arrived for the Tooth Fairy.
Seattle writer Rebekah Denn blogs at
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