This baby Harry Potter fan grew up to be like Hermione Granger
Taken in 2003, this adorable photograph of a six-month-old baby girl with her mum is a perfect example of early Harry Potter fandom.
The baby, Rhiannon Braeger, is now a 13-year-old girl in 8th grade. Thirteen years after being dressed as a baby Harry — complete with lightning bolt scar — Rhiannon has grown into a Harry Potter fan.
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This photo was snapped at Barnes and Noble in 2003 at the release of the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. The store threw Harry Potter parties for the release of each book throughout the '00s, so Jackie Braeger bundled up her four children and took them to the midnight event. "It was a big family thing," she said.
Jackie told Mashable she had been a fan when the first books were released in the late '90s, but her children — Rhiannon and her three brothers who are now 17, 20 and 21 — were too young to appreciate them. As they grew she hoped to instill in them a love of reading and introduced them to the J.K. Rowling series.
"The Harry Potter books were coming out when my kids were little and I used to hope to get them into reading by reading out loud to them at night. We had a lot of time, so we would read the books together and we would all sit around and listen.
"We would even go on camping trips. When one of the new books came out, we were on a camping trip and reading in the tents. It was just a really nice family time. So because we would do that, they would get really excited when a new book would come out."
Image: Jacquie braeger.
At six months old, Rhiannon had no choice but to be a Potter fan since she was born into a family obsessed with the series.
"She grew up with it," Jackie said. "She was number four, and by the time she came along, everybody in our family was hooked. So she grew up hearing her brothers talk about it, hearing the stories read, when she got old enough to read herself she read the stories. She was just really fascinated by it."
The character of Hermione Granger became someone Rhiannon could look up to as she got older. She is now the age that Hermione was when she entered Hogwarts. Jackie explained that Rhiannon, like Hermione, excelled academically. It was important she had a strong female role model to idolize.
"I think she really relates to the character of Hermione," Jackie said. "She is really a smart girl too; she is very intelligent," Jackie said. "I just love the way that there were strong central female characters in that series that weren't just silly or background stuff. It was something for young girls to aspire toward as well, to think it is cool to be smart."
Image: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
It's been a long wait for new Potter material since the last book came out in 2007. At midnight on July 30, the script of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, written by Jack Thorne, will be released. Jackie and her grown-up children won't be at the midnight release, but there is no doubt her family will once again sit and enjoy the newest addition together.
"It was something that pulled the family together in their childhood, they all have lots of memories of the Harry Potter books," Jackie said. "It has been part of the family for so long."
Perhaps, this time, Rhiannon will dress up as Hermione.
