I was that girl at my math final. That's right, I arrived a modest 10 minutes early to the single most challenging class session of my college career without my calculator. With a terrified gasp I looked around at my classmates. I could see that my blunder was beyond concealment. I could hear their thoughts as clearly as if I was seeing myself through a huge, cynical mirror. "What kind of ditzy idiot does it take?"

Let me tell you what kind of ditzy idiot comes to her math final without a calculator: One who was 200 pages away from the end of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." I'll admit it. Had I not spent the last three days before my final at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would have been well-prepared for my math exam at boring ol' MSU.

In fact, I might have even studied. I definitely wouldn't have had to walk out of Wells Hall trying to convince myself that I didn't actually care about my grade-point average that much anyway.

But why? Contrary to what anyone who knows me may tell you, I'm not a ditzy idiot and I'm no glutton for pleasure over things that really matter. I have no problem telling my friends to leave me alone when I need to study. I even sent Harry to the bar with a friend the night before so I could concentrate.

Still, all I did was think about him and his little wizard friends. The problem was not that I didn't care about my exam, I just cared about Harry more. Once they've begun, reading these books is not a desire, it is a need. And I know there are at least 9.3 million Americans who empathize with me.

The worst part is, when I finally read the last sentence early Friday morning (way too early for the only vacation day between semesters), I was disappointed. Sure it was great; all the books are great. The story advanced, it's getting very exciting, etc. But I had just sacrificed the 3.5 for which I worked my butt off merely to flip some pages a bit more quickly. I am no better off. That is, I could probably beat any Muggle in a wand duel, but I haven't even made it to Diagon Ally to be fitted with the proper wand.

There's something about Harry. What is our obsession? Books about witches and wizards have come and gone from of bookstore shelves without a bat of the public eye. Harry is different. Harry Potter is the next generation Luke Skywalker, both of who are truly modern King Arthur knock-offs.

It's really an obsession with a certain formula: There is a chosen one, there are supernatural powers, there is an enemy with a deep connection to the hero, there's a huge war and for some reason the hero's best friends seem to be a guy and girl who end up together. Frodo Baggins of "Lord of the Rings." John Conner of "The Terminator" series, and Neo (it pains me to add a Keanu Reeves character to such a list) of "The Matrix" are all hugely successful, endearing characters who fit closely to the same mold.

People are drawn to "the chosen one" much more so than they are the ordinary hero. A plot with a prophecy is always more exciting. Miraculous powers seem to be a hit as well. Wait a minute