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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Amy Reast & Nia Dalton

Harry Potter superfan with giant Hogwarts in garden is 'not as big of a fan' anymore

Megan Mackin's obsession with Harry Potter began from a very young age - she would read JK Rowling's books repeatedly, collect Gryffindor merch and watch the wizarding films on loop.

When she was nine years old, her dad, Sean Mackin, even built her a giant Hogwarts in her own back garden, so she could re-enact magical scenes from the fictional school at home.

Nowadays, 24-year-old Megan - who has moved out of the countryside home to study at university in central Belfast - admits she is much less of a Potterhead.

But that won't stop her sitting down to re-watch all of the much-loved films as they make their first ever appearance on Netflix.

Her dedicated dad even built a giant Hogwarts model in their back garden (Megan Mackin / SWNS)
Megan was speechless when he unveiled the castle when she was nine years old (Megan Mackin / SWNS)

"The castle is still in the garden - I'm not as big of a Harry Potter fan as I once was but it's still so special as it has been there since I was a little girl," Megan said.

"I'll still be watching all the films for the nostalgia - it's such an iconic series."

The impressive structure took Sean almost a year to build in 2009 and was always Megan's favourite Harry Potter feature.

She recalls being "speechless" when her dad first unveiled the tower for Megan and her sister to play in, as well as store their toys and watch Disney films in.

The giant model Hogwarts still remains at the family home two hours out of Belfast, Northern Ireland, 15 years on.

"The top tower room was great too because you can look out over the countryside and next door's field would also have a cow or sheep in it," Megan said.

It was Megan's den to play with her toys and watch all of the JK Rowling films in (Megan Mackin / SWNS)
Though she doesn't spend much time in it these days and is less of a fan (Megan Mackin / SWNS)

"We had bean bags and all in it and a relative even gave us a sofa bed they were going to throw out."

Megan owned a Gryffindor cloak and tie, Harry Potter wand, Hogwarts train tickets and of course all the books and DVDs of the films.

When she started her GCSEs, bar a few sleepovers, the architecture student started to lose interest in her two-floor castle.

It is still structurally sound, but due to withstanding many years of unpredictable Irish weather, some of the wood on the exterior is falling away.

Though she can use it as a cosy den when she's back home for holidays or placements, as the family refuse to knock it down because of the memories attached to it.

The tower is so special to her and watching Harry Potter now feels nostalgic (Megan Mackin / SWNS)

The former Potterhead welcomes the films being introduced to Netflix because it gives the younger generation a chance to appreciate them as much as she did.

"I may not be as big a fan as I once was, but its still the nostalgia and I'll definitely give it a watch on Netflix," she said. "It's mad how long we had to wait for it to be on a streaming service.

"It makes it more accessible now - I don't think the younger generation are going to HMV or CEX to buy the DVDs like we would have done!"

Are you a Harry Potter superfan with an incredible collection? Get in touch. Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.

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