WHAT pop culture phenomenon defines your generation? Maybe you remember when Beatlemania took over in the 1960s? Perhaps you came of age in the 1970s and you’ll never forget those rolling opening credits to Star Wars?

I’m 23, and for me – and twenty-somethings across the world – JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series is our pop culture unifier. We were toddlers when Rowling was an unknown single mother penning her magical novels in Edinburgh coffee shops.

A few years later, we discovered the books in our primary school libraries. Rowling’s series opened our eyes to literature’s ability to mould worlds, to keep you reading all night, way past your bedtime. When the books hit the big screen in 2001, we experienced for the first time how good book adaptations bring beloved worlds to life. As Rowling published a new instalment every few years, we grew up alongside her protagonists. Our imagination’s were stretched, our eyes were opened to the power of reading.

In a pre-3D games console world, we played the glitchy-but-lovable Harry Potter computer games on Windows 2000. We dressed up as the characters: first for primary school World Book Days, later for midnight book launches and cinema screenings, then at university parties and themed club nights. When the series concluded in 2007, Rowling was a millionaire, an author whose books had changed the face of the book industry: her novels have sold an estimated 400 million copies.

Meanwhile, we were in the height of our teenage years, many of us on the cusp of adulthood. When the movies concluded in 2011, my school friends and I were turning 18. The release of the final Harry Potter film didn’t merely signify the final chapter in our favourite film series. It symbolised the end of our childhood.

Of course Harry Potter’s ability to span generations, to defy labels, is part of what makes it so popular. Growing up, I would share my copies with my mother and my grandma; the three of us would have discussions over plot points over cups of tea at our kitchen table. But I would argue that no one else other than the "Harry Potter generation" can understand what it felt like to grow up alongside Harry.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone turns 20 on Monday. I discovered the book in 2001, aged seven, when my mother presented me with a copy of Harry Potter. I was hooked from the gripping first line, which defies all your magical literature expectations by asserting that:

“Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much”.

I devoured the four available books, in about four weeks, escaping into Rowling’s world. My friends read the series too: by the time the first film came out in November of that year we were aficionados. I remember waiting for the film to begin, sitting in a crowded cinema with my closest friend and our mums, wearing my Harry Potter t-shirt. I was beside myself with excitement.

Harry Potter influenced huge aspects of our lives. My younger brother and I took the Harry Potter Uno game on every holiday. Almost every birthday party I attended for the next few years was Harry Potter-themed. Aged 8, I had a pretty fantastic Harry Potter roller blading party (if that theme sounds complicated, imagine my poor dad, a 6ft 3in 42-year-old man, having to dress as the wizard Dumbledore, complete with a tie-on waist length beard – and roller blade.)

While I enjoyed the magic, it was the characters that were the driving force behind my love of the stories. They were three-dimensional, well-defined, empathetic. I was invested in their relationships, their journey. Like so many girls of my generation, I idolised Hermione. Here was a girl like me: bookish, hardworking, loyal to her friends and not afraid to speak her mind.

My friends and I knew all her lines in the Philosopher's Stone film by heart. I wrote a fan letter to Emma Watson, who replied with a signed autograph and a sweet letter telling me to "keep on believing in magic". I was over the moon. Years later, my brother and I saw Emma Watson in a London restaurant. We were just as star struck as we would have been as children. She remains a role model, all these years later, thanks to her campaigning for equal rights.

The Harry Potter series is also notable for being one of those few children’s books that appeal equally to boys and girls. Rowling always sought to make her female characters as strong, as well-rounded and as important as the male characters. In fact, Hermione nearly always saves the day. Rowling underlies her stories with themes of inclusivity and acceptance; these are important issues.

Rowling is also often celebrated for introducing many children to the delights of reading. Isn’t it interesting that the generation-defining phenomenon for millennials isn’t a movie, or an iPhone game, but a series of novels, some of which span over 500 pages?

“I was the type of young person you couldn't get to read,” reflects Briana Pegado, 24, who grew up in the US. She discovered Harry Potter unexpectedly, attracted by the bright covers in a local bookstore. “From that day forward, reading the Harry Potter series, I fell in love with reading. You could not get me to put the books down.”

Many Harry Potter fans have fond memories of the acclaimed audio books. “The only way to get me to go to bed for a good chunk of my childhood was the promise of Stephen Fry's gleeful narration of the adventures of Harry and the gang,” says Sabrina Nixon, also 23.

“I would eagerly listen as the story unravelled, despite knowing much of the book word for word. As soon as my parents turned off the light I was transported to Hogwarts, guided by wand light when the tape recorder whispered... "Lumos"!

Harry Potter’s popularity spanned cultural and national borders. It is also implied, although never explicitly stated, that Hogwarts School is in Scotland. However the institution is in many ways a typical English boarding school, just with added magic and fantasy. Nevertheless, the movie adaptations filmed extensively in Scotland and the series has done wonders for the country’s tourism.

“I did think the Muggle settings were pretty English,” reflects Ashleigh Gray, 23, from Edinburgh. “But I love that the magic of Hogwarts was hidden away in Scotland. The Highlands are pretty magical already, but Harry Potter's story really added to it. It makes me proud to be Scottish to know that people all over the world have fallen in love with a story set in my country, written by an author who was inspired by my home town!”

“Harry Potter was definitely popular in Norway as well,” says Martin Husbyn, 25, who grew up there. “One aspect I especially liked with the book series and the films was that they matured with me. Each new book became a bit 'darker' and deeper, and in a sense I grew 'with' Harry. I think our generation were especially lucky in that we were forced to wait until the next book came out so that we were the appropriate age on release. I don't think starting reading it at age 10 and binge reading the whole series in one go would have made it as good.”

Some passions of your childhood are left behind when you grow up. Not all childhood films or books stand up to the passage of time. Not so with Harry Potter: speaking to my fellow members of the Harry Potter generation, it is clear that revisiting Harry’s adventures is a favourite pastime.

“The movies are still my favourite to watch on a rainy day; Emma Watson is one of my favourite actresses of all time,” says Caroline Staub, 23. Laura Nicol, 25, who is Scottish and works in publishing in London, says the stories influenced her decision to work in the industry.

“There’s definitely a generation who are working in the book industry now – booksellers, publishers, writers – who would agree with me that their passion for books began when they opened the pages of Harry Potter. To work on a book that would bring half as much delight and wonder to readers as Harry Potter did for me, is a motivation that has led me into this industry.”

Now that we’ve graduated from playground games to the world of adulthood, our history with Harry Potter also crops up in unexpected places:

“My dating app profile description is always ‘disillusioned hufflepuff’,” laughs Anna Preston, 22. “I get a lot of HP chat up lines – and some debates over the accuracy of Harry Potter houses as character references!”

In 2014, research from an Italian university suggested that reading Harry Potter helps instil empathy: the novels are about tolerance, loyalty, standing up for what you believe in. JK Rowling, who donated £1 million to the Better Together campaign against Scottish independence and who regularly comments against President Donald Trump, is an active social media presence, who has got young people interested in politics.

“She's so successful, but she had it rough when she was young, people looked down on her,” says Sophie Jones, 23. “Now that she has a voice I find her so much more honest than people who've always had a voice.

“The way she deals with things is very positive, often done in a comic way. She can twist it to be fit the good, that's exactly the way she does in her books too”.

The stories live on thanks to the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play and Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts films. It also makes me smile to think of children today, who can walk into their local library and see all seven of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series lined up on a bookshelf, a mesmorising world waiting to be discovered, a life-long affinity with reading waiting to be awakened.

I love that generations to come will devour Rowling’s stories with as much passion and excitement as we did, back when we had to wait each year for a new instalment. But it’ll never quite be the same as growing up alongside Harry.

WHERE TO CELEBRATE HARRY’S BIRTHDAY IN SCOTLAND

The Elephant House

This red-fronted Edinburgh cafe is where the magic began. The self-proclaimed ‘birthplace of Harry Potter’ is where JK Rowling would write her books before she was famous. It’s now renowned for its Harry Potter themed-toilet graffiti, pictures of JK Rowling and stunning view of Edinburgh Castle. Grab one of the window spots and start penning your own novel.

Greyfriar’s Kirkyard

Edinburgh-based Rowling sought inspiration across the city. It can’t be a coincidence that this atmospheric graveyard is the final resting place of Thomas Riddell Esquire, who shares his name with the notorious wizard Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort.

Spoon

Another of Rowling’s favorite writing spots was Nicholson’s Cafe, now Spoon, a popular Edinburgh cafe-restaurant. Airy and spacious, this is the perfect spot for people-watching and day-dreaming.

Victoria Street

Edinburgh’s picturesque, curving Victoria Street is supposedly the inspiration for Rowling’s Diagon Alley. Thanks to its cobbled surfaces and colourful, quirky shops, the street looks like something from a story book.

Glenfinnan Fort William to Mallaig line

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is the used in the Harry Potter film series as the route taken by the Hogwarts Express. This stunning bridge is framed by rolling hills and mountains and is visible from the hills near the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre. If you can, try and time your visit with the Jacobite steam train, which has a distinctly Hogwarts Express vibe.

Loch Shiel

Neighbouring the Glenfinnan Viaduct is Loch Shiel, which lays claim to being the site of the Jacobite uprising and the stand in for Harry Potter’s black lake. Instantly recognisable from the movies, this is a stunning spot and one of Scotland’s most photographed lochs.