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Watching Harry: The final chapter
They talk of Harry and Ron and Hermoine, and several others, in fact, as if they were old friends; they're characters from Harry Potter's mystical world, and most of the fans at Thursday's midnight premiere of the final Harry Potter movie have literally grown up with them. Several of them said they first got to know Harry Potter when they were 10 or 11, and the wizarding protagonist, Harry, (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) first appeared on the big screen and fueled the imaginations of young fans in 2001. Unlike some fictional characters who don't seem to age, Harry and friends aged and matured at the same rate as their fans, a factor that fans say seems to have helped maintain their interest.
Fans in Nevada showed up sporting Harry Potter T-shirts, his round glasses and even an invisible cloak and a couple of magic wands were spotted and were happy to wait hours for the show to begin, so they could get the seats they wanted for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2"
Fans started showing up at the Century 6 theater in Nevada between 8 and 9 p.m., and by 11 p.m. the theater was filling and buzz and excitement filled the room.
Margaret Sears sat in the middle of a group of four teens; one her daughter, another a cousin, and two more who were friends.
"We've seen them all. We've read all the books," she said,
Her daughter, Victoria, said, "We came here to watch the first movie. We waited in a longer line, then."
And while the Searses said they enjoyed the whole saga and all things Harry Potter, Victoria's favorite of them all was the sixth movie, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." By that time, the story and characters were well-developed and familiar, and the adventure of that tale appeals to her.
"It's where the final battle really started happening," she said.
It's the adventure and action that appeals to Victoria the most, but Margaret said she was drawn to the underdog aspect she sees in it -- that one can prevail even if one is not the strongest, or if one has dealt with tragedies in life.
But other fans, like Brandon Romo, say it's not just one aspect of the series they enjoy. He says its appeal is that "It's wonderful."
He, like many other fans, has followed the tale since he was a child and said he appreciates the story, the fantasy aspect, the films' special effects -- "all of it."
Fans often identify with or at least enjoy one of the many characters more than others.
One woman likes Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), deputy headmistress at Hogwarts (the school in the movie). This character has the interesting ability to morph into a cat.
Another favored Hermoine; another fan identified with Ron; and of course some were drawn to Harry Potter himself.
As the clock ticked toward midnight, waiting fans also talked of the series' author, J.K. Rowling. Fans admired her as an author and as a person, appreciating her struggle prior to the success of "Harry Potter" who is said to have followed her dream when she was a single mother who wrote down ideas on scraps of napkin that one day became the fantastic and complex world of Harry Potter.
Margaret laughed and said, "When you're a true fan, you know all about the author, too."
The final book's been out for a while, and the Searses said they've read it, so the movie's ending won't be a surprise to them. Margaret and Victoria said "We're ready to cry," as the story unfolds, but that didn't seem to dampen their desire to see the premiere.
And the Nevada fans are not alone. One fan who'd followed the series since she was 7 told an Ohio television station that the end of the Harry Potter series meant the end of her childhood; and an Associated Press report said "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," conjured up $43.5 million from midnight shows Friday, according to studio estimates.
Employees at Century 6 said Thursday they'd been hearing that the movie was sold out in some theaters through Monday.