Local Fans, Families Say Farewell to Harry Potter

For 13 years, many Americans have fallen in love with Harry Potter and the gang at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Tonight at midnight, the final movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part 2"—based on the final book of the popular J.K. Rowling book series—hits theaters.

After waiting about one year since the last Potter film—the first part of the end—release day is here, but fans from Plum, Oakmont and Verona have mixed emotions. 

"I'm excited now because I haven't seen it, but I'll be sad Friday morning," said Verona resident, Ben Eckert, 21.

He and his sister, Sarah Eckert, 23, have been fans of the books and movies for more than 10 years. The siblings are going to a midnight showing of the final movie.

"It became such an important part of my life at an early age, and it was a series that I could grow up reading," Sarah Eckert said. "The books and characters really grew up with the audience, and it's not often that a book series does that."

Karen Crowell, the youth services librarian at the , and her daughter, Kalen, 11, also are big Harry Potter fans. Earlier this month, Crowell held a special screening of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part 1" at the library as a refresher before the release of the final film.

"Most people at the library are Harry Potter fans," she said. "My family goes to see the movies on their opening days."

Crystal Kitchener, 36, of Plum, said she's been a Harry fan since she bought the first book—released in 1998—for her son, Dusty.

"We both ended up falling in love with Harry," she said. "Now that it is coming to an end, I am sad.

"It was fun to watch the characters grow up, and each book took you deeper into defeating Lord Voldemort. It was a fun series. Harry Potter is ageless, and it appeals to people young and old if you like magic."

Kitchener said she and Dusty, who just graduated from Plum High School, plan to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Fla., soon.

For now, though, the fans still have a few more hours to look forward to the final movie's premiere.

"I am excited for it because it looks really good, and after part one I have very high expectations for it," Sarah Eckert said. "They really took their time and even stuck to the book…I'm looking forward to seeing it end on such a high note.

"At the same time it will be sad to know that next year there won't be another movie. For so many years, after one movie ended there was always going to be another, and now it really is over. It almost feels like a conclusion to my childhood in a lot of ways."