Community Corner

Pottermania for the Last Time

Fans lined up for as long as 22 hours to catch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

When the last Harry Potter book came out in 2007, fans said "Well at least we still have the movies."

Back then, having to say goodbye forever to Hogwarts and The Boy Who Lived was just too sad, so we all put it off. But Thursday at midnight, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the last of the fiercely popular movie franchise, opened. This time, it really is over.

In the movie, Harry faces off against the Dark Lord once and for all, with a burning, war-torn Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the setting. Suspense builds one final time — will Harry survive or won't he?

And after it's over, moviegoers everywhere will feel something akin to a post-wedding lull, where the happy couple realizes all of the planning and pomp and ceremony is over and it's time to get back to regular life.

"Now we have nothing," said 18-year-old Megan Long, in line at the Regal Cinema in Dublin hours before the midnight showing Thursday.

She got to the theater at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, prepared to wait in line 22 hours. 

"It's, like, the saddest and yet happiest day of my life. I started reading these books when I was eight years old, and played wizards outside and stuff," she said.

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"I see these little kids walking around in their Harry Potter capes and I'm thinking, 'Wow, I've been a fan longer than you've been breathing.'"

Her friend Stephanie St. Pierre, who'd also been in line since 1:30 a.m., said half the fun is waiting in line, celebrating the 14-year adventure with like-minded people while consuming vast amounts of homemade butterbeer.

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"It's fun to be here all day with actual fans — not random people," she said.

Megan interjected. "Yeah, not just a bunch of rando' wannabes. These are legit fans."

This event has been a long time coming — the first book came out in 1997, and many of the moviegoers were in first grade or even younger when they started reading the series. They've grown up with Harry. St. Pierre said you can't see the movies without reading the books first — "your life just isn't complete."

Megan's 17-year-old sister Kendall has read the seven books 20 times.

"I'm excited to see the battle at Hogwarts — this place these characters love, that we all love, getting destroyed in the matter of two hours," she said of the war that rages between good and evil on the beloved school grounds. People die. Even more than last time.

"I cried so hard during the last movie, but I was probably more emotional because I was sleep-deprived," she said. 

"If they show (important sad part) in this movie, I will legitimately kill myself," St. Pierre added.

Kendall said she'll miss Ron Weasley, Harry's red-headed sidekick, the most.

"Ohmigod, I love Ron Weasley with a passion," she said. "He's like my best friend. I feel like I know him so well — like he was written for me."

She had always hated Professor Snape, the leader of the Slytherin house and Voldemort's right-hand man, but changed her mind.

"I hated him but I just didn't understand him. I forgive him."

Further down the line sat three 15-year-olds in costume, excitedly talking over each other.

"I remember my dad coming home from work when I was really little and I'd be like, 'Dad, please read me Harry Potter' and he hadn't even eaten yet but he'd sit down and read to me," said Emily Helmer of Pleasanton.

"I also remember having a Harry Potter birthday party as a kid and it was the best party I ever had. We all had wands and we dueled."

Sarah O'Brien was dressed as the evil Bellatrix LeStrange, complete with a 'Dark Mark' tattoo drawn on her arm and "I heart the Dark Lord" on her shoulder.

"This really is like the end of my childhood," she said. "In my family, there were five of us kids and only two books, so we'd fight over who got to read first. When this movie is over, my soul will break."

Cori Hartwig of Pleasanton said she knew a kid who tried to stay the night at the theater on Wednesday night to be first in line. But they kicked him out, so he slept in his car.

Around dinnertime at the theater, Lisa Daniel, 18, and her business partner Travis Pullen, 19, were selling homemade butterbeer, chocolate frogs and other Harry Potter-themed foods. They'd sold $100-worth by 6 p.m., enough to make up for the $40 they'd spent on costumes and food supplies.

The butterbeer was made of butterscotch ice cream topping, butter and creme soda, which sounds about right.

"Now we're limited by cups — we've sold 64," Pullen said.

Daniel said they had tried to keep the food sales hush-hush lest they get caught by theater employees.

"But word has spread," she said.

After that, she just went with it, going around and asking in her best British accent, "Anyone want anything from the trolley?"

Daniel and Pullen had to cut their interview with Patch short when friend Amanda Horne approached with a business crisis.

"Dude, Travis, we need change."

By all accounts, the movie is amazing. Patrons have a choice to see the 3D version or non-3D. In the former, word is that the soul-sucking Dementors look like they're coming right at you. Scary, right? But many fans are opting to see the non-3D version because they're purists.

"This is how I saw the first few movies, so this is how I want to see it," said Megan Long. "I'm sure I'll see it a million more times, though, so I'll do the 3D."

After the movie, she and St. Pierre planned to stand out by their car for awhile waiting for traffic to clear.

"We'll just talk about the movie, at points casually crying I'm sure," Megan said.

This is how they will say a real, final farewell to that sweet boy wizard who didn't know he was a wizard. At least for now.

"My last connection is the DVDs," said Kendall. "When those come out, I have to accept that this is really over."

The movie is playing at Regal Hacienda Crossings in Dublin, Livermore Cinemas, Regal Crow Canyon in San Ramon, Century Blackhawk Plaza in Danville, Century Theaters in Hayward, Century 25 Union Landing, Cinedome 7 Newark and others.

 


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