Harry Potter fans attend midnight premiere

Early Friday morning, 1,096 avid Harry Potter fans made their way to Oxford’s Malco Theater for the midnight premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: part 2,” the eighth and final movie of the Harry Potter series. Tickets to the premiere sold out earlier in the week. 

Diana Katanzhi, a manager at the Malco, said all 9 p.m. movies Thursday night were cancelled to prepare for the midnight premiere. Doors opened at 10 p.m. to allow fans to line up to ensure they claimed the best seats.

In the 13 years since the first novel, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” was released, J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world has turned from a fictional story to a full-blown phenomenon. As of April, the seven-book series had sold more than 450 million copies worldwide and had been translated into 67 languages beyond the English original.

Before the premiere, fans shared how they were introduced to Rowling’s Harry Potter and what they love most about the magical world.

Daniel O’Sullivan, associate professor of French and senior fellow of the Residential College, first began reading the Harry Potter novels with his wife. “Someone had given my wife the fourth Harry Potter novel and we realized we didn’t know what was going on, so we went back and bought the first book. We took turns reading the book out loud to each other as we drove cross-country from Boston to Bloomington, Ind. We finished it before we got to Bloomington.”

While many would consider the concept of a fictional world about spells and magic to be a children’s concept, people of all ages are obsessed with the series.

“I think Rowling is such a great story teller,” O’Sullivan said. “I can get wrapped up in the story very easily. In a lot of ways, it is brain candy.”

O’Sullivan refers to himself and his family as “Potterheads,” and they plan to see the movie together Friday afternoon. 

“The story works on so many different levels,” he said. “It is something that adults can talk about and kids can talk about. And something that adults can talk to kids about.”

Lauren Davis, junior nursing major from Memphis, said she saw the first movie before she read the novels. 

“I became a fan when the first movie came out. I saw it with one of my friends and got hooked. I didn’t start reading the books until all of them had come out.

”I told my mom all I wanted for Christmas was the special edition box set of the seven Harry Potter books. I have read them all at least four times each.”

Davis believes it draws so many people in because it’s “more about the relationships than the magical side of the story.”

“I love the development of the characters by J.K. Rowling,” Davis said. “With the exception of Voldemort, there is no purely good or evil character. All her characters are flawed. There is no “God” character. I love the story of Snape.” 

While millions filled theaters nationwife, not everyone was able to make it to the midnight premiere. 

Gurkirat Kaur, junior bio-chemistry and Spanish double major from Silver Creek, is disappointed that she could not attend the midnight premiere. 

“I have an organic test Friday, and I don’t want to fail the class,” she said. “But I am also a summer college counselor so I will be taking some of my students to see the movie Friday afternoon.”

Kaur still plans to dress up even though she did not attend the premiere. 

“I always dress up even if I am not attending a midnight showing,” she said. “My friends and I have held Harry Potter parties. I have a wand and everything.”

For many fans, the last movie is bittersweet.

“All good things must come to an end. It is part of the cycle of life,”  said A.J. Celeski, a junior marketing communications and Spanish double major from Hernado. “I feel like it is ending at the perfect time because I feel like we grew up together. We are all taking different paths in life now.”