Hooray for 'Harry Potter,' I'm gonna miss him

Publicity still from "Deathly Hallows"

It's hard to believe that Harry Potter's amazing theatrical run will soon come to an end.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows — Part 1" hits local screen Nov. 19. Its sequel, the franchise finale, opens next summer.

And then that's it.

Eight blockbusters over 10 years and then, nothing.

I plan to watch "Deathly Hollows" at a local theater. It will be my first experience with Potter on the big screen.

When the the first Potter opened I had recently turned 21 and was reluctantly vacationing with my family in Orlando. My mother and three younger siblings excitedly attended the movie. Pops and I went to a bar.

The "Lord of the Rings" books thrilled me as a child and I saw all three of those movies in the theater and countless times on DVD. But I dismissed Potter as kids' stuff.

Until my sister Allison, an avid fan who has read all the books and owns every Potter DVD, let me borrow the movies.

Not feeling well one weekend, I watched. And was hooked. Think I viewed four or five of them in a row. I had been transported into a glorious, magical fantasy world of good versus evil and didn't want to return.

Hooray for Harry Potter. I'm gonna miss him.

CLICK TO READ "'POTTER": BOX-OFFICE WIZARDRY NEARS ITS END"

Official trailer for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows — Part 1"