Seven books and a decade of magic reach their pinnacle tonight with the opening of the final chapter in the Harry Potter saga, a movie opening like none other, featuring costumed fans, breathless anticipation and just a tinge of sadness at the end of a long and exciting story.
For some, it will feel like the end of childhood.
Jill Jazyk, a senior exercise science major, remembers when her third-grade brother told her about his teacher reading the second book in class.
"And he was like, ‘But there's a ghost that lives in the toilet in the second book.' And I was like, ‘OK, I've got to read this and see what this is all about.'
The series started in 1997, as an idea scribbled on a napkin by a struggling mother who was riding the train to work one morning.
J.K. Rowling's books and movies became blockbusters of fantasy surrounding a boy, his magical abilities and his nemesis Voldemort, the Dark Lord.
With each encounter, Harry learns more about the bond he shares with Voldemort, and the meaning behind the scar branded across the boy's forehead.
Jazyk, who describes herself as not much of a reader, has consumed all seven of the Potter books and will be in line with everybody else tonight, waiting for the epic Battle of Hogwarts and the climactic duel between Harry and Voldemort in the Great Hall.
Senior political science major Kyle Hayes thinks back to how the story has evolved over the years.
"The seventh book came out when we were older, but it is wrapping up an entire series that I grew up with," he said. "It is definitely a mile-marker. It is kind of sad too, actually."
Hayes said the series affected his childhood in the same way it did for so many other young people, helping them deal with their own problems.
"It helped kids understand complex issues ... in a way they can understand," he said.
Sophomore architecture major Michael Boehnlein said being able to identify with the characters is key to the Potter craze.
"You grow to love the characters and love the friendships they have and the love that they feel for each other," he said.
Even the actors feel it.
Emma Watson has played Hermione Granger in the films over the past decade. She told The Associated Press that she'll miss the close relationship she had with her character.
"I think of her like a sister," Watson said at the London premiere. "She feels so real to me. Of course I will miss the people, but actually I will just miss being her."
Tonight's movie may be the last of the series, but for some fans, Harry and his friends will live on. The story began in their own childhood and has followed them since.
Boehnlein quoted "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" to capture how he feels.
"[Does it feel like] the end of my childhood? Sure," he said. "But it is not the end of Harry Potter.
"That's never going to go away. Because as long as [fans] remain loyal to it, it will live forever. It will never be gone."
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