In the horde of cloaked muggles impersonating Harry Potter characters Friday night, it'd be hard to find even one who didn't love the movie.
"It's an amazing story," junior musical theatre major Justin Habben said. "It's creative. It's fascinating. Everybody loved it.
"No one ever said they hated Harry Potter, and if they did, they should've been burned."
Kelsey Kramer, a junior acting major, said extending the final book into two movies was a wise decision for Warner Bros.
"I love the split because some of the moments I was looking for would have been lost if it was all in one [movie]," she said. "Just a lot of those things can't be rushed, and they didn't."
Toward the end of the movie, Kramer said she started getting emotional.
"There was a moment about 15 minutes before the movie actually finished that I started crying because it was the end," she said.
At first, she didn't think she'd be able to see the midnight premier — she got her tickets the day of the show. She had been working on a costume to impersonate Rita Skeeter, a signature journalist from the series. Unfortunately the costume wasn't ready for Friday night's showing, and she dropped the plan like one of Hagrid's inedible rock cakes.
"It was going to be a fantastic costume," she said. "I guess I'll just use it for Halloween."
Instead she joined countless other plain-clothed muggles, wand at the ready. The magical instrument was a replica of Fleur Delacour's, that Kramer got at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando.
Seating for the midnight premier at AMC Showplace 12 started around 10 p.m. with students playing card games and some even acting out "Potter Puppet Pals."
The impromptu charade was inspired by the popular YouTube series of the same name. Fans popped up from behind a railing as they played the roles of key Potter characters.
The house was full by the time the previews began at midnight. After several minutes of coming attractions, fans cheered as the screen lit up with a short feature recapping the Potter series, including high points from the previous seven movies, starting with 11-year-old versions of Harry, Ron and Hermione.
The movie immediately takes on a somber tone as Harry faces a stronger, hugely more powerful Voldemort.
Habben said he tried to remember all the nuances of the series without rereading the books.
"I was like, ‘OK, I hope I remember everything,' and I did," he said. "There were some really great moments. Some epic moments that really shined. The moment it started, I was zoned in."
Habben said he loved how the film depicted Professor Severus Snape — whose try loyalty isn't revealed until the end.
Michael Anderson, 21, said a softer side of Snape revealed in the film didn't surprise him.
"[Snape] is a jerk," Anderson said. "He was bitter, but he wasn't evil."
Although many college students have said the premiere of the final film marks the end of childhood, Kramer said instead it's a time to get reconnected with the series.
"I feel like I'm going to go home and read the books again and then watch all the movies," she said. "And then the website Pottermore — I'm just going to live it through that."
Habben said he didn't start reading the books until the "Order of the Phoenix" came out, but once he started, it was hard to turn back.
"Everyone was reading them and I was defiant," he said. "I read the first five books in a week, and I fell in love with it like that."
Habben said the series then became a significant part of his childhood.
Dayna Colbert said she had mixed feelings about the end as she left the theater.
"I guess in one sense, it kind of is the end of our childhood just because we started it when we were kids, and it ends as we're about to go into the real world," the senior magazine major said. "Hogwarts will live on forever. Harry Potter will live on forever."
-Sarah Boswell contributed to this story.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
