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Community Corner

Hallows And Goodbyes: Harry Potter Movies Draw To A Close

For many fans, the midnight showing of the last Harry Potter film brings closure - and a chance to wear costumes.

For a few hours on Thursday night, fans gathered at the AMC Loews theater at the Streets of Woodfield to watch and celebrate the final installment of the Harry Potter series.

While some fans simply painted lightning bolts on their foreheads or attended as Muggles, others opted to wear elaborate costumes for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.

Maddie Ryan, Ashley Kennen and Joey Gallagher, all from Algonquin, attended the premiere dressed up as Hogwarts students. “I’m obsessed with Harry Potter,” Ryan said. “It made sense that we went all out with costumes for the movie.” It was also the first time Ryan attended a midnight showing of a film from the Harry Potter series.

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Taryn Haas and Amber Newman made their own shirts that read “Harry Potter Part II.” “Amber and I always go all-out for the Harry Potter movies, so we made shirts for tonight,” Haas said.

Haas and Newman attended the movie with Scott Balcer and Ryan Duncan, all from Palatine. “We just basically dragged Scott and Ryan along with us,” Hass said.

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While many fans dressed as the film’s heroes, Johnathan Park of Schaumburg came to the movie dressed as Voldemort. “I figured there would be lots of Harry Potters here tonight, but how many Voldemorts will there be?” he asked. Prior to the movie, Park posed for pictures with other fans.

Fans waited in roped-off areas before they could be seated for the midnight showing. Michael Stephens and Chelsea Estinoza, who both recently moved to the area from California, were first and second in line for one of the showings.

“We’ve been here since about 6:15,” said Estinoza, wearing a hand-knit scarf in Gryffindor’s colors. “At that point, it was just us and one other person in line for another midnight showing, so we just sort of stared at each other for a while. We want to get a good seat that’s eye-level with the screen and in the middle of the row.”

The film was also a way for some fans to express their gratitude for the series. Michelle Pluta of Roselle wore Gryffindor’s colors of scarlet and gold and brought a sign to the theater that read, “Thank you for teaching me to see the magic in life.”

“I have been in love with the Harry Potter series since I started reading it in second grade,” Pluta said. “For me, the series means that it isn’t always easy to be a good person.”

For some fans, attending the premiere meant a long drive to the theater. Maggie Guttman drove about 380 miles from Wooster, Ohio, to Schaumburg to see the movie with Maya Blackstone of Chicago. Guttman and Blackstone have known each other since preschool, but only reconnected via Facebook in the last two years. “We haven’t seen the other Harry Potter movies together, but we thought we’d do that tonight,” Blackstone said.

While people waited to see the film, they texted, read, played games and talked. Everyone waited anxiously and furtively checked cell phones and watches to see how much longer until midnight.

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