Even famous recent finale’s like Avengers: Endgame were finale’s in name only a slew of follow up films had already been announced, and some even featured the characters we lost in that film’s climax. Nowadays, with cinematic universes and endless reboots, the concept of an “ending” feels a little quaint. And in July of 2011, it taught us how to say goodbye. It had taught people how to read, it had given millions of children a shared, magical experience. Harry Potter, the books and the movies, had inspired the imaginations of a generation.

We had grown up with Harry and Ron and Hermione, and we had imagined ourselves in their shoes sure, nothing as exciting or magical as being “the boy who lived,” ever happened in our lives, but when we thought about Hogwarts it sure felt like it could. Because while we’d been waiting 4 days for this moment, you could also say we’d been waiting 10 years. It wasn’t even much of a decision, really, how we would spend our day off. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 had come out 4 days before, on July 15th, and to not see it was to opt out of one of the biggest moments of our young lives. It was finally Monday, my day off from camp counselor duties, and my fellow Monday day off-ers and I hopped in a car and drove the 45 minutes to the nearest movie theater 3 towns over.

Harry potter and the deathly hall