Last night was the end of an era for me; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released at the cinema.

I’ve been a massive Harry Potter fan since the first film came out 10 long years ago. I went to see it the week it was released, and immediately begged my parents for the first four books as a Christmas present afterwards. I’ve read all the subsequent books on their day of release and seen all the films in the first few days they have opened and have become enraptured with this magical world. I have in particular become enamoured with the pre-Harry Potter era of the Marauders (the schooldays of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew and the events of the first war) through various well-written fan interpretations, so I knew already that the deaths of Remus and Severus would hit me hard. That’s an understatement really, I pretty much sobbed like a baby throughout the whole second half of the film!

Overall I think it was one of the best Harry Potter films produced, although I won’t go into a nitpicky assessment of how it varies from the books, as I have come to accept that the films and books are two completely separate entities. It was nicely paced, didn’t miss out too much important information and I think it provides a very satisfying conclusion to the eight-film epic. The visuals were stunning and some of the one-liners from favourite characters were particularly memorable. As we went to a midnight screening, the audience were really getting into it and cheering at the best bits, which added a nice atmosphere to it. Luckily it meant that I wasn’t the only one crying at the end!

Now I think it’s time to hang up my wand, re-read the books and wait in vain for a prequel book.