For Harry Potter fans in the UAE, the wait is finally over today. After seven magical movies and 10 years that seemed to pass in the blink of an owl's eye, diehard fans gathered at the stroke of midnight at select cinemas to view the eighth and final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.
One night earlier, a 360-strong crowd of VIPs, press and competition winners, many of them wearing Harry-type spectacles and other Potter paraphernalia, filled the Vox Cinema at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai to attend an exclusive red-carpet premiere of the film.
For Devina Divecha, a 24-year-old interior design magazine reporter, attending the pre-screening of the final Potter film was about as big as it gets.
Despite previous films having raked in more than $6 billion (Dh22bn) at the box-office and glowing reviews for the finale, Divecha says some of the screen adaptations to-date have been largely hit-and-miss.
"The first two movies were not so good," she says. "I cringe if I see them now. The story wasn't adapted as well as it could have been and the lead actors weren't comfortable yet. From the third movie onwards, we saw a massive increase in the quality of filmmaking and the acting.
"Alfonso Cuarón [the director of the third film] did a fantastic job of bringing the movies to a new level altogether and the directors after that have followed suit.
"They started to add elements to the movies that weren't there in the books, which I appreciated as it helped tell the story better."
With Harry's epic exit, Yates has used every dramatic, tension-building, emotional trick in the book to transfix the audience. Not skimping either on costumes, action or CGI wizardry, leads Divecha to believe Part II might just be his magnum opus.
However, everything rests on the final confrontation between Harry and his nemesis Voldemort.
"The battle sequence has the potential to be the stuff of movie legend, if done right. And scenes that tie everything up: learning more about Snape, seeing the lead characters when they've aged etc. The actors have done such a good job in the last few movies, this will give them a chance to shine," she says.
When it comes to Potter fans, Divecha rates herself an 11 out of 10. At the premiere she sports a Harry Potter T-shirt and transfer tattoo. Then there is her home.
"The books are in a prime spot on my bookshelf," she says. "The DVDs are on my desk. I have two to three posters from the movies. My 2011 calendar is from Harry Potter and this might be my third or fourth one over the last few years."
And there's more, much more.
"I have a Harry Potter toothbrush holder - which I cannot believe I'm admitting to. I also have a wallet and my 2009-2010 diary was a wooden book with the Harry Potter logo emblazoned on it. I have decals from the Triwizard Tournament stuck on my bathroom door, and I've probably forgotten more things that I have lying about here and there."
She pauses for a minute, then exclaims: "Oh, Harry Potter towels!"
Much like Divecha, Salman Khan, a 26-year-old accountant who lives in Dubai, is fiercely proud to call himself a fan.
"I guess I'm just lucky to be born in the Harry Potter generation," he says. "Friends and colleagues do try to ridicule, but there are just too many of us fans all over the place."
Khan has some advice for newcomers who might be interested in all the hype this week and feel drawn to the cinema to catch the final film. "Well, I'd suggest they watch it from the start." he says, before quickly adding: "I'd watch it with them."
Khan bought a special wig he intends to reveal at a private tribute party this coming weekend, which he plans to wear in homage to Rupert Grint's character.
"It's supposed to be ginger, but mine's bordering orange," he says. "A friend and I are dressing up as Fred and George Weasley, twin brothers of Ron Weasley who's one of the three main protagonists in the series. They're a mischievous duo, allies to Harry, yet through the course of the whole story, provide us with an immense amount of comic relief."
Conjuring up Harry Potter costumes in the UAE is not as easy as one might think, with many of the big toy retailers carrying limited merchandise. That said, one address Potter fans might do well to stick in their books is Mr Ben's ,of Al Ghazal Mall in Dubai.
The owner Jayne Eastland is gearing up for her busiest time of year, Halloween. Anticipating a rush in demand for Harry Potter costumes, she's ordered extra stock.
"The characters are held in great affection, much like Star Wars." she says. "Children mostly want to be Harry himself and for adults it would be the rest of the characters, such as Hagrid, Dumbledore and Dobby."
Brains are triumphing over brawn in the cut-throat world of costume couture, with Harry Potter outselling Transformers, Batman and Spider-Man outfits, says Eastland. Customers are clamouring for Hogwarts school uniforms, wands and naturally, the Bugatti of broomsticks - the so-called Nimbus 2000.
With the prospect of pointy wizard hats and high-collared capes obscuring the view of other cinema-goers in the coming weeks, UAE residents might do well to take a seat in the front row when they venture out to see the film. That's if they can find one.
Roy Chacra is the managing director of Shooting Stars, the regional distributor for Warner Bros films in the UAE. He anticipates a full house at cinemas from today on, given the success of the series so far.
"We have really big expectations for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II in the UAE." he says. "Anticipation is really high among the series fans as well as moviegoers and we are expecting stellar numbers, and eager fans can watch the epic finale in IMAX 3D, 3D and regular 2D."
Given the chance, Divecha says she would gladly watch the film in all three formats, three times over. Then, it will be time to implement her plan to fill the void that will be left, when, as the film's slogan states, "it all ends".
"By watching the DVDs and reading the books, for one." she says. "There's no dearth of sci-fi and fantasy, but I just revisit the old-school things like this, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and more. Those will always be classic.
"Besides, I don't see this as a void. The void is now filled. We're done waiting. The fans have everything they need now. What else can they ask for?"
"Oh wait," she says, smiling. "A Harry Potter encyclopedia by JK Rowling would be nice!"
With Rowling having hinted as long ago as 2000 that she may put together such a book for charity after the seventh novel, Divecha's wish could soon be granted.
Thursday: What next for Harry Potter stars?
