With only days to go before the final Harry Potter film premieres to millions of wand-flicking fans, Pottermania has once again settled in. 

The books have made for excellent days of reading and speculation when the books were still coming out, and plenty of moans and cheers as audiences saw what was brought to life and what hit the chopping block for the sake of movie length.

But what happens in the aftermath?

When the “Star Wars” movies came out prequel-style — abominations though they might have been — the hype sent fans into bouts of online wonderment and home filmmaking. After it was done and gone, and we saw the mediocrity of those new installments, a TV series and some cartoon movies came out.

But Potter has a different power.

The Potter story actually interests large swaths of the youth and adult population. Children will continue to be introduced to the books by parents, and later grandparents, who enjoyed them. The lessons they impart about making friends, doing the right thing, and loyalty are and always will be important.

It would seem inevitable that JK Rowling would go ahead and write some more Potter-esque stories, especially as tearful fans are holding rallies wherever Rowling visits.

But appeasing those fans might be a bad thing. From my years of reading comic books and feeding my obsessive interest in movies, I have learned that fans are usually wrong. Fans want more and more, and you can either keep feeding them or cut them off and leave a worthy legacy.

The Potter series is the biggest-selling series of all time. The first seven movies are all in the top 30 highest grossing films of all time, and the final film will probably top even “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by going past the $1 billion mark and gaining a top-10 spot.

Being the big dog means having a lot of influence, and if fans continue cajoling Rowling, she might give in. And as was the case with Lucas’ mediocre “Star Wars” prequels, giving more fans Potter could mar the beauty of the series Rowling created.

More books would sell, and maybe they would inspire more and more children to read, but sales aren’t everything. Their influence and messages would likely become slightly sullied. If the Potter books are really making kids’ lives better, then they will keep doing so. More books delving into the lives of the side characters would become tiresome and diminish the parts the readers get to fill in with their own imaginations.

If the series were to continue on, it could easily become horrid, as Potter’s story already has a fine conclusion. Giving too much attention to the minor features of the Potter universe would diminish the impact of it.

Look to the greatest fantasy books of all time — which are, of course, “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”

The series is the greatest work because of its beautiful story, which follows multiple youths as they make the transition to adulthood. It emphasizes friendship, loyalty, sacrifice and magic, all while inspiring readers to be creative.

The accolades the Potter and “Lord of the Rings” movies have earned are similar. The movies in the latter franchise are on the list of the top 20 highest-grossing films, and the books are on the all-time bestseller list.

The cherry on top? Tolkien’s series comes to a definitive end. The fantasy author wrote a few side books; thankfully, these only functioned to fill in the transition from “The Hobbit” to “The Lord of the Rings.”

Rowling does not alter her prose style from book to book. Events transition smoothly from one book to the next. Filling in all the little details and elaborating on the fates of supporting characters would be as pointless as changing the sequence of events in the showdown between Greedo and Han Solo.

So, with the final film on the horizon for the Potter series, you should be excited. Become caught in the moment. Wear a witch or wizard outfit to the midnight premiere and wave your freak flag proudly with everyone else. This is one of those times dressing up like a fanboy (or girl) means joining the crowd rather than standing out in it.

But let the series end here. It made its impact, and will continue to inspire people for years to come. Releasing more books would only trivialize Rowling’s achievement.

Besides, the first of the “Hobbit” films will be out in 2013, and the hype for it is just ramping up. All those kids (and even those young adults) who haven’t read it or “The Lord of the Rings” should pick up the former book or the latter trilogy. Not that I’m biased, of course; I just encourage reading more than I do most other activities

OK, fine — I like Tolkien’s work better. In any case, the British have the market cornered on quality fantasy books.