Did you go see “the Deathly Hallows” last night? If you did, you joined hundreds of thousands of people who, just like you, are enthralled by the magic of Harry Potter.

Theaters all across the country were showing the film on all their screens with tickets sold out sometimes weeks in advance. If you didn’t go last night and aren’t planning on joining enthusiastic movie-goers in the next few weeks, you are missing out.

Harry Potter is the boy who has united our generation. We remember in elementary school seeing those new books on the shelf at the book fair, wondering if it will be any good. We remember getting the books as birthday presents and promptly ignoring our family for the rest of the day while we frantically flip from page to page. We remember attending the midnight premiers. We remember crying when a few of our beloved characters died and we remember celebrating victories over evil.

And if you went to the premier last night, you will remember the costumes and the excitement! And yes, there are those people who have never read “Harry Potter,” but they are becoming fewer and fewer.

The adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione are something we all have in common. There have been more than 400 million copies sold in at least 64 languages. Just think if you ever get stranded in an airport and need a conversation topic, Harry Potter is a pretty good bet.

We have grown up with this boy, laughing awkwardly about “snogging” and struggling through exams. In writing about the final novel in 2007, Stephen King phrased it this way:

“Think how it must be for all the kids who were 8 when Harry debuted in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” with its cartoon jacket and modest [500 copies] first edition. Those kids are now 18, and when they close the final book, they will be in some measure closing the book on their own childhoods — magic summers spent in the porch swing, or reading under the covers at camp with flashlights in hand, or listening to Jim Dale’s recordings on long drives to see grandma in Cincinnati or uncle Bob in Wichita.”

Part of me will be sad on July 15, 2011, when part two of the final movie will be released. It has the feeling of an ending, very complete and rather depressing. But even though the books were completed three years ago and the movies will soon be over, Harry Potter will never truly die.

In his final monologue, Harry reminds us, “That’s what’s special about Hogwarts. No matter how long you’ve been away, there’s always a way back.”

In that same way, the world J.K. Rowling created is eternal. Long after we are gone there will still be someone, somewhere discovering the adventure that has enthralled so many. No, there won’t be any more books or multi-billion dollar movies, but the excitement doesn’t have to end. As long as we keep wearing those ridiculously fantastic glasses on Halloween and share the story with the next generation, the magic will live on.