The Lighting Thief

Potter enchants one last time

Ten years have passed since the start of the " Harry Potter " film series. Over those 10 years, the world has watched Harry grow up, make friends and save both wizards and Muggles from Lord Voldemort's devastation. The movies, and the struggle, are coming to an end.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" premieres just after the witching hour Friday. J.K. Rowling 's successful seven-book series will culminate with the eighth film. Some from the Capital Region are rejoicing -- fans of the series say the final movie brings a sense of finality, while others are just happy it's over.

Growing up with Harry

Mary McCormack listened to her mom read a chapter of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" every night when she was 7 years old. She sat with her 4-year-old sister, mesmerized by the wizarding world that unfolded with each page. After her mom finished with the second book in the series, McCormack got impatient. At 9, she started reading the books herself. McCormack, now an English major at University at Albany, has followed the series to the very end.

"I'm 20 now -- my childhood ended a while ago -- but I feel like this is an end of an era for me," she said. "A lot of people who read Harry Potter started when they were kids, like me, and probably feel the same way."

She plans on attending the midnight showing of the final movie with her boyfriend and her older sister and her husband. She'll be the one wearing an iron-on shirt her younger sister made, declaring, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

She grew up with the characters and took some of the more tragic moments almost personally, like the death of Sirius Black, her favorite character.

"I just latched onto him, and was really upset when (Rowling) killed him off," she said. "Maybe it's because he was the only family Harry had, and I felt for him because Harry did."

It's one thing to read a book and imagine, McCormack said, but the movies help bring the make-believe world to life.

Thirteen years after hearing the first book, McCormack's sense of "what happens next" for Harry Potter is still alive, if only more bittersweet.

"The people who watch the movies I'm sure are going to miss it when it's over, but the people who have been with it from the beginning ... It's like, 'What are we going to do now?'

"I mean, I have a life outside 'Harry Potter' but it's been a big part of my life since, well, forever.

My Life Is My Story: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lighting Thief

Percy Jackson is a 12-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia. Percy goes to a school called Yancy Academy, which is a school for troubled kids. During a field trip, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a mythological creature known as a Fury, who was disguised as his pre-algebra teacher Mrs. Dodds. Percy kills Mrs. Dodds with a pen sword that his Latin teacher threw to him. He is unaware that it is a powerful important sword. After Mrs. Dodds is gone, everybody acts like she was never there and Mrs. Dodds was replaced. Percy Jackson does not know this at this point, but this is because of the Mist (a magical aroma that can manipulate thoughts and memory to keep humans from knowing the truth). Now only Grover, Mr. Brunner, and Percy ever knew she existed. On the field trip, Percy is expelled like on any field trip and on the last day and sees three old women cutting yarn, and gets freaked out (The Fates). He rushes home and abandons his friend to go on a vacation with his mom to Montauk, but terrible weather strikes. Once Percy tells his mom what happened, his mom gets horrified that he didn't tell her. A satyr named Grover Underwood, and his mother Sally Jackson, then bring him to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods: children with an Olympian Greek god for one parent. While avoiding the Minotaur's attacks, his mother is killed (or at least that's what Percy thinks). Percy then finds a strange strength inside of him and kills the Minotaur. He carries Grover down to camp half-blood and faints on the front porch. Once he revives, he realizes he is in Camp Half-Blood. The camp is located off Long Island. There, he meets Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. They become good friends by the end of the novel. Not long after his arrival, Poseidon, the sea god, claims Percy as his son during a game of demigod-style capture-the-flag, when he is almost killed by a hellhound. Percy is accused of stealing Zeus' masterbolt and then he, Annabeth, and Grover are given 10 days to return the thunderbolt to Mount Olympus, in order to stop a war between the gods and save his mother, who has been held hostage in the Underworld by Hades, Lord of The Dead after being captured by the Minotaur. They go on a quest across the United States and encounter various monsters on the way, such as Medusa, Echidna, and many others. It is revealed that Luke, a friend Percy had met at camp, stole the bolt for Kronos, who is attempting to rise from Tartarus.

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