Parting is such sweet sorrow, and the time has nearly arrived for Beijing's legion of Harry Potter fans to bid farewell to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and the rest of Hogwarts and its wands, broom sticks and spellbooks.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2," premiered at 0:00 a.m. on August 4, the finale of the eight-film saga that began in 2001.

Since the introduction of the novels to China, Harry Potter has accompanied almost a generation of young Chinese.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2

To the uninitiated, it may just be a story about a charming boy wizard, but for the young people who grew up with Harry Potter, the character has been a faithful companion.

Cun Yang, who will get a master's degree from Renmin University next year, wrote on her microblog that she felt like she had grown up with Harry.

"Although people in real life don't have magical powers or a destiny to fight the evil, they still have to grow up and learn to bear more responsibility, just like Harry," she said.

On China's most popular microblog website, weibo.com, the Harry Potter finale topic has more than 2 million entries, and a user named "Linggirl" captured the passion that multitudes share as she wrote, "The years with Harry Potter were the most fantastic in my life."

The online Harry Potter fan club (hpfansclub.uueasy.com) has constructed its own Hogwarts community with 3,000 members. It even features its own version of the Harry Potter-realm newspaper The Daily Prophet. The clubs' "students" are planning to see the film dressed in cloaks or Hogwarts school uniforms armed with magic wands.

Duan Ying, a student from the Communication University of China, confesses to a great attachment to Harry Potter.

"I guess every Harry Potter fan of my age has a dream of wielding a wand and using spells proficiently," she said.