"It Was Worth It For Harry"

Friends Jenna Wittkop and Allie Rudish were too excited to sleep Friday, so they came 22 hours early for the opening of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" at Springwood 9 Theatres in Ankeny.

"We read the seventh book and we slept on the concrete," said Rudish, 18, of Ankeny. "It's not very comfortable, but it's worth it for Harry."

The eighth and final movie, based on the second half of the seventh book, opened in theaters at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

About an hour before a double feature of Part 1 and Part 2 started at 9 p.m., about 200 people were waiting in lines to see the movie in the parking lot at Springwood 9 Theatres.

Wittkop and Rudish were among the first to arrive around 2 a.m. Friday. They brought lawn chairs, blankets, a change of clothes, the Harry Potter version of the game Clue, wands and chocolate frogs.

Around dusk, they drank cans of Red Bull and competed in a Harry Potter trivia contest hosted by theater staff.

Like many teens waiting for the movie, Wittkop and Rudish said they grew up with the Harry Potter series.

"The first movie came out when we were in kindergarten, and the last one comes out when we're graduated," Wittkop said.

"It's like a part of your life is gone now," Rudish said. "It's your childhood."

Sierra Phipps, who played cards with her friends and classmates at the start of the line in front of the theater, agreed.

"This is like the Star Wars of our generation pretty much," Phipps, 15, of Ankeny said.

"We wanted to get good seats," said Jenna Nix, 15, of Ankeny. "This is like the end of our childhood ... I'm gonna cry."

Chad Schultz, 15, of Ankeny said his friends, including Lyndsay Ripper, 15, also of Ankeny, arrived between 2 and 6 p.m. in order to watch the final movie together in the theater rather than in scattered seats among strangers.

Schultz said he read all the books.

"I just want to see how they portray (the ending) visually," he said. "I want to see if they can make it as intense as the book was."

Despite the heat and humidity, about a dozen movie patrons dressed as their favorite characters and participated in the theater's costume contest.

Cameron Smith, 17, of Ankeny dressed as Hogwarts' Divination professor Sybill Trelawney. She said she enjoyed the character in the books.

"She's kind of crazy, and once in awhile she gives a real prophecy," Smith said of Trelawney. Smith donned large round glasses, wrapped a scarf around her head and wore a flowing skirt.

"I didn't think anyone would be her, and it was real easy," she said.

Gwen Sorensen, 18, of Ankeny borrowed her brother's clothes and chopped a wig to resemble the red locks of Harry Potter's friend, Fred Weasley.

"I decided to go with Fred because he's dying in this movie, so I had to go all out for that," Sorensen said. "(The author) likes to kill off my favorite characters."

Sorensen said she was sad the series was ending, but "technically, it will never end because I can read the books over and over."