【Winter Wonderlust (2015)】

If you're a Harry Potter fan,Winter Wonderlust (2015) you're used to things ending, because they have done so many, many times over. Today marks the 10-year anniversary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series which we thought would be the end of an era. It was in a way, but it was also just the beginning.

SEE ALSO: Bloomsbury goes full Hermione, set to release two Harry Potter 'History of Magic' titles in the fall

In honor of the anniversary, we looked back at all the times that we were sure, for real this time, Harry Potter was going to be "over."

1. The first movie (2001)

This isn't an obvious ending, but as soon as Warner Bros. cast its lead actors and began filming Harry Potter and the Sorceror's/Philosopher's Stone, the Harry Potter fans of the '90s faced a major impending shift. The characters whose faces we had only pictured, whose names we had contently mispronounced, were about to become immortalized on screen. Would modern moviemaking replace the wonder of imagination?

As it turns out, no.

2. The final book (2007)

Credit: Andy Rain/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

Millions of Harry Potter fans around the world gathered for midnight book releases as July 21, 2007 ticked closer. It had been less than two weeks since Order of the Phoenixreleased in theaters, and Pottermania buzzed wildly, fervently in pop culture and news. All we knew for certain was that this was the final chapter, the final year at Hogwarts (it wasn't even that), the last chance we'd have -- to our knowledge -- to read new words about our beloved boy wizard by J.K. Rowling.

Midnight struck, and we began to read.

3. The post-book era (2008)

With no more books and no new movie release, 2008 was the first dry spell of its kind (there was no new content in 2006, but since the books hadn't ended, fans channeled their energy into different outlets). But 2008 showed no decline in Harry Potter interest; Fans were still riding the wave of Deathly Hallowsand the upcoming movies. Fan fiction flourished, wizard rock thrived, and there were two Harry Potter conventions that year in the U.S. alone.

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Some ending.

4. The final movie (2011)

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In the summer of 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the eighth film in the series, released worldwide. The London premiere was the franchise's biggest, with fans flooding Trafalgar Square (including yours truly) to see the stars and hear J.K. Rowling utter her now famous words:

"Whether you come back by page, or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."SOB.

5. The post-movie era (2012)

That should have been it, a neat closing to history's Harry Potter era. I went to what I thought was my last convention (haha). We had seven books and eight movies, and we were content -- but also grasping at any lifeline, from Pottermore to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

6. Cursed Child (2016)

Rowling stated definitively after Harry Potter and the Cursed Childdebuted at London's West End that she was done writing about Harry Potter. But she said the same in 2007, so was it once again empty words? The play continues sold-out performances, added a new cast, and is preparing to make its Broadway debut in 2018. Sounds like that won't be over for a while...

7. Fantastic Beasts (2016)

When Beastswas first announced, a standalone movie based on one of Rowling's silly old textbooks seemed like a marvelous bonus. But then one film turned into three, and three into five, and here we are, sitting pretty for a good five to seven more years.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

So: 10 years out from the book release that was supposed to mark so many endings, yet we find ourselves in a new era of Potter that plans to stick around.

As Harry Potter fans, we're lucky to have found something so enduring, and we look forward to many more endings -- especially if they don't stick.

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