At 01:01 on Saturday 21 July 2007, I will join a throng of slightly insane people all over the world as we rejoice the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Like all the other fans, I pre-bought mine a while ago so all I need do is get to my local bookshop and collect “my precious”.

To most Muggles, Harry Potter’s adventures seem a highly unlikely series to have the massive popularity it now boasts. In fact, Harry Potter is such a big part of society that the stories are now being used in another of my interests: science.

Oh yes, there are teachers, professors, researchers and top-notch scientists who are analyzing the tales of the boy wizard to find the correlations between the magic and Muggle science. Numerous teachers in the USA have been using the books as part of remedial science classes and at tertiary level, the histories of the various families in the series is proving useful as a tool for learning genetics.

At the far end of the scale, there are people who are trying to recreate the spells, potions and various other magical phenomenons. Extremists will go so far as to compare certain magical events in the story to real-life occurrences claiming that life in the magical community isn’t a totally far-fetched notion.

Thankfully, I’m not that obsessed. I’m just a regular bookworm who read the first book because my brother wasn’t interested and ended up becoming a loyal fan. My 14 year old cousin and I compete for the shortest reading time and swap notes with the launch of every book. And that’s as far as my Potter-mania goes.

I’m a little sad that this is going to be the last book. Over the years, Harry has travelled with me to New York and Miami, kept me company at 3am, endured a few bouts of flu and bronchitis and been a good friend during exams. It’s been a great friendship filled with awesome memories and I’m proud to have been a part of one of the greatest literary legacies the world has ever seen.

Here’s to you Harry Potter! Au revoir!