"We've renamed all the stores on the block to different stores on Diagon Alley," said Anne Holman, store manager. "We have face painting, henna tatoos and a magician doing magic."

Of course, speculation about how the series will end ran high.

Emily Romrell, 17, of South Jordan predicts that Draco Malfoy is going to do something good to redeem himself and that Luna Lovegood will die.

Loni Hernandez, 24, says the trio will return to school for a short while before seeking out Voldemort. Crystal Larsen, 14, said she definitely thinks Snape is good and Harry won't die, but Ron or Hermione, Harry's friends, might.

Although it's difficult to see the series come to an end, Holman feels it's a positive thing.

"It makes me sad. I'll miss Harry," she said. "I think that there have always been great books, and Harry Potter has led to the birth of many more. I like to think of what I'm going to read next, but I love him and it's been a great ride."

J.K. Rowling's books about the boy wizard have sold 325 million copies in 64 languages, and the launch of each new volume has become a Hollywood-scale extravaganza.

"Deathly Hallows" has a print run of 12 million in the United States alone, and Internet retailer Amazon says it has taken 2.2 million orders for the book — 47 percent higher than the pre-order for the sixth volume, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Britain's Royal Mail says it delivered 600,000 copies on Saturday; the U.S. Postal Service said it would deliver 1.8 million copies.

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com