Harry vision?

For the die-hards, the obsession began innocently enough.

They picked up the book out of mild curiosity, wondering about all the hype surrounding a boy who goes to magic school. Then they began to read. And read. And read some more.

Before they knew it, one book led to another and then another. Soon, it wasn’t enough to read all six just once, but at least twice or thrice, if not more.

And then the black robes arrived in the mail. Followed by the scarf, the broom, the wizard wand.

The “Harry Potter” series may be listed under “juvenile fiction” at most bookstores, but the cultural phenomenon isn’t restricted to kids alone. Grown-ups of all ages and backgrounds also have fallen under Harry Potter’s spell.

“I’m scared to death, yet I’m so excited – I can’t stand it!” says Sue Pace, 44, describing her emotions as she waits with bated breath for the Saturday 12:01 a.m. release of the seventh and final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” “Finally, we’re going to know what will happen. …

“Then there’s the crushing realization that it’s all over,” she adds, with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

According to The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, the seventh “Harry Potter” book may be read by more adults than kids. The pre-order demand for the book with the adult cover – which shows a picture of Slytherin’s locket – are rising at a higher rate than orders for the British children’s version, which depicts characters Ron, Hermione and Harry. About 60 percent of the “Harry Potter” fan base is now made up of teens and young adults, according to a book chain manager interviewed by The Daily Telegraph. “Harry Potter 7 will be a rite of passage for a generation of fans,” Wayne Winston of Waterstone told the newspaper.

In the United States, out of five adults say they’ve read at least one “Harry Potter” book, according to a 2001 survey by the NPD Group, a New York-based market research company. More than half of all grown-ups reading “Harry Potter” are older than 35, with about a quarter over the age of 55, the survey showed.

Throughout the region, a large number of adults will take part in the revelry at local “Harry Potter” midnight-release parties. Dozens already have participated in book discussion groups at Auntie’s in downtown Spokane, Barnes & Noble in Spokane Valley, Deer Park’s Quilt Lounge and Knittery, and other spots throughout the area.

Those who deem themselves to be expert Potterites have found themselves memorizing spells along with their children (Wingardium Leviosa, anyone?), dressing up like Hogwarts students, documenting “Harry Potter” tribute bands, writing fan fiction and drawing fan art, engaging in online discussions about symbolism and moral ambiguity, and even traveling throughout the country for academic symposiums with names like “Nimbus,” “Witching Hour” and “Lumos 2006.”

“My boyfriend thinks it’s the geekiest thing, but I love ‘Harry Potter’,” says 22-year-old Nikki Warren, who runs the book discussion group at Barnes & Noble. “It isn’t just for kids.”

Warren didn’t start reading the books until three years ago, after a friend recommended “The Sorcerer’s Stone.” She was so drawn to the story line and the characters that Warren ended up finishing the book within hours. Then she picked up the four others in the series that were available at the time and ended up reading them within a week of each other.

That’s when she realized she was hooked. She watched all the movies – over and over again. She started reading the books – over and over again, too.

“It’s a world of wands, magic potions, cauldrons – how awesome would that be if that was real life?” asks Warren.

Pace, a Spokane resident who will be one of the hosts at Auntie’s book-release party Friday night, became addicted to “Harry Potter” thanks to her kids. About five years ago, she noticed that all three of her children – ages 9, 14 and 16 at the time – constantly had their noses in the “Harry Potter” books. Her own mother, who is also a fan, also gave “Harry Potter” a resounding endorsement.

Pace resisted until her family took her to the movie version of “Chamber of Secrets,” the second book in the series. Intrigued, she started reading the first book, which of course launched her obsession with all things “Harry Potter.” During Pace’s first run at the series (she has read all six books six times – that’s nearly 20,000 pages of reading), she became so engrossed in “The Goblet of Fire” that she couldn’t put the book down even while cooking dinner.

“It was such a magical experience,” she says, recalling the first time she read the series. “There is not one emotion that Harry has felt that we haven’t experienced. It created a lot of empathy. That kind of powerful connection with the characters reels you in … J.K. Rowling pulls in all these personalities and nationalities and makes them all click. … She brings us this underlying message of love, friendship and family.”

Most people who have read all six books can’t help but go through the same range of emotions that Harry and other characters encounter throughout all their adventures, she says. They rejoice at Harry’s success at Quidditch, the popular sport played by witches and wizards flying on brooms; mourn over the death of beloved characters; take comfort in the Weasley family and others who support the orphaned hero.

While reading “The Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth book, Pace and her daughter broke down in tears when one of the main characters died. “We sat up for hours talking about it,” she recalls. “We were really depressed.”

The series not only brings together children, adults and creatures from various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, according to many grown-up fans; it also contains the universal themes of good versus evil, prejudice, love, not to mention a little intrigue here and there as Harry Potter becomes a teenager and begins to date.

“The people who have never read ‘Harry Potter’ define it as a kid book,” says Mallory Schuyler, who started reading the series six years ago as a 16-year-old. “But those who have read it know that the books have a lot of depth. … When you read “Harry Potter,” you leave your world and discover another one full of magical powers. It’s good exercise for the imagination.”

Schuyler has become such a huge “Harry Potter” fan that she and her sister, Megan, have pooled their savings together in order to travel throughout the country and interview Harry Potter tribute bands. The twins are almost finished with their documentary, “The Wizard Rockumentary: A Movie About Rocking and Rowling.” Scheduled to be released in 2008, the film has made the sisters famous among “Harry Potter” aficionados – they’ve been featured on MTV, podcasts and in newspaper articles throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The Schuylers also have their own chapter in a book titled, “Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon.”

Mallory Schuyler is also one of the organizers of the “Harry Potter” Release Party at Tinman Gallery. It’s the grown-up version for fans, she explains. “I know so many adult ‘Harry Potter’ fans who don’t want to go with all the screaming kids,” she says. “They want to enjoy themselves and celebrate.”

As they anxiously count down the hours before they get the final installment in their hands, the grown-ups who love “Harry Potter” have been sharing their theories about what will happen. “I don’t want Harry to die,” says Warren, who is among those who believe they will lose their hero in the end. “After all he’s gone through, he deserves to live.”

They’re also getting ready for all the parties Friday night.

Pace – who plans to dress up as Minerva McGonagall, the transfiguration professor at Hogwarts – will be one of the hosts at the celebration taking place at Auntie’s Bookstore. She’ll be joined by her children, her parents and other relatives.

Warren will don her black robes and wear the scarlet and gold colors of Gryffindor, Harry Potter’s house at Hogwarts. With wand in hand, she’ll organize games and give away prizes at the Barnes & Noble release party.

She’ll be at the bookstore until 2 a.m., but that won’t be the end of her already long night. She’ll go home, she says, and stay awake until mid-morning – reading “The Deathly Hallows” and relishing every last word.

Reach reporter Virginia de Leon at (509) 459-5312 or virginiad@spokesman.com.