The witching hour

Something's coming that will cause Governor Deval Patrick to lose sleep. Something he's a bit obsessive about . Something he's both looking forward to -- and dreading.

It's not casino gambling or a budget veto.

It's the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series. The governor has been a fan since Book 1. Says he can't put them down. He has pre-ordered "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and is under strict mandate from his oldest daughter, who is behind in her reading, not to reveal any secrets.

Patrick says he feels "dreadful" about the series ending. "I look forward to each installment. The writing and the stories have gotten even better with each," he says. He loves the storytelling, the authentic portrayal of adolescents and the boarding school life, which reminds him somewhat of his years at Milton Academy. The governor will read the last one as he has all the others: while traveling, on vacation, or at bedtime. "They tend to interfere with my sleep," he says.

It's the ultimate Harry Potter irony: Adult fans can't wait to get their hands on the last book, but they're bracing themselves for life after Hogwarts. How are they feeling as The End approaches? What will they do when they read the last page of the very last book? Drown their sorrows in a mug of butter beer at the Three Broomsticks?

"I have completely conflicting emotions about Book 7 coming out," says Cindy Gierhart, 27, who works in text book publishing. "Part of me can't wait, and part of me wants it to never happen because that would mean the end. There will be no more waiting, no more guessing. All the questions will be answered."

When the sixth book came out, Gierhart and five of her friends went camping on the Cape, where they sat on the beach and read for 10 hours at a time. This year, a dozen of them -- including some from New York, Washington, and Chicago -- are going, each with his or her own book. Some have reserved copies at a bookstore in Hyannis. Meanwhile, they're busy e-mailing one another theories: that Aunt Petunia will perform magic to save Harry, that Dumbledore was an animagus, and so on -- and on and on.

"That's all part of what made these books so exciting: speculating on wild theories and hearing those little hints from J.K. Rowling about what's yet to come," says Gierhart, who lives in the North End. "For future generations reading these books, I think there's a bit of magic that they'll never get."

Christopher Golden believes the magic will always be there. He's a huge Harry Potter fan but says he isn't at all deflated about the series ending. "She's written unquestionably the thing that will be the most lasting in its genre for the foreseeable future. This thing is 'Narnia,' it's 'Lord of the Rings,' it's that kind of classic. As long as people are reading, it will be read, and you can't say that about too much else."

Golden, 39, has written several dark fantasy and horror books, including some "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" novels and a series for young readers called "Outcasts," recently optioned by Universal Studios. He's particularly anxious, in Rowling's final book, to discover "what the deal is with Snape." He's also impatient for young romance to bloom: "I would love for Hermione to just slap Ron and then kiss him."

Unlike most fans, Golden, who lives in Haverhill, is not disappointed that the series must end. "[Rowling] doesn't need to do more," he says. "Unnecessary sequels are the bane of the consumer world." But he's prepared to drown any lingering sorrows in another book: "Stephen King has a brand-new novel coming out."

Phil Halpern runs an inn in Lenox but is also an amateur magician. He and his wife, Linda, dressed up as Dumbledore and McGonagall at a Harry Potter party they threw for their granddaughter. Linda, a former school librarian, has first-edition copies of each book.

"I love the magic in it, and I will feel a sense of deflation when the series ends," Phil says. But his mood will depend more on the ending itself. "If it ends like 'The Sopranos,' where things aren't resolved, I'll be disappointed. If things are resolved, I'll be OK with it ending."

Regardless of how the last book ends, Nicole Vigue says she'll feel lost. "I was not a reader, and Harry Potter got me to read," says Vigue, 33, an accountant and holistic health counselor. "I won't be looking for anything to take its place. I can't see anything that could be as good. With Harry Potter, it was always, 'OK, the next one's coming out,' and it was comforting."

Her mother, Diane Scheinman , who like her daughter lives in Franklin, loves the books but is less sentimental about them. "Everything has to come to an end, and it wouldn't be as exciting with Harry as an adult," she says. "The adventures of youth make it more powerful."

Then there are the denialists: those fans who refuse to believe that the series will in fact end. "I think there's going to be some twist, and we're going to get a couple more books out of it," says Joe Greene , who owns the West Roxbury restaurant West on Centre. "I'm hoping, anyway. The story just gets better and better and better." He gets to read the book only after his oldest daughter, Elizabeth, closes it at bedtime.

The end of the series might have physical, as well as emotional, ramifications for its fans. "I don't know what I'm going to do," says Gierhart. "I've read the books while on the e l liptical [machine]. Now I have no excuse to go to the gym anymore."