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#19YearsLater: Harry Potter Fans Live Out Final Book's Ending

According to author J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter's young son Albus was whisked away on the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross station at 11 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2017.
Image: Fans lined up to pose with the Platform 9  3/4  sign.
Fans lined up to pose with the Platform 9 3/4 sign at King's Cross station in London on Friday.Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News

LONDON — All was well.

Hundreds of Harry Potter fans descended on King's Cross train station Friday morning to celebrate the final scene of J.K. Rowling's multibillion-dollar book and film phenomenon.

The ending of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” sees its main characters send their children off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the place where their own magical exploits began 19 years earlier.

According to the book, the wizardly progeny, including Harry Potter's young son Albus, get whisked away on the Hogwarts Express from the station’s imaginary Platform 9 ¾ at 11 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2017.

Clad in black cloaks, wizard hats and Hufflepuff scarves, fans from as far away as the U.S., Germany, France and Italy made pilgrimages to the station and paid tribute to the final book's epilogue — which ends with the words: "All was well."

Its title captured the imaginations of fans worldwide with #19YearsLater trending on Twitter.

Rick Navarro of San Jose, Calif., planned his trip for months.

Navarro, who has been a fan of the franchise since he was aged seven, says the books hold a special place in his heart.

“Harry Potter to me has been kind of like a philosophy of life,” the 28-year-old told NBC News.

Image: Rick Navarro from San Jose, California, poses with a fan from the Netherlands.
Rick Navarro from San Jose, California, poses with a fan from the Netherlands.Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News

“There are so many messages and themes in the story that I feel guide me in my daily life. Whenever I am struggling, I think back to Dumbledore, Harry or Hermione … It’s kind of always in the back of my mind — it is a place I escape to, especially when things are tough.”

Those words ring true for 28-year-old Sam Ommen, who flew in from New York with three other friends to mark the event.

Image: Sam Ommen from New York and Elizabeth Gecas, Gregory Ruffing and Matt Farabaugh from Chicago made a long trip to London for the special date.
Sam Ommen from New York and Elizabeth Gecas, Gregory Ruffing and Matt Farabaugh from Chicago made a long trip to London for the special date.Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News

“[The books] were my childhood, my dreams, my friendships. I don’t know where I would be without Harry Potter,” she said.

Her friend Matt Farabaugh, who is from Chicago, said nostalgia for getting to grow up along with the characters is what brought him to London.

“They were all pretty much the same age as me when I was reading it,” Farabaugh said.

Liz Williamson, from London, told NBC News she had been hooked since her mom brought the first Harry Potter book from the library.

Image: Actor Warwick Davis
Actor Warwick Davis met fans at King's Cross station on Friday morning.Aparajita Kasibhatla / NBC News

“I am an introvert. That kind of was not cool. Whereas in the books, you can be whoever you want to be. So it brings out this side of me — that I am allowed to show off now and I am here dressed up as Harry Potter and that’s OK because everyone is really accepting.”

She added: “I think if I were anywhere in the world, I would have been here today.”

The fans got a special visit from Warwick Davis, the actor who portrayed Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the films.

Davis stayed for the countdown at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) that ended in a round of applause and a cheer.