BAKERSFIED, Calif. -- Edwards Cinemas movie lines stretched around both sides of the theater Tuesday night at Bakersfield’s Marketplace.

Moviegoers sat in chairs, plopped on the ground on blankets, leaned on railings or simply mingled in the festive atmosphere.

Some young fans dressed as their favorite Hogwart’s students in skirts, white button-up shirts and striped ties. They wandered cheerfully among friends and strangers alike.

Some fans even wore giant glasses. True fans? Or just better to see the late night film release? Who knows?

And that was only at 9 p.m. as people waited in anticipation for the midnight showing of the latest Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".

Harry Potter movie fan Kat Heinrichs said, “I have really high hopes for this movie. I’m expecting magic.” She also explained why she dressed up for the film’s Bakersfield release. “It’s an enlightening experience. I’m in drama. It’s what I do on a daily basis.”

Some Harry Potter movie lovers even made their way to Russo’s Books at the Marketplace to pre-order the unreleased book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". There, a party rehearsal went on for the July 20 midnight release.

Some of the people at the rehearsal were university students. Many people don’t know that a young adult novel course featuring Harry Potter can be taken at CSU Bakersfield.

There’s even a club known to have made edible wands on occasion.

According to Mike Russo of Russo's Books, it’s all part of a big Harry Potter push as the biggest book release in history gears up.

“We had a lot of movie people coming over excited about the book release that’s the largest in our history, and largest in book history as well,” said Russo.

Asked if he would stop over to Edwards Cinemas to see the latest Harry Potter film, Russo said, “I’m not a movie person. I will eventually get it on DVD. I’m more of an audio person. Personally, I don’t know how book lovers can do movies. The audio CDs are 24-27 hours long. The movies are just a few hours. And the audio has even won Grammy awards.”

When film fan Kat Heinrichs was asked about the last J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book and whether or not she cared if Harry Potter’s character would be killed off, she said, “I’m really torn. I kind of want him to die.”