Eight Hours, Thirty Two Minutes, and Twenty Six Seconds

Okay, so maybe I'm being melodramatic, but I'm seriously dreading the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's strange; I've been waiting for this day for a long time, but now that it's here I'm sort of freaking out. I even had nightmares last night that they sold out of copies before I had a chance to buy it. It's so hard to believe in a few hours I'm going to know how my favorite story ends. I've been reading these books since age nine, and the concept that after won't be anymore sequels is very difficult for me to grasp because I've spent the last eight years continually wondering 'What will happen next?' and after Deathly Hallows there won't be a 'next'. I feel like my childhood is coming to a very abrupt halt. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I can't help but associate Harry Potter with my childhood and now that one's ending so is the other. It's very depressing. The nights I spent laying in bed contemplating if Snape is good or evil, praying Harry and Hermione will get married, and wondering if Harry will survive book 7 are officially over. By tomorrow I'll know exactly how this story ends and right now I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it. I'd almost rather wait a couple years before reading Deathly Hallows, but then I'd be risking hearing about the end through somebody who's not the author. (I hate spoilers!) And as much as I'd like to savor the book, I know I'm going to devour it in one night. In case any of you were wondering how I was going to spend the eve of the release, I'll be at Barnes and Noble celebrating (?) with other fans, and probably crying my eyes out on the way home. There's been rumors a sorting hat will be at the bookstore. I hope I get Gryffindor, but in the words of Hermione, "I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."