LONDON (AP) -- Harry Potter's saga is ending, but his magic spell remains.

Thousands of fans from around the world massed in London Thursday for the premiere of the final film in the magical adventure series.

They thronged Trafalgar Square, where the stars walked a rain-sodden red carpet, and nearby Leicester Square, where the movie was being shown in a plush movie theater, braving the inevitable London rain with umbrellas, waterproofs and good cheer.

Sun broke out as cast members -- including leads Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint -- and Harry's creator J.K. Rowling began arriving on the red carpet, signing autographs and chatting with fans.

Speaking from a stage erected in Trafalgar Square, 21-year-old Radcliffe, who has played the boy wizard since he was 11, told fans that Harry's story would never end.

``Each and every person, not just here in this square but around the world who have watched these films for the last 10 years, they will always carry the films with them for the rest of their lives,'' he said.

Rowling wiped away tears as she thanked the actors for ``the amazing things they did for my favorite characters.''

The fans, who chanted ``thank you'' as Rowling and the cast took the stage, came from around the world. Many had camped out overnight, some for days. Most were young adults who grew up with the boy wizard and his adventures, and could not pass up the chance to say goodbye.

``It's our childhood -- we made friends because of Harry Potter,'' said Luis Guilherme, a 22-year-old graduate student from Sao Paolo, Brazil. ``I don't know how my life would be without it. I would be less imaginative, for sure, and less adventurous. I would never be here in London.

``We'd never forgive ourselves if we didn't come, one last time.''

``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'' depicts Harry's final confrontation with the forces of evil Lord Voldemort -- an epic showdown rendered, for the first time in the series, in 3D.

The eighth and last film in the made-in-Britain franchise was getting a lavish premiere, with huge screens and banners in Trafalgar Square and a nearby street transformed into the magical shopping thoroughfare Diagon Alley.