CARRBORO - J.K. Rowling's series of books about Harry Potter, the boy wizard who saves the world from Lord Voldemort, has sparked a legion of fans.

For many, the mania ended last summer with the publication of the seventh and final Harry Potter book.

For others, it was the beginning of an obsession, fueled by movies, fan clubs, conventions, a social movement, a planned theme park in Florida.

And then there is its very own musical genre -- Wizard rock.

For the moment, the Triangle is in the center of the Wizard rock world, hosting five of the country's biggest bands this week. Four made MTV's top 10 list of Wizard rock bands last year.

Harry and the Potters, which was the first to devote its repertoire to the books, played at Cat's Cradle on Tuesday.

In Apex today, Draco and the Malfoys (Draco Malfoy is Harry Potter's foil in the series) is headlining a concert featuring four bands at Eva Perry Regional Library.

They are among a growing slate of more than 500 bands that riff on all things Harry, said Mallory Schuyler, 23, who premiered "The Wizard Rockumentary" in April with twin sister Megan.

"It's a way to connect with other people who love the books you read," said Adam Raby, a 16-year-old from Raleigh, after Tuesday's show.

"We rocked out wizard-style," said an ebullient Holly Sit, a 15-year-old from Raleigh. The friends will be in Apex for the show tonight.

The book series itself has made history. More than 400 million copies of the books have sold worldwide so far since the first came out in 1997 in Britain, according to The Bookseller, a British magazine focusing on the book trade.

While the music might raise concerns of copyright infringement, there have been no serious allegations against the bands, Schuyler said. Rowling and Warner Bros., which produced the movies, have both sought to protect the franchise in other areas. But Rowling has generally supported fans of her books, honoring some fan Web sites on her own.

Not quite like Trekkies

Fans of other fantasy series, such as Star Trek, have penned their own songs to keep the story going. But Trekkie rock, for instance, never caught on like Wizard rock, often shortened to Wrock.

The difference is the Internet.

Wrock bands are supported by a generation that can't remember life without Harry Potter and is comfortable cruising social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook to find other fans and bands. They chat online, sharing songs and forming fast friendship, maybe even meeting at conventions and Wizard rock concerts across the country.

The phone, mail and fan conventions were the only ways fellow Trekkies fans could keep in touch at the height of the series' popularity.

"It's not necessarily Wizard rock music itself," said Nancy Merritt, a 14-year-old from Chapel Hill who was named 2007 Filker of the Year online by FilkCast: Potter Style. Filkers typically set new lyrics to existing songs.

"It's kind of the memories and stuff that comes with it," Nancy said. "When you find a community that, even though you've never met this person before, you are like best friends, you're a family."

Harry Potter fans are drawn to a story that lingers just below the surface of real life. Rowling's stories place wizards and witches amid regular people and include so many characters that it's easy to feel connected to one in particular, fans say.

"It's like a world that's just beneath our own," said Scott Vaughan, the owner, with his wife, of Camelot Treasures in Cary. The store sells Potter paraphernalia and is sponsoring tonight's concert. The Vaughans perform in a Wrock band called the Blibbering Humdingers.

Wizard rock isn't always polished and, sure, can sometimes seem nerdy.

But part of the music's charm, Schuyler said, is that it is accessible to children who might want to start their own Wrock band or at least identify with the people on stage. While many bands have an indie or pop sound, they can take on all musical styles, including the '50s and '60s sounds of the Blibbering Humdingers.

"There's this community of kids that is taking a chance and doing something that means something to them, whether people understand it or not, and created this amazing experience for themselves," Schuyler said. "They are literally rock stars to a select group of people, and that's a cool experience for any musician to have."

The brothers DeGeorge

Harry and the Potters played their first show in 2002. Joe DeGeorge said his brother, Paul, had the idea.

"He tried to get his hipster friends to start it, but they were too cool for school," said Joe DeGeorge, 21, who just finished his sophomore year at Clark University.

Little brother Joe, who was 14 at the time, wasn't.

On stage, they're both Harry Potter, referring to each other as HP. Their lyrics are written from Harry's perspective.

They both resemble the character, especially with their unruly brown hair, and that strengthens the gimmick.

Promoting literacy is a central goal of the band, along with the Wizard rock groups that followed them. The brothers expected to play at libraries and kids' birthday parties. But word spread on the Internet and among Harry Potter fans.

They began touring, hitting 49 states and several foreign countries so far. Paul quit his day job working on smallpox vaccines (seriously). They are the subject of a trivia card in the Swedish version of Trivial Pursuit.

"It's phrased like this, as translated: What do brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge call themselves when they rock out?" Joe said.

"No hint," he marvels. "As if we're household names or something."

The DeGeorge brothers were rock stars at Cat's Cradle on Tuesday.

"Tonight we are one giant Harry Potter," yelled Joe on stage, " ... vanquishing all evil within a 500-mile radius of Carrboro."

The crowd of several hundred launched into some high-energy rocking and Rowling.

Charmed lives

Nancy Merritt of Chapel Hill screamed and sang so much she was hoarse the next day. Wizard rock is a constant in her life, taking up most of the space on her iPod. She traveled to Missouri in May to attend the Wizard rock festival, Wrockstock, and will be in Dallas for a major Harry Potter symposium this week, where she'll see "The Wizard Rockumentary."

Nancy and two friends have started a North Carolina chapter of the group, the Harry Potter Alliance. The Potter Alliance and wizard rockers have joined to register people to vote at Wizard rock concerts. Merritt signed up a few at the concert at Cat's Cradle.

"Without Harry Potter, I cannot see myself even recording my own stuff or volunteering to register people to vote," she said.

Wrock won't go away anytime soon, she said. Schuyler agrees.

Even with the book series complete, there is plenty of fodder for more music, fans say.

There's a whole future that's been left undefined by Rowling, said Schuyler, who lives in Washington state. Generations have yet to read the story about the boy who saved the world.

"The possibilities are endless," she said. "People are always discovering for the first time how cool Harry Potter is."

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