Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows, Part 2 - the end of the Potter era?

It's at last time to close the final curtain on the movie series that has taken a decade to complete. With all the books finished and published and the final film released, there has been a full stop placed firmly at the end of the phenomanally successful Potter series.
J.K Rowling is far from a literary genius (and I say this as a fan of her work) yet she has crafted a rich universe and a host of characters millions of children have grown up with. She has encouraged countless children to discover the joy of a great book and her stories and her success will go down in publishing history and rightly so - she has created a series that will doubtlessly become modern classics.
We have been with Harry from the very beginning, from his realisation that he was a wizard right up to the very end when the formidable Lord Voldemort was spectacuarly defeated. We gasped at the twists and the turns, mused over the mysteries, questioned Snape's true intentions a hundred times over and perhaps even shed a tear or two for the much loved charatcters who fell by the wayside.
But now it's all over, what happens next? J.K Rowling is set to release an interactive, online Potter experience named Pottermore in October this year, but beyond this Potter has indeed cast his final spell.
What does the end of this era of Harry Potter mean for Young Adult Fantasy and it's authors? It's time now that Harry retired and made way for new success stories in the genre and his departure poses opportunities for authors and their work to shine through without being cast in his shadow. Many of those who have been following Harry, those fans who queued in the rain outside Waterstones at midnight, waiting with fervent anticipation to get their hands on the latest long-awaited installment will now be looking for something new and it is the those brilliant yet struggling, jaded authors or the previously unnapreciated, unsung heroes of YA fiction who will provide.
Publishers are constantly seeking the next big thing and Harry has left a wizard shaped gap in the market that needs to be filled with something different and unique but equally as enthralling. We'll all miss Harry, but now he's laid down his wand, the way is clearer for new YA fantasy and its authors to take their place in the spotlight.