Freeform is ending “Harry Potter” weekends, and this is worse than when Sirius died

Keep your Pensieve at the ready, because tears are about to FLOW: Harry Potter weekend marathons have been a Freeform staple since long before we called the channel Freeform. Unfortunately, that’s all about to change. Freeform’s Harry Potter weekends are ending, and it’s happening so soon.

Starting January 1st, Freeform will lose the rights to air Harry Potter.

So much for a Happy New Year, right? It’s not all bad, though. For the first time ever, HBO has acquired the rights to all eight HP films. So while Disney/ABC will no longer air the movies, marathon-style, HBO subscribers will be able to. You won’t have to wait for special weekends, either; while the channel will probably air them in blocks, and already has a marathon planned, the Harry Potter movies will also be available to watch at any time.

But it’s okay to take time to mourn their absence from Freeform first.

A personal Harry Potter weekend isn’t the same as catching one by chance on TV, but there are upsides.

Think of it this way: You can have your *own* weekends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione whenever you want, without commercials. You can pause and rewind through all your fave moments, and fast forward through the more painful ones (*cough* Sirius dying *cough*). Plus, you won’t have to wait for commercial breaks to go to the bathroom anymore. That’s something, right?

As Collider points out, Freeform hasn’t announced what they’re planning to replace Harry Potter weekends with yet. Is there any other franchise that can fill the lightning bolt-shaped hole the HP series left in our hearts? Sigh. Time to go drown our sorrows in Butterbeer and pumpkin pasties.