The genre, which emerged around 2002, includes all types of music, from folk to hip-hop to metal. What all wizard-rock bands have in common is (mostly) young musicians taking on the personas of – you guessed it – characters in the Harry Potter books and playing songs written from their point of view. The movement now numbers more than 200 bands.

The first wizard-rock band, Harry and the Potters, spent the last few weeks on the first leg of a three month tour of North America marking the release of the seventh and final book in Rowling’s Potter series.

The tour, which launched June 1 at New York’s Knitting Factory, upholds the wizard-rock tradition of playing in libraries across the U.S. and Canada, with a few exceptions, like Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Ore. (July 10), and the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria, N.Y. (July 19).

The band will play a free show at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., on July 20, the day before the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” and then resume their tour, which will see them on the road through the middle of August.

Of course what’s Harry Potter without his foil? Fellow wizard-rockers Draco and the Malfoys will accompany the Potters for all dates after the release of “Deathly Hallows.”

Other wizard-rock bands include The Whomping Willows, Justin Finch-Fletchley & The Sugar Quills, Hungarian Horntails, The Marauders, The Parselmouths, and The Remus Lupins.

Wizard-rock concerts look a lot like any indie, alternative rock performance, with fans linking arms or waving them, swaying and singing along with the band, and proudly displaying band paraphernalia. In this case, however, die hard fans have traded band t-shirts and jeans for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry uniforms of white shirts, plaid bottoms, ties, and occasionally, robes.

Fans of the genre say they see the bands as a way to keep something they love going after the series ends.

“Once all the books are gone, there will be nothing to look forward to,” said Ashley Whitman, 20, who was attending a recent show by The Whomping Willows and Draco and the Malfoys at the Norwalk Public Library in Connecticut.

Draco and the Malfoys, named after Harry’s smarmy, spoiled enemy Draco Malfoy, began as a joke two summers ago when brothers Brad Mehlenbacher and Brian Ross of Woonsocket, R.I., attended a house party thrown by members of Harry and the Potters. The brothers took on Draco’s persona, poking fun at Harry with songs like, “My Dad is Rich, Your Dad is Dead.”

The brothers quickly saw that the whole wizard rock concept had traction. Mehlenbacher said writing from Draco’s point of view also unleashed his imagination.

“I had trouble writing songs from my own perspective,” said Mehlenbacher, 27. “I just didn’t think people cared what I had to say.”

The pair has had fun trying to get into Draco’s head, figuring out why he’s so mean, Melenbacher added. Their lyrics are all tongue-in-cheek, and all but the very youngest kids seem to understand that.

“Little kids really take it personally,” said Ross, 32. “They yell at us.”

Librarian Vicki Oatis, who organized the show at the Norwalk Library, said to her knowledge the wizard-rock phenomenon is unique in music history.

“There’s never been anything like this before,” Oatis said. “There’s never been a series of books that has inspired a [music] genre.”

Wizard-rockers put out albums, make videos and tour. They’ve been featured on MTV and VH1. Ross said Draco and the Malfoys have played to audiences as large as 900. The brothers haven’t quit their day jobs, but they do take vacations to tour.

And in the best DIY tradition, many of the older fans who come to wizard-rock shows end up starting bands of their own. Ross said with music software and the Internet making it so easy to share one’s music, “there’s no reason for anyone not to do this.”