Saturday, July 21, 2007
Harry Potter scene resembled New Year's Eve as midnight approached
Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
Fans cheer in excitement as the final second tick off the clock before midnight at the Tanglewood Barnes & Noble in Roanoke.
Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
The Wynne family (from left: Randy, Hannah, Cindy and Jacob) of Blacksburg bought three copies of ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' at Volume II bookstore in University Mall in Blacksburg this morning.
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BLACKSBURG — It was about an hour into the Easy Chair Bookstore’s Harry Potter Release Party and outside the crowded store, a large, red-eyed dragon lunged for a pint-sized dementor. Nearby, a cluster of Harry Potter-look alikes, cloaked and bespectacled, watched open-mouthed and pointing.
Such was the atmosphere late Friday night as dozens of fans descended on the Blacksburg bookstore to await the 12:01 a.m. release of the last book in the wildly popular Harry Potter series.
"I came to the last party, but this one’s definitely the best I’ve been to," said Emily Grace Sarver-Wolf, 16. "It’s just everybody being excited all together."
A similarly festive mood met Potter enthusiasts at Books-A-Million in Roanoke where, by 10:15 p.m., people had formed a line in front of the store’s cash registers.
Excited, in costume and with more than an hour to wait, kids and adults in Blacksburg traded trivia, discussed potential endings and guessed at how long it would take them to read the 759-page tome.
"I’m staying up all night to read it," announced 11-year-old Hannah Wynne of Blacksburg. "I’ll probably just fall asleep over my book."
Asked how long it would likely take her to finish "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Hannah paused.
"Probably a day," interjected her brother, Jacob, 7. "She reads really fast."
Emily Grace had similar plans.
"I’m really excited," she said. "I don’t know how big the book’s going to be, but I’ll have a couple cups of coffee and I’ll be alright."
The Blacksburg resident started reading the Harry Potter books at age 8 and said she’s probably read the first six 11 times each.
"Whenever a new book comes out, I always re-read the whole series again," Emily Grace explained. "I really like them because they’re so accessible to everyone — they’re good, quality literature without being difficult."
Emily Grace’s brother, Elias Sarver-Wolf, 9, agreed.
Author J.K. Rowling "makes you get all involved," he said. "Some … books, they’ll give the answers; this, they didn’t do that. They made you read to the next chapter and then the next chapter."
Dressed as Sir Cadogan in gray sweat pants, knight’s armor and a large wooden picture frame, Elias was named winner of the Easy Chair’s under age 12 costume contest and spent much of the party sidestepping attendees in his unwieldy frame.
And while fans gathered eagerly to compete in the party’s other contests —a trivia game, scavenger hunt and dramatic reading exhibition — the highlight of the night was clearly the book release.
By 11:55 p.m., a line of more than 100 people snaked out the door and into University Mall.
Around the same time, eager readers in Roanoke screamed "Oh my God! Oh my God" and clapped as they caught sight of the large crates containing the books being pulled to the registers at Books-A-Million. The crates, covered in red shrink-wrap, had stickers on them that said "Hot Product Secure Immediately."
As staff cut through the wrapping and opened the box, camera phones snapped pictures and girls jumped up and down. One teen fanned her face with a voucher.
"It’s like Christmas," said Erin Hogan, 18, of Vinton.
Back in Blacksburg, the atmosphere was more reminiscent of New Year’s Eve.
At the 10-seconds-to-midnight mark, Easy Chair co-owner Russell Chisholm began the countdown.
"Ten," fans shouted as they joined him. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, ONE!"
Cheers rang out and, perhaps forgetting what she was celebrating, 9-year-old Grace Ross yelled, "Happy …!"
At 12:01 a.m., 11-year-old Anna Newman of Salem was handed the Roanoke Books-A-Million’s first book. Newman, dressed as Dumbledore, was ushered to the front of the line after stealing first place in the costume contest.
"He’s my favorite character," she said. "He’s so old, but he has a personality of his own."
Behind Newman came a flood of people, grabbing white bags and bolting for the door.
Casey Claar, 15 of Franklin County, and Cynthia Woods, 16 of Roanoke County, walked out doors with their arms around each other, sobbing.
"This is like the worst and best day of my life," Claar said. "I’ve grown up with the books. It just makes me so sad it’s the last one."
Woods said she didn’t think she could open to the first page without hyperventilating.
"This is one of the best moments of my entire life," she said, rubbing the book.
Back inside the bookstore, the end of the line was nearing the cash register.
And by 12:15 a.m., almost everyone had rushed out of the store.
In Blacksburg, fans who couldn’t wait for their rides, simply sat down and started reading.
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