"The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane." So begins Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the 7th and purportedly final book in J. K. Rowling's phenomenonally successful series.
Harry Potter 7, as it is known, went on sale in Los Gatos--and everywhere--at 12:01 a.m. on July 21. As many as 1,000 customers mobbed the Borders Books and Music store on University and spilled across Old Town, waiting in a single file line wearing color-coded wrist bands.
Borders threw a Grand Hallows Ball in Harry's honor, a coordinated celebration likely held at Borders nationwide, including a Potter Spelling Bee, the Great Snape Debate, costume contest and special potions and edibles from the Borders Cafe.
The first book was sold to Kathy Figueroa who showed up when the store opened at 9 a.m. to get a wrist band and returned at 9 p.m. to begin waiting. Kathy was delighted to win the "first in line" raffle because standing in line was difficult with her broken foot. She bought the book and planned to let her grandchildren, who were with her, read it first.
A group of friends--Mike Johnson, Sam Robinson, Briana Konigsberg, God McAwesome (not his real name), and Youth Commissioner Liz Mellema--each planned to buy a copy.
"It's a cliffhanger," Johnson explained. "You've got to find out what happens." Johnson's friend Robinson expect to finish reading the book in 4 hours. Both are recent high school graduates. "Well, it wasn't exactly designed for kids," Robinson says, somewhat defensively.
Bill Bowman of Cupertino got to the Borders store at 6:30 a.m. to be first in line for a wrist band, then made sure that he was near the front of the line. San Jose natives Teresa Castro and Alex Sempel bought books 5 and 6 a this Borders, so they had to return. "It's a tradition," Castro shrugs. They, too, were at the head of the line.
The books sold briskly (although sales information is confidential) at $21, 40% off the long-awaited book's $35 list price. If you didn't want to join the midnight party, there will still be copies for sale over the weekend. Of course, but by then, the true fans--the pure bloods, if you will--will have already learned what happens between Harry and Lord Voldemort.
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