"It's kind of nice to escape to a place a bit more magical," said her sister, Stephanie, 16, looking forward to the 768-page British edition, the longest yet in the tales of Harry and his pals at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (The American edition runs 870 pages, but has the same content.)
The girls' family had rescheduled their two-week tour of Europe to be in London for the launch.
Paying homage to its King's Cross location, the WH Smith store re-created the gateway to Platform 9 3/4, where Harry, Ron and Hermione catch the magical Hogwarts Express to school.
A line of 100 or so eager fans trailed from the store into the station's cavernous arrival hall and contained an equal smattering of children, parents and Potter-mad adults. Entertainers dressed in multicolored capes and magical sorting hats juggled and performed tricks for delighted youngsters, and a painter created Harry Potter scars and glasses on the children's faces.
"She has made a hero of somebody who could have become a victim," said graying Gillian Hammerton. Like Harry, she was orphaned at an early age. "It's marvelous for someone to have empathy with how a child can feel when they are not in the bosom of a family," she said.
As Harry's daring exploits against the evil Lord Voldemort burst upon the waiting world, bookstore owners appeared as excited as their customers.
"It is like a concentrated burst of Christmas," said Wayne Winstone, children's books director for Ottakar's bookshop, which had 77,000 advance orders nationwide.
The book was being launched in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand at the same time as in Britain. And a Paris branch of WH Smith held a special late-night opening with a magician performing tricks and staff dressed as wizards.
Anticipation built in the United States, where the book was to be released at 12:01 a.m. EDT Saturday.
Aspiring young wizards visiting a Barnes & Noble bookstore in Henderson, Nev., received a pair of Harry Potter glasses and were placed under the famed Sorting Hat to determine which house they belong to at Hogwarts. At a Borders in Chicago, youngsters made owl puppets and got their faces painted as they awaited the midnight hour.
Security remained high at most outlets. The 100 copies already reserved at the Westerville Library in suburban Columbus, Ohio, were being kept out of sight in the basement.
"We are afraid if we wheel them through the library when patrons are in the building we will start a frenzy," manager Annabell Burton said.
The twists and turns in the plot were guarded closely by the British publisher, Bloomsbury. Rowling insisted on preserving her surprises for readers. She did reveal that one of the central figures dies in the book, but said she has not even told her husband who the doomed character is.
Yet leaks occurred. A store in Fishers, Ind., and a New York health food store were among those that mistakenly put copies out for sale. The Daily News in New York City, which bought a copy and published a preview, is now facing a $100 million lawsuit from Rowling and her publishers.
