It goes without saying that this week was swept up in Harry Potter mania, so much so that everything else almost paled in the comparison. And I don’t mean this in terms of scale-of-grandness or celebrity attendees, but the sheer excitement that accompanied the launch of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, the latest book in the series.
And lets face it, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter wasn’t just a series of books or movies to us, it was an integral part of growing up. Those characters in a parallel dimension somewhere, felt real to us.
We felt like we knew them, we certainly loved them, and since we made the transition into adulthood together, it seemed only fair to be there to find out where life had taken them.
While celebrations were on across the city at various venues, I found myself at what felt like ground zero, Phoenix Market City, where fans had gathered by the hundreds, to be first in line for their copies. Right from the entry that had been transformed into the famed platform, complete with the Hogwarts Express, to the floating candles and broomsticks that hung from the ceiling, to people of all ages dressed up as every type of character from the book, it was something you had to see to believe.
In the wait leading up to the launch, prizes were giving out for everything from best spell casting to best dressed, with top prizes, interestingly enough, going mostly to the villains.
A 7-year-old ‘Dobby’ did manage to steal our hearts though and walk away with first place. For the quiz round, groups discussed answers furiously, in some cases entire families with grandparents, parents and kids, different generations but united by their love for Potter. The frenzy reached an all time high as the clocked ticked down, and the launch of the book was upon us. The fans could wait no longer. And thankfully, they didn’t have to!
