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Ruhin, Gaurav and Riddhi in line as Harry Potter fans living in the UAE at the book launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Image Credit: Zarina Fernandes/ Gulf News

“My daughter’s always loved Gryffindor. But I’ve convinced her to switch to Slytherin,” a mother in her mid-thirties wearing a Slytherin T-shirt said to another Harry Potter fan, as she waited in line to pick up her pre-ordered copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Parts One and Two), at Virgin Megastore, Mall of the Emirates, at 2.30am. Touted as the biggest literary event of the year (or even the decade), Harry Potter mania took over the world once again on Sunday, nine years after the final book of the series was released.

At Virgin Megastore, hundreds of fans, dressed in their wizard finery, waited in snaking queues before the scheduled 1.30am store opening on Sunday morning, disregarding the fact that many would have to trudge to work in a few hours. The book release (read play script) also coincided with Harry Potter’s 36th birthday and a big bash was in order.

Transformed into an almost mini Hogwarts, the magic was palpable at Virgin Megastore. A corner saw fans huddled on large cushions as they watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Nearby, a candy stand showcased the book's candy store Honeydukes’ best: from dragon eggs to blood drops to Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans (I got lucky and walked away with chocolate fudge), among others. The great dinner hall was also replicated with four tables to represent the houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

An actor dressed as Potions Master Professor Severus Snape, looking as gaunt and intimidating as ever, posed unsmiling with fans. When asked for a quick interview, he sneered down at us and in typical Snape fashion, said, “You wish to interview Professor Snape?” and walked away in a huff.

The half-giant Hagrid was also around spreading cheer and talking to fans. Perhaps getting the most attention was Professor McGonagall, sorting fans into their houses: While some fans walked away disappointed not getting into the house they wished to get into (Gryffindor was a fan favourite for obvious reasons), most young wizards walked away gleefully, one step closer to their Hogwarts dream.

You could almost taste the anticipation in the air as we got closer to 3am, when the book was officially made available for purchase. A final countdown opened the counters and within moments fans walked out of the store clutching the book. Many were also spotted trying to read the book at the store.

Fan talk

tabloid! spoke to a few fans at the store before the book release.

Omar Ali, an Emirati teenager, was one of the first people waiting in line to get into Virgin, and without parental supervision.

“I’ve come from Al Ain with my father. But he’s at the hotel sleeping,” Ali who was wearing a Harry Potter T-shirt and holding a Voldemort wand, said. Ali said he had read all the books and laughed about how all his friends were annoyed with his Harry Potter obsession.

33-year-old falconer Erin Human dressed up as her favourite character Tonks, sporting Tonks’ typical pink hair and cuddling a toy owl under one arm.

“I work with falcons and owls. But I don’t think I could bring them today,” Human laughed. “Guess I belong to the first Harry Potter reading generation and have been a fan from the beginning. I always think of myself more as a muggle Tonks as she has been my favourite character from the beginning and I keep doing this until today”.

Human was elated with the release of the Cursed Child even though the size of the book is nowhere near that of the seven earlier ones. Unlike many in the UAE, Sunday happened to be her weekend so she was happy she had the opportunity to attend the midnight party.

“[Weekend or not] either way I would have been here,” she said.

Ali, an Omani media student, was happy that he was currently on vacation. Wearing a black T-shirt with ‘Slaytherin’ embossed on it and a fake green snake curled around his neck and head, he said he “wanted to keep his look simple”.

“Well it’s two in the morning. You don’t want to go any bigger,” he said.

Nine-year-old Abhishek, however, summed up the spirit of the evening.

“Harry Potter is my favourite series of books because it has mystery, suspense, all the characters are described in such detail that I can almost imagine that I am Harry Potter and I’m in that situation. I haven’t seen all the movies but read all the books except this one,” he said.

15-year-old Shreya has been waiting for an eighth book for some time now. “I think it was my cousin who first read the book. And I was quite curious about the book because of the fans and the excitement around the series. I read the first book three years ago and I have been a fan since. And I have always wished for either a sequel or a prequel so I was very excited when the play was announced and now we know we’re going to find out more about Harry Potter’s son. So it’s very exciting. I think as Potterheads, we’re always going to want more stories. It’s never going to be over for us, actually,” she said. 

33-year-old Riddhi Talreja attended with her husbad Gaurav Talreja (who claims to be “a forced fan”) and their 6-year-old daughter. “Since the time the books have come out, I’ve been a fan. It’s something I could escape into and it’s been the longest wait for this new book. After the seventh book, we thought that was it. But now we hope there’s going to be a ninth and a tenth,” said Riddhi.

Mahasin Inam, a pharmacist based out of Abu Dhabi, finds the series flawles. “I find that they’ve taken care of every aspect of the book. They’ve covered both humanity and wizardry.And no matter how many times I read the book, I fail to find a flaw. And of course, normal people need fantasy,” she said. When asked about having to go to work in a few hours, Inam said, “I couldn’t care less. I’m going to get a good night’s sleep now that I have the book and it’ll help relieve some of the stress.”

12-year-old Aria Prasad and 15-year-old Afrah Shaikh turned up in full wizard robes and accessories. “I’m a big Harry Potter fan because I love the magic that’s in it and I love all the characters,” said Prasad. She told tabloid! how she’s hung up all the four house insignias on her wall and that she owns a time turner and the Marauder’s Map as well. “The Harry Potter world is just so magical. Every time I read the books, it takes me intop another world. And it’s so relaxing reading these books. I don’t know too much about this new book because I didn’t want to find out before I read it. But I’ve read many of the play reviews and it sounds exciting,” said Shaikh. 

Kit Clothier, senior book buyer, Virgin Megastore, said, “I don’t think anyone was expecting an eigth book coming through, another installment in the story. Ever since we first heard about it, we got together and thought about what we could do to make it special for the fans. We wanted to match it with the UK opening which is 12 in the morning there, so 3 in the morning here. I didn’t really expect such a big turnout. We knew there were fans in the region, but this turnout [nearly 500] is inbcredible,”