Luna over the moon for more Potter magic
DRACO, Harry, Luna, and Hagrid gathered at an unassuming residential address in a leafy Auckland suburb.
They were comparing wands; Hagrid’s Barbie umbrella and Draco’s repurposed tig was no match for Luna’s store-bought limited-edition elder wand.
The magic wore off when Cerberus’ third head fell off and he turned back into the family dog, Teddy – and all the kids started laughing.
The Pt Chevalier kids, like millions of children (and adults) worldwide, were counting down the minutes until the global release of the new Harry Potter book.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would be released on Sunday on the dot of 11.01am NZ time, and not a minute before.
The kids, aged 10 to 14, all planned to make the trip to a book store especially for the release. They didn’t know that to expect from the new book, except that it followed the next generation of magical children – especially Harry’s son.
The book is actually the script of an original West End production, which debuts hours before the book’s release.
Written by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Skins screenwriter Jack Thorne, it’s the eighth book to feature the popular wizard — now all grown up, with a wife, three children and a stressful job at BEVAN READ / FAIRFAX NZ the Ministry of Magic.
It centres on Harry and his son, Albus, who is uncomfortable with the family legacy.
Hermione and Ron Weasley are now parents to a daughter Rose.
Hachette New Zealand marketing and publicity manager Gemma Finlay said it was ‘‘incredibly rare‘‘ to have a synchronised global book release.
Joan Mackenzie, book manager for Whitcoulls, expects it to be ‘‘the biggest book of the year, by some considerable distance’’.