Kiwi kids spellbound by new Harry 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 twig 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 kids at home in Pt Chevalier, Auckland, 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 today 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 the book store especially for the release, no matter how big the lines.
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. It features the popular wizard — now all grown up, with a wife, three children and a stressful job at the Ministry of Magic.
Harry’s son, Albus, is struggling with the family legacy.
There is also a storyline involving Hermione and Ron, now parents to a daughter, Rose.
While Harry Potter books always attract fanfare, this one is special, said Gemma Finlay, marketing and publicity manager for Hachette New Zealand.
‘‘It’s incredibly rare to have a big, timed global release like this,’’ she said. ‘‘We often have titles embargoed, but not down to the hour — and in fact minute! — like this one.’’
Joan Mackenzie, book manager for Whitcoulls, expects it to be ‘‘the biggest book of the year, by some considerable distance’’, although she said that being a script it is unlikely to sell as well as the previous books.