Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 18/05) - Dozens of children, teenagers and adults in Yellowknife cracked open the long-awaited Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince over the weekend.

All available copies of the much sought after book were gone within minutes of the midnight release.

The Book Cellar received 156 copies of the sixth instalment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series for the July 16 publication date. Staff distributed most of them at one-minute past midnight, following a late evening costume party at Bullock's Bistro.

Potter fans of all ages came dressed as wizards, elves, witches and Hogwarts professors.

Organizers served a revolting menu of green hot dogs, dragon toes and grawp snot, while children competed in a Harry Potter quiz and other activities. Costume prizes went to Seamus Daly, for his fiery red phoenix wings and orange feathery tail, and Greg Huvenaars, for his perfect portrayal of the bespectacled young wizard.

Asked when Yellowknife readers can expect more copies of the book to become available, a publicist with Vancouver-based distributor Rain Coast Books said "We would be making an assessment very early in the week in terms of reorders for accounts.

"We're confident that we will be able to resupply key accounts and certainly Yellowknife would be considered a very key account for us."

Staff at The Book Cellar translate that to mean they'll have some by next Friday.

The Yellowknife public library is expecting to have a copy soon, as well.

In the latest book, the muggle and magical worlds don't collide again, but the muggles notice more strange happenings caused by Voldemort's return.

Harry Potter and his Hogwarts classmates begin their sixth year at the school, anticipating more quidditch matches, magical instruction and confrontations with the dark arts.