By MARC BEJA
The final installment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was just minutes away from going on sale at 12:01 a.m. last Saturday, and the three girls waiting impatiently outside the door of Barnes & Noble in Carle Place began a debate.
"I think Hermione and Ron will get together and Harry will kill Voldemort," Phoebe said.
"But one of them has to die - it was in the prophecy from the fifth book," Shava reminded her.
"Oh, everybody's gonna die!" Koler shouted.
Hundreds of other Potter fanatics wore homemade shirts and held signs with their predictions about the end of the series. Others had dressed up as their favorite characters from the books, and were wearing cloaks, magic wands, glasses and broomsticks. More than 1,800 enthusiasts, according to the store's count, stood in a line that wrapped around the store and continued up and down rows of cars in the parking lot at 91 Old Country Road in Carle Place.
"This is silly," Lynbrook resident Doreen Lobelle, 24, said about her Tonks costume. "I know it. I acknowledge it."
She brought two siblings, Denise, 14, who was dressed as Hermione, and Michael, 13, who was hidden under his Dementor cloak. "I just figured it was the last hurrah, so why not?" Doreen explained.
Barnes & Noble held Harry Potter-themed events the entire week, ending with a two-hour-long party beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday, three hours before the book went on sale, which included magicians, balloon makers, jugglers and more.
By 1:35 a.m., 1,200 books had been sold. An additional 3,000 copies were purchased the following day, including 2,000 that had been pre-ordered. While the book's list price was $34.99, Barnes & was selling it for $20.99. The first group of customers cheered and waived their books in the air, flaunting them at those waiting to get into the store. One teen ran out of the store shouting a false ending to the crowd. Some yelled at him and covered their ears, afraid of having the book spoiled, but most ignored him and inched closer to the entrance.
"I have to finish reading it this weekend before all the kids tell me the ending at camp on Monday," East Rockaway resident Samantha Yudin, 16, said.
Even though they had waited at the store for hours, many enthusiasts stayed there to start reading the 784-page book instead of going home. They sat along the curb outside the entrance, hunched over the opening pages.
"I'm gonna start reading it immediately," said Lynbrook teen Jessica Walocha, who had been waiting since 3 p.m. "I need to finish it -- I don't know how it's going to end. But whatever J.K. Rowling says, goes."
The books chronicle the seven years of schooling of wizard Harry Potter and his friends at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and their battle with the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. The first book was published in London in 1997, before coming to the U.S. in 1998. The books have also been brought to the screen: The fifth movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was released on July 11.
Since the next-to-last book was released in July of 2005, many readers decided to review the saga to make sure they remembered everything. "I re-read all of them," Oceanside resident Jonathan Freifeld, 16, said. "I'm gonna try to read some of the new book tonight, and hopefully I'll finish it by the end of the week."
Jonathan finished the book less than 24 hours later. "It was worth the wait," he said.
"I didn't re-read the books like a lot of people did," said Alex Newman, 21, of Lynbrook. "I reviewed all of them on SparkNotes last night."
Stores around Long Island held similar events, either staying open late or re-opening after midnight to sell the book to those who just couldn't wait until the following morning. "I'm not waiting on this line," said Madelin Dezego of Valley Stream, sizing up the Carle Place crowd. "I've got one coming in the morning. I just hope my mailman isn't too late."
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