Harry the Seventh: divide and lure?

It's still only 11 p.m. on Friday night, but the crowd waiting to get into Hogwarts Castle (a.k.a. Sir Robert Samut Hall in Floriana) from the courtyard is practically already standing room only....

Courtesy of Kathleen and Rebecca Bulteel, I have just learned that Dementors are ten-foot tall, soul-sucking fiends with a humanoid shape who "grow like fungi in the darkest, dankest places", have no eyes and grey, decayed hands.

Nicole Debono, who prefers the films to the books, says that Occlumency is that branch of magic which helps secure the mind against penetration by other minds intent on reading it through Legilimency. Christabel Galea adds that Floo powder is glitter-dust invented by Ignatia Wildsmith, and used by wizards to travel through a network that connects all fireplaces the world over.

The earnestly eerie atmosphere befits the occasion - Merlin Library Limited has pulled out all the stops for the launch of Book 7 in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I must be the only person here who has never read a book or watched a film about this 'person', not least because I could never condone books for children where sorcery is tinged with the occult.

Harry Potter, like Eskarina Smith in the Discworld series, did not know he was a Wizard until 'something' happened.

A crash course in "Potter-y" by Matthew Pulis teaches me that Harry Potter, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger are the stars of a boarding school tale, albeit one with several plaited twists. I wish I had paid more attention in my shorthand lessons!

Just as Damien from The Omen had his unique 666 birthmark, so Harry has a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. This dates to when Lord Voldemort had orphaned Harry. But the Avada Kedavara death-spell just missed Harry, making him the only person in the world ever to survive one.

The fact that this scar throbs when Lord Voldemort is in the vicinity has actually led Dr Fred Sheftell, MD, of New England Centre for Headache, to conclude that the boy wizard 'probably' suffers from migraines. As Mark Twain said, "Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."

But I digress. It's time to be admitted into the suitably spooky atmosphere of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Here's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds, and Care of Magical Creatures. I ask him about his one-time love interest - Olympe Maxime, a fellow half-giant and headmistress of the French magic school Beauxbatons - but he is surprisingly coy. He quickly diverts the conversation to the antics of his gormless pet, Fang the boarhound.

Meanwhile, the Dementors (kin of the Nazgul from the Lord of the Rings?) guide each group up the stairway of the place that was once a Methodist church. The light-play by Nexos, designed by Patrick Vella, and the sombre organ music and sound effects, and the set designed by Pierre Portelli, set the mood. The characters that wowed the audience came from the Curtain Raiser Theatre Group.

The Lady in the Picture (in the series, people in portraits have a disconcerting habit of interacting with 'real' life!) welcomes us, and leads us to the Wizard's Chessboard, where the Knight in Shining Armour challenges all comers to cross the board without his noticing.

The Potions Table was hands-down favourite with all visitors.

Basic science experiments were dressed up as alchemists' concoctions - we could test the age-old theories of "hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness".

A night dedicated to Harry Potter could not be allowed to pass without The Test that was set by the Sorting Hat.

Many schools have 'houses' that compete for excellence during the scholastic year; the (Acting!) Head of School at Hogwarts segregated the children according to how the answered the question she put them as they sat on a stool wearing the Sorting Hat. The four Houses, bear the last name of their founders: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin (the 'evil' one), Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff.

Occasionally, there are exceptions; although the Hat had told Harry that he would do well in Slytherin, and Hermione was destined for Ravenclaw, both ended up in Gryffindor when they expressed a desire to be there. It is worth noting that all the equipment was the real McCoy, imported from the United States expressly for this occasion.

Bernard the Magician had several tricks up his sleeve (and in his jacket pockets and suitcase); he performed sleight-of-hand tricks to fool even the most jaded of adults.

From there it was time to get down to the nitty-gritty; gaining possession of the book, which has been the subject of interest practically since the first one hit the bookshelves - well, the saga had to end some day.

Would the final word in it be 'scar', as author J.K. Rowling had once said - only to say she had changed her mind, later? Would any one of the 'spoilers' that had plagued the Internet turn out to be true?

And time suddenly stood still. The sealed boxes of books, which Merlin were bound by contract not to open until the magic moment of 01.01 a.m. of Saturday, has so far been 'hidden' under a flimsy film of black tulle. Keeper of The Book herded everyone around him in preparation of the noisy count-down, as Martina the Muggle stood watch.

And the Lady in the Picture helped the Keeper hand out the copies (as well as a free gift to anyone who had pre-booked); some of the kids were doubly happy because their activity sheets had won them spot prizes too.

This was the only launch of the seventh Harry Potter book in Malta to be filmed for the official J.K. Rowling documentary, The making of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

A crew from IWC Media (www.iwcmedia.co.uk) came over to Malta specifically to catch the event, having heard through Bloomsbury (the United Kingdom publishers of the HP series) about the fascinating venue chosen for it...

One of the team told me that Malta is one of only 12 such locations worldwide - including Karachi, London, Cape Town, Sydney, Beijing and New York - chosen for this documentary. The camera crew will also be filming generic shots of Malta for inclusion in it.

So this is a coup for Malta as well as a scoop for Merlin.

Bargate Bookshop of Victoria, Gozo joined the rest of the world and for the first time gave Gozitan Harry Potter fans a taste of an official launch.

Bargage opened its doors to Harry fans at 1.01 a.m. yesterday and the first Gozitan to lay his hands on Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows was Saviour Grech of Victoria.

What the literati said:

As with any other craze, the Harry Potter phenomenon has a lot to do with the megabucks promotion of the book, film and other related merchandising; this creates the bandwagon effect, wherein one feels one cannot 'afford' not to be able to talk about it, since it would lose one street cred. This attitude relates to a particular subculture. Moreover young people seem to find the paranormal of great interest.
Mary Anne Lauri, Psychologist

I'm another ardent supporter of the "it is not Satanic or occultist" camp, but I also defend the "he's a brat who never has any consequences for breaking the rules, and it is full of themes inappropriate for younger children, especially the developing romance and its ensuing physical closeness" camp.
Catherine Alexander, Author

I'm quite biased on this issue! I just love reading the Harry Potter books. I got hooked about seven years ago when a colleague lent me the first book in the series. Ever since, I have been one of those who count the days till the next book is out. At the moment I'm reading The Chronicles of Narnia series; but I planned my reading in a way to finish the last chapter on midnight of June 21 (exactly when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released).The films are fine, but nowhere near as thrilling or magical as the books.
Deo Grech, Drama teacher

It's all about a fantasy world built for children, which gives them 'indirect' power over situations they cannot explain or control; a sort of modern Peter Pan aided by modern technology - for which read special effects. Don't let us forget the money aspect, either; and as to the lure of the forbidden. Queen Margarita once said that eating ice cream is marvellous but if it were a sin it would taste even better.
Vicky Bugeja, Social worker