I sit here drinking coffee...

On Friday night I woke up from my nap and was on my way to Borders. I got there about 11:15 pm, the parking lot was packed. First, you had to check-in at the front table and get a card with a number on it. At midnight, they would begin calling numbers. This allowed you to browse rather than waiting in line all night. My card was number 0413. Yes, that is number four hundred and thirteen. And yes, they started at number 0001.

The place was swarming with costumed children and adults alike. There were Hermione's, Harry's, Dumbledore's, dragons, house elves, everything. They had converted the Borders Cafe into the Three Broomsticks and were selling Butterbeer, Dragon's Blood, Polyjuice Potion, and the list went on. I headed to the cafe line because I needed to get some of that butterbeer. I waited there until after midnight, but I didn't care. I chatted a bit with the lady in front of me whose son was the spitting image of Draco Malfoy (year one). He had his long blonde hair slicked back and was wearing his Slytherin-colored school uniform. He kept coming over to give his mom the updates on the costume contest. There were many different categories, and he would say, "I didn't win the 'Best Student'." He was clearly bummed. After awhile, his mom started jumping up and down, she had heard his name on the loud speaker. He ran over and all of the sudden he was very shy, "I won." His mom asked what category he won, and he had no idea. She told him to go ask, but he was too shy to walk back over. He won a $5 gift certificate.

Butterbeer consisted of steamed milk, vanilla syrup, and caramel syrup. When I got to the front of the line, I asked for mine with a shot of espresso. It was yum.my. I grabbed a British music magazine that had the Killers (h.o.t.) on the front and searched the aisles for a place to sit. I finally found a space of floor in the history section. My number was called around 1:35, and I had my book and was on my way home by 1:45. The Borders people were wonderful! They didn't care that they were working, actually, I think they loved it. It did not feel like 1 o'clock in the morning inside that Borders, although there were a few people sleeping under some of the tables. People were happy, and excitement and anticipation was flowing.

As for the book, I liked it much better than Order of the Phoenix. Now all I have to do is wait like two more years for the next. It will be bittersweet, I don't want to think about that just yet.