Hourly Update

Midnight can't come soon enough for Harry Potter fans

Midnight can't come fast enough for hundreds of die hard Harry Potter fans who lined up today hours before "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," is supposed to go on sale at the witching hour. A line of people stood outside beginning early today of the Borders store at Park Place mall, 5870 E. Broadway, to get the first wrist bands used to distribute the new book. All of the people in line Friday had pre-ordered the book but couldn't get a place in line until yesterday morning. Some arrived as early as 4:30 a.m. to get the wrist bands. "We're dedicated, insane fans," said Catherine Johnson, 37, who waited for two hours to get her band. "We're standing in line for the privilege of standing in line," chimed Amanda Leisure, 25, a graphic designer who was to return Friday night to get a copy. The distribution system - which Borders has used for several years - will use color-coded wrist bands to distribute "Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final installment in the series penned by author J.K. Rowling. People who show up at midnight and had orange wrist bands were going able to get their reserved copies first. After those bands were gone, people with silver, blue, green and pink bands get their copies. Those who did not have reservations were given purple bands and had to wait later to buy the book. The distribution system was only to be used Friday and shoppers Saturday shouldn't worry about getting wrist bands if they want to buy "Deathly Hallows," said Borders manager Michael Fenlason. "We've got about 3,600 bands. I'm not sure if we're going to use them all but we might get close," said Fenlason, who declined to say how many copies the store is keeping in stock. Publisher Scholastic shipped more than 12 million copies of the 784-page "Deathly Hallows," which retails for $34.99, but can be bought for about $20 at most places. Both Borders locations are opening at 7 a.m. Saturday. Not all stores were giving out tickets early - Barnes & Noble stores weren't handing out tickets until 6 p.m. Friday. The children's bookstore, Kids Center, 1725 N. Swan Road, planned to offer a pick-up service in the store and a drive-through distribution system for pre-paid orders starting at 11 p.m. tonight. But after waiting two years for "Deathly Hallows," Chris Mills, 40, didn't mind waiting two hours Friday to stand in line for a Borders wrist band. "I asked for this weekend off months ago just so I could read the book," said Mills, a mother of two. "People in my house know to leave me alone this weekend." Dena Payne, 45, an East Side resident, arrived with her family Friday morning to get three wrist bands to buy six copies of the book, including one for a 25-year-old nephew enlisted in the U.S. Navy. "This is the highlight of our summer," Payne said. "Now we're just trying to decide how we'll read it - should we read it as fast as possible or savor it for as long as we can? We just want to know how it ends."