Gainesville celebrates new Harry Potter story

Editor’s note: This story contains Harry Potter plot spoilers.

The much anticipated screenplay by J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” will be released Sunday, and Gainesville is joining in on the frenzy.

The screenplay has been put into action in London, where Rowling has asked fans to keep the secrets unraveled in the play. Now that the screenplay will be available for the whole world to read, bookstores are holding events to celebrate the eighth book in the Harry Potter series.

For those in town, the UF bookstore and 2nd & Charles will be hosting midnight release parties.

“I’ve had my book pre-ordered for about a month already,” said Lizzy Moore, an 18-year-old UF history freshman. “I grew up reading and watching the adventures of Harry and the gang, and I can’t wait to see how his new adventures are.”

The UF bookstore will begin its release party at 11 p.m. Saturday. The magical evening will have Harry Potter-themed activities and snacks. Attendees will be sorted into Hogwarts houses before the midnight release to have participation in the wizarding trials competition.

2nd & Charles, a used bookstore located at 2601 NW 13th St., will begin its festivities at 2 p.m. Saturday, with a whole day of fun filled with a Harry Potter coloring event and a scavenger hunt. Starting at 9 p.m., a new event will take place every half hour until midnight. Activities include face painting, wand-making and trivia. A costume contest will be held for a chance to win cash prizes.

The eighth book begins 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. It is based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Through the interpretation of the story, Thorne has worked closely with Rowling to incorporate the magic of the wizarding world of Harry Potter to the real world.

When readers last left Harry Potter, he had just rescued Hogwarts from Lord Voldemort, or as most refer to him, He Who Shall Not Be Named. The ending of the last book gives readers an insight on Potter’s future, in which he marries Ginny Weasley and has three loving sons.

When the seventh book ends, Harry and Ginny are on Kings Cross Platform 9 & 3/4 to see their youngest son, Albus Severus, leave for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time. Ron and Hermione are also on the platform to see their daughter, Rose, off to school.

Now as readers enter Hogwarts once again, the book goes into detail of the journey Albus Severus Potter must face as he struggles with the weight of a family legacy he never asked for and how a father and son must learn the unbearable truth of how darkness sometimes comes from unexpected places.

“Anything Harry Potter is always great in my book,” said Brian Houston, a 23-year-old UF physics senior. “I particularly love it, because it gives a whole new meaning to physics and what could be possible in an alternative universe, plus, this new book also talks about his children who I hope end up living to their expectation. No pressure though.”