Harry Potter and the Cursed Child eagerly awaited at Pointe-Claire bookstore

Montrealers counted down the hours before the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with a party at a West Island bookstore Saturday night.

The event, which began at 9 p.m. at Babar Books in Pointe-Claire, included a Quidditch match, musical performances and themed-refreshments like butterbeer and chocolate frogs.

For Harry Potter superfans, known as Potterheads, it's been a long time coming since the seventh and last instalment of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out in 2007.

"I am so excited. I'm really happy to have something else with the Harry Potter franchise coming out," 23-year-old Emily Brayton told CBC Montreal's All in a Weekend ahead of the book launch.

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After book went on sale one minute after midnight, Brayton and other members of the West Island Student Theatre Association did a cold reading of the first three scenes.

Though this latest release has been promoted as the eighth book in the bestselling series, it is actually a two-part script book of the play that debuted July 30, which was written by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany and based on a story by the series' writer, J.K. Rowling.

The book starts off where the seventh one left off with Harry Potter as a father whose son is about to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

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For Brayton and many others for whom Harry Potter was a first foray into reading, it feels like they've grown up with the title character.

"It gave us a chance to grow up with the characters because we saw Harry Potter from age 10 in the first [book] to being an adult. And now, being able to be an adult and see Harry's story is something really special."