He was number twelve in the queue at 5.30 on a damp Saturday morning. For 13-year-old Terence Fernandes, who was shifting his feet continuously and craning over the crowd to see whether the counter of the Strand Book Stall had opened, asking questions about the book was a bother. The anxiety laying his hands on his pre-ordered copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was palpable. Friday night was the longest. ?He hardly slept,? says his mother. Terence was the first to be up at 4 am and

wake his mom up. But when he reached the store at 4:30 am, he was not even amongst the first five in the queue. ?I have a history test today,? he mumbled.

Ten minutes later, with the coveted book in his hand, he refused to talk until he had read the first few lines. ?Very good beginning,? he remarked. ?But I have to write the history test today,? was his next complaint.

Potter?s antics have attracted the young and the old. Some woke up as early as 2 am to be at the bookstall. Like 15-year-old Ravisha Agarwal, the first person to get her hands on JK Rollings? latest offering at Strand. In fact, her parents accompanied her with a flask of coffee for the long vigil, which ended when the book store opened at 6.15. Ravisha had told her parents, ?I want to be the first one at the book stall to get the book.?

The books were sold at varying prices in bookstalls across the country. Oxford sold 3,000 copies nationally at Rs 804. From 6 am to 7am today, 150 copies were sold in Mumbai, 300 in Kolkata, 120 in Delhi, 160 in Chennai and 100 in Bangalore. Said, Rajiv Chowdhury, CEO, Apeejay Oxford Bookstores Pvt Ltd, the bookstore?s figures for Deathly Hallows have doubled for the first one hour when compared to the last book , Harry Potter the Half Blood Prince.

Strand Book Stall ordered for 7,000 copies, of which 6,500 were pre-ordered, 500 copies were sold on spot and 1,500 copies were couriered throughout India. It sold its first copy on Saturday at 6.25 am and by 2 pm, its entire lot of Potter books were sold out. The books were sold at a discounted price of Rs 675.

?We have placed for a second order of 1,000 books which will be available to readers by Tuesday or Wednesday,? said Sanjeev Kamath, sales executive, Strand.

Landmark book store placed an order for 17,000 pre-bookings in nine stores across seven cities which were sold at Rs 795. In Chennai, it sold 3,000 copies in three stores, 3,500 in Mumbai and 7,000 more are being ordered now, said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, Landmark.

Aniyan Nair, head of operations & marketing, Crossword Bookstores, said they placed an order for 20,000 copies across 45 stores in India, priced at Rs 975. They sold 10,000 copies by 5 pm and expect to finish 15,000 copies by end of the day across India.

Why just a Rowling spell? Chennai?s Dr Navin Jayakumar, an eye surgeon, queuing up at 6 am at Landmark bookstall ostensibly for his son, Ishwar, but is himself an avid Potter fan, was given a sheet of paper to make his own spell. ?Reducio Cruxio Oculus? wrote the doctor. Simply put, it means, Disappear Cross Eyes.

?Well, after my son and every other kid who is a Potter fan finishes reading the book from start to finish today, they will need this spell urgently.?

You bet!