Harry Potter fan and Northern Echo reporter Lauren Pyrah gets caught up in Pottermania as she spends the weekend observing fellow enthusiasts' reaction to the book.

WHETHER you are eagerly turning each page in excited anticipation or wondering what all the fuss is about, there has been no escaping Harry Potter mania.

Although the hype surrounding the final escapades of the nation's favourite wizard was always going to be huge, the commotion generated by the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the weekend still came as a surprise to many.

Pottyness reached fever pitch, as bookshops opened at midnight, die-hard fans queued around the block and US newspapers tried to spoil everyone's fun by printing extracts of the most fervently awaited publishing sensations since the ban on Spycatcher was lifted.

In Darlington, Waterstone's had almost sold out of the book by Saturday afternoon.

The most hardcore followers were outside the Cornmill Centre shop on Friday, waiting in the rain for hours to ensure they got their copy at midnight.

Gemma Lyne, 17, was one of them. Joined by her friend, Grace Beevers, 17, she said she would not put the book down until she reached the final page.

She said: "I plan to read, read and read. I am going to go home, have cups of tea and Lucozade and just read until I finish it."

Harry Potter fancy dress competitions were held at Sainsbury's stores throughout the region, with many of the staff also dressed as the characters.

Nine-year-old Michael Eyles, from Brompton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire, was pronounced the winner at the Darlington store by judge and Northern Echo reporter Owen Amos.

Back at Waterstone's, Potter mania did not let up all weekend, with muggles waiting outside for the shop to open at 8am on Saturday and long queues for most of the day. The books also seem to have become a big event for many families, with parents as keen to read the book as their children.

Lynn Brown and her sons, Matthew, 12, and Christian, nine, could not wait to get their hands on a copy.

She said: "We race each other to see who can finish it first. It has become a family ritual."

Of course, speculation was rife that Harry himself would die.

But not everyone would be happy with this ending.

"She'd better not have killed off Harry," an elderly lady said. "I'm 70, and if she's killed him off, I'll be really upset."