Potter's magic
The wait is almost over for Harry Potter fans. This Saturday, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will hit the shelves in bookstores around the world, answering lingering questions from the boy wizard's previous adventures while taking readers on an exciting new journey.
The book is the sixth instalment in J.K. Rowling's series and will no doubt provide more adventures and twists for the three main characters: Harry Potter and his best mates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Rowling finished writing the book in December last year and its contents have since been highly guarded. Last month, two men in England were arrested for stealing advance copies of the eagerly-awaited book, which they tried to sell to a tabloid.
It has been rumoured that a major character will die in the new book. Several SYP readers have speculated Harry will be the unlucky one.
'Harry might die and then come back to life in the next book. That would be really thrilling and exciting.' said 14-year-old Pradeep Kumar Sharma.
Others have guessed that Dumbledore - the principal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft - will die, leaving Harry to fight his arch-enemy, Voldemort, on his own.
Many fans are also keen to learn more about the blooming love life of Harry, who is now a teenager. Hot debate is raging over whether Hermione or Cho Chang will win Harry's heart.
'I think Harry will date Hermione because they seem to know each other better and they have shared more experiences,' said Aruna Parthasarathy, 14.
Harry has had a crush on Cho since she first arrived at Hogwarts during his second year, but she has been dating another student, Cedric Diggory.
However, a number of readers - such as Stephanie Linning, 14 - hold out hope that Harry will have a chance to date Cho. This would open up the possibility of Hermione and Ron becoming a couple.
Although Harry is the series' protagonist, he isn't the favourite character among SYP readers. Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, was voted the most popular character, while loyal and witty Ron ranked second.
Veronica Tam, 12, said she favoured Sirius because he is brave and has the ability to transform himself into a loveable black dog.
Vivek Kirpalani, 15, is attracted to his rebellious spirit. 'I'm a teenager and Sirius is slightly rebellious - the kind of person you want to hang out with,' he said.
The Harry Potter series has become so popular that it has spawned movies, a line of books with different covers aimed at adults, and attracted a legion of faithful fans.
Sally Pei, 16, is a diehard fan of the series. She has read each book in the series several times because she believes there is always something new to be discovered.
'Although the wizarding world is definitely fictional, it seems very real, as if there really could be witches and wizards living among us,' she said.
Nashua Gaffoor, 15, described herself a 'Harry Potter nut'. She says the books are relaxing to read and hilarious.
'It has elements of our life - the same tribulations, rites of passage and issues with a higher capacity of resources to deal with.'
No matter what happens in the new book, one thing is for certain: there's a great buzz about it around the world.
Additional reporting by Jolene Otremba and Lau Kit Wai
To celebrate the book's worldwide launch, the South China Morning Post and Toys 'R' Us are holding reading sessions on July 16 (Ocean Terminal Toys 'R' Us) July 23 (outside Cityplaza Toys 'R' Us) and July 30 (outside Toys 'R' Us in Sha Tin New Town Plaza III). If you want to hear excerpts from the new book, collect and fill in two coupons running in the SCMP this week.
