HARRY Potter was flying off the shelves at the magical midnight hour in Petersfield on Friday when the latest book in the series was launched. A queue 300 strong stretched from Waterstones book shop, the entire length of Rams Walk and back down the High Street just before midnight as fans waited for the shop to open at one minute past midnight. Waterstones manager Hilary Cole said: "I walked the length of the queue shortly before we opened and thought I was never coming to the end of it. "I think we were all taken completely by surprise because we thought everybody would pre-order the book as it was the last one, but in fact loads of people turned out at midnight." Just after midnight young VIP Daniel Barker, from Clanfield, who won the store's Harry Potter competition run in conjunction with The Herald, launched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the Waterstones store by unveiling the stack of books in the shop and cutting the ribbon to allow Harry Potter enthusiasts in for the earliest copies. The last of the queue went home with their copies at 1.30am, but staff were back at their posts at 8.30am on Saturday. "There was a steady flow buying the book all day Saturday," said Mrs Cole, "and we soon sold out." Waterstones has since sold out of its second delivery of the books, which it is offering for £8.99, with around 900 flying off the shelf. Staff were waiting for a third delivery to keep up with demand. At One Tree Books in Lavant Street, owner Tim O'Kelly and staff held a pre-launch party for enthusiastic witches and wizards at 11.30 pm. Just after midnight they unveiled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was quickly snapped up at a special pre-publication rate with vouchers of £7.99. Mr O'Kelly said: "We were all surprised by the huge interest. Sometimes interest tails off with long- running stories, but with Harry Potter it has been the opposite. I finished the book breathless on Sunday afternoon and I think it's the best yet." He said that One Tree Books had sold around 150 copies by Tuesday afternoon. Across Rams Walk in WH Smith, staff reported frenzied 'Pottermania' throughout Saturday. "We had sold 338 copies by the close of Saturday and up to Tuesday the total had risen to 420," said a spokesman. Smith's was charging £10.99 for the book with a discounted offer of £6.99 if other items were bought. And at Tesco on the Causeway, where Harry Potter was on offer at £10, staff said they were taken aback by the response to the launch. "By the end of Saturday we had sold 350 copies, which surprised us because we didn't open until 8am and other shops in town had opened at midnight for the really die-hard fans." As the week continued, Tesco reported more than 500 copies sold on The Causeway by Tuesday afternoon. Waitrose customers in Petersfield bought 125 copies on Saturday alone at £7.99, and by Tuesday the shop had sold out of its 325 books and were expecting more to be delivered in time for weekend shoppers.