YORK will be falling under Harry Potter's magic spell a week from today.

The city's major bookstores will host wizard midnight parties to celebrate the publication of the schoolboy spellcaster's latest adventures.

WH Smith, in Monks Cross, Waterstones, in High Ousegate, and Borders, in Davygate, will all be opening at the stroke of midnight on Friday, June 20, so eager Potter fans can be among the first to read their hero's latest exploits.

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix is the most eagerly-awaited children's book since its predecessor, Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire.

Thousands of copies have already been pre-ordered in York alone.

Girls with the 22nd York Garrison Brownies will be among the first to get into the Hogwarts spirit in York, when they turn up at WH Smith in Monks Cross at 8pm next Friday for a special fancy dress party and midnight feast.

The store will then be opening its doors at the stroke of midnight for Harry's other legions of fans.

Staff will be dressed up in wizard hats and cloaks, and there will be fancy dress competitions and other games, such as guessing the number of Bertie Bott's jellybeans in a jar.

The fun will continue on Saturday, when there will be two real-life magicians in store. Staff at the store's Coney Street branch - which will not be open on Friday night, but does open at 7am on Saturday - will also be joining in the fun by dressing up in wizard gear.

At Waterstones in High Ousegate, the doors will also be opening on the stroke of midnight. The store will stay open for an hour to give fans a chance to be the first to get their hands on the book, and then after closing at 1pm, staff will stage an all-night Harry Potter readathon, with the money raised going to the Dyslexia Society.

The store will reopen at 6am on the Saturday, with a real live wizard visiting at 9am.

Borders in Davygate will be open from 9am on Friday, June 20, right through to midnight, when the book goes on sale, eventually closing at 1am. There will be colouring-in and face-painting competitions all day on Friday, then again on Saturday after the store reopens at 8am. There will also be a Harry and Hermione lookalike competition at 2pm, and an all-day banquet.

At the Little Apple bookshop in Fossgate, the first five customers to buy a copy of the Order Of The Phoenix after the store opens at 8am on Saturday, June 21, will be presented with a Harry poster.

There will be a limited supply of other Harry Potter goodies for other customers, including bookmarks, stickers and a Do Not Disturb sign. That might come in handy for kids eager to sink their noses into the book, admitted co-owner Philippa Morris. "I suspect some parents will be having a very peaceful weekend!" she said.

Updated: 09:17 Friday, June 13, 2003