Harry Potter fans desperate to know their hero's fate counted down the minutes and seconds before his seventh and last adventure of the series was released, though a tide of leaks threatened to spoil the surprise.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released at the same time in most of the world and in the hours ahead queues were building outside scores of bookshops, many of them hosting Potter parties.
Some 2,000 people from all over the world, many dressed as wizards or in Harry's Hogwarts school uniforms, braved the rainy British summertime to line up outside the giant Waterstone's bookshop on Piccadilly, central London.
Potter author J K Rowling, who is hosting an overnight signing at the Natural History Museum in London, described the final book as her favourite as aficionados faced an anxious wait to find out whether or not their hero will die.
Rowling has announced the demise of two characters, both unnamed, while a New York Times review of the book Thursday said the figure would be six.
"Within hours, you will know what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest in their final adventure," Rowling wrote to fans on her website.
"All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too, and those who guessed correctly will be vindicated, and those who guessed wrongly will not, I hope, be too disappointed!
"As for me, I feel a heady mixture of excitement, nerves and relief.
"Deathly Hallows remains my favourite of the series, even after several re-reads; I cannot wait to share it with the readers who have stuck with me through six previous books."
Die hard fans
A love of Harry Potter drove a man to jump into Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra yesterday when he dropped his pre-order receipt for the latest book in the water.
He was pulled from the chilly lake by a security guard after failing to find the voucher and treated for hypothermia.
His rescuers say he remained in a distressed state until they called a bookstore to organise a replacement voucher.
In Britain, a phone counselling service for children expects a surge in calls when readers learn who is killed.
Stores in Taiwan and India held "magic breakfasts" for early customers.
Hundreds of children are also celebrating the release with a train ride from Sydney's Central Station to an "undisclosed" location where they will be given copies of the seventh book.
One of the organisers of this morning's event, Jenna Price, says it is not the first time they have run this type of event.
"We have done a train ride for the last two books, before that we had an enormous party where we wandered around the streets of Glebe in magical costume," she said.
"Before that we were very keen Harry Potter supporters but no one had even wanted a party.
"Now parties are all over the universe!"
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Now Released page 51.
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows book breaks record
