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Last night for Date Night, I cunningly convinced Deborah to have dinner with me at the Outback, which just happens to be within walking distance of Barnes & Noble. B&N, as I’m sure you know, was just one of the thousands of bookstores across the land having Harry Potter pre-release parties with books going on sale at 12:01. So after a delicious steak dinner, I casually suggested we go check it out.

Now I am a card-carrying geek to be reckoned with – and I have the stacks of comic books and action figures to prove it. I’ve been to Star Trek conventions. I’ve waited for hours in long lines for release day Star Wars tickets. If it is nerdy, silly or of geek report, I’m all over it. But I was still unprepared for what I saw last night.

The place was packed. Those who didn’t come dressed as witches or dementors wore complimentary Harry Potter glasses that were passed out at the door. Children, college students and grandparents alike competed in dragon coloring contests and potion mixing contests. People were scarfing down Berties Bott’s Every Flavore Beans like, well… like candy.

The festivities were a bit too crowded and it was still 2 hours from midnight, so we headed back home. But I was really impressed with how much fun everyone was having. The parking lot was filled like the mall a week before Christmas, but unlike stressed and sweaty holiday shopping, these people were actually having a good time.

I came back at midnight, hoping to snag a copy of the book once the crowds had died down, but I was in for an even bigger shock – the crowds were now bigger than ever! Lines stretched out of the building and down the building for city blocks. The Media Play down the street had the same thing. Thousands of people lined up and happily waiting for their wizardry fix.

I can’t stand waiting in lines, and by the look of things, it would have taken a couple of hours to get my hands on R.K.’s latest gold mine. So I drove down to Wal-mart where they had a couple of pallets sitting out front and bought mine with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Magic Brownies to go along with it. No waiting on aisle 5!

Anyway, here are my predictions for how the book turns out. (I’ve only ready the first couple of chapters so far and these are predictions I’ve had for months – so don’t worry about spoilers.)

1. Death or banishment for Dumbledor. I figure since he handled Voldemort pretty easily at the end of the last book, he has to be out of the picture for the last book to be suspenseful. So it is either off to Azkaban or a dirt nap for the Headmaster.

2. Draco Malfoy will finally side with Harry Potter. Come on. He’s a teenager – joining the Order of the Phoenix would be the ultimate rebellion against parental control.

3. The Half-Blood Prince is none other than the Dark Lord Voldemort himself.

There you go. Remember, you heard it here first, kids.