LONDON -- At midnight, like magic, Harry Potter appeared.

As Saturday dawned, bookstores across Britain were the first to throw open their doors to fans lined up to buy "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

The seventh and final volume of the popular series goes on sale around the world as midnight hits each time zone. Stores are even ready in Israel, where law requires most businesses to close on the Sabbath.

In Britain, eager readers, many of whom had lined up for hours, rushed away clutching their precious prize, cracking open the book to read the opening lines: "The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow moonlit lane."

Meanwhile, author J.K. Rowling gave a midnight reading to 500 contest winners in London's Natural History Museum. Along with a chorus of loyal "Potter" fans, she's been speaking out against "spoilers" and asking readers to help guard the secrecy of the latest plot.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will reveal whether the boy wizard lives or dies.

Sarah Harper, 19, a student at Centenary College of Louisiana, said it's been comforting to have Harry around for nearly a decade. She said when you connect with a character in the book "it's like he's your best friend, almost."

Makenzie Greenblatt, a 20-year-old student at the University of Washington, began reading Harry Potter in 1999. She got the first book in the series for Hanukkah.

One fan was asked what Potterphiles will do now that there will be no more books. The answer: "read them again and again and again."

Author: Book Comes To End

Just hours left to go before the world learned Harry Potter's fate, his creator was still keeping her secret.

Serving up tea and home-baked sponge cake at her large Edinburgh, Scotland, townhome, Rowling would only say the book comes to a definite end. She said writing the last words felt like "a bereavement."

Rowling left open the possibility of writing more about the boy wizard in the future, but said she's not planning to do so any time soon.

Rowling first dreamed up the Potter character 17 years ago, and she said when she finished writing the last book, she felt terrible for a week. But after that, she said the cloud lifted and she felt liberated.

She said she is eager for the chance to finally discuss the ending. But Rowling said she's also hoping stores and fans respect the embargo, which lifts at a minute past midnight tonight.

Earlier this week, Rowling made a plea on her Web site to ignore what other sites are saying about how the series will end.

"As launch night looms, let's all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press on the plot of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'" Rowling wrote in a message posted Wednesday on her Web site.

"I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!"

Teen Gets Early Look

Julia Kerns, of Stuart, Fla. received a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in the mail on Tuesday, before its U.S. release at midnight tonight.

And, of course, the 13-year-old has already read it. She said it took her five hours to finish it, but promises not to reveal the ending.

She did, however, say that the ending was very good and that Potter fans will not be disappointed.

Kern's mother said she had ordered the book online from DeepDiscount.com.

Scholastic Inc. announced earlier this week that it was taking "immediate legal action" against the online retailer and distributor Levy Home Entertainment for releasing a few copies early through the mail.

Scholastic has asked that Harry Potter fans who may have received their books early "keep the packages hidden until midnight" Friday.

Kerns said she decided not to reread the book before Saturday out of respect for those still waiting for their own copy.

A Celestial Event

Before heading to Potter parties, Concord, N.H., fans could go to the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, where a special presentation was held about the astronomy of Harry Potter, reported WMUR-TV.

"Sirius Black, who is Harry's godfather, is named for the star Sirius, which is the Dog Star, which is the brightest star in the north sky, and, of course, Sirius Black turns into a dog in the Potter books," said Stephen Knipstein of the planetarium.

Harry Potter fever and Muggle mania even landed at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Hudson News store planned to have the book available for late-night travelers to purchase at midnight.

"We're staying open tonight late for all those people who don't have copies," said Jason Martino of Hudson News. "We have about 500 copies."

While the rest of the world waits to find out where Harry Potter will end up, at St. Paul's School in Concord, fans can see where he's been. The school has two graduates named Harry Potter, and their names are on the wall of a dining hall that looks like something straight out of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Nobody paid much attention to it, except it was big, cold and noisy," former teacher Alan Hall said. "And then, all of a sudden -- gee, it's just like Hogwarts!"