With the series over, fans (and bookstores, whose summer sales were down 26%) are in a lethargy of Potter withdrawal and looking desperately for a literary felix felicis to ease the pain. When the much-anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film was bumped from its November release date only to be replaced by a tepid-looking Twilight, fans were gnashing their teeth and donning the sackcloth and ashes. In fact, the only good thing about 2008 for Potter lovers is Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, set to hit bookstores December 4th.

After a year of frustration and disappointment, Potter-heads are beyond ready to dust off the wizard costumes and let it all hang out at a rousing midnight release party flowing with plenty of butterbeer and arcane Hogwarts trivia. The only problem with this scenario is that no bookstores seem to be hosting a release party.

While many will open their doors at midnight to sell the book to the thronging masses, at this time, no bookstores--including Barnes and Noble Bookstores and Borders Books--have any plans to hold celebrations. (Barnes and Noble has confirmed they will NOT be.)