DeKALB | The store was alive with noise and commotion as it prepared for the release of the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

Both the DeKalb Borders and the DeKalb Barnes and Noble planned special activities for the release of the long-anticipated novel from J.K. Rowling.

At Borders, 2520 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, employees hurriedly walked around carrying fake owls, placed grass and twigs around fake trees, and meticulously placed duct tape to form railroad tracks for the Hogwarts Express.

Barnes and Noble, 2439 Sycamore Road, hosted a Midnight Magic costume party, starting at 9 p.m. on Friday night. The event featured fortune telling, a Sorting Hat, potion demonstrations, a trivia scavenger hunt and pictures with Harry Potter.

Borders had a Grand Hallows Ball, with dancing, pictures with the Hogwarts Express, the Weasley’s family car, a Potter Bee (a spelling bee featuring Harry Potter-themed words), face painting, the crowning of a king and queen of the ball, and “just lots of fun,” said Julie Morsch, general manager of Borders.

Both stores began selling the book at midnight Friday, and Morsch said she expected Borders to stay open until about 2 a.m.

While neither Jodi Wolff, the store manager of Barnes and Noble, nor Morsch, were willing to give an exact number of books they had in their stores, both were confident that there were enough copies of the book.

“We’ve secured more than enough for [people with] reservations, and more copies for walk-ins,” said Wolff.

Morsch wouldn’t even give up that much, simply sticking to “a lot.”

Because of the high expectations of the release, both stores were expecting to see more people than before.

“We’re expecting 40 percent more [people] than two years ago,” Wolff said. “We’re expecting a full house.”

So how were the two bookstores planning to handle the crowds?

Barnes and Noble distributed numbered wristbands and started calling groups of people at 11:50 p.m. to get their book.

Borders had a similar plan, only instead of using numbers, Borders used color-coded wristbands and had people pick their books up according to the color.