In the back storage room of Borders Books and Music in DeKalb, about 700 copies of the newest Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” sat undisturbed on carts.

In the front of the store, hundreds of people awaited the midnight release of the magical book by competing in trivia contests and watching a magician.

Borders began taking reservations for the book in January, but people were asking about the book a year before that, cafe supervisor, Jeremy Benson said.

Bedtimes were ignored for even the youngest of children. A 2-year-old girl, dressed as the character Dobby, ran around saying his name. Others wore the signature Harry Potter robes and hat.

Borders associates helped people make wands and Harry Potter glasses in the children’s section.

Friends Jessi Colen, 11; Alexandra Wenger, 12; and Taylor Deatherage, 14, went to the event.

“We’ve been looking forward to this forever,” Colen said.

The three jumped up and down, realizing they would be reading the fifth installment that night.

“It’s exciting to see all the different stories and how they turn out,” Wenger said.

“It’s unique from other books in that all ages can be interested,” Deatherage added.

James Schuetz, 23, also was happy to get his copy of the book.

“I don’t really care for reading, but the Harry Potter books are a fun and enjoyable read,” Schuetz said.

Even parents seemed delighted at the event.

Chris Ewald, mother of Austen, 11, said that she and her son began reading the books when he was in second grade.

“They’re fabulous,” Ewald said. “There was no way we would miss this.”

Ewald also believes that the Harry Potter books helped her son to enjoy reading.

“It definitely sparked his reading interest,” she said.

Hundreds of people crowded to the back of the store at midnight to get their books. Those with reservations were able to get their book first. Only a few people didn’t get their hands on a copy.

People made their way to the cashiers while reading the first page.

John Podulka, general manager at Borders, was happy with the turnout of the event.

“Everyone was smiling; everyone was wonderful,” Podulka said. “It’s a great community. It was like the crowd was taking care of themselves.”

People may have found it hard to get their hands on a copy of the new book over the weekend, but bookstores tried their hardest to keep customers happy.

“We’re going to try to make the most people happy in a short period of time,” Podulka said.

Borders sold the books for $17.99, a price good until the first week of July.

Barnes & Noble also sold the books for $17.99.

The store also had door prizes and decorated for the event.

“We had tons of people that just had a blast; people stopped us and said, ‘Our whole family is here,’” said Anita Johnson, community relations manager at Barnes & Noble.

Wal-Mart didn’t advertise they had the book at midnight, but about 500 copies waited behind the service desk for anyone who asked. The books sold for $16.17 at Wal-Mart.

Jewel-Osco sold the book for $19.99, but sold out of three cases over the weekend. There are no plans to order more.

Target charged $16.99 for the book, and also sold out over the weekend.

Whether people paid a few more dollars for the book, they didn’t seem to mind, as long as they had a copy.

Brenna Cassidy, 13, from Kingston, said what probably all other Harry Potter fans were thinking.

“I’m just going to stay up all night and read,” Cassidy said.