Muggles rejoice at release of latest Harry Potter book

Butterbeer flowed freely and a kind of magic filled the air as about 40 Muggles - and wizards disguised as such - awaited the release of the latest Harry Potter adventure at the Book Den late Friday night and into Saturday morning.

"It's like Christmas. Well, it's actually better than Christmas," clarified 24-year-old Sheldon Dawson, as he waited for the strike of 12:01 a.m., when he could finally purchase "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

From London to Manhattan to Carson City, five million people were expected to purchase the book within the first 24 hours Saturday, half of the 10 million copies printed.

Without the aid of a magic wand or even house elves, owner Mary Shaw relied on the Internet to whip up Hogwarts favorites ranging from butterbeer to pumpkin pasties and cockroach clusters to welcome her guests.

"It's been a blast," said Shaw, whose store, at 1325 S. Highway 395 in Gardnerville, has been open almost two years. "I've been so excited about today and having all the people here."

She relied on Muggle technology, the telephone instead of the messenger owl, to talk to co-owner Starla Doughte, who was out of town but stayed up until 3 a.m. to hear how the Harry Potter pajama party turned out.

But even more nerve-wracking than the preparation for the party, is the fate of J.K. Rowling's world of wizards.

Will Voldemort, the dark lord, gain more power and more supporters? How will the Ministry of Magic respond and what role will Harry Potter play in it all?

Not to mention the questions hanging over the relationship between Ron and Hermione and the fate of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

Although Shaw could have sneaked a peek at the answers to all of those questions, she withstood.

"I was tempted, but I did everything I could to not look at it," she said. "I didn't even open it or anything."

Nevada Deputy Secretary of State Scott Anderson has been named president of the International Association of Commercial Administrators for 2006.

"Scott Anderson has been a valuable asset to the state of Nevada, overseeing tremendous growth in terms of number of business entities filing with our state and the subsequent fees collected as a result of those expanded filings," said Secretary of State Dean Heller. "His professional approach to his job as Deputy Secretary of State and the friendly business climate he has helped create within the agency has resulted in millions of additional dollars in Nevada's general fund."

The Commercial Recordings Division generated more than $45 million last year.

Anderson has been Deputy Secretary of State for Commercial Recordings since 1997. The Division processes and maintains records of more than 233,000 business entities on file with the Secretary of State's office.

In addition, Secretary of State Dean Heller said Nevada will host the organization's 2006 Annual Conference at Lake Tahoe in May.

The IACA conference will bring more than 200 filing officers from across the United States, U.S. Territories, Canadian Provinces and many other foreign nations to Tahoe.