Potter mania

Boy wizard Harry Potter cast a spell on Bahrain fans last week with the release of the seventh and final instalment in the series.

Fans, both young and old, queued up in Potter outfits and even in their pyjamas hours before the early morning release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Forty-two children, aged five and above, attended a joint book launch and birthday celebration for the book’s protagonist at the British Council, Salhiya.
They dressed up as characters from the series and took part in activities including face painting, quizzes, bookmark making, colouring and costume competitions.
There were also competitions for best costume, colouring, bookmark making and writing as well as a quiz about Harry Potter, his friends and the mystical world of Hogwarts.
They also enjoyed excepts from earlier novels and the screening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The winners of the various competitions were as follows:
Costume competition
1st Place winners’ Kyle West, eight, as Voldermort, Murtaza Zulfikarali, 10, as Dumbledore and Demetri Pereira as a Dementor.
(Prize – Harry Potter goodie bag)
Runners-up Sarah Welch, seven, as Aragog (Dumbledore’s pet spider), Charles Andrews, 12, as Harry Potter and Merope Gaunt.
(Prize – ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows’ books)
Colouring competition
Sejal Katiyar, five, Dron Krishnaswamy, five, and Ben Samson, seven.
(Prize – Harry Potter figurine)
Bookmark competition
Sarah Welch, seven, Sandra George, 12, and Jumana Zulfikarali, 15.
(Prize – Harry Potter goodie bag)
Harry Potter quiz
Ilya Banares, eight, Shirin Abdulla, 13, and Inja Fajatin (adult)
(Prize – Harry Potter goodie bag)
Writing competition
Ilya Banares, eight, Ali Mansoor, 12, Sara Nabil Ali, 15, and Jumana Zulfikarali, 15.
(Prize – British Council thermos mugs)
Their work will be forwarded to the BBC and automatically entered into its global Harry Potter writing competition.
The Harry Potter series, by author J K Rowling, has been translated into more than 63 languages and sold over 300 million copies worldwide.