By Terry Karkos,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – “Care for some venom?” asked Judy Tollefson of some of about 100 adults and children at Devaney, Doak and Garrett Booksellers on Friday night in downtown Farmington.

Tollefson was dressed as Professor Sprout, the Herbology witch in author J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

She was one of several costumed Devaney book group adults at owner Kenny Brechner’s off Broadway Street production, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Launch Party.”

The magically fun event, which preceded the release and selling of Rowling’s sixth book in the seven-tome series, took on a life of its own from 10 p.m. to midnight. People spilled out into the street surrounding the store.

Dressed in a splashy red flowery outfit adorned at the neckline with green fabric leaves, Tollefson stood at one end of a table outside the bookstore, serving a red punch-like drink as Basilisk Venom.

Sprawled across the table was an 8-foot-long basilisk snake-cake, spectacularly adorned with 6 pounds of green, sweet-scented frosting, molded in the shape of snake scales.

The giant snake was featured in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”

At the tail end of the snake stood Sarah Otley of Farmington, dressed as a witch of the Gryffindor House from Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry.

Otley served slices of the cake and other refreshments described in the books.

Beside them stood a large blackboard, on which was written an elaborate recipe, and a table stocked with ingredients.

It was the first of several sixth-year Ordinary Wizarding Level exam stations, at which participants were tested on skills and Potter trivia.

The next big hit was Professor Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures test, at which people reached into covered bowls and determined what type of Potter book beast would eat that kind of food.

Other tests included Divination, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, and History of Magic, an eight-question trivia challenge judged by Brechner, dressed as a Flourish and Blotts store clerk.

“Kenny is the master of trivia, especially, Lord of the Rings trivia,” said assistant manager Melanie Coombs, who frosted the cake and portrayed Divinations instructor Professor Trelawney, from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

Brechner was everywhere at once and in his element, that of getting people interested in reading and into Potter characters.

“People here are really happy, and it seems like they’re having a good time,” Brechner said.

“We’ve been working in earnest on (the party) for six weeks, but we went crazy. We were thinking about it for months, brainstorming,” he said.

Brechner said Friday’s party was more elaborate than the last such party two years ago for the release of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

“As the books are getting older and the characters are more sophisticated, we wanted to provide the exams, to appeal to everybody of all ages,” he said.

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