Chattanooga's Harry Potter fans are stoked about theatrical production

In this April 9, 2015, file photo, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling lights the Empire State Building to mark the launch of her non-profit children's organization Lumos, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

It's been years since anybody has heard from him, but despite whispers of his return, Jennifer Edge has spent months patently avoiding any news about her longtime friend Harry Potter.

A 39-year-old tattoo artist, Edge describes herself as "a real big Harry Potter nerd." So much so, her right forearm is decorated with a full-color tattoo of the lightning-scarred wizard's friend Hermione Granger and the back wall of her studio, Main Line Ink, is covered with artwork depicting characters and scenes from J.K. Rowling's beloved series of fantasy novels.

Edge is one of many Harry Potter fans in Chattanooga who rabidly are anticipating the release (at 12:01 a.m. Sunday) of "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child - Parts I & II," the script to a theatrical production of the same name set to premiere last night on London's West End. The play is the first new entry in the series since the 2007 release of the last novel, "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows."

"I haven't done much research. I'm waiting," Edge says of lead-up to "The Cursed Child." "I would rather be surprised. It's the same way I did with the books. You want to have that moment with yourself, or at least I do."

Details of the plot of "The Cursed Child" have been kept under tight wraps since Rowling confirmed the play's existence in June 2015. According to the official website, however, the script (the book is the script itself, not an actual novel) picks up after the epilogue of "The Deathly Hallows" and is set 19 years after that book's climactic showdown between Potter and series' antagonist Voldemort.

A celebrated hero in his teens, Potter is now "an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children." His second son, Albus Severus, is about to start his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is "struggl[ing] with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted," according to the official summary.

In the history of the universe, it's likely no low-level government official has enjoyed the kind of rabid attention now being focused on Potter and his family.

"I'm excited that more is coming out," Edge says. "I feel like we're really going to get our socks knocked off again."

'Room to grow'

Physical copies of the Special Rehearsal edition of the script used by cast and the production team retail for $30 but are listed at most outlets for $18 or in e-book format for $15. A "perfected, definitive script with final stage directions and annotations" will be made available in 2017, according to the play's website.

Ten days out from release, the hardcover copy of the script is the No. 1 best-selling book on Amazon, a position it has occupied on the British version of the online retailer since it was made available for advanced sales in February.

Even if the version they'll get isn't finalized - or a traditional novel - fans say that after nine years of speculation about how the series could continue, they're rabid to find out what happens next.

"I feel like it actually would have been a travesty if she [Rowling] didn't expand more," says 27-year-old Bethany Holtsclaw, a customer service representative and avid Harry Potter fan who has read the novels "at least 15 times."

Holtsclaw says she fell in love with the series when she was 11 after her aunt gave her a copy of the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which she devoured during a rained-out camping trip. Like many Potter fans in their 20s and early 30s, she grew up with Rowling's characters, who aged alongside her as the series progressed.

Even though she was satisfied with the ending to "Deathly Hallows," Holtsclaw says one of the series' greatest strength was the details Rowling included that hinted at the world beyond the gates of Hogwarts. To limit the storytelling in that universe to only one group of characters and one period of time would have been a mistake, she says.

"The Harry Potter world is so expansive and has so much room to grow that it would have been a shame not to tell other stories," Holtsclaw says. "There's way too much untapped potential for it to end with just Harry's story."

Like previous entries in the rabidly popular book franchise, the release of "The Cursed Child" will be celebrated with midnight release parties at Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble.

Jeff Hickey and other members of pop-culture costuming troupe Chattooine have put in appearances as wizards and witches at midnight releases for the last two Harry Potter films. On Saturday, they'll don their robes once again for the Barnes & Noble event, whose pre-party starts at 8 p.m., the group's first appearance tied to a literary addition to the series.

Hickey, 47, was first introduced to Harry Potter through the second book, "Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets," which one of his children brought home in 2001. He cracked the cover mostly to debunk rumors that the book "promoted witchcraft" and says he ultimately became a huge fan of the series.

About five years ago, Hickey started attending Chattooine events while dressed as Hogwarts' greasy-haired, no-nonsense potions professor Severus Snape, a role he will reprise for the release of "The Cursed Child."

The wider wizarding world

Although the last literary additions to the Potter saga are a decade old, Rowling has continued to flesh out her universe via posts to the series' official online platform, Pottermore. There, she has released short stories and additional tidbits of information that add extra dimension to the wider world beyond the bounds of the novel, including insights into existing characters and explanations of how other nations use and study magic.

Hickey says he enjoyed Rowling's additional world building. For that reason, he says, he wishes "The Cursed Child" had taken an approach similar to that of the forthcoming Star Wars film, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," by exploring a different facet of a well-developed universe.

"I honestly probably would have preferred [a story about] other characters," he says. "I think the world is big enough that it can go beyond Harry now. Harry has had his time in the spotlight.

"It's like [in Star Wars], there are other characters out there than Luke and Han and Leia. It's a big universe."

On Nov. 18, Harry Potter fans will have the chance to experience a different side of Rowling's magical world with the cinematic premiere of "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them." The film is the first of a planned trilogy based on a 2001 book written by Rowling exploring events set 70 years before the events of the main series.

Fans say they hope the release of "Fantastic Beasts" and "The Cursed Child" hint at a new wave of additional stories and content set in the Harry Potter universe.

"I don't think Harry Potter will ever be over," Holtsclaw says. "Those issues that Harry teaches you will stand on their own, so I feel like it'll never fully go away. Something that good - I don't think it can."

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.