Harry Potter & The Cursed Child Set To Be Biggest Book Of 2016

The Harry Potter universe is expanding in a few ways this year, in both the past and the future.

The past is being explored in Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, which hits theatres later this year. In regards to the future, we're talking specifically 19 years in the future, right after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. These events take place in the new play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is currently appearing on stage in London.

While fans have flocked to London to see just what happens to Harry, Hermione, and Ronald, there are many who aren't able to make the overseas trek. For those fans, midnight tonight holds a special importance, as that is when Harry Potter and the Cursed Child goes on sale in bookstores and online.

Unlike previous books, however, this is not a traditional novel. It is the actual script for Cursed Child, and while J.K. Rowling did not write it, she did work with playwrights Jack Thorne and John Tiffany on the project.

As we touched on a few days ago, Barnes and Noble is reporting fantastic pre-order numbers, the most since 2007, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released., According to CNN, Amazon's numbers are following suit. Based on these numbers, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child could cement itself as the best-selling book of 2016.

Since you have to wait until midnight anyway, you might as well hang out with a few fellow fans. There will be a midnight release party at a number of bookstore and department store locations, and you can head here to find the one nearest you.

You can read the official synopsis for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child below.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.