POTION brewing, wand making and spell casting were just some of the activities taking place in Dorset to celebrate Harry Potter Book Night.

Yesterday’s event saw fans across the globe celebrate JK Rowling’s series about the wizarding world.

It followed from last year’s hugely successful inaugural event which saw 10,500 Potter parties take place.

This year’s theme was A Night of Spells and fans were invited to libraries and bookstores to enjoy a range of activities.

Children brewed an overflowing cauldron of potion at Springbourne Library, which began its celebrations at 4.30pm. Others enjoyed making Potter-themed crafts and playing games.

Over in Boscombe Library, children prepared to be sorted into one of Hogwarts’ four houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. They then tested their knowledge with a quiz before listening to readings from the books.

Kate Miller, manager of Waterstones in Bournemouth, said: “We’ve been doing lots of quizzes, games and activities to get people into the bookshop. Harry Potter is such a big thing and the books are still so popular so it’s great to celebrate them every year now – they’re an institution almost.”

She added: “The event has been crazy, a lot busier than I thought, but it’s been brilliant and lots of fun.”

Jaz Talbot, from London, travelled to Bournemouth specifically for the event and to meet a fellow fan of the books whom she met online.

She said: “Me and Hayley met through the love of Harry Potter. We became friends on Instagram and when we heard about this event, we knew we had to come down and meet other Potter heads.

“We’ve been doing games, making potion vials and have been debating the ethics behind unforgivable curses.”

Other Harry Potter Book Night events took place at Westbourne Bookshop, Waterstones in Poole, which featured a horcrux hunt and pin the nose on Voldemort, and libraries in Corfe Mullen, Poole, Ringwood, Christchurch, Swanage, and Lytchett Matravers.