A strict code of silence, unauthorized leaks and a media frenzy has got Harry Potter fans whipped into a state more frantic than a golden snitch.

In case you've been cooped up in Azkaban and missed the hype, the fifth installment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, hits bookstores just after midnight tonight.

In the book's honor, many booksellers are staying open late and throwing promotional theme parties to take advantage of enthusiasts willing to plunk down $29.99 for a book that's been three years in the making.

It seems the delay doesn't seem to have affected interest in the 870-page novel. Already, Amazon has presold 770,586 copies, a staggering record compared to the 350,000 advance orders placed for the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Not that Rowling's suffering for readers. The first four installments of her boy wizard series have sold 200 million copies, breaking book sales records everywhere.

Now, Industry watchers predict that the current book could become the best-selling tome of all time and its American publisher Scholastic has already commissioned a first printing run of 8.5 million copies to meet the demand.

Early reviews are positive. "It was worth the wait," said the Associated Press, "and then some." Meanwhile, USA Today praised Rowling's "wonderful, textured writing."

But good luck actually trying to a sneak peak at the book's plot--the story line has been more closely guarded than the goblin-guarded wizard bank Gringotts.

However, some official details have slipped out, including the death of a central figure, 15-year-old Harry's romantic problems and all the emotional angst that accompanies adolescence, a treacherous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a venomous, disgruntled house-elf, Ron as a keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Harry's nightmares of a single door in a silent corridor.

Any more than that and Rowling might have to kill you, or at the very least sue.

The anticipation to find out what happens next for Harry and friends has kept cops, robbers and lawyers busy for weeks.

Here's a quick recap of the recent Potter madness:

Friday, the first autographed copy of Phoenix is hand-delivered to the New York Public Library via armored car where it will be kept on display under a glass case for the next two days before moving to a permanent exhibit 10 blocks away at the Donnell Library Center. Thursday, a Canadian judge grants an interim injunction barring the Montreal Gazette from publishing an early review of the book after the newspaper obtained a copy from a woman who claims to have bought it at her local Wal-Mart. Wednesday, Rowling slaps a $100 million lawsuit against the New York Daily News after the paper published excerpts from the Phoenix on its Website, including two of the novel's pages. Earlier in the week a New York health food store and a store in Indiana mistakenly put copies out for sale, claiming not to have seen the sticker on the box that warns: "Strict on sale 6/21/03. Do not touch!!! Or the curse of the Phoenix will get you." Last weekend, Harry heisters swiped a truck containing 7,680 copies of the Phoenix from outside a warehouse in England. The truck was later recovered 20 miles away with its valuable contents missing. Earlier this month, a printing plant worker was sentenced to 180 pages of community service after trying to hawk several stolen pages of the new book to a tabloid for $40,000. Three teenagers are also busted for handling the hot goods. Because of the myriad thefts and leaks, wary British oddmakers, who usually take bets on anything, are refusing to accept wagers on which one of the key characters bites the dust.