[Mrluvaluva]

From Sky News

Thousands of Harry Potter fans are scouring the web amid reports that the epilogue of the book has been leaked online, revealing which characters have been killed off.

The news comes ahead of the official release of JK Rowling's final Potter book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Photos online purport to show a seven-page epilogue of the book - and, if genuine, they give away many closely guarded secrets.

Speculation is at record levels after Rowling revealed last June that two characters would die in her final book.

Publishing house Bloomsbury has spent a small fortune trying to protect the book's secrets, after having many problems in the past.

In 2003, a printing plant worker was given 180 hours of community service after offering to sell three chapters of Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix to a tabloid.

Two years later a handful of copies of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince were sold early in Canada.

Security is at record levels for the final book, with some sources reporting the use of hi-tech alarms and satellite tracking systems.

But what seems clear is that the latest leak has not damaged the book's popularity.

More than two million people have already pre-ordered copies from online retailer Amazon, and Deathly Hallows looks set to break all previous sales records.

Bloomsbury has not confirmed the leak. A spokesperson said: "There is a lot of fan fiction and a lot of dreamers on the internet, and people are very clever about what they put together."

The only thing that remains clear is that while the internet is awash with spoilers and predictions, fans will have to wait until Saturday to discover the truth.

J K Rowling or J R Hartley?