Bookies close the book on Harry Potter

BOOKMAKERS are so certain Harry Potter will be killed off in the seventh and final novel of author JK Rowling’s series that they have stopped taking bets on the event.

London-based William Hill bookmaker has even shifted betting to the possible killers. Lord Voldemort, who murdered Potter’s parents, is the most likely villain, at 2-1, followed by Professor Snape, one of his teachers, at 5-2.

“Every penny was on Harry dying, and it became untenable,” said a spokesman. “People are obsessed about this book.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows goes on sale on July 21.

Rowling, 41, caused a stir among Potter fans when she said two characters will die in the new book. The six earlier novels about Harry’s adventures at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have sold more than 300 million copies, earning Rowling a £545 million fortune and making her wealthier than Queen Elizabeth II, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

“It’s gonna be huuuge,” enthused The Leaky Cauldron, a website devoted to all things Harry Potter. “It’s the end, and every last plot string has to be tied up.”

Rowling has refused to give any clues about which characters will be killed off. Writing on her website last month, she asked people not to spoil the ending for fans by speculating about the outcome.

“I want the readers who have, in many instances, grown up with Harry, to embark on the last adventure they will share with him without knowing where they are going,” she wrote on May 14.

Potter fans, who gathered at London’s King’s Cross train station, where Harry takes the train to Hogwarts from the fictional platform 9 3/4, did not want the hero to die.

The station has marked the spot, near the real platform 9, with a baggage cart that appears to pass through the wall, mirroring the method wizards use to access the station.