The mania over Harry Potter books is likely to begin again, with author J K Rowling close to finishing her seventh and final book in the series. Fans, however, would be disappointed to know that Rowling has decided to kill two main characters of the series and maybe even Potter himself.

“I wrote the final chapter in something like 1990, so I’ve known exactly how the series is going to end. The final chapter is hidden away although it’s now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve. But I have to say two die that I didn’t intend to die. A price has to be paid; we are dealing with pure evil here. They don’t target extras, do they? They go for the main characters. Well, I do,�? she said in a television interview.
Asked if Potter’s life will also come to an end in the new book, Rowling hinted that it was a possibility. “I have never been tempted to kill him off before the final because I’ve always planned seven books, and I want to finish on seven books. (But) I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks ‘Well, I’m gonna kill them off because that means there can be no non-author written sequels. So it will end with me and after I’m dead and gone they won’t be able to bring back the character’. Agatha Christie did that with Poirot, didn’t she? She wanted to finish him off herself. I admire people who go out when people still want more,�? the 40-year-old author said, but then added that she didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag because she dreaded the readers’ reaction. “I’m not going to commit myself because I don’t want the hate mail apart from anything else,�? Rowling said.

Ever since the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, hit the shelves in 1997, the boy wizard has become something of a cult figure. Five other books and films based on the first four books followed, establishing Rowling’s reputation as an author to reckon with. So far, the six books released have been translated into 63 languages and sold over 300 million copies throughout the world.

Rowling’s was a true rags-to-riches story and that added glitz to her and Harry Potter’s success. When she wrote the first Potter book, Rowling was a struggling mother trying to bring up her daughter Jessica by working in cafes. Several rejections later, her first book managed to find favor with a publisher and the rest was history.

In the interview, the author admitted she was overwhelmed by the books’ success. “For the first three books I was in real denial. That’s where my reputation for being po-faced comes from. I was like a rabbit caught in the headlights. I don’t think I’m ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry,�? she said.

The last book in the series will be published sometime next year.