Five of Moscow's leading bookstores will begin selling the Russian translation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, at midnight, on October 13.

Just because J.K. Rowling has stopped writing about Harry Potter and his friends and foes doesn't mean she's stopped thinking about them. She told the series' fans what she thinks happened to many of the book's characters after the final installment.

Harry Potter might possess the powers to vanquish evil wizards - but not Chinese pirates. Bootleg English-language copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling's latest and last novel in her super selling series, have been appearing on the streets of Beijing - testimony to local pirates' ability to churn out copies of any in-demand entertainment in the blink of an eye.

Less than a week after the release of the final Harry Potter book, author J.K. Rowling is giving hints about its conclusion. Before publication, Rowling pleaded for secrecy about the ending of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." But in an interview broadcast Thursday on NBC's "Today" show and in one published Thursday in USA Today, she discussed Harry's fate.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's all-conquering fantasy series, sold a mountainous 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale in the United States, according to Scholastic Inc.

Harry Potter fans desperate to know their hero's fate counted down the minutes and seconds before his seventh and last adventure of the series was released, though a tide of leaks threatened to spoil the surprise.

Top British retailers are waging a last-minute price war over the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, set for release on Saturday.

The witching hour is almost here. Thousands of would-be warlocks, sorcerers and ordinary, non-magical Muggles lined up outside bookstores from Sydney to Seattle on Friday, eager to get their hands on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume in the boy wizard's saga.

Despite pleas for silence from author J.K. Rowling and some leading Potter fan sites, publishing's secret of all secrets - whether the wizard lives or dies - is in danger of becoming plain gossip as publication approaches for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

One of the most hyped books in history goes on sale this week with the release of the seventh and final instalment of the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hits shelves on Saturday July 21, and anticipation over how the last chapter will end may ensure it becomes the fastest selling novel of all time.