Kids'
Grief Counselors Wait By Phones in Case Harry Potter Dies
By
Mark Herlihy
July
20 (Bloomberg) -- A U.K. children's charity has brought in extra staff to man
its phone lines in expectation of a deluge of calls from distraught youngsters
if Harry Potter dies.
``Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling's
series of adventures about the boy wizard and his friends at Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, goes on sale tomorrow.
``For
many children, Harry Potter and his friends have become a major part of their
childhood,'' said Kate Trench, a spokeswoman for ChildLine, based in London, which
provides telephone support services for children. ``Excitement could give way
to sadness for those caught up in the huge build-up to the seventh and final book.''
Speculation
about the book's ending has been rife after Rowling admitted two characters perish,
with many predicting that Harry himself will die. The New York Times, which said
it bought a copy of the book this week in New York, described the ending as ``a
big screen, bone-chilling confrontation,'' providing ``an epilogue that clearly
lays out people's fates.''
The
charity deals with reactions to the fate of fictional and real people alike, according
to Trench. ``When boy band Take That split up, hundreds of distraught children
contacted ChildLine,'' Trench said in a statement today. ``Last year we spoke
to more than 6,000 children about bereavement, and many more may call this year
in relation to death of characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.''
William
Hill Plc, a London-based bookmaker, closed bets on Harry sacrificing himself at
2/5 odds on July 17, cut from an original quote of 33/1 in early July. Lord Voldemort,
who killed Potter's parents, is at 9/4 to kill Harry, and Professor Severus Snape
is at 4/1 to murder him. The bookmaker took more than 50,000 pounds ($100,000)
in bets on Harry's fate, the first time the company had ever taken bets on the
outcome of a book.
William
Hill has also taken wagers from fans who are convinced Professor Dumbledore will
be alive and well in the final book. Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry for most of the series, was killed by Snape in ``Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.''
