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Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

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That supposed Harry Potter 'hacked' ending

Posted: Thursday, June 21, 2007 12:22 AM by Will Femia

Someone is claiming to have stolen the manuscript of the next and last Harry Potter book and claims to reveal the ending to ruin it so kids don't bother to read it and aren't exposed to its "neo-paganism" (per the pope).

Here's a longer version of what I just said with slightly more detail but no real spoilers.

Here's the supposed revelation which is either a huge hoax or a huge spoiler that ruins the end of the book so don't click it if you're looking forward to reading it when it comes out next month.

By the way, the post is called "Full Disclosure: Harry Potter 0day" so if you see that heading on anything as this spreads, be forewarned.

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Comments

Wow - it's a special sort of sociopath who takes it upon his/herself to try to deflate the anticipation of millions of readers who have waited years for this point. After news of the spoilers yelled out at queues of fans as they waited to claim their copies of the 6th book, I suppose I'll want to bring an iPod to listen to as I wait for this one. And if somebody does decide to spoil it for everyone, I suppose they deserve to get the crap beaten out of them by the hordes of angry 11 year olds that will doubtless chase them from the stores.

Celia, Dublin (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 10:40 AM)

How can I take that seriously when the writer cant even take a few seconds to proof read what he/she has written?

Jeff (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 11:26 AM)

Even if that is 100% true, hardcore fans will still read the novel.  It's everything that comes before that makes the story, the resolution just finishes it.  

Terry (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 12:39 PM)

If he/she did it to prevent us from being exposed to additional mediocre literature, THAT would be understandable.

Matthew, Stockton CA (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 12:42 PM)

Not all HP fans are 11 year olds - my whole family - aged from 15 - 43 - loves the series. We started the series in the beginning, mostly because my kids were interested, but then I got hooked, too. For me, part of the joy of reading the series is JK Rowlngs writing style. It has been a great experience to see how the writer (and her style) has 'grown up" along with her characters and her audience. So, spoilers or no, the book will be a great read.

Cary, Pacific NW (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 2:03 PM)

Some spoilers are just a waste.  The person's poor language skills puts alot of doubt in the issue for me.  But it is plausable based on stupid users I guess.  Even if it is true, I don't see it as stopping people from reading the story.  So 2 characters supposedly die.  JKR has implied people will die herself the thing is just who and how.  That's why I read (or watch).  It's like saying I'm spoiling the movie LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD by saying Bruce Willis' character kills the terrorist in the end.  Well duh!  I just want to see the creators vision of HOW this happens.

Mike, Boise ID (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 3:14 PM)

This seems a bit like telling us Mona Lisa's female so we won't appreciate the painting to me.  Sure I like a good ending but that's only a small part of the reading experience.  The journey is what's important.

And, while I'm here, what's all this nonsense about "neo-paganism"?  I'm not a scientist because I read a science book and that "hacker" isn't a prophet because he or she reads the bible (if in fact he or she does read the bible).  Why would any one be considered a neo-pagan for reading a fictional story about a boy wizard?  Some people's thought processes are absolutely mind-boggling.

Brad, Columbus, GA (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 4:15 PM)

I second Terry & Cary down below.  As a hardcore reader, I enjoy the experience of reading the story and would gladly read a book I've been looking forward to despite knowing the ending.  The anticipation as I read still ensues. Although fighting for a cause is noble, the cause loses its focus when done maliciously. There will be more backlash against this person than support.  This book may be the best seller of them all.

A, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 5:31 PM)

I highly doubt it's true. And what a stupid ploy anyways! Like one of the previous posters said, not everyone is an 11 year old. *LOL* The die hard fans who have spent over eight years reading the books will WANT to finish the series.

There have been "spoilers" on the internet for years about how the author would end it. Just because it's close to the release date, doesn't mean that it is by any means true.

Heather, Laurium, Michigan (Sent Friday, June 22, 2007 8:48 AM)

Why would you provide a link to the spoiler--whether it is a hoax or not? I see you as no different from the source of the spoil.

Maureen, Anchorage, AK (Sent Friday, June 22, 2007 12:16 PM)

Wow, this guy is really not too bright, but it is understandable that he didn't post his real name.  First, if he is telling the truth, and he found a version of the last HP book on the publisher's computer system, apparently it has never occurred to him that it may have been put there as a ruse.  How hard would it be to put one or more fake versions up, to be found by idiot hackers?  Second, it is far more likely that he is simply lying.  If he did find a file, wouldn't it have made more sense to cut and pasted the applicable sections, especially given that he is apparently functionally illiterate, but claims advanced computer skills?

John, Pocatello, Idaho (Sent Friday, June 22, 2007 3:18 PM)

Spoiler, schmoiler.  Who cares?  The book will be a humungous mega-hit anyway.  I've had mine pre-ordered on Amazon for months.

Laurah, Southampton, NY (Sent Monday, June 25, 2007 10:20 AM)

I agree with John.  If this guy is such an accomplished Hacker, how hard would it have been for him to hit Ctrl C, Ctrl V and actually give the world the ending text rather than his poorly spelled paraphrase of it?

I also wanted to say that the neo-paganism thing is complete and utter tripe.  I've been a self-professed tree hugging dirt worshiper for fourteen years, and I've never met anybody that converted to one of the Earth based religions because they were so taken with "The Gospel According to Harry."  

Leslie, NM (Sent Monday, June 25, 2007 12:37 PM)

RE: "The Gospel According to Harry"  
1st: Ha!  Love it!
2nd: We already recognize "Jedi" as a religion, so ... Harryism (Potterism?  JK-olicism?)?

Anonon (Sent Monday, June 25, 2007 5:01 PM)

look peeps, he's lying, ive read a stolen copy myself and i could tell that it was real and just don't believe the b.s.

mike (Sent Saturday, July 07, 2007 1:20 PM)



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