LEAKED: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

A New York Times article today is suggesting that the photographs of every single page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are floating around on the internet. In a one-page article, contributing editor David F. Gallhager said, "Frustrating perhaps the most elaborately orchestrated marketing machine ever mobilized for a book, photographs of what appeared to be every single page of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the breathlessly awaited seventh and final installment in the series by J. K. Rowling, were circulating on the Web yesterday."

The files can be downloaded from peer sharing networks such as Pirate Bay and MediaFire. The photographs each show a pair of facing pages, and the book is held open with someone's fingers, on a green-and-red-flecked beige looped carpet. The photographs are amateurish, and many make the text difficult to read , but the fiercely protected ending was definitely legible.

The security for the latest Harry Potter book has been among the tightest ever seen. The books were edited and shared with only five people in total before it made its way to the publishers under lock and key. Printing of the book took place in the dark to prevent printing workers from reading it. The books were wrapped up in black boxes and sealed, then delivered to bookstores, who are not allowed to open the cartons before the release date.

Lisa Holton, President of Scholastic's trade and book fairs, said, "We're not confirming if anything is real. But in the spirit of getting to midnight magic without a lot of hoo-ha, can you just take some of this stuff down."

However, despite the best efforts of site administrators and publishers, they were not able to stop thousands of people from downloading these files yesterday. Even major and reputable websites such as Flickr accidentally hosted user "hermionepotter77"'s picture of the last page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, before taking it down to an outcry by fans, publishers and the media.

The New York Times reports that fans are convinced that this leak is authentic. "Emerson Spartz, the founder and Web master of MuggleNet.com, one of the biggest Harry Potter fan sites, said he thought the photos were the real deal. "I read enough of it to where I could tell," he said."