Fans Petition Rowling for More Wizarding Adventures

It appears that J.K. Rowling has not turned an entirely deaf ear on her fans' pleas. Though she was previously determined not to write another Harry Potter book once she had finished the seventh installment of the series, Rowling issued the enigmatic statement, "Never say never," reports Australia's Herald Sun.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, what is supposed to be the final installment in the boy wizard's sweeping saga, will be released to frantic hordes of fans at 12:01 a.m. on July 21st. Potter-mania is at an all-time high, owing in part to Deathly Hallows being the final novel and in part to the release of the fifth Potter movie a week before the book comes out.

Though Rowling has said that two of her characters will perish in this installment, generating fears that Harry himself will be one of the unlucky two, fans are adamant that this does not spell the series's imminent demise. In a realm where the most wondrously magical things occur, fans insist that their young hero may be resurrected from the dead, if Rowling so wishes. The determined followers have even begun a Save Harry petition to preserve their beloved series. The goal of the bookseller Waterstone-begun campaign is to collect a million names. Their determined mission statement reads: We, the undersigned, petition J.K. Rowling to write more new adventures for Harry Potter and his friends no matter what happens at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bookseller Waterstone raises the point that there is a precedent for such a resurrection (if one proves necessary): Sherlock Holmes.

The series, which began its fairy tale run in 1997, has reportedly made its creator, Rowling, a billionaire.