Bookies are willing to bet their money on Harry Potter being killed off in the last book of the best selling series.
The fictional teen wizard's battle with arch-rival Voldemort has kept readers of JK Rowling's series of magical stories gripped until the last page for the first six of
the seven Harry Potter stories.
Now feverish speculation about the final fate of the dark-haired wizard is beginning to hot up, following Rowling's announcement of the title of the final instalment of the Potter saga last week.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is hardly the cheeriest of titles and has served to reinforce those who believe that Harry himself may be the one who cops it following the triumph of baddie Voldemort.
A growing number of fans hold to the theory that Harry will be faced with having to kill himself in order to destroy Voldemort.
Bookmaker William Hill has slashed the odds on Harry dying from 10-1 to 6-1, but Voldemort's death remains the odds-on favourite.
Rowling has previously admitted that as many as two main characters will die in the final book, whose publication date remains unconfirmed.