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In an announcement from Bloomsbury Publishing in Britain and Scholastic Children's Books in the United States, officials from the companies said: "J.K. Rowling has written a brilliant story that will dazzle her fans in a marvelous book that takes the series to yet greater heights."

Author J.K. Rowling has given hints to pieces of the plot in "Half-Blood Price", such as another character will die and that neither Harry Potter nor his nemesis Lord Voldemort is the title character.

Each volume in the series covers one year in Harry Potter's life as he progresses through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling's school teaches young wizards for seven years, suggesting that the seventh book will be the last.

The "Harry Potter" series is one of the most successful publishing ventures in the world. The fifth installment, released in June 2003 was the fastest-selling book in history, selling some 5 million copies in 24 hours. All told, the first five books of the series have sold more than 250 million copies and have been printed in 60 languages.