I was reading the story about how the new Harry Potter book has been leaked on the internet (no, not the previously reported hacker story, this one appears to be legit), and the accompanying images caught my eye. Apparently the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows covers are vastly different between the version sold in the U.S. and the one sold in the U.K.

Here’s the U.S. version of the cover:

And here’s the British version:

The second one looks like a Grisham novel for chrissakes. Why the two versions? I have my theories:

a) Brits want to be more subtle about the fact that they are sitting on the train reading a children’s book

b) American kids will only read something with a cartoon on the cover

c) It entices suckers, er, collectors to buy the book twice

d) J. K. Rowling demanded a more subdued version that didn’t clash with her solid gold jewel-encrusted castle

e) They just felt like it

I’m sure the answer could be easily found out with a bit of research, but why would I do that? Wild accusations and assumptions are so much more fun.

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It’s being reported this morning that an industrious (er, 133t) hacker (er, h4×0r), code name “Gabriel” is claiming that he’s cracked the security on book publisher Bloomsbury’s server and obtained a digital copy of the highly anticipated book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and supposedly last in the series.

“We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring,” Gabriel said in the posting.

“Harry Potter” publishers have taken great pains to keep the conclusion a secret and preserve the multibillion-dollar entertainment enterprise surrounding the boy wizard.

A Bloomsbury spokesman declined comment on the hacker’s claims.

Kyle Good, a spokesman for U.S. distributor Scholastic Corp., would not say whether the posting was accurate, but did warn readers to be skeptical about anything on the Web that claims to have inside information on the book’s plot.

“There is a whole lot of junk flying around,” she said. “Consider this one more theory.”

Well, we thought we would share the spoiler and let you make up your own mind. Click and drag your mouse inside the box below to reveal the Harry Potter secret:

On the very last page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, you will realize that you’ve wasted the last several years of your adult life obsessed with a book series written for children.

It all makes sense now, doesn’t it?

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