Harry Potter and the Fang of the Serpent
October 17, 2003 at 2:11 PM ET
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The Leaky Cauldron (via The Press Democrat)
"Harry, Harry Potter, where are you? Idiot boy!" Uncle Vernon looked exactly like Dudley, a big man with hardly any neck, "Your wands gone! If I find you on the roof, I swear I'll ..." But Harry never heard what Uncle Vernon was going to do. Harry never found out. Hedwig, Harry's snow owl had swooped out and pecked Uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon grabbed a kitchen knife and pointed it at Hedwig's throat. "If you don't get down here, this owl dies!" yelled Uncle Vernon.
No, the above excerpt isn't from the next book in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, but rather a work of fan fiction - although you may be surprised at the age of the young author
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[Eight-year-old Dezi] Gallegos, an active boy with an active imagination, loves fantasy tales in which good battles evil, and reads voraciously.
He's devoured all of the Harry Potter books, and after reading the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" released during the summer, Gallegos began writing while on a family beach vacation in Southern California.
"Something about the fifth book inspired me. I started writing the first chapter and it was pretty long. I went home and kept writing. I loved my idea so much that I kept writing. I was finally so happy and I knew when it was done," said Gallegos, his brown eyes flashing with excitement.
His parents, Melanie and Ken, gently told him it was highly unlikely Rowling would consider using his storyline -- or the entire manuscript -- but that didn't deter Gallegos, who was determined to play out a new Harry Potter adventure in his mind, and record it on paper.
Gallegos has been building momentum for his 300-page Harry Potter book for the past few years. As a birthday gift for his father, Gallegos recently wrote him a long Sherlock Holmes-inspired story, and for a second-grade class project at Grant Elementary School, Gallegos wrote a 100-page book.
"It's hard for me to understand why kids write two page stories," said Gallegos.
In his 10-chapter book, Harry Potter is 18-years-old and becomes a Hogwarts teacher.
"I did it just for fun, but then I thought maybe this could be J.K. Rowling's next book," he said.
His dad mailed the typed manuscript to Rowling's publisher in August, requesting it be forwarded to her. Since then, Dezi has checked the mailbox regularly for a a response.
"Thousands of people read Harry Potter, so maybe she can let them try my book. I really want to get my book out in the world," he said.
You can read more excerpts from Dezi's book at the above link.