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Whether on the Web, a TV screen or the corner newsstand, it's a headline that could ruin a book lover's day: "Harry Dies!" Or, for that matter, "Harry Lives!"

When the final installment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga is published Saturday, loyal fans who don't like their surprises spoiled may have only two choices: speed reading or quarantine.

"This is the first thing everybody is going to want to know, and I really hope that it won't be screamed from a tabloid," says Melissa Anelli, owner of the Leaky Cauldron (the-leaky-cauldron.org), a popular Harry Potter Web site. "If you care, you'll buy the book. If you haven't finished reading it by the time you see that headline, you'll be really mad."

There is nothing new about trying to dodge information in the age of time-shifting and the Internet: Many sports fans with TiVos observe "news blackouts" so they won't find out the score of a game until they watch it later. They avoid TV, radio and newspapers. They open conversations with "Don't tell me!" Such techniques can be effective, at least for a short time.

This is different. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is a book — a 784-page book. Twelve million copies have been printed, and they will go on sale at exactly 12:01 a.m. Saturday. That means British readers, for example, will get a jump of five hours on New York readers and eight hours on those in the West Coast. Spoilers could theoretically post the ending before readers in the United States have even queued up at their local bookstores.

Scholastic Corp., which holds the U.S. rights, says it isn't worried. "Based on the people that I've talked to, fans won't look," says Kyle Good, a spokeswoman. "People want to read it on their own."

Some media outlets will observe discretion. The Leaky Cauldron Web site plans to host a live discussion page, but it will be clearly marked. "People are going to want to discuss whether they liked it, whether it has a good ending, if they are satisfied, but there will be warnings galore so that we don't ruin it for anyone," says Anelli.

The major networks have traditionally been loath to give away the endings of books or movies on morning talk shows. "We would never want to ruin the ending of a book that we know millions of Americans are looking to read," says Jeffrey Schneider, a senior vice president of ABC News. "That said, if the ending of the book becomes a major story, then we will obviously cover that. But we won't set out to intentionally ruin the ending."

Paul Colford, a spokesman for The Associated Press, says, "The AP will not be a spoiler." He notes that even though an AP reviewer disclosed that a major character died in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the news service didn't identify the character as Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore until this month.

Colford says that if a news organization or Web site discloses the ending of "Deathly Hallows" and it is widely dispersed, the AP will report on the development. But he says the story would be written in such a way that the secret wouldn't be revealed.

Harry-mania at fever pitch

News about Harry Potter is everywhere:

• Avid fans are examining the cover illustrations by Mary GrandPré for clues to the new book's plot; U.S. publisher Scholastic, ever helpful, provides a virtual magnifying glass on its Web site.

Where and when does the confrontation between Harry and Voldemort — shown on the cover of the seventh and last volume, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" — take place? Why aren't these mortal foes using wands? Is the color scheme significant? Who or what are those shadowy figures in the background? What's that around Harry's neck?

GrandPré isn't telling. "I'm sworn to secrecy," the illustrator of all seven Potter books said from her home in Sarasota, Fla. "I have to just let you make your own conclusions until you read the book."

GrandPré received the manuscript several months ago and quickly sat down with two highlighters — one for possible cover material, the other for chapter headings.

How many chapters are there? GrandPré couldn't divulge even that detail, but each of the last three books has had more than 30 chapters. "Every chapter heading is supposed to tell you something, to pull you in and tease you," she said. "Not that you need them — it's a little something extra."

• "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth film in the lucrative series, earned an estimated $77.4 million over the weekend to run its five-day opening total to an estimated $140 million.

That's the sixth-highest five-day opening ever and the highest of the "Potter" movies, which have all starred Daniel Radcliffe in the title role.

The first four "Potter" films grossed a worldwide total of $3.5 billion. Warner Bros. is already in pre-production on the sixth and seventh stories.