Potter 'prequel' sold at auction

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Potter 'prequel' under hammer

A short Harry Potter prequel written by JK Rowling has been sold at auction for £25,000 following a bidding frenzy.

The 800-word story was sold at a charity auction in central London.

The prequel comes almost a year after the last book in the boy wizard series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, hit shelves.

The author said: "I had great fun writing the card and I'm absolutely delighted that it has raised £25,000 for two such worthy causes."

Auction organisers asked 13 authors, including Nick Hornby and Doris Lessing, to create work for the sale.

They were asked to write storycards for Waterstone's What's Your Story? auction.

'No reserve'

JK Rowling's story finishes with the handwritten words: "From the prequel I am not working on - but that was fun!"

In December last year, another of her stories, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, fetched £1.95m at auction.

All 13 cards were sold without a reserve price. The other authors included Margaret Atwood, Lauren Child, Sebastian Faulks, Tom Stoppard and Irvine Welsh.

Money raised will go to English PEN, which promotes understanding through literature, and Dyslexia Action.

The auction was held at Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London.