HARRY POTTER AUTHOR JK Rowling has stirred wild excitement among fans with a new website hinting the teen wizard may return.

The address of the mysterious site, Pottermore.com, was revealed after an online puzzle challenge in which ten fan sites were each given clues leading to a single letter. It currently shows just two owls, the word ‘Pottermore Coming Soon’, and Rowling’s signature. However, there are links to a YouTube page which plays a rolling countdown until “JK Rowling’s announcement” – scheduled for Thursday June 23 at noon.

There is already intense speculation among Harry Potter readers over the nature of the announcement, with many hoping it could be an eighth book in the series. One fan, Emily Weinberg, tweeted today: “POTTERMORE. This is not the end this is not the beginning. 5 days till my life could be changed forever.” Others have speculated that Pottermore could be an online role-playing game set in the magical world, or a Harry Potter encyclopaedia.

One editor at Potter fansite HPANA posted that they had seen a “sneak preview” of Pottermore – but would only reveal that it is “breathtaking in scope, detail and sheer beauty.”

Rowling’s PR company told The Guardian that the project would not be another novel. “All we can say is that Pottermore is the name of JK Rowling’s new project. It will be announced soon, and it is not a new book,” a spokesperson said. An associated Twitter account, @Pottermore, has gained more than 46,000 followers despite first tweeting only two days ago.

The excitement comes shortly before the arrival of the final movie adaptation of Rowling’s books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, whose trailer has just been released.

Watch the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie: