Rowling auctions Harry Potter prequel for charity

BOOKED: The prequel comes almost a year after the last book in the boy wizard series.

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New Delhi: A prequel to the seven-book Harry Potter series is the latest in a long line of surprises from author JK Rowling.

The 800-word prequel hand written by Rowling was auctioned for charity on Tuesday night at the flagship store of Waterstone's bookstore chain in London. The winning bid was $48,858.

Proceeds from the charity will go to the writers' association 'English PEN' and a dyslexia charity.

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

Her story is set three years before Harry Potter's birth, and features the youthful wizard's father, James, and his friend Sirius Black.

The pair is confronted by two policemen after a high-speed motorcycle chase, and evade the authorities using their broomsticks and magic.

The hand-written storycard concludes with the words, "From the prequel I am not working on -- but that was fun!" and includes Rowling's signature and is dated May 2008.

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