Chinese Web sites published reports and photographs on Wednesday which they said may contain the ending to the eagerly awaited seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter book series.

The author of a Potter article on the Web site of a newspaper called Strait News, said by telephone that the pictures came from an overseas peer-to-peer download site.

“Since the actual book hasn’t been released, no one can be sure if it’s the real thing or not,” he said. The pages were subsequently removed, he added.

But a handful of other sites, including the popular Sina.com, also ran the article and pictures.