JK Rowling read a dying girl her unpublished Harry Potter stories so that she would know what happened before she passed away.

The millionaire author called nine-year-old cancer patient Catie Hoch at home when it became clear she only had weeks to live.

Ms Rowling, 37, read to Catie from the manuscript of the fourth book, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, which she was working on at the time.

She also sent the young Harry Potter fan emails and presents before her death on May 18, 2000, according to the Sunday Mirror.

'Forever grateful'

Catie's mother, Gina, said Ms Rowling had called her daughter at a crucial time in her fight against neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer.

She said: "I will be forever grateful for what Joanne did.

"She gave us something priceless by having this relationship with Catie.

"She touched her in ways we could never have imagined."

Magical Creatures

Catie, from Albany in New York, had been at the end of the third book, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, when doctors said she only had weeks to live.

We laid Catie down on the couch, and Jo read to her over the phone parts of the manuscript Gina Hoch

Ms Rowling, who is pregnant and has an eight-year-old daughter, began writing to Catie after she was contacted about the little girl though her publishers.

Gina Hoch revealed that one email read: "Dear Catie, I am working very hard on book four at the moment...on a bit that involves some new creatures Hagrid has brought along for the care of Magical Creatures classes.

"You are an extremely brave person and a true Gryffindor. With lots of love, JK Rowling (Jo to anybody in Gryffindor)."

'Face lit up'

The millionaire author began calling Catie from her Edinburgh home when the little girl became more seriously ill.

Mrs Hoch said: "We laid Catie down on the couch, and Jo read to her over the phone parts of the manuscript. Catie's face lit up."

The author rang three or four more times, but Catie became so ill that she could not longer listen.

Following the little girl's death Ms Rowling told Catie's parents that she had left, "footprints on my heart", and that she was, "Braver than Harry".

She is also thought to have made a private donation of �75,000 to a cancer fund set up in Catie's memory.

A spokesman for the her publishers said: "We confirm a donation was made, but cannot comment how much."