British intelligence service helped thwart "Harry Potter" book piracy

This is how you know Great Britain considers "Harry Potter" a national treasure.

When the last few entries in the hugely popular young adult book series were being published, drastic measures had to be taken to ensure plot details and pirated copies of the works did not leak. Among those measures? Coordinating with British intelligence officials.

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Bloomsbury publisher Nigel Newton said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) -- the British equivalent of the NSA -- helped keep the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on track and safe from piracy.

"The GCHQ rang me up and said, 'We've detected an early copy of this book on the Internet,'" Newton said. "I got him to read a page to our editor, who said it was a fake."

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"They're good guys," Newton said. And apparently in addition to being good guys, they have a sense of humor. According to the BBC, a spokesman for GCHQ responded to a request for comment by saying that the agency doesn't "comment on our own defense against the dark arts."

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• Harry Potter