LAPORTE, Ind. - A huge Harry Potter fan is about to embark on a magical mission of sorts.

Emerson Spartz, 18, who created a Web site devoted to all things Hogwarts, will travel to Scotland next month to meet Potter author J.K. Rowling.

Spartz was sound asleep when Rowling called him at home. She invited the home-school student to come see her - at her expense.

Rowling, known for cherishing her privacy, promised Spartz an hour-long interview at her home July 16, the release date for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth book in her series.

"At first, I thought it was extremely odd," Emerson told The News-Dispatch of Michigan City for its Thursday editions. "I thought, 'Why would she want to talk to me?'"

But Rowling was familiar with Spartz's site, which she called one of her favorites.

Spartz, who's set to attend the University of Notre Dame this fall, created the site in 1999.

More than 40 volunteers help Spartz maintain the site, which in November 2002 had about 70,000 to 80,000 hits a day when the film version of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" arrived in theaters.

Now, the site gets about a million hits per day, Spartz said. It features, among other things, downloads, trivia, pictures and links to other Harry Potter sites.

It even has a clock that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the midnight release date of Rowling's latest book.

"It has everything the ultimate Harry Potter fan would want," Spartz said.