New Delhi: As Harry Potter, a young man now, enters into a chilling saga of revenge and dark magic, psychiatrists wonder if the Potter-crazy children the world over are ready for this sudden and violent transition into a hitherto unknown world.

As Harry Potter, a young man now, enters into a chilling saga of revenge and dark magic, psychiatrists wonder if the Potter-crazy children the world over are ready for this sudden and violent transition into a hitherto unknown world.

The 'Boy Who Lived' now knows he is the 'Chosen One' and his fate is entwined with that of the evil Lord Voldemort. But psychiatrists say, author J K Rowling, who introduces Harry to some "seriously dark magic," has not kept in mind the negative imprint the violence would leave on the minds of kids.

As Potter-fever gripped the world on the eve of July 16 and the sixth book of the Harry Potter series flew off the shelves, children eagerly awaiting Harry's escapades found them entering a dark world, psychiatrists say that may be a little more than they can handle.

"Sometimes books and films that are full of thrilling images may provoke their instincts," Dr Jitender Nagpal, a psychiatrist with the VIMHANS says. 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' - the latest from Rowling's stable not only takes Potter through an advanced course in magic, some of it dark, but leaves some serious tragedies in the wake that children say they never expected and saddened them.

"Children as young as five years, especially of the upcoming public schools, now imbibe images that percolate to them, affecting their progressive behaviour," Nagpal says.

"I was dying to read this book as it holds some of the answers to where book five left off - Harry posed with the gargantuan challenge of facing Lord Voldemort and either of them winning the unto-death battle," says Neha Aurora, a student.

"Intoxicatingly thrilling" - despite her glorious verdict for the book, she claims "it is downright chilling at many places." The world around Harry has suddenly become dangerous with the rejuvenation of Lord Voldemort and he has had to pick up and use new complicated spells to cope with adverseries.

"While his previous spells simply caused objects to fly, zoom or at best stupefy his enemies, in this book he actually draws blood, though unwittingly," she says.

"Ghastly details, vivid images of violence," Nagpal says, "can bring about extreme emotional instability in children." "Fanatic involvement in larger than life characters can affect their cognitive profile, as they do not differentiate the line between fantasy and reality," he says.

However, psychiatrist Sanjay Parekh defends the author saying the book is not necessarily so-called children's literature.

"The book is a progressive series and the youngsters must have grown up along with Harry. Though anything violent is not condoned, but adolescents can easily identify with the boy wizard's emotions, his passing phases," Parekh says.

As for the generous smatterings of romance in the book, he says "romance can never be a matter of concern for children. Violence is. Parents of little children thereby must also themselves read any literature they hand to their kids, to answer their curiosity," he says.

However, book critics say Harry's gradual shedding of puppy fat to grow into the young man who is discovering his hormones and gathering his wits to hunt down the 'Dark Lord' reflects the only natural human transition from childhood to adolescence and would not affect minds of very young readers.

As for death and devastation, the book only prepares little ones for the harsh world, where the "good people" are not necessarily invincible, they say.

"For one thing, children very young these days capture violence and adult emotions and somehow tend to ventilate them through diverse channels," Nagpal says adding that not all of the ventilation process is constructive.

"However there is a difference between violence in real life images, as in television and films and violence in fantasy, which is more toned down," Parekh says.

Book six shows Harry concocting more complicated potions, slashing his arch enemy Malfoy's face with one single dark spell, albeit unknowingly, he is more aggressive, inquisitive and definitely outgrowing his childish crushes.