Tattle | Abracadabra! 'Hermione' hires a bodyguard

HARRY POTTER's powers may be needed to save Hermione from a stalker.

Emma Watson, 16, who plays the teen wizard's gal pal, was recently met by an adult stranger when he showed up at her school, the London Sun reports.

A Sun source said: "The man was an admirer who was over-zealous.

"He found out there were some open lectures at the school and attended them."

Obviously, Emma was troubled when a grown Harry Potter fan started attending her classes.

"The police spoke to the man and he was warned off in no uncertain terms," said the source.

The source added that there have been further incidents since the twentysomething man was spoken to, so Emma now has a bodyguard.

Also according to the Sun, sources at Warner Bros. say Emma has just signed a deal to star in the last two Harry Potter movie adaptations. Britain's News of the World, however, says Emma has decided to quit the films for a chance to do other things.

News of the World reports Emma has told producers that even a salary hike to nearly $4 million per film won't bring her back.

Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, told the paper, "Emma doesn't want to do it any more. She's tired of being known as 'that girl from Harry Potter.' "

News of the World says its sources at Warner Bros. confirmed Emma has not signed on for more movies.

Come on, Warner Bros., make up your mind.

Madonna on the move

Get ready, New York, Madonna is coming.

The former Material Girl is coming from England to be closer to her father, Tony Ciccone, who is fighting colon cancer.

A source told the London Sun: "Madonna, Guy and the kids are definitely moving to New York this year."

The Sun reports Ciccone is receiving treatment at Leelanau County Hospital in Michigan, which, the British paper reports "is relatively close to New York."

Sure, if by relatively close one means 865 miles away in the northwest corner of Michigan and not near any major airport.

And Leelanau County Hospital? Don't send get-well cards there just yet. Leelanau Memorial Hospital closed in late 2004 and Leelanau doesn't seem to have another hospital.

As for where Madonna plans to live in the Big Apple, the Sun says she's choosing between a large apartment and a townhouse, each costing in the very posh neighborhood of $40 million.

Tattle infirmary

South Jersey's Kelly Ripa says her cantankerous co-host, Regis Philbin, is in good shape after having heart-bypass surgery Wednesday.

"He is already up joking around with the nurses and the doctors and harassing people and picking on people," Ripa said. The doctor "told us what we already knew: that Regis Philbin has the heart of a 19-year-old."

Ripa said she plans to keep her promise to give Reege a sponge bath.

"I'm so thrilled that you're feeling better," she said, "and nursie-poo is coming with her sponge!"

* TV yakker Larry King, mean-

while, underwent vascular surgery Friday and is expected to return tonight to his CNN show.

King was admitted to Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where doctors performed a carotid endarterectomy, which removes plaque from the carotid artery and can restore blood flow.

"Larry is doing great and he is excited to be back on the air Monday night with an interview with Sen. Barack Obama as we mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war," said a statement from CNN.

On an unrelated note, Tattle's parents marked their 49th anniversary on Friday.

Tattbits

* Now that D.A. Arthur Branch

(Fred Thompson) is mulling a run for the presidency, his top prosecutor, Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), has decided to make his own political statement.

The star of "Law & Order" told George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week" he has joined Unity '08, a group that would like to elect a bipartisan ticket to the White House.

"I think by its existence it will have a beneficial effect on anybody who's running for president, because they will be obliged to look over their other shoulder at the center, and not simply address the partisan factions that have so much sway in primaries," Waterston said.

* Cate Blanchett is in negotia-

tions to star opposite Harrison Ford in the fourth installment of the "Indiana Jones" series, her publicist confirmed Saturday.

Filming is scheduled to begin later this year.

* Oprah Winfrey opened her

second school for poor South African youth Friday, an innovative, environmentally friendly institution she hopes will be a model for public education.

The $1.6 million Seven Fountains Primary School was funded by Oprah's Angel Network, a public charity that supports organizations and projects focused on education and literacy.

The water supply to the school's area is irregular, so it has an innovative system that recycles rainwater and uses seesaws and merry-go-rounds to pump it.

Does that mean every time the kids are thirsty a teacher yells, "Recess!"?

The school also uses solar power and has gardens that supply vegetables for school meals.

At U.S. schools, the gardens only grow ketchup.

* Richard Hatch, who won $1 million on "Survivor," says being in prison for failing to pay taxes on his reality-TV prize and other income is "horrendous."

Here's a tip: Don't break the law. *

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

Send e-mail to gensleh@phillynews. com