Hogwarts Herald

Forbes Mugglezine…err…Magazine…released their list of “The 20 Richest Women in Entertainment” and J.K. Rowling made the list all the way up at #2…one spot behind Oprah Winfrey.

The one-time single mom on welfare is the brains behind Harry Potter, one of the most successful book franchises in history. The sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was the fastest-selling book in history, according to Guiness World Records. The film series–from which Rowling enjoys a cut of royalties and merchandising–has also proven astoundingly successful, with the total gross for the four films already released topping $3.5 billion. Rowling is the only career author on Forbes’ Billionaires list.

J.K. Rowling’s web site has a birthday acknowledgment for Severus Snape today…I don’t think I can bring myself to say “Happy Birthday.” As Hogwart’s Herald discussed here, the jury is still out whether or not Snape is “good” or “bad,” but I’m going to go ahead and declare him guilty until proven innocent. I hope his character redeems himself, but I’m still bitter over the whole Dumbledore thing. How can you not be?

By the way, if you go to J.K. Rowling’s web site and then just keep the page up with howling winds, door bells, birds and barking dogs, eventually a funky beat starts playing. And then after a little bit longer the cell phone rings…click the green “on” button and a voice (J.K.’s?) comes on and says “Hello…hello…is anybody there.” It’s all kind of neat and random…if you’ve never hung around long enough for all of this to happen, be sure to give it a go.
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A few days ago The Observer had a really nice article about J.K. Rowling: “J.K. Rowling: The Mistress of All She Surveys.”

It’s a difficult article to summarize as it covers a lot of ground. Instead of trying to describe everything the article touches on, here are a couple of snippets to whet your appetite:

Rowling did not start out as a canny media operator, nor does she seem to relish the power she wields. She had a reputation early on ‘for being somewhat po-faced’ (her own admission). Of fame, she says: ‘I never wanted it and I never expected it and certainly didn’t work for it and I see it as something that I have to get through, really.’

Stephen King and John Irving would certainly concur. Both enthusiastic fans of the series, they implored Rowling during a charity event in New York last August to give the young hero a break. ‘My fingers are crossed for Harry,’ Irving said. Elsewhere, King has predicted that Potter ‘will indeed stand time’s test and wind up on a shelf where only the best are kept. I think Harry will take his place with Alice, Huck, Frodo and Dorothy and this is one series not just for the decade, but for the ages’.

Most articles that come out about Harry Potter and/or J.K. Rowling are sparse with any sort of interesting information or insight and are usually a bit boring…but this one, even if there isn’t any new information, is a well-written, interesting read.

Apart from her obvious talents as a writer, J.K. Rowling just seems like such a nice, well-adjusted person. The type of person you wish you were friends with…the type of person you’d like to invite over for dinner and a board game.

Which is much higher praise than I could give her critics (AS Byatt and Harold Bloom in this article)…their pretentiousness is unbearable.

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I’m not sure how old this interview is, but it’s well worth a look.

In this interview J.K. Rowling, Emma Thompson and Hagrid himself, Robbie Coltrane, discuss Hagrid and give you a little insight into the character and a little insight into the man who plays him. They really did a fantastic job in casting Robbie Coltrane to play Hagrid…there’s no way to imagine anyone else in the world playing that role and its complex contrast of lovability and intimidation.

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A week after taking the “Do Not Disturb” sign down from the “Magic Door” and revealing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the title for Book 7, J.K. Rowling has put the “Do Not Disturb” sign back in place.

What’s up next for the “Magic Door”? Let’s hope it’s the release date for Deathly Hallows, but that could still be a couple months down the road.

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Bookies are now taking bets on who will kill Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and betters are putting their money down on Voldemort…and Harry himself.

Voldemort is currently the odds-on favorite at 4-5 odds, with Harry, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley all tied wtih 6-1 odds.

Why Harry? According to Rupert Adams, a spokesman for bookmaker William Hill:

“JK mentioned that Harry might be killed off and the general consensus seems to be that Harry is the final Horcrux and to ensure that Voldemort dies he will need to be sacrificed.”

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With the release of the title for Book 7, theories are starting to get thrown around about the meaning of the title…and how it may explain what’s going to happen.

Now, before I begin I must say there’s no way anyone is going to figure out what’s going to happen in Book 7…let alone figure out with any amount of accuracy just what “Deathly Hallows” means. Whether it was the “Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Chamber of Secrets,” “Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Goblet of Fire,” “Order of the Phoenix,” or the “Half-Blood Prince” no one’s been able to crack the code yet. It’s always something we never expect…and even if you’re able to guess the general “ballpark” of what the title means (with “Order of the Phoenix” you could kind of get a sense of how that was going to manifest itself, generally speaking) there are always many curveballs to surprise and delight you. J.K. Rowling is just too good at inventing characters and narrative to expect anything less. With that said…

It’s still a lot of fun to theorize, and there have been some really interesting theories thrown about. Here are some of the best Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows theories I’ve come across to excite your Muggle souls:

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With the new Book 7 title being released today it’s no surprise that the news is everywhere. Hogwarts Herald has scoured the news stories and below are some of the better links to media articles about Harry Potter and the _______ _______.

I’m still not in the mood to spoil the fun, so if you’re just finding out about the just-announced title, go to the post below for the directions to solving JK Rowling’s “puzzle”…and thus finding out the name of Book 7 the fun way.

And if you can’t wait to read more on the new book & title, here’s the best of what’s come out today (there may be spoiler info on the new title beyond the fold):

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It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for…J.K. Rowling has announced the name of Book 7!

To find out the name of the book the fun way, follow these steps:

1. Go to JKRowling.com.
2. Click on the eraser on her desk.
3. Click the knob on the open door in the mirror to see the Christmas tree (the door farthest to the left).
4. Click on the top half of the main door to see a wreath.
5. Click on the top part of the mirror to reveal garland.
6. Click on the spider web next to the mirror.
7. Click on the fourth chime (from the left) in the window and while still clicking…
8. Drag the key to the keyhole in the main door to unlock it.
9. The door opens to reveal a package on the table.
10. Click the bow and the package will open.
11. Inside is a game of Hangman you can play to guess the title!

But if you just can’t wait, the name of Book 7 can be found below the fold…

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On her official site J.K. Rowling has posted a new message on her “diary.”

In the diary entry she starts, “The long lack of updates has been due to some very hard work. I’m now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more.”

It sounds like nice progress is being made on Book 7. She goes on to say, “I both want, and don’t want, to finish this book (don’t worry, I will.)”

This is very understandable, isn’t it? I think we all feel the same way. We can’t wait to see what happens…how everything gets resolved…but we don’t want it to be final. They say you should always “leave them wanting more,” and J.K. Rowling will definitely be doing this when the final book is printed. How could we not want more?

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A victory for Harry Potter today…J.K. Rowling’s books will be allowed to stay on school shelves in Gwinnett, Georgia:

“State Board of Education members Thursday morning backed the Gwinnett County Board of Education’s decision to keep the popular, but oft-maligned Potter books on school library shelves.”

The reason these books were in danger of being “banned” in Gwinnett:

“Laura Mallory, a Loganville mother, first complained to her child’s school last year that Potter was violent and promoted witchcraft and the Wicca religion.”

A few thoughts on this:

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There’s really no new information in this Harry Potter article in the Hindustan Times (an Indian paper with editions in Mumbai, Delhi, Bhopal and Lucknow), but it definitely shows the growing chorus of coverage anticipating Harry Potter’s death at the end of Book 7.

In the article Daniel Radcliffe is quoted as saying:
“I don’t know that there is any other way she could end the series. It’s the right and honourable thing to do.”

I understand Daniel’s feeling on this matter and why he feels the way he does, but I just don’t understand how it’s “honourable.” There are certain times when there is honour in death, certainly. But there is also honour in life. Harry Potter has been “honourable” in every way throughout the series, yet he is still very much alive. Honour is found in your actions, not your death.

As I read this article I thought back to what Daniel said in an interview in Australia last week:
“If [J.K. Rowling] ended the series with Harry alive, the calls for more books would be [deafening].”

This got me to thinking:

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List two more voices to the “Harry should die” list: Author Chris Paolini (Eragon) and Actor Edward Speleers (portraying Eragon in the movie). As stated in their interview with USA Weekend:

Paolini: “You know what she could do? Have Voldemort die and then have Harry die at the same time. If you have death in the last book, it has to be important death.”

Speleers: “In theory, it should be Voldemort. But part of me thinks Harry should die, following in his father’s footsteps.”

No disrespect intended to either of these guys, but it all sounds a little too cliched to me (having both die at the same time sounds too much like Rocky II when both fighters knock each other out at the same time), and if we know one thing about J.K. Rowling it is that we should expect the unexpected.

She’ll definitely have something up her sleeve, something that no one is expecting…i.e. Snape and Dumbledore at the end of Book 6. No one really expected that to happen. “Wait. No. That didn’t just happen. How could that happen?”

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Newsweek has a brief but interesting article about David Yates, the Director of Order of the Phoenix. Here are a few of the more interesting snippets from the article…with my thoughts on the snippets in italics:

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If you’re thinking of buying a Harry Potter item on eBay this Holiday Season—especially an autograph—be sure you’ve done your homework first. For instance, many of the items up for auciton, such as J.K. Rowling signed books and signed cast pictures from the movies, aren’t legitimate. Not that everything of this sort is a scam, but you need to be careful.

Here are a couple good resources to help you better determine what’s legitimate and what’s a scam:

Signed Harry Potter Books and Collectibles: A very thorough guide from a collector.

Fake Signed Harry Potter Books on eBay: A blog entry by Rod Collins, a rare & collectible book dealer.

One last note…As far as I can tell, and I’ve done quite a bit of checking, the eBay auction below for J.K. Rowling’s handbag is perfectly legitimate. Even if on the surface it seems legit, it’s important to dig deeper, follow links and do some checking. It’s wise to approach these things with a little skepticism.

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