Bloomsbury have just emailed to remind us that there are only 3 weeks left to vote for our favourite Harry Potter characters!  Voting began on May 16th and there have been over 63,000 votes with the top ten characters currently taking up 45,000 of those votes. Early results are showing a clear front runner with over 5000 more votes than the character at number 2.

Don’t miss out on your chance to vote for your favourite character. Go to www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter and make your vote count.

It is now July 31st in the UK so it is time to wish Harry Potter and JK Rowling a Happy Birthday!

Harry is celebrating his 31st birthday with his wife Ginny and children James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna! Harry currently works as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic and successfully defeated the Dark Lord 13 years ago!

JK Rowling is celebrating her 46th birthday with her family. She is married to Neil Murray and has three children; Jessica Isabel, David Gordon and Mackenzie Jean.

We wish them both amazing birthdays and many more to come!

Wiley, a book publisher, recently sent me a copy of Harry Potter and History to review for the site. The book gives you “the historical backdrop to Harry Potter’s world, covers topics ranging from how real British boarding schools compare to Hogwarts to how parchment, quills, and scrolls used in the wizarding world were made” AND includes a timeline comparing the history of the wizarding world to Muggle “real” history. If this sounds interesting to you, you can head over to Barnes and Noble to purchase the book, it retails for $17.95 but B&N has it for $12!

I am not normally the type of person to read history books but I do enjoy watching those random history shows on television when they are on an interesting topic so I knew that I would enjoy this book.  It was great to learn the history behind some of the themes and objects in the Potter books. This book is a wonderful learning tool because you are learning history but it is also fun because it is being related to the Potter series.

It was very cool to learn the history of bezoars and how they were prized possessions long ago because of their value, they also believed them to have healing powers. Some more interesting things you will read about, if you haven’t researched them already on your own, include the history of Nicholas Flamel, The Malfoys and the class system, the oppression of witches and wizards throughout history, how Voldemort and his Death Eaters are like the Nazis and so much more!

I encourage you to pick up this book and dig a little deeper into the series that we all cherish and love to read over and over.  It will give you a whole new understanding of the history of the wizarding world.

TotalFilm has published their list of the 50 Greatest Harry Potter Characters and why they believe those characters are the best. The list includes the likes of Firenze (50), Minerva McGonagall (14), Ginny Weasley (30), Neville Longbottom (13), Luna Lovegood (16), Horace Slughorn (28), Oliver Wood (39), Cedric Diggory (45), Filch (36), Gilderoy Lockhart (22), Peeves (37), and even The Sorting Hat (46)! The top 10 characters (in order from 10-1) are: Remus Lupin, Hagrid, Sirius Black, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Tom Riddle, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and finally, Severus Snape!  Visit TotalFilm to see the full list!

Dobby (22)
The Character: The self-lacerating House Elf (witness the moment when he irons his hands as penance for disobeying the Malfoys) with an abiding love for Harry Potter, Dobby is something of an acquired taste, his constant clowning taking him perilously close to Jar-Jar territory in Chamber Of Secrets. However, his bravery at the battle of Malfoy Manner is enough to redeem him in our eyes, and anyone who wasn’t choking back a sniffle at his eventual death clearly has a heart of stone.
Key Quote: “Dobby has no master… Dobby is a free elf!”

Lucius Malfoy (18)
The Character: The elder Malfoy was one of Voldemort’s closest supporters first time around but managed to wriggle his way out of a spell in Azkaban when the Dark Lord was defeated. It’s that slippery nature that best sums him up, alongside his snobbery and cowardice. Indeed, it’s no surprise to see him and his wife down tools once the final battle begins to swing away from Voldemort… although their desire to find Draco should probably be flagged as another contributing factor.
Key Quote: “Potter, your race is run. Now hand me the prophecy like a good boy… ”

Fred & George Weasley (12)
The Characters: Mildly irritating in the big-screen version (largely thanks to the wooden delivery of the Phelps boys, who appear to have bagged the roles largely by virtue of being twins), Fred and George provide many of the books’ funnier moments, as well as supplying one of the major emotional hits of the final battle. The scene in which they escape Umbridge’s regime by flying their brooms over the school wall is a punch-the-air moment of pure teenage rebellion.
Key Quote: “George? I think we’ve outgrown a full-time education…”

Severus Snape (1)
The Character: The saga’s tragic hero, Snape has lived a profoundly unhappy life, watching his beloved shack up with the man who made his school days a misery, before eventually giving his life to protect the couple’s son. Once the story’s revelations have been made in full, his character takes on a whole new complexion, demonstrating just how selfless a man he really is. As Harry puts it, “he’s probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
Key Quote: (On Harry) “Mediocre, arrogant as his father, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to find himself famous, attention-seeking and impertinent.”

 

We are now in the final stretch of MTVs Harry Potter World Cup. The winner will be Announced LIVE on Monday, July 11th at 4:30pm ET during MTV News’ Red Carpet Live Stream. View thee full press release here!

Beginning today, the Elite Eight Match-Ups include:

·       Harry Potter vs. Serverus Snape

·       Hermione Granger vs. Remus Lupin

·       Ron Weasley vs. Rubeus Hagrid

·       Draco Malfoy vs. Sirius Black

Voting for the Elite Eight round will continue through Thursday, July 7th at Midnight ET.

Following the Final Four match-up this upcoming weekend, the two finalists will be announced the morning of Monday, July 11th, kicking off a championship round that will continue up until MTV News’ live stream from the Red Carpet of the film’s New York premiere.

The Harry Potter World Cup Tournament Voting Schedule is as follows:

Elite 8 – Wednesday, July 6th through Thursday, July 7th at Midnight

Final 4 – Friday, July 8th through Sunday, July 10th at Midnight

Championship Round – Final 2 announced Monday, July 11th. Voting will continue through the livestream up until the announcement.

To view the Harry Potter World Cup bracket click here.

Thanks to The Leaky Cauldron we have a full transcript from the Pottermore press conference held today. To read the full transcript you can visit this page (or the previous link to Leaky).  You can watch the video of the press conference here.

Q: Can you talk about your decision to go directly to the consumers? I imagine Apple and Amazon are not happy.
“Well I can’t speak for anyone else. The decision was  quite straightforward for me. Firstly It means that – I mean Harry Potter is obviously an international phenomenon and it means that we can now see that people everywhere are having the same experience at pretty much the same time. A large part of the fandom will be able to receive experience at exactly the same time, which was extremely appealing to me.
“I’m phenomenally lucky in that I have the resources to do it myself and therefore I got to do it, I think, right. I think this is a fantastic and unique experience that I can afford in every sense. To take my time and find the right people – TH_NK have been extraordinary – to make this come alive. There was really no other way to do that, for the fans or for, than to just do it myself. Not everyone could do it, I appreciate that, but I think it was right for Harry Potter. It was right for Harry Potter because, Potter fandom was one of the first, I think ti’s fair to say, there was a massive online community and that was such fun for me as an author to be able to have direct contact with my fans, and I already had a direct presence online, I had my own web site already. So it didn’t feel like a massive onwards step. It was an extension of the already existing.