I'm Only A Member, so I was not allowed to take photos of Hall decked out as Hogwarts when I had lunch there yesterday. Fortunately, attendees of the DVD launch party were allowed to snap away, and several photos have already been posted:

Hall with "floating" candles (from the BBC Norfolk website)

High Table with Dumbledore's chair (from 'TLC PoA DVD Launch Party Report Part I' by Melissa Anelli. The Leaky Cauldron, 19 November 2004)

Newsround's set photos slide show includes a view of Hall from the Gallery, some close-ups of the replica Honeydukes sweet shop, complete with chocolate fountain for marshmallow dipping,and the sign outside pointing the way to "Hogwarts," not to mention some bigger photos of the Knight bus's arrival than I took at the rehearsal.

Short video clip of the event on Extra TV.com

Tuesday - Quidditch anyone? The Garden gets a temporary makeover:


Photo by O
Wednesday - The Knight Bus takes a turn on the lawn:

S let me take this with his new phone

S-phone again

Thursday - early lunch in Hall - decked out like Hogwarts dining hall. I loved the candles hanging from the hammerbeam ceiling, but was less keen on the Leaky Cauldron and Sweet Shop sets in Hall - seemed odd to have them crammed in like that.

The press launch of the DVD is this evening, and, as part of the contract with the film company, no photos were allowed in Hall - but, trust me, it looked amazing.

"One by one we come to life,
Then side-by-side we wait
While our company swells in numbers
(Some come early, some come late);
And some of us may bore you,
And some of us enthral,
But you cannot choose between us
You must take us one and all.
We'll be bound together tightly
For we're naught if we break free.
If you'd like some clues about us
Simply answer: WHO ARE WE?"

- A clue from J.K. Rowling's official site, on which she announced three chapter titles from Harry Potter 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

Chapter 2 Spinners End
Chapter 6 Draco's Detour
Chapter 14 Felix Felicis

'J.K. releases three chapter names from Harry Potter' by Dave Haber, with info thanks to Felicia Rickman and other Wizard News readers. Wizard News, 31 October 2004

J.K. Rowling said readers "should be asking themselves "not 'why did Harry live' but 'why didn't Voldemort die?'" The second question, she added cryptically, is: "Why didn't Dumbledore kill, or try to kill, Voldemort?" "
'Rowling hints at Harry's future' by Jamie Wilson. The Guardian, Monday 16 August 2004.

'Aρειος Ποτήρ
The great Peter Needham reveals the names he has used in his (Ancient) Greek translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. My Greek is far too rusty to attempt to read it, so I was interested in the snippets he includes in his article on The Classics Pages."Harry Potter is Ἅρειος Ποτήρ [Hareios Poter]- Aρειος [areios] means "belonging to Ares", the war god - appropriate for the young warrior, and ποτήρ [poter] is a Greek word for "cup" or "goblet" - presumably the cup of wisdom from which Harry must quickly learn to drink deeply." The rendering I find most appealing is that of 'muggles' as "Μύγαλοι [Mugaloi]Greek for field-mice, quite appropriately)."

'Harry Potter in Greek' by Peter Needham. The Classics Pages.

After a hoax that the next Harry Potter book would be called The Pillar of Storgé, J.K. Rowling announced on her official site that Book 6 will, in fact be called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
'Revealed: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' by Sarah Crown. The Guardian, Tuesday 29 June 2004.

Jerry the Frog Productions presents a variety of spoofs based on movies, including The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series.