I read on Mugglenet that there will be a new Minister of Magic. JK says that it will not be Arthur Weasley or Harry. What about Percy? Is he still too young? Wasn't he sort of being groomed? In COS when they are reading about Tom Riddle, there are a couple of references to how he reminds everyone of Percy. Will Percy turn completely to the dark side and support Voldemort against his family and the order?

It is really interesting to read previous thread on Harry Potter, on here. Some of the people here were really good picking up on clues to Harry Potter five. That's all I'll say

Hi guys, I hope you remember me ! I'm really sorry for not visiting very regularly but this year is really going very tough. However, I just had to join in the discussion of our favourite Boy-Who-Lived.

MuggleNet's Emerson and Leaky Cauldron's Melissa are going to interview JKR on the day HBP releases. Here are the six questions which are definitely going to be asked by them.

It’s stated in book 1 that Dumbledore had ’defeated’ ’the dark wizard Grindelwald.’ Did Dumbledore defeat him in the sense of kill, or remove him from power but so he may still be alive?"

The importance of our choices has been stressed over and over again in the books. Why was Lily’s choice to sacrifice herself for her son more ’important’ in some sense than her husband’s choice to sacrifice himself for his son and wife? Apparently James knew he had no fighting chance, so choosing to fight in order to give time to his family to flee, was in fact choosing to die for them. But this didn’t seem to offer his wife any magical protection, therefore it seems like a less important sacrifice. Is it because he didn’t actually put his body in front of the person he wanted to save that made his death so... second class? Should that matter? The choice that he made was of equal level to the choice his wife made, I think; but not with the same effect? Why?"

If Lord Voldemort encountered a Boggart what would he see?"..I voted for this one.

And from the Leaky Cauldron:

WARNING : OOTP SPOILER

What is the significance, if any, of the gum wrappers which Mrs Longbottom gives to Neville.

Do thoughts in a Pensieve reflect the reality or views of a person ?

OOTP SPOILER:

How and when was the veil made?

I think if JKR answers these questions, we might get quite a lot of info about our favourite wizard's ultimate end.

OK, these are my theories for HBP: Lupin is the new Minister, Hagrid is the one who dies, someone close to the Trio betrays them and the person who died in OOTP somehow someway makes an comeback.

Angi

It comes out Friday! I'll probably spend the next day or so reading it. I'm going to have to fight with my dad over who gets to read it first.

I cant wait...I will be at Barnes & Nobles midnight on Friday!!! I have so many questions & theories about this book!!! Everytime I think of theory I tell my mom & Im sure shes going insane...she hasn't read the last 2...shes a dork!!! But I keep checking the count down at HPANA & it makes me so excited!!! Well I just hope this book is everything we expect...Im sure it will be Jk hasn't failed us yet....& I highly doubt she ever will!!!!

There was a major Panic here over the weekend.
One of the Local Supermarkets that also sell books put the new HP novel out last week and sold 14 of them
Wow was that a mistake.
They have asked those who bought one of the 14 copies to return it to the store till 1 minute after Midnight on the 16th and they will get their copy back with a engraved book plate in the front signed by J.K.Rowling plus a bunch of other HP stuff for free.
So far only three have taken them back.
I have a feeling they won't be getting the last book in the series to put in their store.
I just thought you would all get a giggle out of it.
PF

Well of course I would return any of these missing books back to the store....after I had "peeped" at the last few paragraphs! I imagine there will be a few red faces at that store.

Here ia a copy of what was in the Halifax Herald, Nova Scotia. Thought you might like to read it.
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VANCOUVER - Even Harry Potter and his gang couldn't have conjured up a better potion for a marketing campaign than the accidental leak of the latest Potter book from a suburban Vancouver store, a marketing expert says.

The sixth book in the series about a young wizard is supposed to remain a secret until 12:01 a.m. local time Saturday but some were sold at a Real Canadian Superstore in Coquitlam, B.C.

Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd. obtained a B.C. Supreme Court injunction Saturday preventing anyone who received a copy from disclosing or copying information about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
"Not in his magic spells could he work one this effective," said Lindsay Meredith, a Simon Fraser University marketing strategies professor.

"My straight-up hunch is this is some of the best damned PR I've seen in a while. They didn't pay a penny for it and it's way more powerful than advertising."

Raincoast has asked those who bought the books to return them in exchange for a gift package.

While he refused to give a specific number, Raincoast's director of marketing said a handful of people have contacted the company to return the books.

"We've had some success and been very, very gratified at the response from Harry Potter fans," Jamie Broadhurst said.

Broadhurst said there's a certain ethic to those who contacted the company.

"They are people who are very honourable Harry Potter fans," he said.

A spokesman for Real Canadian Superstore said an inadvertent error by a store worker led to the book being put out for sale Thursday.

"As soon as we heard about it and were notified we quickly whisked them off the shelf," said Geoff Wilson, who didn't know how long the books were on sale.

Nothing of the sixth book had leaked out onto the Internet, but Broadhurst said the global publishing partners around the world are watching for any breach.

"The vigilance is extreme."

He said keeping the secret lets everyone share in the same excitement. "Why do we wait until Christmas Day to open our presents. I think people love the idea of together sharing in a certain surprise."

Broadhurst wouldn't comment on the international media frenzy around the accidental release.

"The only thing that matters for Raincoast is that we do right by J.K Rowling and we do right by her fans in Canada."

Meredith conceded he's cynical about the accident and the court process that followed.

"I have some degree of trouble understanding how serious economic harm per se is going to come to the release that's scheduled for this Saturday.

"The next edition of Harry Potter ought to include another chapter called tempest in a teapot."

Meredith said the media splash has an impact 10 to 20 times greater than an advertisement. He said consumers often filter out advertisements but listen to the news, especially over such a book recall.

Raincoast's Toronto lawyer Barbara Grossman said the company found out about the leak when one of the buyers came forward.

She said the leak certainly wasn't planned. "I think they (Raincoast) would have preferred the coverage without the incident."

Broadhurst said one of the parents that returned a book said he wanted to preserve the magic of Harry Potter.

"That every parent knows what it means to keep a secret, to make a day special for a child . . . and that was his motivation."

Ok roughly three and a half days to go...so removing myself for the Book corner until I have read "Half Blood Prince" and throughly enjoyed it...I won't see any spoilers I hope!

I am pleased to inform everyone...the book we have all so highly inticipated comes out in 1day 14hours 52minutes & 5seconds!!! Im so excited!!!

Great! I can't wait! I'll probably be staying up all night reading it.

I can't decide whether to get the book at midnight or be sensible and wait til tomorrow...

Well, the 16th has dawned on the western shores of the Pacific, and the book is probably going on sale there. So, bearing in mind what people have already said in this thread, can I please ask members who are lucky enough to read the book in the next few hours or days not to post any spoilers here.

Thanks.

13hours 43minutes & 46second.....until I can hold HPHBP in my hands!!! Eww...Im sleepin all day so I can read it straight through...then sleep & read it again!! Oh how wonderful.....I think the people that are getting this morning are way lucky...but I lived there Id have to wait just as long!!! So Im content!! Well Ill be on after I finish....I will not post spoilers because if I read one Id be rather mad!!! Ill probally just say AMAZING...we know it will be!!!!

I wouldnt post spoilers anyway, but out of interest, how long do people want others to wait before discussing the book's content on here? Or do people just stay away til they've finished it?

I would love to discuss it now....but other people dont drop everything else in the world for the greatest books in the world!!! So I dont know.... I think everyone should hurry & read it because its WOW!!!!

Yes, pretty good is a understatement! Rowling has not disappointed!

Can you imagine the pressure of having established the series, and then having to come up with a book that millions of people are waiting for? Yet she pulled it off with her usual style and finesse. It is an amazing story.

I made it last a week!!
It is to my mind , simple wonderful(as usual).

Lovely, absolutely brilliant. Better than the fifth, and my favourite of the series so far.

Just finished reading it for the second time. It gets better on second reading and also very moving at the end. That's all that I am going to say! Rowling has not disappointed!

I don't know if I'm over-reacting because I've just finished the book, but the end is so moving, so emotional! I cried a bit too much. I had said somewhere that I'd finish this instalment in (aaargh!) 5 weeks. How could I say it? I did it in 12 hours!

Not The Best of the Seies, of course. (Second best for me)

The last few chapters are so well written, they're definitely above any other part in any other Harry Potter book. But, er, there's so much happening at the end that not much is left for the rest of the book. It gets a little overstretched in the middle. Bet you wouldn't mind that...you're left wanting for more, anything more about Harry Potter and his world when the novel ends.

It Only gets Better!

This is a little off-topic since it has nothing to do specifically with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but it is about our dear Harry and I didn't want to start a new thread for this kind of silliness. :P


Anyway, happy 25th birthday, Harry, providing you survive your next encounter with Lord Voldemort! (In Rowling's timeline, Harry's date of birth is July 31, 1980.)


Loved book six, although it seemed a great deal darker than the previous books. I haven't had time to go back and read it a second time. Actually, what I'm really looking forward to is going back and re-watching the movie of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In the DVD interview Rowling says that she's amazed at some of the foreshadowning for books six and seven that coincidentally were included in the film. Now that I've read book six, I'd really like to see if I can go back and pick up on them.

Now that's interesting...I'll have to do the same!