Here is a photo of Xenophilius Lovegood and the second one is of drawings around his door possibly by Luna. Notice Harry and Ron are wearing the same clothes as in the photos of the beach of shell cottage after Malfoy Manor.

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I wish there was some footage of this. They can get play by play photos, but can't get footage. No one had a video camera that day i guess.

I don't suppose you can put those pictures in a spoiler is there? Some people haven't read the last book yet. *cough*Johobbit*cough*

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Awww, thanks, Ryan. Yes, spoilers would be appreciated.

Here is my Harry Potter history:
I read the first three books shortly after they came out, then began the fourth, but had already lost interest. Here was my summary of the first three at the time: Harry escapes the Dursleys and manages to get to Hogwarts; danger ensues; Harry breaks key rules to save the day, conquers Voldemort, and furthermore gets rewarded for his misdemeanor afterwards during a massive school feast ... albeit he does 'save the day'.

Okay, I've changed my opinion now, somewhat, but that was seriously my first reaction. Plus, I think I was kind of rebelling against all the hype. (Yes, I know one could come back to me with "What about your love for The LotR movies"—valid question. And the answer is that I have been passionate about Tolkien's writings for nearly forty years now, so ... yeah, big difference. )

I have come to enjoy the Harry Potter story better from the films, actually, and have seen them all a few times. I have promised that I will begin reading Deathly Hallows over the Christmas break. *crosses heart* So, now that I've stated this publicly, I daren't not follow through. Then later on I will go back and read books 4-6, and maybe even end up starting at book 1 and re-read those first few.

Kind of random: did anyone else think Ginny's character in HBP was ... flat, one-dimensional? I liked Bonnie Wright in the other films (especially the one where Harry saves her from Voldemort—the Tom Riddle's diary film), but in HBP she was so monotone and blank, or something. Nothing to her. That disappointed me.

I recently bought the HBP soundtrack, and am getting to know it. At the recommendation on the soundtrack thread, I'd also like to purchase either Azkaban soundtrack or OotP.

Anyway, I will let y'all know what I think of the seventh book. I've always been especially fascinated by Snape (and thinks Alan Rickman does a top-notch, stone-faced job portraying him, plus I love his voice), so I'm really curious (and also hesitant) to find out what becomes of him. I've also been quite torn as to whether he's on the good or evil side, but am strongly leaning towards the former.

I've seen some of those pics at the Leaky and Mugglenet myself, but they're great. Maybe you should at least put the captions in spoilers though .

Wagga, I initially thought the "dark young man who dislikes the questioner" was Harry myself. But after numerous read-throughs, I am certain now that it is a reference to Malfoy. I think we're supposed to think of Harry first though.

And yes,

EDIT: You're going to read DH first, before finishing 4,5,6 ? Shame on you Jo . You HAVE TO at least read Half Blood Prince before Deathly Hallows. The film shows enough for folks who only watch the films to see the last movie. But it doesn't explain enough for people to be able to transition from HBP the movie, to DH the book.

GB

Nice pics decarus. Xenophilius Lovegood looks..... interesting. Did anyone see the new Deathly Hallows sneak peek video that Mugglenet just leaked online???

I suggest you see it!! Best 56 seconds of my LIFE!! I can't wait for the HBP dvd that I ordered now! Once our dvd arrives we'll be able to see a clearer version!

OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH those pics are freaking insane!!!! i love how they all look so haggered, Harry's hair is a mess, they all look like they haven't washed in days, Ron's hair is as long as it was back in GoF. and Xenophilius!!!! he is PERFECT!!!!!!
*T12 posts this squeeming (is that the right word? anyway im really freaking excited) like crazy

haha! thanks decarus, its just a very big problem, i find it very sad that many people won't read such fantastic books because it is supposed to be evil. please don't get me started one Twilight.
the kid i was talking about was about 11. and yes Trelawney is a fraud and i think Rowling is actually making fun of the actual spirit world through her.

Yes, an 11 year old child is of Secondary School age, as I thought. Old enough to go to Hogwarts, a boarding school. Thank you, decarus, for your lovely photos, and I fear the Twilight reference was my fault, as I wanted to draw attention to the way relationships are treated in HBP.

What is wrong with Trelawney's prophecies is that she either does not realise she has made them, or that the prophecy, like the one about Wormtail, is a foregone conclusion, with events already unfolding so fast that even access to a time turner can't change them. Of course a servant of the Dark Lord, who is a prisoner, will break loose when and if he can, and the night of Buckbeak's execution would be a good time.

Or, at best, Trelawney's predictions only give part of the story. All too often, as with Lavender's bunny, when events do happen, that appear to be linked, people, having heard the prophecy, then try to make it fit what they already know has happened, just as Hermione pointed out, not unlike the media does with Nostradamus' prophecies every time there is a major disaster. And it is Trelawney's superstitious dealings with death omens like the Grim that get the most ridicule.

As Gandalf's Beard so rightly points out, you don't have to be a seer to realise that a nervously clumsy butterfingers of a 13 year old boy will be the first to drop a cup and break it. And when Harry Potter, a mortal like everyone else, has been the subject of gossip for years, Trelawney's interest in making continual predictions about his forthcoming death might not be such a good demonstration of her prophetic skills as she likes to think. However, Trelawney's 'inner eye' is not so perceptive of the true nature of the 'Grim' she keeps seeing in POA, nor does she or anyone else knows what animals the Marauders had made of themselves, nor does she know the true identity of 'the servant of the Dark Lord'.

Dumbledore, in whose presence, Trelawney made the first and most crucial prophecy, makes the point repeatedly that it is our choices which make us what we are, that the prophecy would not have meant anything if it had not been partly overheard, and if the spy had not then gone to Voldemort. It was Voldemort's choice to believe the prophecy, or the half of it he heard, and act on it so murderously, which ensured the prophecy would indeed come true. Because he knows that Voldemort is hunting him down to destroy him, Harry does not need predictions in crystal balls, tealeaves and the rest to know that he is in deadly danger, or that he has no other option than to oppose Voldemort any way he can.

In other words, JK Rowling is reaffirming in HP what Galadriel says to Frodo in Lothlorien about what he sees happening in her mirror: Those prophecies may come true only if you turn aside to prevent them.

I'm not surprised that Harry and Ron both fail Divination. But why do the likes of Lavender and Parvati pass this subject well?

Kind of random: did anyone else think Ginny's character in HBP was ... flat, one-dimensional? I liked Bonnie Wright in the other films (especially the one where Harry saves her from Voldemort—the Tom Riddle's diary film), but in HBP she was so monotone and blank, or something. Nothing to her. That disappointed me.

Do I really need spoilers on my reply to say that a lot of the romantic interaction in HBP the book was left out of the film?

And that as Ginny was a prime player in many of those events, as Harry became more and more aware of how he felt about her, it might have made her seem a bit flat as a film character.

As HBP the book opened, Ginny was romancing Dean Thomas, Harry's classmate, who was to fill in for the stricken Katie Bell on the Quidditch Team, which Harry was captaining. Although there was a hint of it in the film when Ginny helped Harry at tryouts, it was Ginny's deputising for Harry in the last match, not mentioned in the film, which finally brought them together, after the Dean Thomas affair had fizzled out.

Ginny's opinions about Fleur were also part of the problem when Mrs Weasley aired her valid concerns about the viability of Fleur's and Bill's forthcoming marriage, almost a key part of the book. Was Fleur the bridezilla Ginny made her out to be? Or was Fleur really the wife Mrs Weasley would love her Bill to have?

What about the Tonks/Remus Lupin romance, the nature of which Ginny misunderstood so spectacularly? Or the bickering between Ron and Ginny, over Ginny's right to romance whom she pleased, which brought to a head Ron's very shallow relationship with Lavender? Or the scents in Slughorn's love potion which made Harry first realise how he felt about Ginny?

On the other hand, over all the films, Bonny Wright's character, Ginny, doesn't get much space as more than a supporting extra, except in COS, where she is affected by Tom Riddle's diary and taken down into the Chamber of Secrets. In POA she barely appears at all, and in GOF, she is merely Neville Longbottom's date to the Yule Ball, and Ron's comforter when he tries to ask Fleur to the Yule Ball. In OotP, Ginny does play a larger part, as part of the DA, along with Neville and Luna. But at that point it is Cho who is Harry's love interest, and in the book OotP, it is Hermione who had advised Ginny to meet other blokes instead of moping after Harry, who hadn't noticed her at all.

Maybe it is hard to bring to prominence Ginny's true importance to the series in the HBP film? How will she be portrayed in DH, the film? I think it is a hard role for Bonnie Wright to play, by the way.

Part of the problem with being able to explore all the relationships adequately in the films, is that 2 1/2 hrs just isn't enough to cover 800 page books (I wish they had all been split into two 3 hour films ). As far as Ginny is concerned,

but Ginny over-all got more screen-time than usual.

EDIT: I guess that didn't really need a spoiler .

GB

I don't think Book 7 will make any or much sense without first reading Books 4, 5 and 6. Also, I'm not sure the first three books would've needed to be any longer (they are fairly short). But the last four books would've benefited from being split into two movies.

Yeah, I only really meant the long books W4J .

GB(%)

Oh, I enjoyed the character of Ginny in the books but her character was only interesting in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie. In all the others, especially 6, she is just a bit bland and majorly under-developed (I dig her red hair though).

I don't think Ginny's character was necessarily underdeveloped per se, rather I felt that in HBP her relationship with Harry was underdeveloped. It didn't really start seeming "real" to me until the beginning of DH.

GB

wow! alot of talk up in here!!

I love hearing everyones view om HP7 and I really think the movies will be great and worth waiting for!

I do wish I had enough of a attention span to read everyone's "essays" lol

great pics the scenes looks awesome!!

Sorry, georgiefan1, I'll try to keep my posts shorter.

I don't think Ginny's character was necessarily underdeveloped per se, rather I felt that in HBP her relationship with Harry was underdeveloped. It didn't really start seeming "real" to me until the beginning of DH.
GB

Would that be mainly because the whole series is from Harry's point of view? Ginny is just a kid seeing her elder brothers off to Hogwarts and getting all agog at seeing the famous Harry Potter in the first book. In the second book, she is shy of Harry and clumsy as Neville whenever they meet, and when she stands up for Harry in Flourish and Blotts, she is immediately targeted by Lucius Malfoy who dumps Tom Riddle's Diary onto her. In POA, Big Brother Ron excludes Ginny from their little group, although both Ginny and Neville come back when the dementors arrive.

And that is the way it continues right up until Ootp, when Ginny finally reminds Harry (in the book - was it in the movie? I don't remember) about her experiences with Tom Riddle's diary, and what light it sheds on that dream Harry has of Nagini and Mr Weasley. Whilst Harry is wrapped up with his attraction to Cho, and dealing with his friendship with Ron and Hermione, over 3 books, Ginny goes with the much despised Neville to the Yule Ball, then dates first Anthony Corner then Dean Thomas. If Ron and Hermione had not been made prefects in OotP, Harry would not have shared a railway compartment with Neville and Luna, at Ginny's invitation. And if it wasn't for Ron, Fred and George huffing and puffing about Ginny's love life, Harry wouldn't have even noticed that Ginny was 'interesting'.

Even in HBP, right up to Ron's love potion incident, Ginny is still engrossed with Dean Thomas, and it is Harry's new attraction to someone who had been under his nose all along, plus his angst over what Ron would think about it that dominates his thoughts. Meanwhile, Ron is demonstrating with Lavender exactly why his brotherly opinions about how his sister behaves should never have been an issue. And any worthwhile debate over all these relationships and what is wrong or right with them has been blindsided somewhat by disgruntled Harry/Hermione shippers. No wonder it seems like the Harry/Ginny relationship came out of nowhere.

Wagga:
Would that be mainly because the whole series is from Harry's point of view?

I agree that's a part of it, though her character definitely develops and Ginny actually gets adequate attention in the books as they go on. I just feel that the growing relationship between her and Harry was edited for brevity more than necessary in the HBP book (probably the publishers fault trying to reign in Rowling after OotP ).

GB