Monday, 7 April 2025

HOGWARTS CASTLE & THE FINAL BATTLE PREPARATION

The Winsors are spending their last days in Hogwarts and The Grandma continues offering them some Cambridge Exam Models because she thinks it is the best way to review and to learn how is this kind of exam and what Cambridge examinators expect about us. Today, she has offered them another example.
 
 

After this, they have visited all hidden places of Hogwarts Castle. They want to know as things as they could about Hogwarts before leaving there.

Hogwarts is an ancient castle with centuries of history and beautiful hidden places to visit and discover.

The Battle of Hogwarts was the final conflict of the Second Wizarding War. It took place within the castle and on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the mountainous region of Scotland.

When the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort learned that his archenemy Harry Potter had secretly ventured into the castle to locate and destroy one of his final Horcruxes, he ordered every single Death Eater and dark creature that had ever pledged loyalty to him to launch a massive attack on the school.

Dumbledore's Army then communicated the need to fight to The Order of the Phoenix and their other allies within the British Ministry Of Magic, leading to a large-scale battle.

Lord Voldemort led his forces from the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade; while Harry Potter, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Minerva McGonagall led the defenders of Hogwarts.

Lord Voldemort also announced that he wanted Harry Potter to surrender himself by midnight.

More information: Wizarding World I & II

Hogwarts Castle is a large, seven-story high building supported by magic, with a hundred and forty two staircases throughout its many towers and turrets and very deep dungeons. The castle was built in the late Early Middle Ages (c. 993) by a wizard architect and the four most celebrated wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.

The castle is the main building of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, regarded as the finest wizarding school in the world.

Hogwarts is built in a valley area -surrounding mountains are part of the landscape- with the fairly large Great Lake to the south of the main building. The huge main oak front doors leading into the Entrance Hall face the west, and open up to sloping lawns. The deep Forbidden Forest extends around to the west of the castle. There are also exterior greenhouses and vegetable patches on the school grounds.

Hogwarts is located in the Scottish Highlands, near the all-wizard village of Hogsmeade and not far from Dufftown, in Banffshire, and Achintee, in Lochaber.

It was the setting of the final battle of the Second Wizarding War, the Battle of Hogwarts, which resulted in the deaths of several witches and wizards who fought in defence of the castle, including Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, and Severus Snape.

The castle was badly damaged in the battle, but ultimately The Order of the Phoenix won when Harry Potter defeated his nemesis, Lord Voldemort, in the Great Hall.

Due to its extremely advanced age and the sheer amount of magic present in or around it, the castle is implied to have developed some form of sentience or awareness, such as when it sealed the Headmaster's Tower against Dolores Umbridge, and the various trick steps and false doors.

More information: Screen Rant I & II

The castle is supported by magic unable to be maintained or constructed by any other means, a good example being the moving staircases, a feature contributed by one of the four Hogwarts founders, Rowena Ravenclaw.

Hogwarts is also protected by numerous ancient spells, such as the Anti-Disapparition Jinx; this can, however, be overridden by the Headmaster and Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes when necessary. It is also unplottable and has been bewitched so that, if Muggles approach the castle, all they will see is a mouldering ruin with a sign warning them to keep out and that it is unsafe. The protective magic over Hogwarts is not only strong enough to apparently resist the dispelling effects of the Taboo but also to repel even talented dark wizards.

Rubeus Hagrid claimed that Hogwarts is the safest place in there is, even more so than Gringotts Wizarding Bank, a reason why the Philosopher's Stone was sent to the castle for protection.

After the Ministry finally admitted that Lord Voldemort had returned, the castle's defences were further increased, much of them were cast by Albus Dumbledore himself, such as gates being locked with spells that can only be undone by teachers, and spells to prevent entrance via broomsticks.

All of the secret passageways that were previously allegedly unknown were given more protection. Additionally, with members of The Order of the Phoenix and Aurors placed as guards, and Caretaker Argus Filch checking all incoming and outgoing students for dangerous materials, intrusion seemed completely impossible.

However, Draco Malfoy utilised a pair of Vanishing Cabinets as a passageway, which none of the castle's defences could negate, to allow Death Eaters into the castle. This devastatingly horrified the wizarding community, as they realise that Hogwarts, the most powerful and reputably safest magical stronghold in the entire wizarding world, has been breached, much less by a student from the inside, meaning there is no longer anywhere safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

As a result of all the magic that occurs on premises, both from learning students, magical artefacts therein and the enchantments cast over the building itself, a magical atmosphere pervades the entire structure, causing any technology that is not adapted to run off of it to fail. This is presumably why candles and lanterns are still in use.

Mechanical things like watches seem to do all right, as Colin Creevey's -traditional, Muggle- camera seems to have worked until it was destroyed by the Basilisk's eyes. Colin mentions that another student told him that he could develop the pictures in a potion so that they moved. One of his pictures shows Harry Potter trying to escape a picture of him and Gilderoy Lockhart.

More information: Wizarding World

The Chamber of Secrets was allegedly created deep under the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle during the Medieval times by Salazar Slytherin, who disagreed with the other Hogwarts Founders on the merits of blood purity. 

The Chamber of Secrets was home to an ancient Basilisk, which was intended to be used to purge the school of Muggle -born students. The entrance can be found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor.

In order to gain entrance one must say open in Parseltongue and a sink will open into a slide. While falling down the large, dark pipe, one can see hundreds of other pipes leading off. At the end of the pipe, one is launched into a damp, stone chamber. This room is stated to be miles beneath the school and under the Lake. This is where Tom Marvolo Riddle used his ability to speak parseltongue and attack Harry Potter.

The Hufflepuff Basement is the common room for Hufflepuff students at Hogwarts. The entrance to the Hufflepuff Basement is hidden behind a stack of barrels. It can be entered by tapping a certain rhythm on the barrels. It is located near the kitchens. The cellar is decorated with yellow hangings and filled with fat armchairs.

Underground tunnels lead off to the students' dormitories and all the doors are perfectly circular, like barrel tops. This is the only common room Harry Potter does not enter at some point during his years at Hogwarts.

The Hogwarts Entrance Hall is located on the ground floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with a wide marble staircase opposite the oak doors. Double doors to the right lead into the Great Hall. The basement, the kitchens, the dungeons, and the Grand Staircase can also be accessed via the Entrance Hall. There is also an annexe off the hall where Professor McGonagall speaks to the first years before the Sorting ceremony at the beginning of each school year.

The Great Hall in Hogwarts is the main gathering area in the school. Students eat their meals, receive daily owl posts, and have certain special events. The Great Hall is a large hall that can easily hold all of the school's students, staff and guests. It has tall walls that reach up to the ceiling, which is enchanted to look like the sky above.

More information: Screen Rant I & II

It was the scene of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort's final showdown, which was the Dark Lord's ultimate defeat. This was because the Elder Wand refuse to kill its true master, so Harry Potter was not killed. Since Lord Voldemort was now a mortal man, the curse rebounded on him, killing Tom Marvolo Riddle once and for all.

The Grand Staircase is a massive structure in Hogwarts Castle, mainly used to access each floor of the castle, including the dungeons. There are hundreds of Portraits covering the walls in this tower, some of which conceal secret passages to other areas within the school. The multiple staircases in the Grand Staircase lead from platform to platform and go as high as the seventh floor where they come to an end.

The Hospital wing was run by Poppy Pomfrey. Students who suffer mishaps during the school year are sent or brought to the hospital wing for treatment. The hospital wing is well equipped to deal with all manner of magical and mundane injuries, from broken limbs to regrowing lost bones.

Only in the most severe cases are students sent to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for further treatment, such as when Katie Bell touched a cursed Opal necklace.

The Astronomy Tower is the tallest tower at Hogwarts Castle surrounded by a parapet and turret. It is where students study the stars and planets through their telescopes in Astronomy lessons with Professor Aurora Sinistra.


This is usually done at midnight where the stars are best seen. The tower is usually out-of-bounds except for classes. All the way down from the boathouse you can see the huge window of the Astronomy Tower.

More information: CBR

Located within this tower is the Astronomy Corridor, Astronomy reading room, Astronomy classroom, Astronomy stairwell, Astronomy department and the Astronomy Room. Hogwarts' headmaster, Albus Dumbledore was killed here on this tower by his eventual successor, Severus Snape.

However, it was planned between Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape to spare Draco Malfoy being a murderer and spare the headmaster from a slow painful death. This was because Albus Dumbledore's hand was poisoned by a dangerous curse created by Tom Marvolo Riddle, to protect his Horcrux, Marvolo Gaunt's ring.

The Clock Tower does not begin at the Ground Floor level. Because it is placed on top of a hill, the Tower begins at the Third Floor level. When you enter the Tower, there is a huge space, like an Entrance Hall with flights of wooden stairs at the right and left side. The first landing is at the Fourth Floor level. It is at this landing that are the clock's gears and face.

This same corridor connects the Tower to the remaining castle. If you go up another flight of wooden stairs, you will get to another landing, this time at the Fifth Floor level. It is in this landing that are the clock's bells; some massive gold and copper bells. There is another corridor at this landing; like the other, it links the Tower to the main castle.

More information: Ranker


He was standing at the end of a long, dimly lit chamber.
Towering stone pillars entwined with more serpents,
rose to a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long,
black shadows through the odd,
greenish gloom that filled the place.

J.K. Rowling

Sunday, 6 April 2025

J.K. ROWLING & ROBERT GALBRAITH, WRITE TO SUCCESS

Today, The Grandma is reading about
J. K. Rowling, the creator of Hogwarts world.
 
Joanne Rowling (born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, screenwriter, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series, which has won multiple awards and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history.

The books are the basis of a popular film series, over which J. K. Rowling had overall approval on the scripts and was a producer on the final films. She also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

Born in Yate, Gloucestershire,
J. K. Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990.

The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. There were six sequels, of which the last, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in 2007.

Since then, J. K. Rowling has written five books for adult readers: The Casual Vacancy (2012) and -under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith- the crime fiction Cormoran Strike series, which consists of The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015), and Lethal White (2018).

Starting on 26 May 2020, her political fairytale for children, The Ickabog, is being released in instalments in an online version.

J. K. Rowling has lived a rags to riches life in which she progressed from living on benefits to being named the world's first billionaire author by Forbes.

However, J. K. Rowling disputed the assertion, saying she was not a billionaire. Forbes reported that she lost her billionaire status after giving away much of her earnings to charity but remains one of the wealthiest people in the world. She is the UK's best-selling living author, with sales in excess of £238 million.

The 2019 Sunday Times Rich List estimated
J. K. Rowling's fortune at £750 million, ranking her as the joint 191st richest person in the UK. Time named her a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fans.

J. K. Rowling was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) at the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to literature and philanthropy.

More information: J.K. Rowling

In October 2010, she was named the Most Influential Woman in Britain by leading magazine editors. J. K. Rowling has supported multiple charities, including Comic Relief, One Parent Families, and Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain, as well as launching her own charity, Lumos.

Although she writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling, before her remarriage, her name was Joanne Rowling.

Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, the daughter of science technician Anne and Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer Peter James Rowling. Her parents first met on a train departing from King's Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964.

J. K. Rowling has said that her teenage years were unhappy. Her home life was complicated by her mother's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and a strained relationship with her father, with whom she is not on speaking terms.

J. K. Rowling later said that she based the character of Hermione Granger on herself when she was eleven.

In 1982, J. K. Rowling took the entrance exams for Oxford University but was not accepted and earned a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter.

In 1995,
J. K. Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone which was typed on an old manual typewriter.

In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with an initial print run of 1,000 copies, 500 of which were distributed to libraries. Today, such copies are valued between £16,000 and £25,000. Its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998 and again
J. K. Rowling won the Smarties Prize.

In December 1999, the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won the Smarties Prize, making J. K. Rowling the first person to win the award three times running.

The fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released simultaneously in the UK and the US on 8 July 2000 and broke sales records in both countries. 372,775 copies of the book were sold in its first day in the UK, almost equalling the number Prisoner of Azkaban sold during its first year.

A wait of three years occurred between the release of Goblet of Fire and the fifth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released on 16 July 2005. It too broke all sales records, selling nine million copies in its first 24 hours of release.

In 2006, Half-Blood Prince received the Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards.

The title of the seventh and final Harry Potter book was announced on 21 December 2006 as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

More information: Wizarding World

In February 2007, it was reported that
J. K. Rowling wrote on a bust in her hotel room at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh that she had finished the seventh book in that room on 11 January 2007.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on 21 July 2007 and broke its predecessor's record as the fastest-selling book of all time. It sold 11 million copies in the first day of release in the United Kingdom and United States. The book's last chapter was one of the earliest things she wrote in the entire series.

Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated US$15 billion, and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.

The series, totalling 4,195 pages, has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages.

The Harry Potter books have also gained recognition for sparking an interest in reading among the young at a time when children were thought to be abandoning books for computers and television, although it is reported that despite the huge uptake of the books, adolescent reading has continued to decline.

In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first two novels for a seven-figure sum.

A film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released on 16 November 2001, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 15 November 2002.

The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released on 4 June 2004, directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

The fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was directed by Mike Newell, and released on 18 November 2005.

The film of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released on 11 July 2007. David Yates directed, and Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay, having taken over the position from Steve Kloves.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released on 15 July 2009. David Yates directed again, and Kloves returned to write the script.

Warner Bros. filmed the final instalment of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in two segments, with part one being released on 19 November 2010 and part two being released on 15 July 2011. Yates directed both films.

More information: Twitter

In 2000,
J.K. Rowling established the Volant Charitable Trust, which uses its annual budget of £5.1 million to combat poverty and social inequality. The fund also gives to organisations that aid children, one-parent families, and multiple sclerosis research.

J.K. Rowling has received honorary degrees from St Andrews University, the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of Exeter, the University of Aberdeen, and Harvard University, where she spoke at the 2008 commencement ceremony.

In 2009,
J.K. Rowling was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In 2002,
J.K. Rowling became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE) as well a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).

She was furthermore recognized as Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE) in 2011 for services to Literature and Philanthropy.

More information: The Guardian


I would like to be remembered as someone
who did the best she could with the talent she had.

J. K. Rowling

Saturday, 5 April 2025

THE WINSORS SEARCH FANTASTIC BEASTS AT HOGWARTS

The Winsors and The Grandma are in Hogwarts and they have wanted to talk with Charlie Weasley, a great expert in dragons, the mythical animal in Saint George's Legend.

If the Rose is a Middle Age symbol of hospitality (nowadays love), the figure of the Dragon is a metaphor of the evil, but in Hogwarts, Dragons are brave fantastic loyal powerful beasts.

The Winsors are very interested in knowing all the dragons of Hogwarts. The Grandma is very interested in one, the Catalonian Fireball.

Dragons are giant winged, fire-breathing reptilian beasts. Widely regarded as terrifying yet awe-inspiring, they can be found all over the world and are frequently referred to in Asian and medieval European folklore.

Able to fly and breathe fire through their nostrils and mouths, they are one of the most dangerous and hardest to conceal creatures in the wizarding world. The British Ministry of Magic classifies them as XXXXX, known wizard killers that are impossible to train or domesticate. Despite how dangerous they are, there are people who are trained to work with them, called dragon keepers, or dragonologists. A wizard or witch who trades and sells dragon eggs, which is an illegal activity,  is referred to as a dragon dealer.

Dragon mothers breathe fire on their eggs to keep them warm. They do not keep their eggs in nests. Newly born dragons are referred to as chicks. The dragon's first fire breaths, usually accompanied by thick grey smoke, appear when the dragon is around six months old. However, the ability to fly is normally developed later, at around twelve months, and the dragon will not be fully mature until it is two years old and ready to live on its own.

Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit states that you are to feed a baby dragon a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. This apparently serves a replacement for dragon milk.

Not much is known about dragon behaviour, however it seems that, at least with the Chinese Fireball, females are generally larger and dominant over males.

More information: Wizarding World I & II

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them states that sometimes females oust males from their territories, at least with the Antipodean Opaleye.

Fantastic Beasts also states that Fireballs are unusual in that they are willing to share territory with one another, although no more than three dragons will share the same territory. This indicates that dragons are highly territorial.

Dragons are generally highly aggressive towards anything, even wizards, and will sometimes attack humans without provocation, such as in the case of the Ilfracombe Incident.

The Great Fire of London in 1666 was probably started by a young Welsh Green Dragon kept in the basement of the house in Puddling Lane.

Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709.

A rogue Welsh Green dragon descends on a beach full of Muggle holidaymakers in 1932. Tilly Toke and her family happen to be there, and her family casts the largest Mass Memory Charm of this century on all the Muggles of Ilfracombe. She is later awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class for her quick action to avoid breaking the International Statute of Secrecy.

The Muggles later remember nothing of the incident, with the exception of an old fellow known as Dodgy Dirk, who still claims that a dirty great flying lizard attacked him on the beach. People think he’s crazy, of course.

In 1799 a Ukranian Ironbelly dragon carried off a Muggle sailing ship, fortunately there was no one aboard the ship at the time.

In 1802 according to an unsubstantiated report off the coast of Norway A Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, supposedly, carries off a whale calf.

Newt Scamander, for a time, worked in the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau at the Ministry of Magic. He also spent World War I working with Ukrainian Ironbelly dragons on the Eastern Front.

More information: Wizarding World I & II

In the 1970s a rogue Antipodean Opaleye dragon killed several kangaroos in Australia. It was a male, believed to have come to Australia in search of a place to live after being ousted from its territory in New Zealand by a female.

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger arrived just in time to see a baby Norwegian Ridgeback emerge from its egg. The baby dragon sneezed some sparks and almost bites Rubeus Hagrid, who is delighted.

The first signs of hatching must have begun by breakfast time, since it was then that Harry, Ron, and Hermione received a note from Hagrid informing them of it. They go to his hut right after their morning Herbology class.

Dragons were used in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, in which the champions had to retrieve a golden egg from a nesting mother. The varieties used were: the Hungarian Horntail, the Chinese Fireball, the Swedish Short-Snout, and a Welsh Green. Ron's brother Charlie Weasley worked with dragons in Romania at the time, and helped transport the dragons used in the Tournament. Dragons are also used to guard certain vaults at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and one was used by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to escape the bank following their break-in.

Though they cannot be domesticated, there is one known instance of a dragon being used as a mount. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger rode on the back of a dragon, though they had trouble maintaining a grip on their steed, and could not control its flight.

Before playing in the Quidditch final against Slytherin, Harry dreamed that the Slytherin team were flying on dragons instead of broomsticks. When he awoke he realised that they would not be allowed to ride dragons.

The dragon model, like the model in the First Task of Triwizard Tournament, was used in a roast chestnuts sale, near Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, in Diagon Alley to hold the chestnut in place.

Dragon milk can be used to create dragon milk cheese, as noted in the revised edition of Charm Your Own Cheese.

More information: Hobby Lark
 

 And... I'm scared for you.
You got by the dragons mostly on nerve.
I'm not sure it's going to be enough this time.

Hermione Granger

Friday, 4 April 2025

THE WINSORS ARE SEARCHING THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have started an amazing adventure. They are going to help Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and the members of the Order of the Phoenix to find the seven horcruxes of Lord Voldemort to destroy them and help Hogwarts to live in peace forever.
 
The Deathly Hallows were three highly powerful magical objects supposedly created by Death and given to each of three brothers in the Peverell family. 

They consisted of the Elder Wand, an immensely powerful wand that was considered unbeatable; the Resurrection Stone, a stone which could summon the spirits of the dead, and the Cloak of Invisibility, which, as its name suggests, rendered the user completely invisible. According to the story, both Antioch Peverell (owner of the Wand) and Cadmus Peverell (owner of the Stone) came to bad ends. However, Ignotus Peverell's wisdom in requesting the Cloak was rewarded.
 
According to legend, he who possessed these three artefacts would become the Master of Death.

Before starting this dangerous adventure,
the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some English vocabulary about Going Out and Shopping Around. They have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series.

It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publishing, in the United States by Scholastic, and in Canada by Raincoast Books.


The novel chronicles the events directly following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) and the final confrontation between the wizards Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

Deathly Hallows shattered sales records upon release, surpassing marks set by previous titles of the Harry Potter series.


It holds the Guinness World Record for most novels sold within 24 hours of release, with 8.3 million sold in the US and 2.65 million in the UK.

Generally well received by critics, the book won the 2008 Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award, and the American Library Association named it the Best Book for Young Adults. A film adaptation of the novel was released in two parts: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 in November 2010 and Part 2 in July 2011.

The title of the book refers to three mythical objects featured in the story, collectively known as the Deathly Hallows -an unbeatable wand (the Elder Wand), a stone to bring the dead to life (the Resurrection Stone), and a cloak of invisibility.

When asked during a live chat about the other titles she had been considering, Rowling mentioned Harry Potter and the Elder Wand and Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest.

More information: Wizarding World I & II 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all Harry Potter books in the United Kingdom, on 30 June 1997.

It was released in the United States on 1 September 1998 by Scholastic -the American publisher of the books- as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, after Rowling had received US$105,000 for the American rights—an unprecedented amount for a children's book by a then-unknown author.

The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998, and in the US on 2 June 1999.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999, and in the US on 8 September 1999.


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series at 766 pages in the UK version and 870 pages in the US version. It was published worldwide in English on 21 June 2003.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published on 16 July 2005, and it sold 9 million copies in the first 24 hours of its worldwide release.


Shortly before releasing the title, J. K. Rowling announced that she had considered three titles for the book.

The final title was released to the public on 21 December 2006, via a special Christmas-themed hangman puzzle on Rowling's website, confirmed shortly afterwards by the book's publishers.

Rowling completed the book while staying at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh in January 2007, and left a signed statement on a marble bust of Hermes in her room which read: J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11 January 2007.

In a statement on her website, she said, I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric.

Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books, some more complex than others, and some including political subtexts.


Themes such as normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as prevalent throughout the series. Similarly, the theme of making one's way through adolescence and going over one's most harrowing ordeals -and thus coming to terms with them has also been considered.

More information: Screen Rant

J. K. Rowling has stated that the books comprise a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry and that also pass on a message to "question authority and ... not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth".

Some political commentators have seen J. K. Rowling's portrayal of the bureaucratised Ministry of Magic and the oppressive measures taken by the Ministry in the later books, like making attendance at Hogwarts School compulsory and the registration of Mudbloods with the Ministry, as an allegory of criticising the state.

Sales for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were record-setting.

A two-part film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J. K. Rowling. Part 1 was released on 19 November 2010, and Part 2 on 15 July 2011.

Filming began in February 2009, and ended on 12 June 2010. However, the cast confirmed they would reshoot the epilogue scene as they only had two days to shoot the original. Reshoots officially ended around December 2010. Part 1 ended at Chapter 24 of the book, when Lord Voldemort regained the Elder Wand.

On 4 December 2008, J.K. Rowling released The Tales of Beedle the Bard both in the UK and US. The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a spin-off of Deathly Hallows and contains fairy tales that are told to children in the Wizarding World.


The book includes five short stories, including The Tale of the Three Brothers which is the story of the Deathly Hallows.


 
 
I think it more likely that
the Peverell brothers were simply gifted, dangerous wizards
who succeeded in creating those powerful objects.

Albus Dumbledore

Thursday, 3 April 2025

THE WINSORS DISCOVER WHO THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE IS

Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have discovered who the Half-Blood Prince is.
 
Half-blood is the term commonly given to wizards and witches who had known Muggle or Muggle-born parents or grandparents. 

Half-bloods were the most common type of wizard or witch, as the pure-blood wizarding population would have become extinct had they not inter-married with Muggles and Muggle-borns.
 
Before discovering the Half-Blood Prince, the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some English vocabulary about Useful Things, Other Countries and In The Classroom. They have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a fantasy novel written by British author J.K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series.

Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle against Lord Voldemort alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore.

The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic on 16 July 2005, as well as in several other countries. It sold nine million copies in the first 24 hours after its release, a record that was eventually broken by its sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

There were many controversies before and after it was published, including the right to read copies delivered before the release date in Canada. Reception to the novel was generally positive, and it won several awards and honours, including the 2006 British Book of the Year award. 

Reviewers noted that the book took on a darker tone than its predecessors, though it did contain some humour. Some considered the main themes to be love, death, trust, and redemption. The considerable character development of Harry and many other teenage characters also drew attention.

The film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released 15 July 2009 by Warner Bros.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series.

The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997, with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, 300 of which were distributed to libraries. By the end of 1997, the UK edition won a National Book Award and a gold medal in the 9- to 11-year-olds category of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.

More information: Wizarding World I & II

The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the longest novel in the Harry Potter series, was released 21 June 2003.

After the publishing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released 21 July 2007. The book sold 11 million copies within 24 hours of its release: 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US.

J.K. Rowling stated that she had Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince planned for years, but she spent an entire two months going over her plan before she began writing the story seriously.

This was a lesson learned after she did not check the plan for Goblet of Fire and had to rewrite an entire third of the book. She started writing the book before her second child, David, was born, but she took a break to care for him.

The first chapter, The Other Minister, which features meetings between the Muggle Prime Minister, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, and his successor, Rufus Scrimgeour, was a concept J.K. Rowling tried to start in Philosopher's Stone, Prisoner of Azkaban, and Order of the Phoenix, but she found it finally works in Half-Blood Prince.

She stated that she was seriously upset writing the end of the book, although Goblet of Fire was the hardest to write. When asked if she liked the book, she responded, I like it better than I liked Goblet, Phoenix or Chamber when I finished them. Book six does what I wanted it to do and even if nobody else likes it and some won't, I know it will remain one of my favourites of the series. Ultimately you have to please yourself before you please anyone else!"

More information: Screen Crush

J.K. Rowling revealed the title of Half-Blood Prince on her website on 24 June 2004. This was the title she had once considered for the second book, Chamber of Secrets, though she decided the information disclosed belonged later on in the story.

On 21 December 2004, she announced she had finished writing it, along with the release date of 16 July. Bloomsbury unveiled the cover on 8 March 2005.

The film adaptation of the sixth book was originally scheduled to be released on 21 November 2008 but was changed to 15 July 2009. Directed by David Yates, the screenplay was adapted by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron.

The film grossed over $934 million worldwide, which made it the second-highest-grossing film of 2009 worldwide and the fifteenth-highest of all time. Additionally, Half-Blood Prince gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.

More information: The Guardian

 


You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips,
you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare...
He dared — he dares — he stands there — filthy half-blood.

Bellatrix Lestrange

Wednesday, 2 April 2025

THE WINSORS, MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have joined The Order of the Phoenix, a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters

The original Order was created in the 1970s. It was constructed after Voldemort returned to England from abroad and started his campaign to take over the Ministry of Magic and persecute Muggle-borns.

The Order worked with the Ministry to oppose the Dark Lord and his followers, and played a crucial role in the First Wizarding War. 

Their first victory came in 1981, with Voldemort's first defeat at the hands of Harry Potter. The victory came with the high cost of many of their members. Their casualties were overwhelming when compared to the Death EatersThe Order disbanded but was reconvened after Harry Potter informed Dumbledore of Lord Voldemort's return.

The Winsors think their personal skills will be useful for the Order and they want to help it in its fight between Hogwarts and the Death Eaters.

Before joining the Order,
the family has studied some English vocabulary about Staying Healthy, The World Around Us and TransportThey have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.
 
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fifth novel in the Harry Potter series.

It follows Harry Potter's struggles through his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including the surreptitious return of the antagonist Lord Voldemort, O.W.L. exams, and an obstructive Ministry of Magic.

The novel was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States, and Raincoast in Canada. It sold five million copies in the first 24 hours of publication. It is the longest book of the series.

Harry Potter fans waited three years between the releases of the fourth and fifth books. Before the release of the fifth book, 200 million copies of the first four books had already been sold and translated into 55 languages in 200 countries. 

As the series was already a global phenomenon, the book forged new pre-order records, with thousands of people queuing outside book stores on 20 June 2003 to secure copies at midnight. Despite the security, thousands of copies were stolen from an Earlestown, Merseyside warehouse on 15 June 2003.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was met with mostly positive reviews and received several awards.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the Harry Potter series.

The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997 with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, 300 of which were distributed to libraries.

The second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in the UK on 2 July 1998.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published 8 July 2000, simultaneously by Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series, yet it is the second shortest film at 2 hours and 18 minutes.

More information: Wizarding World I & II

After the publishing of Order of the Phoenix, the sixth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was published on 16 July 2005.

The seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published 21 July 2007.

In 2007, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released in a film version directed by David Yates and written by Michael Goldenberg. The film was produced by David Heyman's company, Heyday Films, alongside David Barron.
The film opened to a worldwide 5-day opening of $333 million, the third best of all time.

The Order of the Phoenix was a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

The original Order was created in the 1970s.

It was constructed after Lord Voldemort returned to England from abroad and started his campaign to take over the Ministry of Magic and persecute Muggle-borns.

The Order worked with the Ministry to oppose the Dark Lord and his followers, and played a crucial role in the First Wizarding War. Their first victory came in 1981, with Lord Voldemort's first defeat at the hands of Harry Potter. The victory came with the high cost of many of their members.

More information: Screen Rant I, II & III

The Order disbanded but was reconvened after Harry Potter informed Dumbledore of Lord Voldemort's return.

The Ministry refused to admit that the Dark Lord had returned, thus the Order alone worked to protect Harry Potter and the prophecy concerning him and Lord Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries.

After an intense battle occurred there between the Order, Dumbledore's Army, and the Death Eaters, the Ministry finally admitted the truth.

The following year would see the Order losing their leader and the Ministry being conquered by Lord Voldemort. The Order remained an underground resistance, trying to protect Muggles and broadcast the truth during the worst days of the Second Wizarding War.

They answered the call to arms by Dumbledore's Army, fighting Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters for the final time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 
 
It's a secret society.
Dumbledore's in charge, 
he founded it.
It's the people who fought against 
You-Know-Who last time.

Hermione Granger