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

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

THE WINSORS & THE GOBLET OF FIRE'S TOURNAMENT

Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have started to prepare their participation in The Goblet of Fire, an interesting tournament that it is going to be celebrated in Hogwarts.

The Winsors have been invited by Albus Dumbledore and it has been a great honour for them to have this chance. The rivals are very powerful and strong but The Winsors are going to offer their best result.
 
The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. 
 
The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities -until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued.
 
Before confirming their participation, The Winsors have studied some English vocabulary about Clothes, Weather and The Body. They have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.
 
 
More information: Clothes
 
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fantasy book written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series.

It follows Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the mystery surrounding the entry of Harry's name into the Triwizard Tournament, in which he is forced to compete.

The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic. In both countries, the release date was 8 July 2000. This was the first time a book in the series was published in both countries at the same time.


The novel won a Hugo Award, the only Harry Potter novel to do so, in 2001. The book was adapted into a film, released worldwide on 18 November 2005, and a video game by Electronic Arts.

More information: Wizarding World

Throughout the three previous novels in the Harry Potter series, the main character, Harry Potter, has struggled with the difficulties of growing up and the added challenge of being a famed wizard.


When Harry was a baby, Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard in history, killed Harry's parents but was mysteriously defeated after unsuccessfully trying to kill Harry, though his attempt left a lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

This results in Harry's immediate fame and his being placed in the care of his abusive Muggle, non-magical, aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, who have a son named Dudley.

On Harry's eleventh birthday, he learns he is a wizard from Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and enrols in Hogwarts. He befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and confronts Lord Voldemort, who is trying to regain power.

In Harry's first year, he has to protect the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort and one of his faithful followers at Hogwarts.

After returning to school after summer break, students at Hogwarts are attacked by the legendary monster of the Chamber of Secrets after the Chamber is opened. Harry ends the attacks by killing a Basilisk and thwarting another attempt by Lord Voldemort to return to full strength.

The following year, Harry hears he has been targeted by escaped mass murderer Sirius Black. Despite stringent security measures at Hogwarts, Harry encounters Black at the end of his third year and learns Black was framed and is actually Harry's godfather. He also learns that it was his father's old school friend Peter Pettigrew who betrayed his parents.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997.

The second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published on 2 July 1998. The third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, followed on 8 July 1999. Goblet of Fire is almost twice the size of the first three books, the paperback edition was 636 pages.

More information: Wizarding World

Rowling stated that she knew from the beginning it would be the biggest of the first four. She said there needed to be a proper run-up for the conclusion and rushing the complex plot could confuse readers. She also stated that everything is on a bigger scale, which was symbolic, as Harry's horizons widened both literally and metaphorically as he grew up. She also wanted to explore more of the magical world.

Until the official title's announcement on 27 June 2000, the book was called by its working title, Harry Potter IV. Previously, in April, the publisher had listed it as Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament.

However, J. K. Rowling expressed her indecision about the title in an Entertainment Weekly interview. I changed my mind twice on what the title was. The working title had got out -Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament. Then I changed Doomspell to Triwizard Tournament. Then I was teetering between Goblet of Fire and Triwizard Tournament. In the end, I preferred Goblet of Fire because it's got that kind of cup of destiny feel about it, which is the theme of the book.

Rowling mentioned that she originally wrote a Weasley relative named Malfalda, who, according to Rowling, was the daughter of the second cousin who's a stockbroker mentioned in Philosopher's Stone.
This stockbroker had been very rude to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the past, but now he and his (Muggle) wife had inconveniently produced a witch, they came back to the Weasleys asking for their help in introducing her to wizarding society before she starts at Hogwarts.

More information: Wizarding World

Malfalda was supposed to be a Slytherin and was to fill in the Rita Skeeter subplot, but she was eventually removed because there were obvious limitations to what an eleven year old closeted at school could discover.

Rowling considered Rita Skeeter to be much more flexible. Rowling also admitted that the fourth book was the most difficult to write at the time because she noticed a giant plot hole halfway through writing. In particular, Rowling had trouble with the ninth chapter, The Dark Mark, which she rewrote 13 times.

It was pointed out that bigotry is a big theme in the Harry Potter novels and Goblet of Fire in particular. it was mentioned how Voldemort and his followers are prejudiced against Muggles and how, in Goblet of Fire, Hermione forms a group to liberate Hogwarts' house-elves who have been indentured servants so long they lack desire for anything else.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was adapted into a film, released worldwide on 18 November 2005, which was directed by Mike Newell and written by Steve Kloves.


More information: Screen Rant

 
 
 Dark and difficult times lie ahead.
Soon we must all face the choice between
what is right and what is easy.

Albus Dumbledore