Showing posts with label J.K. Rowling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.K. Rowling. Show all posts

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

Monday, 31 March 2025

THE WINSORS MEET & HELP THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have received uncomfortable news in Hogwarts while they were practising some A2 Cambridge examples. 
 
A dangerous man has escaped from Azkaban prison, a fortress on an island in the middle of the North Sea, for convicted criminals built in the 15th century. Azkaban is one of the darkest places of the magic world. But they do not believe this story and have decided to meet and help this supposed criminal.

Before, the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some English vocabulary about Inside The House, Food and Drink and Animals. They have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.
 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a fantasy novel written by British author J.K. Rowling and is the third in the Harry Potter series

The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Along with friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry investigates Sirius Black, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, the wizard prison, believed to be one of Lord Voldemort's old allies.

The book was published in the United Kingdom on 8 July 1999 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 8 September 1999 by Scholastic, Inc. Rowling found the book easy to write, finishing it just a year after she began writing it. 
 
The book sold 68,000 copies in just three days after its release in the United Kingdom and since has sold over three million in the country. The book won the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was short-listed for other awards, including the Hugo.
 
The film adaptation of the novel was released in 2004, grossing more than $796 million and earning critical acclaim. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.
 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the Harry Potter series. The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US, was published by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997 and the second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published on 2 July 1998.

Rowling started to write the Prisoner of Azkaban the day after she finished The Chamber of Secrets. Rowling's favourite aspect of this book was introducing the character Remus Lupin, Rowling additionally said in 2004 that Prisoner of Azkaban was the best writing experience I ever had... I was in a very comfortable place writing number three. Immediate financial worries were over, and press attention wasn't yet by any means excessive.

The New York Times said, So far, in terms of plot, the books do nothing new, but they do it brilliantly...so far, so good.

In a newspaper review in The New York Times, it was said that The Prisoner of Azkaban may be the best Harry Potter book yet. A reviewer for KidsReads said, This crisply-paced fantasy will leave you hungry for the four additional Harry books that J.K. Rowling is working on. Harry's third year is a charm. Don't miss it. Kirkus Reviews did not give a starred review but said, a properly pulse-pounding climax... The main characters and the continuing story both come along so smartly... that the book seems shorter than its page count: have readers clear their calendars if they are fans, or get out of the way if they are not.

More information: Wizarding World

The Horn Book Magazine said that it is quite a good book. In addition, a Publishers Weekly review said, Rowling's wit never flags, whether constructing the workings of the wizard world... or tossing off quick jokes... The Potter spell is holding strong.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in hardcover in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September. The British paperback edition was released on 1 April 2000, while the US paperback was released 2 October 2001.
 
The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in 2004 and was directed by Alfonso Cuarón from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film débuted at number one at the box office and held that position for two weeks. It made a total of $796.7 million worldwide, which made it the second highest-grossing film of 2004 behind Shrek 2.

However, among all eight entries in the Harry Potter franchise, Prisoner of Azkaban grossed the lowest, yet among critics and fans, the film is said to be one of the best in the franchise. The film ranks at number 471 in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.

More information: Collider

 
  
 Happiness can be found,
even in the darkest of times,
if one only remembers to turn on the light.

Albus Dumbledore

Tuesday, 2 April 2024

THE FOSTERS KNOW AND SEARCH THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

Today, The Fosters 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.
 
Before, they have practised Future (Be Going To), some Have Expressions, and they have checked their vocabulary exercises.
 
More information: Future (Be Going To)
 

More information: Have Expressions

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

Monday, 1 April 2024

THE FOSTERS KNOW WHO THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE IS

Today, The Fosters and The Grandma have discovered who the Half-Blood Prince is. They have discovered all the details about an amazing incredible story that is going to arrive to the end soon.

Before discovering the Half-Blood Prince, the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some vocabulary about  Going Out and The World Around Us.

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.

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

Friday, 29 March 2024

THE FOSTERS WANT TO HELP THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN


Today, The Fosters and The Grandma have received uncomfortable news in Hogwarts
 
A dangerous man has escaped from Azkaban prison, a fortress on an island in the middle of the North Sea, for convicted criminals built in the 15th century. Azkaban is one of the darkest places of the magic world. But they do not believe this story and have decided to meet and help this supposed criminal.

Before, the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some vocabulary about  Staying Healthy and The World Around Us.
 
 
More information: Heath Problems
 
 
 More information: The World Around Us
 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a fantasy novel written by British author J.K. Rowling and is the third in the Harry Potter series

The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Along with friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry investigates Sirius Black, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, the wizard prison, believed to be one of Lord Voldemort's old allies.

The book was published in the United Kingdom on 8 July 1999 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 8 September 1999 by Scholastic, Inc. Rowling found the book easy to write, finishing it just a year after she began writing it. 
 
The book sold 68,000 copies in just three days after its release in the United Kingdom and since has sold over three million in the country. The book won the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was short-listed for other awards, including the Hugo.
 
The film adaptation of the novel was released in 2004, grossing more than $796 million and earning critical acclaim. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the Harry Potter series. The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US, was published by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997 and the second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published on 2 July 1998.

Rowling started to write the Prisoner of Azkaban the day after she finished The Chamber of Secrets. Rowling's favourite aspect of this book was introducing the character Remus Lupin, Rowling additionally said in 2004 that Prisoner of Azkaban was the best writing experience I ever had... I was in a very comfortable place writing number three. Immediate financial worries were over, and press attention wasn't yet by any means excessive.

The New York Times said, So far, in terms of plot, the books do nothing new, but they do it brilliantly...so far, so good.

In a newspaper review in The New York Times, it was said that The Prisoner of Azkaban may be the best Harry Potter book yet. A reviewer for KidsReads said, This crisply-paced fantasy will leave you hungry for the four additional Harry books that J.K. Rowling is working on. Harry's third year is a charm. Don't miss it. Kirkus Reviews did not give a starred review but said, a properly pulse-pounding climax... The main characters and the continuing story both come along so smartly... that the book seems shorter than its page count: have readers clear their calendars if they are fans, or get out of the way if they are not.

More information: Wizarding World

The Horn Book Magazine said that it is quite a good book. In addition, a Publishers Weekly review said, Rowling's wit never flags, whether constructing the workings of the wizard world... or tossing off quick jokes... The Potter spell is holding strong.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in hardcover in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September. The British paperback edition was released on 1 April 2000, while the US paperback was released 2 October 2001.
 
The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in 2004 and was directed by Alfonso Cuarón from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film débuted at number one at the box office and held that position for two weeks. It made a total of $796.7 million worldwide, which made it the second highest-grossing film of 2004 behind Shrek 2.

However, among all eight entries in the Harry Potter franchise, Prisoner of Azkaban grossed the lowest, yet among critics and fans, the film is said to be one of the best in the franchise. The film ranks at number 471 in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.

More information: Collider

 
 
 Happiness can be found,
even in the darkest of times,
if one only remembers to turn on the light.

Albus Dumbledore

Monday, 25 September 2023

HOGWARTS CASTLE, THE FINAL BATTLE PREPARATION

The Weasleys are spending their last days in Hogwarts. The Grandma continues offering them Cambridge Exam Models because she thnks 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, The Weasleys and The Grandma 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.

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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