Since there have been so many posts on the guestbook, I would like everyone to start posting on the message boards instead; it will take a shorter time to load more messages :o) Thanks!

Hey Guys

Hi Everyone! Belinda Here,
Id just like to apologise for the recent lack of updates, I have my School Certificate in one week (that is the second most important series of exams you can sit in high school in Australia, our equivilant to OWLS) So Ive been quite busy with that lately. As soon as that is over and I get back on my feet I will be putting alot more time and effort into improving the site.
Thanks and I hope to have your support with this.
Belinda

Poll

Which area of the Site would you like to see updated more often?

The News Posts Facts, Theories and Rumours Other content pages Time should be spent building new content pages All the site needs an upgrade I'm happy with it the way it is Show results

Court to Reach Grotter Decision

The courts are finally expected to come to a decision regarding the controversial Grotter series, a parody of Harry Potter, which the OotP reported on a while ago.Click on the link to view the article.

JKR Most Powerful Woman in Hollywood

JKR has been named in the top five most powerful people in Hollywood, and is the highest ranking woman. Click on the link for the full story.

HP Conference

A Harry Potter Conference is being held in Virginia, for all those interested, click on the link.

Updates

I'm beginning to update the Rumors section of the site. Be warned it will now contain spoilers for Book 5. I'll be adding a few new rumors each day so check back daily to see whats new. You can access the rumors page here or by the link on the left.

CNN confirms Thompson

An article released by CNN has confirmed that Emma Thompson will play Sybill Trelawney in the Prisenor of Azkaban movie to be released next year.

Click on the link for the full story.

Dumbledore moves in to "ward of nasties"

A Harry Potter favourite will be setting up a temporary home in Staffordshire this Halloween.

Wizard Albus Dumbledore has heard that dark forces have been active in Stafford and will spend All Hallow's Eve in his witches' hat tent outside the at Shugborough Hall's servants' quarters, near Stafford.

The head of Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft will educate young visitors with tricks and magic spells to ward off he who shall not be named.
Sounds like Fun!

Click on the link for the full story.

JKR Awaits Dutch Court Decision over "Grotter"

A Dutch court is nearing a decision on whether a magical, redheaded Russian heroine featured in a series of books is little more than a female version of Harry Potter.

The decision will be key in determining whether other houses pick up the books, Russian and Dutch publishers said Friday at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Click on the link to read the full story.

Madonna Praises JKR and releases her own Book,

Madonna has changed yet again, now into a childrens writer. She speaks about her own book, and what JKR has done for childrens publishing in this article.

Click on the link for the full story.

Harry Potter Day

Come dressed as a character and receive $1.00 off admission. While lost in the maze, stop at Hogshead for a drink or some Bertie Bott Every Flavor Beans. Visit Professor Snape's laboratory and assist in some exciting experiments! Exchange your muggles money at Gringotts so you can visit Ollivander's Wand Shop and make a wand suitable to you. Stop by and visit with Hermione and determine your future with arithmancy. It will be a grand day for all Harry Potter fans!!!

This is the description for a Harry Potter Day beinging held in Rhode Island. Click on the link for more information.

Chris Rankin Finished on POA

Chris Rankin has finished work on POA and now looks towards the future with GoF:

I've just finished my filming for Potter 3. It's weird, it hardly seems like 14 months since I was finishing Potter 2! It's going to be a stunning movie - can't wait to see the finished result! The scary thing is - they're already starting to vaguely start talking about stuff for potter 4!

For the full story click on the link.

OotP to help German Homeless

Author Joanne K Rowling has given her approval for chapter one of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, due in German bookstores on November 8, to appear first in street newspapers sold to help the poor, according to German publisher Carlsen

Click on the Link to read the full story.

New Staff
Hey Everyone!
My name is Belinda and after discussion with the Webmistress it has been agreed that I will be helping out with the site for a while. The Webmistress does apologise about the lack of new updates recently. She has been extremely busy and unfortunatly did not have time for the site. Untill such time as she can continue with the site I will be helping out with news posts and adding fresh content. I hope I have all your support.
Thanks
Belinda

HARRY POTTER NOT SON OF SATAN

Michael Duff, writer for University Daily, has wrote a most enjoyable and interesting article explaining just why all those Harry-haters out there are wrong.

As October begins and Hallow-een costumes are flooding store aisles the Harry Potter haters are, again, coming out of the woodwork.

I have a strange affection for the kid, because he is hated, equally, by the extreme right and the extreme left. A figure who can annoy both these groups must be doing something right.

Click on the link to read the full story.

BACK TO GEOCITIES

Since Hiyacorp doesn't offer free hosting anymore, I've moved the site back to geocities and updated all the links. If you've been entering http://hpreference.cjb.net as the URL, you won't notice any change :o) I recommend making that address your bookmark.

VIETNAM RELEASES HARRY POTTER BOOK

HANOI, Vietnam - Everybody's favorite boy wizard not only outwits evil Lord Voldemort and saves the day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but also casts quite a spell in Vietnamese.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's seven-part series about the famous boy wizard, was released throughout Vietnam on Monday, making the communist country the first in the world to put out an authorized translation.

But young readers here who have anxiously awaited the Vietnamese version following last month's release of the English-language book will have to visit stores weekly if they want to find out how much trouble Harry gets himself into this time.

The much-anticipated book has been split up into a 15-part series to be released for about 30 cents each week, so that even poor children living in rural areas can afford to step onto Platform 9 3/4 and enter Harry Potter's magical world.

Click on the link to read the full story

POTTER MAGIC SETS HOUSE ABLAZE

MADRID (Reuters) - A woman has set her Madrid home on fire while cooking up a potion in an attempt to imitate the fictional wizard Harry Potter, emergency services say.

The 21-year-old was rescued by firemen and treated for minor injuries, but half her home was destroyed.

The ambulance service said she had told them she was trying to emulate the boy magician, hero of the books by J K Rowling that have been a sensation among adults and children alike.

For want of more magical ingredients, the woman cooked up a potion of water, oil, alcohol and toothpaste, local media reported on Wednesday. It was unclear what spell she was trying to weave.

Click on the link to read the full story

NEW SITE FEATURES

Yes, Snape's Dungeon is finally ready! It's a complete list of all the potions and potion ingredients from the Harry Potter books with the exception of the Boil-Curing Solution from book 1. Someone borrowed my book before I could add it. Anyway, enjoy Snape's Dungeon! Special Thanks to utstgdwktp for helping me with the research! :o)

PREFECTS NEEDED

First of all, I would like to point out the Neopets banner at the top of the page. Please support the site and sign up for an account at Neopets by clicking on the banner! Make sure that the URL you enter is http://www.neopets.com/refer.phtml?username=ylong04 (you'll be redirected, so don't panic if it changes to neopets.com) Thanks! :o)

Due to the large numbers of posts on the message boards, I need 5 prefects! These prefects will watch the boards and make sure no one violates the rules. Please send your applications to ootpapp@yahoo.com; include your username on the boards and a sample reprimanding message. You must demonstrate good spelling and grammar! Four of the prefects will be given a house. The best overall candidate will be designated the Head Boy or Girl and will be allowed to choose his or her house. I will stop accepting applications on July 11th, so hurry!

RIVAL PUBLISHERS PRAY FOR HARRY POTTER "HALO" EFFECT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As millions of fans devour the 870 pages of the latest Harry Potter blockbuster, rival publishers pray for a "halo effect" and the chance to serve up the next book to young readers.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's series about the bespectacled boy wizard, sold more than 5 million copies on June 21 alone, the first day it hit bookstore shelves.

Rather than envy U.S. Potter publisher Scholastic Corp's success, industry insiders are grateful that Rowling's magic touch has fired up interest in children's books.

"Everybody's excited that all the hoopla is about reading," said Tracy van Straaten, director of publicity for Simon & Schuster. "It's a very feel-good thing."

Click on the link to read the full story

POTTER SALES SLOW TO MANAGEABLE PACE

After seeing a shopper stampede the first weekend of Harry Potter's latest tale, retailers say interest in the magical boy wizard subsided Saturday and Sunday, helping them keep pace with customer demand.

The challenge for merchants, of course, is to fuel Harry Potter mania while interesting shoppers with other books and related merchandise.

Last Tuesday, the U.S. publisher of J.K. Rowling (news - web sites)'s record-breaking series announced it had ordered another 800,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," bringing the total in print to 9.3 million. Additional copies are expected to arrive over the next few weeks, company officials said.

Click on the link to read the full story

NEW SITE ADDRESS

This is the new address for The Order of the Phoenix! I have a new faster host and a shorter URL http://hpreference.cjb.net. Enjoy! :o)

P.S. Add this to your bookmarks but keep the last one in case I go back to geocities!

PUBLISHER ORDERS 800K MORE HARRY POTTERS

NEW YORK - More Harry Potters are on the way. The U.S. publisher of J.K. Rowling's record-breaking fantasy series has ordered another 800,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," bringing the total in print to 9.3 million.

"We are thrilled with the phenomenal sales of `Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'" Barbara Marcus, president of the children's division of Scholastic, Inc., said in a statement Tuesday.

Even with an initial print run of 8.5 million, many stores quickly sold out: Marcus said additional copies would arrive over "the next few weeks."

For the entire story, click on the link :o)

NEW THEORIES

Yes, there is indeed a new theory up to replace the old book 5 ones. I will be coming up with more soon when I found something else to ponder...

ADDITIONS TO THE SITE

I hope most people have read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by now so I will add the new spells from book 5 to the Index of Spells. In a week or two, I will also be adding a section called Snape's Dungeon with a list of potions and potion ingredients mentioned in the book and their effects. It will require extensive research, so please be patient :o) I may even have a place called St. Mungo's added with a collection of magical maladies described in the books and their cures if there is enough information. All the facts, rumors, and theories concerning Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix have been moved to make room for Harry Potter VI. If you would like to see them, find the link on the toolbar that says "Harry Potter V." The site is now updated for book 6! Enjoy! :o)

POTTER SHIPMENTS SET WEB COMMERCE RECORD

SEATTLE - Amazon.com shipped out more than a million copies of the new Harry Potter book, making Saturday the largest distribution day of a single item in e-commerce history.

Orders for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment in J.K. Rowling's hit series, nearly tripled those for the previous record-holder at Amazon. The old record of 410,000 was held by Book 4 in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" in 2000.

More than 760,000 advance copies were ordered from Amazon.com's U.S. Web site, up from 350,000 for "Goblet," and orders on its overseas Web sites brought the total to more than 1.3 million.

Click on the link to read the full story