Ms. Figg is sure to know of this month's featured witch over at JKRowling.com:

Idris Oakby
1872 - 1985
Founder of the S.S.S.
(Society for the Support of Squibs)

Topping off the best week in Potter news in a long while, a handful of updates have been added to our favorite author's site. Firstly, the much-anticipated second round of WOMBATs (Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude tests) have arrived. Go to the Room of Requirement (by clicking the eraser on the desk) and you will find the door unlocked. For instructions on beginning the test, click the "Read more" link below - but for fun, try and figure it out yourself first!

Now for the other updates. In the news, Jo gives us the latest on the eBay situation and discusses the "honor" of HP topping this year's list of the most-banned books.

Also, JK's diary has a new entry concerning the process of creating a new word for the books, which she did yesterday.

In the rumors section, Rowling slams: "Stubby Boardman is Regulus Black," "Book 7 will be called 'Harry Potter and the Graveyard of Memories'," and "Snape was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak on the night the Potters died." Finally, Brazilian site Potterish.com is the latest winner of Jo's fan site award.

Dan Radcliffe made an appearance on tonight's episode of "Extras." You can watch some video clips of the show at BBC.co.uk, but please note that the program's material is unsuitable for younger audiences.

UPDATE: As the BBC's videos aren't functioning for some people, you can now view good quality ones at DanRadcliffe.com.

Warner Bros. has just sent us high-resolution versions of the Luna and Harry photos we showed you earlier.

Here's yet another photo from Order of the Phoenix. This time, we get our first look at the Dursleys in their home. Thanks to Harry Potter Xperts and Julie for the tip!

A brand new photo of Evanna Lynch in costume as Luna Lovegood has just emerged online! The picture shows Luna pointing her wand, wearing a Ravenclaw uniform and sporting radish earrings. We're guessing this was taken from one of the DA scenes. NOTE: Evanna has waist-length hair - not shoulder-length as some of you are suggesting; if you look to her right elbow, you will see the end of her hair. Thanks to Hold the 'Fone via Jennifer!

UPDATE: Yahoo! Movies has posted a new photo of Dan from the movie. We'll have a large, high-res version of this for you tomorrow.

Thanks to Tiago for the heads-up!

Warner Bros. has sent us high quality versions of the Order of the Phoenix movie stills we brought to you earlier, as well as three new high-resolution photos from the film. The first picture shows the DA, which includes our first look at Evanna Lynch in costume as Luna (by the way, on the left are Ryan Nelson as "Slightly Creepy Boy" and Nick Shrim as "Somewhat Doubtful Boy"). Also, we have a shot of Harry, Ron, and Hermione by a fireplace, and a photo of Umbridge in her office where her obsession with the color pink is pretty evident. Enjoy!

NOTE: We are aware that MuggleNet has been offline or very slow for the past few hours and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

TLC is reporting that there are three additional Order of the Phoenix stills in the October 2nd edition of Newsweek magazine. Apparently, one shows Dumbledore's Army, featuring Cho, the Patil twins, the Weasley twins, the trio, Neville, Luna, Dean and three other boys. Another depicts Umbridge sitting at her desk where pink is the hue of choice (cherry wood desk, pink carpet, pink walls, curtains, and dishes - with what looks like kitties on them). The last photo is of the trio who are in front of a fire in a dark room, probably Grimmauld Place.

If anyone can send us scans, please let us know.

The first official stills from the fifth Harry Potter movie have just surfaced online. The first shows Harry crouching in Wisteria Lane brandishing his wand (it's the scene in which Harry and Dudley are attacked by dementors). The second shows Umbridge in a pink tweed poncho, McGonagall clasping Trelawney, and Filch - all at Hogwarts. This looks to be the scene where Umbridge fires Trelawney and tries to make her leave the school.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

An in-depth interview with Robbie Coltrane, Hagrid in the Potter films, will air tonight at 11:10 on ITV's The South Bank Show. According to a show preview, the actor discusses his life, career, and of course the Harry Potter movies. JK Rowling offered her thoughts on Robbie for the documentary:

"When we came to the point where there was even a possibility of Hagrid appearing on screen, I do remember thinking, 'Well, that's Robbie Coltrane.'

"Because Hagrid is very loveable but he must, if he's to be plausible, have a centre of menace as well. Hagrid is physically very intimidating and, as the stories go on in the books, he has to be capable of real anger. And I felt that needed someone with real range, to give that sense of suppressed power."

UPDATE: Thanks to Nick, we now have a video that includes comments by JK Rowling on Robbie as Hagrid in the Potter films.

According to the Sunday Times, English footballer Theo Walcott's brother Ashley and parents Don and Lynn are all set to appear in the fifth Potter film. Theo himself was also scheduled to star, but had to back out due to football commitments.

Thanks to Ben and Kingjad for the tip!

Newsweek visited the set of the Order of the Phoenix movie recently where they caught up with Emma Watson for a very interesting interview. In it Emma discusses David Yates, her co-stars, her potential future acting career, relationships and more.

Do they [Dan and Rupert] feel like brothers to you?
Kind of, yeah. It's funny. It's been an intense and very long friendship. We've known each other for six years now, and have seen each other almost every day. I mean, they've seen me in every single state. They have seen me at my most glamorous and they have seen me at six in the morning with no makeup on. They do feel like my brothers. And we've been through all the ups and downs of this mad experience together. Yeah, it's nice.

Thanks, again, to Hollie for the tip!

Austrian magazine "Xpress" has published a photo of Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson accepting their 2006 Best Actor/Actress Golden Penguin Awards on the fifth movie set. Thanks to Hollie for sending it in!

MuggleNet reader Tiger sent us several pictures of the Hogsmeade train station set in Black Country Park, Buckinghamshire, England. The photos also include an unknown building situated further into the woods. Scenes involving Hagrid's Hut were shot here for the first two movies as well as the scene in GOF where Hagrid shows Harry the dragons.

Enlightenment 7 is a Harry Potter-themed family camp, featuring HP seminars by Potter literature experts, Hogwarts-style classes, and on the opening night, an exclusive red carpet premiere for the fifth HP film. It will take place at the University of Pennsylvania's campus on July 12-15, 2007, coinciding with the release of the Order of the Phoenix movie.

While other HP symposiums enforce an age restriction, anyone under the age of 18 can attend E7 provided they're accompanied by an adult. If you're interested, register quickly, as prices are set to jump after September 30th.

Yesterday, I and a few others from the online media community visited the Order of the Phoenix set at Leavesden Studios in the UK. We were given a tour of the fantastic sets, interviewed several actors and actresses, and much more. While I can't share any of this information yet (and trust me, there's TONS), we'll be allowed to give you a special preview when the teaser trailer is released this November. Our full report will arrive later next year.

Without a doubt, this film is shaping up to be the most intense (and beautiful) film of the five. More on all that in November. Oh, and Evanna was wondering why news has been slow on MuggleNet lately, so I promised to have something up soon. We only report the news, not create it! Hopefully this is good enough.

Although we did record episode 57, editing conflicts make it nearly impossible for us to put together our weekly Harry Potter podcast for tomorrow. Instead, we will be releasing a special episode next week when we're all together in California. See you then!

Today, the Draco Malfoy actor celebrates his 19th birthday. Happy birthday, Tom!

The Potter series helped the publishing company's 2006 revenues with the release of the HBP paperback edition, which raised first-half profits by 6.5%. Additionally, Bloomsbury hopes to tie in the series with its upcoming culinary genre as it attempts "to expand beyond Harry Potter."

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

This month, Child magazine has an article featuring 20 people who have changed childhood in America forever. JK Rowling made the list, along with Walt Disney, the Beatles, and more. Here's what they had to say about our favorite author's influence on children:

Before J.K. Rowling's bespectacled boy wizard went off to study at Hogwarts, some parents feared their kids would never enjoy reading. Once Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hit U.S. bookstores in 1998, followed by five more installments, parents found their kids couldn't get enough of Rowling's fantasy adventure novels, some longer than 600 pages. To date more than 300 million Harry Potter books have sold worldwide; they crowded The New York Times bestseller list for so long that the newspaper created a separate children's list. "The Harry Potter books not only sparked an explosion of interest in reading," says Lisa Von Drasek, the children's librarian at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City, "they inspired kids to go out and discover other great books too."

Thanks to Tonia for sending this in!

Annoyed you missed out on Lumos 2006? Don't fret - registration for Prophecy 2007 has now opened. The Harry Potter symposium/conference will take place next year from August 2-5 in Toronto, Ontario, and is sure to be even more of a hit than its predecessors. Book now to ensure yourself a place!

JK Rowling has updated her official website to wish Hermione Granger a happy birthday.

For your viewing pleasure, our graphic designer (and my baby brother) Dylan has put together two new layouts for you to choose from: Yule Ball- or Voldemort-themed. I can't imagine why any of you would want to look at Voldemort's disgusting squash every time you log on to MuggleNet, but you asked for it, you got it.

We've also widened all the layouts to fill up more of your screen. Screen resolutions have been getting larger and larger and we've updated the layouts to fit 1024x768 screens - by far the most common (80%) among MuggleNet visitors.

A cameo of Harry, Ron, and Hermione made an appearance recently in Marvel's "New Excalibur" book. We know this isn't really news, but in this difficult Potter news drought, it's all we can offer! Thanks, John, for sending this in.

In this week's edition of our Harry Potter podcast we talk about the recent updates made to Jo's website and also discuss why James gave the cloak to Dumbledore before he died, answer voicemails, plus much more.

If you're new to the fun, you're missing out on some great discussion and analysis! If you have iTunes, you can get the show delivered to your computer automatically each week. Just click here and press subscribe (for free). You can also visit the MuggleCast portion of the website and download each show individually.

EDIT: If you were having issues downloading, they should be resolved now. Over the past week we put in a new system to help relieve bandwidth issues, but it wasn't put in place with Episode #56. We've since fixed it and downloads should be going relatively smoothly. Sorry for the inconvenience!

The Harry Potter box set containing Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, published in support of Comic Relief, now has a brand new cover.

Thanks to HarryLatino for the tip!

We told you earlier that READ magazine, which we had previously believed to be a Scholastic magazine, reportedly included a blurb in their latest edition about Book 7 coming out next summer. Scholastic now tells us READ is not a Scholastic publication. Any inkling we had about this being true has now vanished. Sorry!

Certainly making up for the long period without updating, JK Rowling has added a new diary, news, and Extra Stuff entry to her official site. In her diary, she apologizes for the lack of updates recently and talks about her experience in New York for "An Evening With Harry, Carrie & Garp."

Also, a NAQ (never asked question) was added to the Extra Stuff section: Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak? You can discuss this in our forums here. Finally, in the news, she makes a post entitled "Book 7 Update," which we've all been dying to hear about:

Now that I'm back from New York, the only real news is that I'm continuing to work hard on the book. I've done quite a lot, and I'm really enjoying it, though every now and then I look up and realise that it's THE LAST ONE. You might think I'd have got used to that idea during the sixteen years I've been planning seven books, but it still keeps hitting me... no more Harry after this... and then I bury myself in book seven again and tell myself I've still got plenty to write.

Bloomsbury will re-release 21 books to celebrate their 21st birthday, including Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. According to Publishing News, "All the titles will feature a short question-and-answer with the authors, an introduction by fellow writers, and a reading guide."

No word yet on what Jo may include, although we could assume it will focus on the beginning of the series. Thanks to Laura and Samuel for the tip!

On Friday we reported that the Daily Mirror spoke to JK Rowling at a tea party in Edinburgh, celebrating the release of Driving Lessons. Regarding the progress of Book 7, the UK tabloid quoted Jo as saying, "I'm up to about 750 pages now." At the time, we told you it was highly unlikely JK would give away how many pages she's written. Now we have confirmation in the form of an update to the the Rubbish Bin at JKR.com:

Oh pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. I haven't written 750 pages of book seven, and if I had, I'd be very worried, as I'm not close to finishing it yet.

I was at the tea party for Driving Lessons, though, so this isn't pure fiction. The journalist reports that I said that Rupert is 'absolutely terrific' in the film. He is, so that bit shouldn't be in the rubbish bin at all.

The National Library of Scotland has obtained a $3.35 million grant in order to establish a "digital repository," to include blogs, journals, and emails written by leading Scots - JK Rowling among them. The digital works exhibited will all be of cultural significance and are set to be unveiled in 2008.

Join Ben, Jamie, Eric, Laura, Micah and me for a doozy of a Harry Potter podcast this week! Gimme a Butterbeer and the Editorial discussion return, a new segment called "What's Buggin' Micah?" premieres, and all the other regular segments that you've come to know and love also make appearances. It's one episode of MuggleCast that's sure to cause some uproars, but it's all in good measure. At least we think so...

If you're new to the show, downloading is easy. You can direct download the show each week off of the MuggleCast portion of our site, or click here to subscribe (for free) in iTunes. Just press the "Subscribe" button on our listing, and you'll get each show delivered to your computer when they're released. Enjoy!

EDIT: We understand some visitors are having difficulities downloading the show. This is because of a large demand, and everyone is attempting to download at the same time. We are working on a solution, but for now, everyone is encouraged to keep trying if you are having an issue. Our server should be able to handle all requests by later tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience!

New photographs and a report from Sunday's Order of the Phoenix filming at King's Cross have emerged online. Although the photos again aren't of the best quality, several actors like Dan, Emma, and Natalia Tena (Tonks) can be spotted. According to the set report by HP4U, a disguised character was present:

What we can tell you is the mysterious figure in a black suit (we heard) had a wisp of silver/white hair showing from just underneath the full face covering hood item he wore; obviously to protect his identity while being led down Platform 4 to the train. I felt sure it was Voldemort otherwise why hide his face? But the white hair? In what was rumored to be a change in script it could well be possible that the scene runs according to the original book with the exception of Harry seeing or feeling Voldemort at the Station.

Thanks to HP4U and everyone who wrote in!

Ricky Gervais, the creator and director of "Extras," was interviewed tonight on UK late-night talk show Jonathan Ross. During the interview, several clips from the new series of "Extras" were shown with one featuring Daniel Radcliffe. Thanks to Mandy, we have a video of what was aired below. However, the content of the video is in no way child-oriented and we therefore advise you to view with caution. Click here to see it.

Julie Walters also made an appearance on the show where she spoke a little about Driving Lessons and the trio, saying that she found it surprising that they were still so normal and down to earth. Thanks to everyone who emailed!

Rupert Grint's brand new film Driving Lessons hit theaters today in the UK. To coincide with its release, a tea party was held earlier in Edinburgh. According to the Daily Mirror, JK Rowling went along to support Rupert.

She tells The Ticket she is half-way through writing the seventh and possibly final book, but the 41-year-old Scottish author is keeping tight-lipped over rumours she's planning to kill off Harry.

"I'm up to about 750 pages now, but I'm not telling anyone what happens to Harry," she says. "I've just come along to support Rupert who's absolutely terrific in Driving Lessons."

Please take this with a pinch of salt. The Daily Mirror is a British tabloid, not exactly known for its accurate reporting. We agree Jo probably said she's half-way through, like she's been saying since June, but we doubt she would reveal how many pages she's written.

We are currently working on confirming this. Thanks to Danny for the link!

Entertainment Weekly has ranked the fourth Harry Potter film #36 on its list of the best "high school movies" of all time. Here's their write-up on the flick:

No, we haven't lost our minds. One of J.K. Rowling's ingenious ideas was to blend two literary traditions, fantasy and coming-through-school fiction (a la Tom Brown's School Days). That's particularly true in Goblet, which depicts 14-year-old Harry's heightened state of adolescent anxiety, about the big (Quidditch) game, about finding a date for the big dance, and about juggling homework while saving the wizard world from evil Lord Voldemort.

Thanks to Maria and Zoe for the link!

Thanks to Lisette for pointing out this new video on YouTube from Sunrise, an Australian morning talk show program. Their England correspondent visited the Order of the Phoenix set and talked with actors Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Katie Leung about filming and much more.

EDIT: This clip aired back in March but has recently resurfaced online.

Veritaserum has several video clips from Order of the Phoenix filming at King's Cross in England that occurred last week.

UPDATE: WB has asked us to remove these clips.

A recent interview was conducted with Alec Hopkins, the actor portraying young Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He discusses filming, talking with Alan Rickman, and how he ended up with the role.

Alan Rickman spent a couple of hours having a chat with me about the part and obviously that was nerve wracking; there was me as a nobody and then this famous actor. He's very serious about acting but he likes to joke around. It was really nice and it surprised me - I thought a big star would be different but he was so nice. Everyone is really nice but it's very daunting. You don't realise how many people there are and if you messed up you'd be so embarrassed. It's been a great privilege just to be part of it. It's not just a film, but it's a Harry Potter film.

Thanks to HPANA for the tip!

HP4U has posted five new pictures, albeit slightly blurry, from the OOTP filming at King's Cross on Monday. They include shots of Daniel and Natalia Tena (Tonks).

DanRadcliffe.com conducted an interview with Daniel last July, in which he discussed his upcoming appearance on the BBC's comedy show "Extras," the World Cup, and lots more.

"I play a very, very warped version of myself in a scouts uniform," Daniel laughs, "because obviously they couldn't do references to Harry Potter for legal reasons, so they had to put me in a scouts uniform. They couldn't have me in a school outfit or anything. The scouts uniform looks absolutely ridiculous and very, very funny. I play this very obnoxious teenage boy who endlessly flirts with everybody he sees. It should be very, very funny, but there is this whole other story in the episode, which I think is also very funny."

DR.com also confirmed that Dan's episode of "Extras" will air on BBC2 at 9:00 PM on September 28th. You can read more about this interview here, including information on when you can listen to audio clips from it.

Pope Benedict XVI's senior exorcist claims the Harry Potter books contain innumerable positive references to magic, "the satanic art."

"Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil," he told Vatican Radio. And according to the Daily Mail newspaper in London, he added that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil."

All I have to say is... he's an exorcist - what did you expect him to say?

Thanks to ScaryMonster for the tip.

MuggleNet staffer Natalie attended today's premiere of Driving Lessons (photos here), starring Rupert Grint and Julie Walters, in London's Leicester Square. She managed to snag a short interview with Rupert Grint, and also spoke briefly to Emma Watson, Julie Walters, and Bonnie Wright.

She asked Rupert about his favorite scenes in both Driving Lessons and OOTP, his opinion on the Ron/Lavender relationship in Book 6, and much more. In Bonnie's interview, she talks about her friendship with Rupert off set, a typical day on the Potter set, and more. To hear these interviews, simply right click and "Save Target As..." on the links below:

- Rupert interview [1.55 MB, WAV]
- Bonnie interview [.8 MB, WAV]

UPDATE: You can now listen to our interviews with Emma Watson and Julie Walters:

- Emma interview [1.55 MB, WMA]
- Julie interview [2.54 MB, WMA]

Lord Voldemort was voted the number one villain in the BigBadRead, an online Bloomsbury poll to find the UK's favourite literary villain from a children's book.

Here's what Jo had to say about this "honor":

I am thrilled and honoured beyond words that Lord Voldemort has been voted best villain in the Big Bad Read poll. I am not sure how he would react to knowing that he had won a Muggles' unpopularity poll. A mixture of pleasure that you recognised his power and menace, coupled with fury at your nerve at mentioning his real name, I think. His author, however, is absolutely delighted.

I am sorry not to be there in person to join your celebration of literary evil, but Lord Voldemort requires my constant presence at the moment, as his Dark plans are unfolding in all their grisly glory. I hope those of you who voted for him in the Big Bad Read enjoy reading about him in book seven, where he finally gets the legroom for which he has been aching during all those years in exile.

I have always felt that cardboard baddies make weak heroes and that Harry deserved a really deluxe model, so I have done my best to make Lord Voldemort a real person, red eyed and snakelike though he might be. He, of course, is one of the reasons the Harry Potter books are often banned, but I remain of the firm belief that we need our imaginary villains, the better to brace ourselves for the ones we need to fight in reality.

Voldemort heads an extremely distinguished list, and I shall enjoy picturing him at the head of the table, while Sauron [#2], Lex Luther [#4] and Mrs. Coulter [#3, from His Dark Materials] glower at him, awaiting their chance to topple him. In the meantime, thank you again, on his behalf and mine, for the great honour.

Rounding out the top ten were The Joker (Batman), Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events), The Other Mother (Coraline), The White Witch (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), Dracula, and Artemis Fowl respectively.

Rupert Grint and Julie Walters did a photocall this morning to promote their new film, Driving Lessons, which will premiere tonight in London. You can check out some photos here in our gallery.

Emma Watson, James Phelps, and Oliver Phelps will also be attending the film's premiere tonight. MuggleNet staff member Natalie will be on-hand to report on the evening's events. Stay tuned for more.

UPDATE: Some great photos from the red carpet can be seen here. They feature Bonnie Wright as well as the aforementioned actors.

Sixty-five new photos from yesterday's filming of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at King's Cross train station have surfaced online. In addition, we have learned what scenes in particular were being shot.

This is the filming crew's description of the first scene: Harry walks to Hogwarts Express; he sees Voldemort. Then, in the second scene: Moody, Tonks, Shacklebolt, and the Weasleys escort Harry; black dog arrives; Moody is cross.

As you can see, there appear to be some unexpected deviations from book to movie - whether or these will appear in the final product, we don't yet know.

To view a detailed account of yesterday's filming, click here. Enjoy!

This week's episode of our Harry Potter podcast features Ben, Jamie, Laura, Eric and myself for over an hour of fun discussion. This episode includes a brand new debate segment (Should Hogwarts stay open?), another edition of the Crackpot Theory of the Week, a discussion on the Two-Way Mirror, and much more!

As always, you can subscribe (for free) on iTunes to get the show delivered to your desktop automatically each week. You can download low and high bandwidth versions of the show (depending on your internet connection) right here, which you can listen to on your computer or any MP3/CD player. Enjoy!

Photo agency WENN has posted a number of pictures from Movie 5 filming at King's Cross train station in London. The photos show Daniel Radcliffe, the Hogwarts Express, and several film extras. MuggleNet reader Safa reports this shooting took place today. Thanks to Ying for the tip!

Another batch of Order of the Phoenix set pictures recently surfaced online, and although we've seen a couple of these before, they're in much higher quality. They show filming at Virginia Water, where, presumably, the scene in which McGonagall is attacked by Umbridge and co. is being shot. In the photos, we catch glimpses of Natalia Tena (Tonks), David Yates, Martin Bayfield (Hagrid's body double), Tom Felton (Malfoy), and Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) reading The Daily Prophet which bears the headline, "He Who Must Not Be Named Returns."

Thanks to MuggleThai and everyone else who wrote in!

As we reported previously, Daniel Radcliffe is set to make a guest apperance in the BBC's popular comedy show, "Extras." A trailer for the program, featuring Dan in a boy scout uniform, recently aired on BBC2 and can be seen online here at YouTube. Season two of "Extras" will begin on September 9th, but it is still unknown when Dan's episode will air. We'll keep you updated.

Thanks to DanRadcliffe.com!

The next live Leaky Mug, the joint podcast by MuggleCast and PotterCast for special occasions, will be on September 28th, at Borders in Westwood, located at 1360 Westwood Blvd. in Los Angeles. It will start at 7 PM sharp, and we hope to see you there for some fun Harry Potter discussion and more.

We once again need an idea of how many of you are coming, so please visit LeakyMug.com and follow instructions there to let us know you plan to be there! Once again, this doesn't guarantee seats, but this way we can plan accordingly and make everyone happier.

For our younger listeners: we're aware this is a school night and have made the show as early as possible to accommodate this. Our schedules in California are such that we only have weeknights available; the show should be over by about 8:30 PM, which we hope is enough time to get you home for school/work in the morning!