The creature does not look like A dragon. It looks like HALF a dragon!

I like the American covers so much better than the European versions. So for 32 extra pages the price of the book doubles? Why couldn't the regular books have had 816 pages? That's going to bug me.

OMM!!!!! how spifftriffical.... riding a dragon? hmmmm.... interesting.... :D i can't wait!!!!!!!!

alright this is what happens, harry ,hermonie, and ron, yea ron it says hes ron on the article (draco lol like harry would have draco riding a dragon with him) are fighting deatheaters. they are outnumbered and are starting to lose. norbert (or chinese fireball NOT OPAL dragon) swoops from the sky and picks them up. now the dragon is talking them to his or her home to eat them. lol

it reminds me of Eragon...

eragon rocks. the only book series better than eragon is harry potter. then lord or the rings and narnia behind eragon.

Hey, look! It's Norbert! Or maybe a Hungarian Horntail...Or an Opaleye...I still think it's Norbert! He's so ADORABLE.........(help! I'm turning into Hagrid!)

so they all live?

It's breathtaking! Now this is my favorite book 7 cover!

THEY'RE ON A FRICKIN DRAGON!!!! WTF!!!!! This is TOO unbelievable. Dragoon's can't be trained. We know that from Norbert...OMG!!!! NORBERT!!!

An wild guess, but what if Hagrid is an unregistered animagus and he transforms to a dragon. Hagrid would love to be a dragon in his animagus form. And unless it is a dragon which can understand, isn't it impossible to ride or control a dragon.

its norberts future son transported to the past lol

WOW! this new cool cover art really says ALOT! What kinda dragon is that? Why is it letting Harry, Ron , and Hermione rideon it? Maybe that is Norbert......... and Where is that little town? It CAN'T be Hogsmead. Can it? And that sunset........ again........ Whats with the dragond eyes? They're all like......... misted over.......... wonder what that means. We keep seing different covers.......... that delux edtion is awesome! AWESOME!!! I WANT MY POTTER BOOK!!! oh, and whats with Harrys, Rons, and Hermiones clothes......??? And the dragons wings, they're all in tatters......... so many if's.........

little/great hangleton?? godrics hollow? hogsmeade? his coat is furry...hmmm

or it could be a thestral!!!! And it has a white beard! SPIRIT OF DUMBY RETURNS!!!...or not

Mary Grand's Pre did it again. Again. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The blonde person is not Draco, it is Ron - why would Harry help Malfoy and save him anyway? :D Besides, this is - I think - the first time that we can't see Harry's face and his scar clearly. You know, Mary GrandPré and the British artist always highlighted the scar in each cover artwork. But this deluxe edition is missing the scar...

Wow... As if I wasn't already excited enough :D But something did catch my eye... Yes, Ron and Hermione are in black, but Harry is too on the 'box'/non special edition cover, so I don't think it's a death thing. I do think Ron and Hermione will go back to school at some point probably, I don't think Jo would let all her student pals off the school hook ;P But something else to - Is that Ron and Hermione? If you look at the other drawings of the characters from previous books, it kind of looks like Ron and Ginny... just a thought - can't wait! I got a job just so I could get a copy of each ^_^

Oh my goodness!! Dragons and gold AND fighting the Dark Lord till his bitter death (and Harry's) !!!!!! This makes more sense of the UK cover art now I think. I have to read all the comments now...

really nice artwork!I am sooo excited:)))I cannot wait 42 days!!!!!!!!!!!

AH! omg i've already signed for a deluxe edition at my bookstore. my best friend has as well. i had no IDEA we were getting a different cover art. i just thought it was supposed to be leather back (or at least that's what walden books told me.) this is amazing! something i never would have imagined! a dragon? they're on a dragon?!?! i thought they were like, uh, really dangerous? lol maybe hagrid isn't completely daft about dragons after all. lol

i don't read harry potter much... am i getting this right? is the dragon named saphira

It must be Godric's Hollow!! A hollow is loose name for a valley in the earth. It is commonly used in New England to describe such geographic features. Hollows may be formed by RIVER VALLEYS such as Mansfield Hollow or they may be relatively dry clefts with a notch like characteristic in that they have a height of land and consequent water divide in their bases. A hollow such as this is Boston Hollow.

I'm as excited as everyone else, so let me state my theories: 1) The town beneath them is Little Hangleton. 2) This is NOT the end, simply because Ron and Hermione look too anxious, and Harry looks to determined for it to be done. Wouldn't they be relieved if it were over? 3) They're flying to the last scene (the sky is the same color on all three, it's gotta mean SOMETHING) 4) I think the dragon has been with them for a while, does anyone else notice the tattered wings? Now- I want to know your theory- Why on earth is Hermione clinging on sideways? She looks like she's going to falll off!

This is going to be the longest 6 weeks ahead of us. The Final Battle, Friendships, courtships, horcruxes, the death of Harry and/or Voldy...all coming to an end in 6 weeks time. Now we have dragons??? This is just too much excitement to contain for 6 weeks....

Cliffy22 - no, that's Eragon. Eragon is the one with the dragon named Saphira.

those are just wispy clouds, nothing more.

Whoa.....OMG that is amazing. I love MAry Grandpre's work. This is even better than the cover. (Well, I like em both!) Now this is what I call mysterious. Maybe that's a Chinese Fireball or maybe, as some are saying, grown up Norbert. Harry looks great, Hermione and Ron look good, the dragon is awesome- this is what I look for in book art. It'sz perfectly drawn, too- I love this! -Pottermaniac, out!

IT IS NOT A THESTRAL PEOPLE!!! "David Saylor, Vice President, Creative Director, Scholastic described the art: "Set during a highly dramatic sunset, Harry, Hermione, and Ron--clothes in tatters--cling atop a flying dragon in this astonishing artwork created by Mary GrandPré for the deluxe edition. As mist creeps down towering hillsides to a village below, questions arise about where the trio is headed and what has led them to this spellbinding moment."" Plus, I thinks it's an Opal Eye- I mean quite honestly, I'd say the dragon looks pretty friendly :)

Cliffy 22: Yes, the dragon's name is Saphira.....in Eragon. Besides, Saphira is blueand a female, this dragon on the Deluxe version is of a reddish hue and looks male...don't ask why I think it is male, he just looks like a male. :)

Whoa.....OMG that is amazing. I love MAry Grandpre's work. This is even better than the cover. (Well, I like em both!) Now this is what I call mysterious. Maybe that's a Chinese Fireball or maybe, as some are saying, grown up Norbert. Harry looks great, Hermione and Ron look good, the dragon is awesome- this is what I look for in book art. It'sz perfectly drawn, too- I love this! -Pottermaniac, out!

Now I might just go crazy....but is that Harry a Dan lookalike, like the regular US cover's Harry? Either MAry Grandpre is awesome at drawing Dan, or I'm hallucinating. -Pottermaniac, out!

wow...could it be baby norbert...??? hmmm??? the illustration, for me, depicts a triumphant moment...the mood, with the mist, makes it feel homey...i dont know...let's leave it to the mugglecasters

NORBERT?!?!

DRAGONS!!! This book is going to be awesome!

thank you wotcher! there is no way it is a chinese fireball, theastral, or norbert, it is an antipodean opaleye! any other dragon would be too aggresive. lets review the facts about opaleyes again. they dwell in valleys rather than mountains, is non-aggresive to humans, and has trademark pupil-less eyes, hence the name. it is said to be the most beautifil dragon. they live in newzealand and sometimes migrate to australia. as i pointed out earlier, the scenery and architecture of the houses match those countries.

Holy JK ROWLING! what the heck??! A dragon..them riding a dragon...i cant make any sense out of it. Ok so this book is going to be good. so many COOL surprises..cant wait. It could be norbert...actually it probably is...she never mentioned how fast a dragon can grow...and plus, everything jkr puts in there is for a reason...like norbert really didnt have a purpose...so this is probably what he is for....but how would norbert get there..and where the heck are they??! i need to know..now!

Someone said something about the dragon being under a curse so they could fly it...but I don't think so...maybe it's a Animagus? that would be cool! maybe it's Dumbledore! lol jk....and also..someone said that the other boy was Draco...and that's what I thought to, but why would he be with them and dose that mean that Ron dies? I hope not! I can't wait to get the book!!!

Nice, doesn't look much like Ron on the dragon. Maybe someone else joins them. It looks likehe has blonde hair. Maybe it's Harry's long lost brother, that's why the eyss are important because that's how they reconise each other? (highly unlikely but why take life to seriously?)

Oh, dear... I can't get over the idea that the trio is flying back from the battle with V-mort. Harry's looking pissed, Hermione scared, and Ron in awe... because as they fly over Hogsmeade and look forward... they see that Hogwarts has been destroyed.

Whoa.....OMG that is amazing. I love Mary Grandpre's work. This is even better than the cover. (Well, I like em both!) Now this is what I call mysterious. Maybe that's a Chinese Fireball or maybe, as some are saying, grown up Norbert. Harry looks great, Hermione and Ron look good, the dragon is awesome- this is what I look for in book art. It's perfectly drawn, too- I love this. Now I might just go crazy....but is that Harry a Dan lookalike, like the regular US cover's Harry? Either Mary Grandpre is awesome at drawing Dan, or I'm hallucinating. -Pottermaniac, out!

I think that maybe since their robes are all torn and destructed, that the war is over. They survived. At least I hope

My guess is the place is Spinner's End judging by the river. It would be cool if a climactic encounter took place there just because of its name- Spinners End. Like the end of the tale JKR has spun. Just my 2 cents. Maybe Snape lived there for a reason.

i'm so glad i already preordered this! its so pretty...i'm glad we all got some more clues! *goes to stare at art for hours*

HP4Life80: I hope so too. Maybe we'll find out if that dragon is indeed an Animagus- though its not Dumbledore. Sorry to all of you who have said that, but Jo said "Dumbledore is DEFINITELY dead." Perhaps we learn of Hagrid or maybe even a Weasley, though its not likely. -Pottermaniac, out!

My guesses: It's Godric's Hollow (could the brown thing in the back of the crops be the remains of the Potters' cottage?.... OK, maybe not, but I'm ready to guess the trio was there) or Little Hangleton, or simply a random village. Not Hogsmeade. Oh, and it MAY be Norbert. It looks similar to the picture of Norbert in the first book. And I think Hagrid said the other dragons were giving him a bad time, so that's why he's all beaten up. I also think Harry's wearing the same robe as in the first cover. Look just below Hermione's left sleeve: there's the rest of the robe, so that's not a jacket. And, last of all: I don't think GrandPré's choice of robes for each was coincidental, but what relationship is there with the robes drawn on the British cover?

A wee bit confuzzled here. What's the difference between the deluxe edition and the one for 35 bucks? Is there any extra parts put in or something along those lines? I'm really not sure and is it really worth the extra twenty five dollars? What about it makes it so darn special? Otherwise, the cover looks fantabulous.

my username and password for the Knight Bus video: dean_thomas0610, dean_thomas0610

My first thought about the Dragon: "I bet that's Norbert!"

Wow. Now that cover art gives some probably pretty major part of the book away, I mean, look at the HBP deluxe cover art, it had harry and dumbledore going to the gaunt's house, which was quite important. I agree with carpendiem1991 that it could be Godric's Hollow. Only 42 days left to guess!