WRONG!!! The dragon is not an Opaleye. The description for an opaleye is it's appearance is irredescent, pearly scales. This dragon has dark greenish-brown with some red and yellow scales. An Opaleye's eyes are describes as being glittering MULTICOLORED without pupils. This dragon has pearly, white eyes without pupils. Sorry kids, it's not an Opaleye...check the description for yourself if you don't believe..got it from The Harry Potter Lexicon. Patronus_Potter, don't forget, the dragon is also looking up. Raya_m4, it was Moody's left eye...I believe. WinterHallows: Hermione's leg is green because she's........wearing pants!! One more thing on this dragon, it's got 3 horns on its head, not the usual 2. Has anyone noticed that? Ron and Hermione ARE wearing tattered robes, and yes it IS Ron in the drawing; No it is not a thestral but a dragon....not a chinese fireball either because the wings a different for a fireball. Anything else? Harry's jacket perhaps? Eh, can't really say if it is made of dragon hide or not...

Maybe Charlie has been trying to train Dragons for this??? I mean, what other part could be play, you know?

HOLY **** THAT IS DUMBLEDORE AS A DRAGON. I KNOW I'M RIGHT.

Lol i doubt she would be wearing green pants. and i think her leg is green because something happened to her while trying to get a horcrux. AND THAT IS NOT NOT NOT DRACO. Read the freakin description of the cover art. IT SAYS THE TRIO!! The trio. And the trio is ron, herm, and harry. 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." IT SAYS HARRY RONNNNNN AND hermione but on paint, Rons hair color is a dirty blonde, not red, BUT THIS IS RON not draco.

thx hannah, so if moody's fake eye was the left eye n we can only see the right, moody-dragin theory still stands. it's 3.42 am, n i'm so HYPERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

OMG-- ONE THING TO SAY NEVER POKE A SLEEPING DRAGON!!!! that dragon looks old enough to have been sleeping for many, many, MANY years. i need someone to rant to about this...if anyone has IM, im withanicecoldeye im me if youd like

Hmm, interesting. My question isn't who the dragon is, more where did it come from? I think Ron's brother Charlie might have had something to do with it since he works with dragons in Romania. As for the town, it looks like just some rural area. It could be Godric's Hollow, but I definately don't think it's Hogsmeade...

Lol about her pants, none of my mates in britian wear green pants? and no one has in the books/movies. BUTTT to clear things up, THIS SCENE IS BEFORE THE COVER ART SCENE. YOU can tell by the sunset. The sun has not yet set in this scene. In the COVER ART it HAS set.

the dragon must have some relation with harry. yay!! harry ron and hermione are flying a dragon above, what looks like Godric Hollows. Hey maybe godric has something to do with the dragon????!!!!!

It's hard for me to think if the draon is Norbert or not. It seems like it's an old dragon. Cracked horns, a beard, and tattered wings. I read how Harry's yellow "jacket" could be armor. Comparing the "jacket" to the dragon's scales, they seem alike. Afterall, dragon hide is very protective aganist spells. It's the trio, it's a dragon, and that is that.

i like the idea of the dragon being an animagus. I think that it could be either a. norbert b. draco c. mad-eye moody. I think that the town is Godric's Hollow because i don't see Hogwarts and the town in the cover is way too small to be Hogsmeade. Ron & Hermione appear to be wearing their school robes while Harry isn't so this must mean that Hogwarts might re-open. Well only 42 days left....

Look at my last post, post 306 or something. Also, I don't think it is Malfoy being the Animagus. Mad-Eye-Moody is a VERY good guess? Why, because Mary Grand Pre only shows his right leg, and Mad Eye Moody's LEFT leg is wooden. And his eyes are plain white, just like Moody. I wonder if the Dragon could be Dumbledore's brother? Let's make some notices, Harry did NOT pick up Hermione and Ron from Hogwarts. Why? Because they are HEADING to Hogwarts. Look at the UK Cover, back page, and you could see mist. And they are flying above a forest, could be the Forbidden Forest. Something very strange happens at Hogwarts, it's glowing a golden light. But hey, that's me. Again, look at my last post!

lol abt the green legs, it's probably a joke, but i must be a harry fanatic: hermione wouldn't wear smth that would show that much of her legs...phew :S

The jacket he is wearing is like the jacket on the Sorcerers stones's cover. And to point out again, This scene takes place before the scene with Voldy on the Cover of the book.

raya_m4: it's almost 4 am where you are??????? Where are you? it is almost 3 pm where I am, USA - pacific coast. (sorry, went off topic there) The question that should be discussed is like TheDarkLord06 asked: WHERE did the dragon come from??? And I'll ask: WHY?? JK said herself that dragons can not be domesticated...what kind of dragon would allow anyone, let alone 3 kids ride on it's back?

Mad Eye Moody being the dragon is very plasible thought. As "HerminoneForever" stated, the LEFT leg is not shown, and Moody doesn't have a LEFT leg. Also the eye. Moody's magical eye is on the RIGHT and this dragon's eye, which is different from other dragon eyes, is on the RIGHT. Also, Moody's eyes are blue, and this dragon's eyes have a tint of blue in them.

I think we can all say that JK Rowling is amazing

I wonder; could that possibly be Norbert?

WOW

hermioneforver: i also noticed the similarity to the rune, cus the two rivers/tributaries come from the 2 sides of the island(?), so that makes it a delta, n the rune is a triangle (i.e. delta) hannah: lol, i'm on the other side of the world, southeast asia :p

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! And I have to wait two moths after the UK book is out because of the translation! But I want it NOWWWWWWWW! IT LOOKS SOOOOO GREAT!

Does anyone think that it really doesn't look like Ron? It looks more like Malfoy to me.....

i get the impression that something is going on in front of them. Look at their looks especially Ron's & Hermione's. I also think that theirs a lake in the background behind the two mountains.

OH...MY...GOD!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXITED!!!!!!!!! :-D

I AM SO GLAD I GOT THE SPECIAL EDITION ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok sort of a eureka moment, but now that i think of it, it doesn't really work: the rune was a triangle split down the middle n has a circle in it. i sort of thought maybe, the triangle was the island (delta) n the circle represented the stadium thing from the other cover w/ harry n voldy in it. but now i don't see how that's possible, unless there's a lot lot lot of magic involved, maybe a cloaking spell like that on hogwarts/sirius's house that shows the village instead of a stadium to ppl who don't know it's there??

wow, is that norbert?! omg, i don't think i can survive for 42 more days, the curiousity is eating me alive... its an awesome painting though! Anyone know any wizard villages that's surrounded by a river and mountains? Possibly Godric's Hollow? and WHY are they in "tatters"!?!?!

It definitely looks like there is a waterfall on the right hand side leading from a bigger body of water down to the lower section in the middle

IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!

Don't worry guys, in 42 days, all these questions will be answered....... Aww.....I'm sad that they will be!

i dont think its norbert. no one, not even hagrid could get a dragon nice enogh to let them ride on it. i think its Aberforth Dumbledore. its gray hair could be matched to his discription on in ootp (us 336).

ZOMGZOMGZOMGZOMGZOMGZOMGO ZMGZOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOM! !!!!!!!!!! now mugglecast has somethin to talk about!

I originally just said no to the whole it's Dumbledore's spirit thing, but now I'm thinking about it... "help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask"... though they aren't quite at Hogwarts yet, they're flying to it, but I think Dumby meant any student, not necessarily in school. I'm not saying that he raises from the dead or something, but I think there was definatly a Dumbledore involved; maybe Aberforth? So many questions, I love speculating!

I’ve got Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them here on the dragon pages. I think of the ten dragons we can rule out: Herbridean black (the one on the cover is not black), Hungarian horntail (it doesn’t have spikes), Norwegian ridgeback (it doesn’t have spikes), Peruvian vipertooth (it’s longer than fifteen foot), Romanian longhorn (it doesn’t have long golden horns), Swedish shortsnout (it’s not blue I don’t think, but I am open to correction: I’m quite colourblind), Ukrainian ironbelly (it doesn’t have red eyes I don’t think). There has been a lot of talk that it’s a Chinese fireball, but they are “scarlet and smooth-scaled�, have “golden spikes�, “snub-snouted face[s] and extremely protuberant eyes� so I don’t think that’s likely. That leaves the Antipodean opaleye (“pearly scales and … pupil-less eyes�) which “dwells in valleys� – check out the surroundings. The other type left is the common Welsh green. There isn’t much about this dragon’s appearance, but it does say it’s “the least troublesome of the dragons� so it wouldn’t be likely to attack if the trio tried to ride it. (The opaleye is also “not particularly aggressive�.) If it is the common Welsh green, I’d say they’re above Godric’s Hollow. This is because in PS when Hagrid takes Harry to Surrey he goes over Bristol. To those who know their British geography this means that Godric’s Hollow is in Wales. Also Wales has a lot of mountains. Sorry this has been really long – Brownie points to anyone who’s read this far.

yeah i read it harry james, but again, zoom in on the dragon's eye on the BOX pic. at the left u see a blue iris n black pupil n to th right u see red veins. this is just way too much detailing (esp the veins) if it was just an opal eye. also opals r iridiscent n grandpre is just way too gr8 an illustrator to not show that on the cover.

Wow, what a fantastic cover! It's really quite beautiful, and after seeing it, I'm absolutely DYING to read the book! Can't wait for Mugglenet to make us a new "Dragon Flight" layout, too! :-)

Did anyone else notice the trail of whispy white at the front end of the cover? Maybe they are chasing someone/something??? Or it could just be a cloud (lol), but we all know that Mary only puts important stuff on her covers. What could it be?!?!

hm, I think I disagree Harry_James_Potter. I looked in Fantastic Beasts too, and also thought the dragon could be either an Antipodean Opaleye or Chinese Fireball. I don't think it's an AO, though, because they have PEARLY scales, and this dragon's scales are certainly not pearly. The wings do, however, have a reddish tinge. And altho the eyes don't have visible pupils, they aren't multicolored, and are kind of protruding (I guess). The spikes around the face seem Fireball-ish, and the fact that they aren't golden could be because of the setting sun. It definitely doesn't look green either, although I think the Welsh Green is native to Scotland (?). I have no idea where the dragon could have come from though. Most likely, Charlie or Hagrid could have hooked them up with one. :) But Animaguses?! lol that's never even crossed my mind. Also, I dont think that is near Hogwarts. HW does have hills, but this scene is definitely from the movie, NOT to be confused with the books, gah! They're over a little town, which COULD be Godric's Hollow, but it's definitely not Hogsmeade because these are mountains, not hills! Oh, and lol I think that's Harry's shirt, not Hermione's pants. :D *whew*

WOW! i wonder what are hermione and the dragon looking at. They must be close to hogwarts because there is the same mysterious fog in that delux cover and in the back of the UK cover. It seems to fit since they show in the UK cover that the fog is starting to cover hogwarts! cant wait. PS. I think that that is the hungarian horntail. i mean look at its tail

CLEARLY they've just left the final battle, what with their clothes in tatters.. and all three of them are still alive :-D

Bloody hell.... Funny how the mist seems to be streaming off the dragon's claws... THEY ALL LIVE!!!!! THEY'RE ALL GOING TO LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!! *does happy hopeful dance* Does the dragon seem BLIND to any of you? Maybe that boy is Neville...

Wow, that is so awesome! I believe the village beneath is Godrics Hollow, because Hogsmeade was never discribed as being located near a river and such high mountains. But hat I find most interesting is, that only Hermoine and Ron seem to wear Hogwarts school ropes - although torn apart, Harry is just wearing normal cloth, which sugests that Harry is indeed not returning to Hogwarts as a student. Although I never thought that would happen...

no, but the eyes aren't completely white...i'm pretty sure its an Antipodean Opaleye....an old one. At the dragon reservation where charlie works, though, they havee all sorts of dragons...norbert was norwegian, not romanian, but he got sent there anyway. also, isn't romania close (or closer than england is, anyway) to bulgaria? Rowling said the Ciktor Krum is coming back...maybe he's helping the trio somehow?

Wow! That's awesome. Thank God there's a discount at Borders so I can afford to get the deluxe edition. And that cover is so much more useful than the other american one...Norbert, perhaps? I can't wait!!!

It's not a dragon!! It's a Thestral!! Thestral's have white shining eyes (like this) and they're bodies are really thin (like this). It is dragon features. Thos is DEFINETLY a Thestral.

I mean Viktor Krum.... and its nots a thestral...thestrals are black and much smaller than that...but if anyone wants to discuss this with me (please!), my aim is princessetoille

OH MY GAWD!! A DRAGON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i can NOT wait!!!!

OMG! I collapsed on the floor when I saw the artwork. I'm too tired to look at everyones post before I comment, so someone may have said this. But the dagon looks like an antipodean opaleye(description found in fantastic beasts and where to find them). Which is native to New Zealand but travels occasianally to Australia. So they may be in New Zealand, or Romania at the place where Charlie works. Or the dragon may have guarded gringotts.

oh em gee! i cant believe this is happening! i already pre ordered the regular edition! plus 65$ is a lot of money.

I just want to say: Dumbledore's familiar (Fawkes) is a PHOENIX! His patronus is a PHOENIX! I bet we can even guess that the core of his wand is a PHOENIX feather!! Do you see a pattern here? So why would he suddenly turn into a DRAGON! Though I like who ever suggested Draco (his name means dragon in latin and his name is on that Hogwarts motto thing "never tickle a sleeping dragon" Or whatever. That could be important). It might also explain why Ron looks so much like Draco, because Draco is in the cover, we just don't know it. And it also could be Mad-Eye but I find that rather doubtful. He didn't even show in the sixth book that I remember. I'm still sticking to the thestral theory. Just because the ones in the fifth book were only big enough for one person, does not mean there aren't bigger ones out there. How much do we really know about them? Another alternative could be Snape just because I want him to be a good guy. I doubt it. There isn't really anything to connect him to the dragon, except for maybe the wings but that's stretching. (The wings look kind of leathery and bat like and snape has been described as bat like... and his eyes are dark so maybe they do the opposite when he changes. I don't know. Just an idea.)