MuggleNet Throwback: “Order of the Phoenix” finally hits shelves

We’re going way back for this week’s MuggleNet Throwback, everyone! All the way to 2003 when the highly anticipated and long overdue fifth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, finally arrived in stores around the world. It had certainly been a painfully long wait since the release of Goblet of Fire in 2000 for the next Potter book to arrive, making Book 5 an instant success. Amazon made history by shipping out a massive 789,000 copies that helped the book become the fastest selling book ever at the time; five million copies were sold in the United States alone on just the first day! And the achievements didn’t stop there by any means. Order of the Phoenix easily became the longest book in the series and remains so to this day with 38 chapters that ring up 765 pages in the US edition and 850 pages in the UK edition. It certainly made for some very late night reading!

But it’s really no wonder the book was so long given the wealth of information we received and the impressive story J.K. Rowling expanded for us in this installment: Harry spends the greatest length of time he’s ever had with his godfather Sirius at Grimmauld Place; we’re treated to several glimpses of wizarding life outside of Hogwarts through Harry’s time at the Ministry and Arthur Weasley’s stay at St. Mungo’s; momentous and shocking changes come to Hogwarts; and perhaps most importantly, we finally meet the Order of the Phoenix and discover how Harry and Voldemort are more connected than we had ever guessed!

With so much to reminiscence about and celebrate since the book’s release, let us know what you remember most about Order of the Phoenix! Where were you when you first got your hands on a copy? Did it live up to your expectations? What were the best and even saddest moments to read? Let us know!