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Ok, now this is cool. Long rumored to have been filmed for the "Order of the Phoenix" film, thanks to Oclumencia, we can now see at long last, the prisoner of Azkaban...Lucius Malfoy. You can see the photo of Jason Isaacs as Lucius, sitting in his cell in Azkaban, holding his prisoner id card, via this link.

Many thanks to Thiego!

The 151st episode of PotterCast, our Harry Potter podcast, is now online with the latest in Harry Potter and much more. First up, we bring you news on the "Half-Blood Prince" film including new images, information from actress Natalia Tena, set footage, and casting announcements. Additional news about a decision regarding the privacy case filed by J. K. Rowling along with an update on media reaction to the RDR Books vs. WB/JKR lawsuit is also featured. We then jump into our latest Canon Conundrums discussion which focuses on Aberforth Dumbledore and which Hogwarts house he called home. We then have for you a new Bit-by-Bit where we turn to Chapter 12 and talk of the Death Eater presence outside Grimmauld Place along with what is going on inside the house. The third round of the first set of Acting Troupe Auditions follows with six auditions for the younger girl roles in the production. Our Scribby5 ladies the take the stage and have for you a discussion on one of their newest essays. Finally, the drums bring you to talk about comfort food, the upcoming Harry Potter Day, a possible East Coast PotterCast tour, and Terminus house talk. To listen, just hit the "Play" button on the right side of the page (--->), or use iTunes, or direct download.

"Spontaneous Combustion"

- Harry Potter and the sexy yarn.
- Film news from the actress who plays Tonks.
- To which house does Aberforth Dumbledore belong?
- Kreacher is Mr. Mom.
- Sue’s Harry Potter/Scooby Doo connection.
- The last of the first round auditions.
- Come see us in Ft. Lauderdale... it’s next week!

RT: 96:51

Editors: Stede Bonnett, Jeff Gregory, Samantha McManus, and Andrew Garner

LeakyCon 2009: A Harry Potter Conference in Boston
Podcast Alley
Digg
Terminus 2008

Direct download (44 MB).
Direct download low-bandwidth (11 MB).

Remember you don't need an iPod to listen. Listen easily on iTunes, which you can download and install here, by clicking here to listen, or you can just use the streaming Flash player at PotterCast.com or just on the right side of this page. Discussion of the PotterCast is right here. Enjoy!

The winners of our April Poetry Contest have been chosen and are ready to be announced. As April was National Poetry month, we asked you to write a poem about the Harry Potter series. After many splendid entries, we now have the winners along with a few honorable mentions. Starting this month the first prize winners of our regular monthly contests will receive a custom made wand from Wizard Wood Wands for their efforts. Only our first prize winners will receive this wand which is crafted based on your specific instructions. Many thanks to Wizard Wood Wands for donating these custom wands. Here now are the winners:

First Place: cazzadragon

It Wouldn't Work Out Anyway

I know I am doomed to wander
Alone for all eternity,
So why is it this charming girl
Declares she is in love with me?

She is so young, what would she know
About the life she'd have to live?
I am old and have no money,
Nothing but despair can I give.

For I'm a creature of nightmares
Altered by the full moon's pure light;
The beast harbours a fierce bloodlust
Which the man has no strength to fight.

She does not think of the dangers,
She cannot even comprehend
Miserable is what she'd be,
And she'd regret it in the end

Therefore I must push her away,
Though I see she hurts when I do,
But the thing which hurts most of all
Is that I'm in love with her too.

Second Place: Erin McCarty

First Kiss

This was not the time for snogging,
Not the instant for a tryst.
This was not the vision-fogging
Perfect moment to have kissed.

Not the time to start confessing
Love in such a carnal way.
Romance shouldn't have been pressing
On Hermione's heart today.

But then Ron suggested something
Indicating that he knew
It had never been a dumb thing
To be so concerned with SPEW.

At his empathetic worry
Over every kitchen elf,
She flew at him in a flurry.
She could not restrain herself.

Ron, in shock, recovered nicely;
They entwined like Devil's Snare.
Harry wondered when, precisely,
They would both come up for air.

Ron's compassion lit the ember;
This was not just for themselves.
What a moment to remember!
Score another for the elves!

Third Place: S DeMann

The Courageous Dobby

In the cool night air
The burial of an
Old friend begins.
As the moon shines down
Upon the grass,
I dig my friend his
Cold dark grave.

As tears trickle
Down my face
I think of him,
Of how he was
So daring
So bold,
And oh so brave.

I remember the day
I had set him free,
With tears in his
Huge eyes he
Had thanked me,

And now I must say
Good-bye to him
One last time,
Say a good-bye to
Him from me,
My dear friend
The House-Elf
The Courageous Dobby.

Honorable Mention: Phoenix_226

Well, old man
You're very wise
You thought of all
And said no lies
Though here you lay
Down in this tomb
Your phoenix sings
And roses bloom
My hands will shake
From grief and hate
But I'll push through
Accept my fate
I'll show the boy
Which path to take
He'll realize
What choice to make
It's all for good
To kill the foe
Who took my love
Who killed my doe

Honorable Mention: Susie Haberfeld

Dumbledore's Regret

Responsibility's the hardest way to gain
adulthood—siblings become children and a boy
must take the place of prisoned dad and mother slain.
Each day in work does pass, each night devoid of joy.
And so it seems a miracle, when suddenly
a bird—no, boy—no, golden bird—alights and shares
the very dreams that nights he's held to secretly,
and a few he'd daren't dreamed; love—or fear—ensnares.

Does danger lurk beneath such beauty there that floats?
Apollo here himself proffers another fate
than this dull life. No girl's mad pain nor boy's wise goats
could yet bedim his twinkling eyes nor th' ardor pall.
But sister's dead, the friendship's lost! He knows too late
that Family is the greatest Hallow of them all.

Honorable Mention: Angela Willhoite

Here I Go Gently

It's a quiet walk to the forest's dark,
Without pounding rage, without soaring heart.
I am ready to destroy this cursed mark.

Know I could turn with even one remark.
Plaintively passing those I must depart,
It's a quiet walk to the forest's dark.

Behind me the battle is also stark.
Forgive me for this night and for my part,
I am ready to destroy this cursed mark.

I open my token just as a lark.
Though it brings me those once a world apart,
It's a quiet walk to the forest's dark.

Without a weapon, I step through the dark.
Though this is the end, let it be the start;
I am ready to destroy this cursed mark.

I'll face what comes. I'm ready to embark
On the path that will cut you from my heart.
It's a quiet walk to the forest's dark;
I am ready to destroy this cursed mark.

Honorable Mention: Martha Harris

Reconciliation

as my life flashes before your eyes
I wonder what your reaction will be
to the truth I've been hiding all these years
it's better this way we'll never have to talk about it
I'll never have to see the pity in your eyes her eyes
I never wanted pity
I just wanted respect
so desperately that I sold my soul in order to obtain it
but I'm sure you'll forgive me because you're noble like that
and I do value your forgiveness even though I would never admit it
too stubborn to change now
keeping all my feelings buried deep inside the impenetrable fortress of my mind
pretending I didn't care pretending I was in control
pretending that being feared was better than being loved
but now you see inside and there's nothing left to hide
so I can finally say
good luck Harry

Honorable Mention: Kiara Zani

Ethereal as it pierces the silence,
A mournful melody ebbs and flows,
The blood-red bird lifts the veil of denial,
A dear man gone, half-moons and crooked nose.

A covenant kept, a wrong man accused,
One Hallow is safe from Tom's long, white grasp,
As the lone phoenix thrusts forth its final note,
The costly gold heart is closed with a clasp.

And The Boy Who Lived makes his guarantee,
To avenge Dumbledore and fulfill the prophecy.

Congratulations to all the winners! As we told you earlier, the first place winners of all our regular monthly contests, not our specialty contests, will receive a custom made wand donated by Wizard Wood Wands.

Even though we do not yet have any new "Half-Blood Prince" photos as of yet, we do have a bit of news on some new high res photos from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Oclumencia let us know they have some high res (and quite large) still photos from the Ministry of Magic scene filming now online. Of interest is this photo of Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix, Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and Dan Radcliffe as Harry as a group, smiling in between takes on the filming for that dramatic fight at the end of the movie. In the photo, you can clearly see the blue marking spots on actor Ralph Fiennes, where the special effects will later go to help create his look as Voldemort. Other new photos include this fantastic one of the Gryffindor Common Room with a very clear look at Neville and his Mimbulus Mimbletonia, as well as photos of David Thewlis as Lupin, David Yates giving direction to the Trio Evanna Lynch and Matt Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix (look at her nails!) and saving the best for last ;) Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy.

Thanks much Thiego!

Harry Potter apparel and product retailer Whimsic Alley has updated their website to announce an upcoming video interview call for fans of the novels aged 8 to 14 taking place in Santa Monica, California. On May 18th, Whimsic Alley will be interviewing Harry Potter fans of all kinds from that age group on their experiences reading the novels. The website also indicates that Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling will be involved in some way near the end of the judging or final selection process. In order to participate, interested youths must print, complete, and bring a signed Parental Consent Form to the interview taping on May 18th. The Parental Consent form can be found on the Whimsic Alley website along with complete information for parents and their children.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has contributed a special "storycard" as part of a charity auction in the UK. Bloomberg reports that Jo joins authors such as Richard Ford, Nick Hornby, Doris Lessing, Tom Stoppard and Sebastian Faulks who have all written an original piece for this auction, which will benefit English PEN and Dyslexia Action. The auction will take place in London, England on June 10 at a branch of Waterstones book sellers, and "will be restricted to an invited audience and bidders." "It's impossible to say how much this auction will raise,'' said Gerry Johnson, managing director of Waterstone's, in the statement. ``With the caliber of authors involved, then really the sky is the limit. Owning an original piece of work by a favorite writer is the ultimate limited edition for fans.''

Our Leaky Contest Crew has teamed up with our Image Gallery staffers to form a new contest set to be launched on May 12th. Taking place in our Image and Fan Art Galleries, the IContest will have you creating icons based on some of the fan art images as well as other images from our galleries in future weeks. Starting May 12th, we will ask you to create an icon based from one of the many drawings created by Fan Artist Glockgal. You have until May 19th to submit your icon, at which time voting on those submissions will begin. The following week, on May 26th, the second round of our continuing contest will commence with the newest images in our Image Galleries being your inspiration for that week. Here is a short rundown of the events:

May 12 - Phase one: Make an icon featuring the art of our Feature Artist, Glockgal.
May 19 - Submissions due for Phase One, and voting starts.
May 26 - Phase Two: Make an icon from newly added Images to our Image Gallery.
June 2 - Submissions due for Phase Two, and voting starts.

All icons should be emailed to icontest@the-leaky-cauldron.org prior to the deadline for that week. As always, anyone over the age of 13 not involved in the judging process may submit work that is PG-13 appropriate. More information on this contest can be found on the Fan Art and Image Gallery pages of the Leaky Lounge as well as on the Contest Page.

Good luck to all who enter!

There are a few pieces of news related to the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yet today. First, readers will recall previously there was a purported ad promoting the sixth Harry Potter film seen on container for yarn of all things. Although a few of these images also appeared on the Opal yarn website, WB told us the cardboard stand marketing was a fake. Today, thanks to our Order partner RupertGrint.net, we know that same yarn company has now uploaded some eight new images of yarn, clearly labeled Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in German. These images show Harry and Ron, Lupin, Malfoy, Dumbledore and more. You can see them here at the yarn website (we are working to get these in our galleries and will update with that asap.) In addition, we have also contacted WB again regarding this manner, and of course, will update with more as soon as we can.

Casting news for Half-Blood Prince also continues to trickle out. TLC reader Lisette emailed to say she spotted several new casting mentions for extras in the film, including an actress named Teresa Mahoney who will be playing "Sofie (Boardroom -Opening Scene)." While we had heard rumors that the opening scene with the Other Minister was to be cut, we are uncertain as to what this may mean.Other casting include Dean Garnham as a Slytherin student, and Daniel Barnett as a "Slughorn Ball Graduate."

Finally, ABC Family has announced that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban will be re- broadcast on May 24. While rumors are rampant that the teaser trailer for Half-Blood Prince is due soon, we do not know at this point if any new HBP footage will be broadcast during this show as has been the case with new film footage and sneak peeks aired before in previous Harry Potter films showing on ABC family. WE are working to learn more about this, and again will update as soon as we can.

Actress Jessie Cave, who is set to portray Lavender Brown in the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" film, is briefly featured in an issue of ASOS Magazine where she comments on her first on-screen kiss with fellow actor Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). The twenty-one year old actress, who was cast last year in the role of Ron's girlfriend in the film, says the following of filming that particular scene:

"It was a bit embarrassing. Our first screen kiss was on my third day of shooting." says Jessie. "It's been an amazing experience though. I've been completely immersed in the Harry Potter world since filming started last year."

The article also goes on to note her involvement in publishing a book of her illustrations. Thanks to JessieCaveFan, you can view a scan of the article over in our Image Galleries.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will arrive in theaters this November.

Thanks to Joey for mailing!

As many readers will remember, actor Robert Pattinson, who portrayed Cedric Diggory in "Goblet of Fire," has been cast in the role of Edward Cullen in the upcoming film version of Stephenie Meyer's novel, "Twilight." A number of news reports have appeared online recently featuring Mr. Pattinson along with an interview with Ms. Meyer, who talks of the comparisons made with Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling. We now have a few news updates regarding all of this as follows:

First, the teaser trailer for "Twilight" was released earlier in the week, showing Robert Pattinson as Edward sweeping Bella off her feet in the sixty-second spot. You can view Robert and actress Kristen Stewart, who portrays Bella Swan in the "Twilight" film, in the trailer right here. A number of screencaps from the trailer are also available and can be found in our Image Galleries. In addition, Robert can be seen in a new official picture of the Twilight cast as well as the first official poster from the film in our galleries as well.

Next, actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart gave an interview with MTV during which the Harry Potter novels were briefly discussed. Once again, the comparison between the Twilight series and Harry Potter was made, to which Mr. Pattinson replied:

"[The difference is that each are] using different metaphors for things. The strange thing about this is it's so deeply entwined with sexuality, much more so than "Harry Potter," as virtually all vampire things are — mainly because it's a love story. "Harry Potter" isn't really a love story, so a lot of the metaphorical stuff [in "Twilight"] is about teen lust..."

Finally, Time Magazine has an extended profile of author Stephenie Meyer and her "Twilight" series containing some discussion and comparisons between her and J. K. Rowling. In the article, Ms. Meyer notes her feeling that 'her success is a direct result of the way Rowling changed the book industry...' The profile goes on to say:

'...children are now willing to read 500-page novels, and adults are now willing to read books written for children. But as artists, they couldn't be more different. Rowling pieces her books together meticulously, detail by detail. Meyer floods the page like a severed artery. She never uses a sentence when she can use a whole paragraph. Her books are big (500-plus pages) but not dense--they have a pillowy quality distinctly reminiscent of Internet fan fiction. (Which she'll readily grant: "I don't think I'm a writer; I think I'm a storyteller," Meyer says. "The words aren't always perfect.")'

Readers can see Robert Pattinson in this new project when "Twilight" is released in theaters December 12, 2008. The first three novels in the Twilight series are available for purchase in our own Cauldron Shop.

Thanks to those who have emailed.