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Judging a book by its cover

by David Haber

We finally have images of the covers of the American and British versions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and if these covers are anything like previous Harry Potter book covers have been, these new covers potentially tell us a lot of what is going to happen in Book 7.

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Reader Comments: (Page 42)

Joe: interesting thought; they could be escaping something.

Posted by herve from strasbourg on June 14, 2007 12:00 AM

Everyone seems to be convinced that the locket harry is wearing is slytherin's locket and thus a horcrux (or former horcrux). but aren't we forgetting that harry was going to keep the fake horcrux as a reminder of what it costs to defeat voldemort? i'm positive the locket he is wearing is the one that he and Dumbledore retrieved from the cave.

Posted by Philip from Wisconsin on June 14, 2007 07:39 AM

American edition:
The "ampitheater" looks like the veil where Sirius fell at the Ministry. The wooden ruins probably was due to Sirius' sudden fall from behind the veil (As we know Avada Kedavra has a strong blasting effect but makes you fall fast..) Maybe this amphitheatre is called the ly Hallows, where the final battle between Harry and Voldemort happen. The spectators or people watching the battle are to decide which of them could be redeemed from the other side of the veil, which means whoever wins could stay alive. Harry and Voldemort are both battling for and life.
Yep it really looks like Voldemort and Harry are both trying to accio something, since there are no wands present in the picture. And the idea of nonverbal and without-wands spells were introduced in the previous books. Maybe they were both trying to accio a horcux or somebody else's wand to each other? Since they cannot with both of their wands cause it only produce a priori incantatem...

Children's edition British cover:
The venue where this takes place looks like Gringotts... jewelries and treasures everywhere.. and the arc above the trio looks like an opening to a vault. Maybe one of the horcruxes is there at Gringotts... totally guarded and protected. And Dobby probably is the elf at Harry's back, trying to get hold of Harry and holding Gryffindor's sword.
On the other side of the cover flap, the back part.. The picture is Hogwarts. So it is most likely that the 7th year still start at Hogwarts. And the trio still go back to school (and stay for a short while) before they venture outside for the horcruxes.
Meanwhile, on the inside flap of the back part... besides the Hogwarts picture.. I dunno what the round object with snakes meant. Is this what Trelawney saw on Harry or one of Neville's future?

Deluxe Edition:
My assumption is that this dragon which the trio were riding is Norbert, Hagrid's former pet in SS/PS... not Dumbledore. In relation to the Children's edition British cover where I assumed that that picture takes place at Gringotts, Norbert is probably one of the dragons guarding the bank. Remember that dragons guard the vaults at Gringotts? And Norbert was confiscated to Hagrid in SS/PS? There is big possibility that Norbert was tamed by Hagrid, and Hagrid was secretly in touch with him throughout the years. And Norbert is on the OOTP's side. That's why he's helping the trio escape from Gringotts.
Magical creatures presented at the Harry Potter books often have roles to play in the series.. Yet Norbert's role seems blank.. but still I think he has a role to play. I dunno. This is just my assumption, and the minute I saw this picture, this idea came to my mind...
The small town below is Godric's Hollow since it is near the sea. Hermione's robe looks very torn... which connects once again to the Children's edition where Hermione and Harry look hurt.

The American edition gives us a picture of the last battle, whilst the British covers and Deluxe edition clearly gives us a picture of how the horcruxes would be attained..

Posted by Ashley from Baguio City, Philippines on June 14, 2007 08:35 AM

i agree with others that the dragon is norbert. if someone is a animagus then he turn into non magical creatures as we have seen in the series like dog, beetle. if aberforth is a animagus, he may turn in to a goat as he is more related to it.

Posted by hari from stoke on June 14, 2007 09:31 AM

I think that maybe harry did something to his scar because it was a horcrux, and the dragon could be norbert...

Posted by sofia from elgin IL on June 14, 2007 11:47 AM

When did Harry's arms get so buff? I am more inclined to believe Ron and Hermonie returned to Hogwarts and Harry did not. I think a point that's been overlooked is our trio should be licensed to apparate by now? This makes me think the dragon could be Dumbledore and it is his wisdom and the Dragons high resistance to magic that would cause them to travel with it.

JK must really be enjoying the last torture session.

Posted by John from Riverside CA on June 14, 2007 4:33 PM

I agree, the reason Ron and Hermione are dressed up is most likey beacuse they were at the wedding of Bill and Fluer.

Posted by damian from STL, MO on June 14, 2007 11:10 PM

If Harry�s scar is gone in the US cover then maybe he and Voldermort are beyond the veil in the chamber, at the department of mysteries. Or maybe, if Harry is a horcrux, Harry managed to get rid of the piece of Voldermort�s soul inside him without . I wish for that.

About the armour in the kids UK cover I�m not sure. Maybe it�s supposed to be used for a fight between Slytherin and Gryffindor, as they were sort of enemies. But that is only if they are in Gryffindor�s or Tom Riddle�s secret treasure chamber. If it�s supposed to be used for that sort of fight then perhaps the final battle between Harry and Voldermort is that fight, in a symbolic way.

Posted by Mojjs from Varberg, Sweden on June 15, 2007 08:13 AM

I think all of the horcruxes are destroyed at that moment.. except the 7th which is Voldemort.. Harry's already wearing Slytherin's necklace in that US cover. Probably harry is really the 6th horcrux, just a bit of soul accidentally stored in his scar. So maybe that's why his scar's gone.. and that this cover illustration by Mary Grandpre was the last battle between Voldy and Harry.

Some people commented here that the picture of Hogwarts on the Uk edition is burning.. the tree besides the castle is the whomping ow... not a forest burning... i guess.

Posted by Ashley from Baguio City, Philippines on June 15, 2007 09:13 AM

John from Riverside - Perhaps they are traveling internationally. Jo has hinted at long-range apparation being more difficult and dangerous than popping up a town or two away. If this is the case, then they would need a way for all of them to travel at once.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando fl on June 15, 2007 09:29 AM

Someone said above that in the UK children's edition, one of the armors is engraved with a griffin or Fawkes.. but to me, it looked like a mini version of the dragon pictured on the deluxe edition.

Maybe Godric Gryffindor tamed dragon?

Posted by Ashley from Baguio City, Philippines on June 15, 2007 10:08 AM

Covers are very interesting. At times they are often more representative of the story than specific fragments. I think that the archway in the UK version is the one in the department of mysteries at the MoM, think about the title 'the ly hallows' that would perfectly describe the place Sirius went at the end of book 5. I think that it must be a house elf, especially since I believe that the issue of House elves slavery may appear again. The US version is very interesting, Voldemort is trying to repel something, but I'll wager he's not being successful because I believe that the small glimpse of his eyes betrays fear! Harry, on the other hand, looks determined, and, almost calm. I think the theory that this battle is taking place through the veil seems very plausible. I may also add a personal theory that the figures in the background may be Voldemort's victims of the ing curse, perhaps giving help and support to Harry, although they do appear passive like a tribunal watching a gladiator fight. I don't think the other versions tell us a huge deal. We shall soon see.

Posted by Robert from Scotland, UK on June 15, 2007 5:30 PM

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