Quite a few people are landing here looking for pictures from the set of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The Leaky Cauldron, a Harry Potter superfan site, is collecting photos in the gallery.

Book banning is so medieval.

The American Library Association (ALA) has a wealth of information associated with Banned Books Week, which began on September 23 and continues through September 30.

The ALA has released a list of the most challenged books of the 21st century, and two guesses which book sits at the very top? That's right, our own Harry Potter. No doubt Christians led the charge against the series about an orphaned boy who learns that he's a wizard hunted by the most evil wizard in the world. Here's the list:

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
4. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
5. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
6. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
7. "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris
8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz
9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
10. "Forever" by Judy Blume

Christians would do well to remember that the Bible is also a challenged book. Remember Laura Mallory, the Gwinnett County, GA, woman who challenged the Harry Potter series? Here are my thoughts.

(Photo credit: Gwinnett Daily Post)

I love this stuff.

J.K. Rowling has updated her site and quashed a rumor about Book 7:

"Oh pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. I haven't written 750 pages of book seven, and if I had, I'd be very worried, as I'm not close to finishing it yet."

More important is this MAJOR hint from JKR, a question that no one has asked her yet:

Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

Prior to posting this I had a quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn't what we in the know call 'a Mark Evans situation.'* There IS a significant - even crucial - answer.

Significant? Crucial? Speculation is running high at The Leaky Cauldron. In Book 1, Dumbledore gives Harry his father's invisibility cloak at Christmas. I assumed that James had given it to Dumbledore for safekeeping. I never wondered why the cloak specifically. Obviously, I should have!

What is the cloak's significance? Someone in the Leaky thread suggested it belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of Hogwarts's founders. I agree. Either it belonged to him or is connected to him in some way. Does it indicate that James was and now Harry is the heir of Gryffindor? Still, what does it all mean?

NO, I don't think the invisibility cloak is a horcrux.

Your theories?

Update: It looks like Travis got to it first. He says:

There has been speculation that it got to Dumbledore because someone (Snape?) was under the cloak in Godric’s Hollow when the murder happened. Snape might fit. He had “turned spy” by then…

I've thought about this possibility, too, that Snape may have been under the cloak at the Potter's house (or in the area?) that night. But if so, why didn't he do anything? And Dumbledore said James had given him the cloak. Again, why did James give it to him? Unless Voldemort can see through invisibility cloaks, James could have protected his family with it.

Update II (9/14): JKR updates her web site with a few comments, and it makes the news! Can you believe it?

More fan theories.

Greetings, FFC readers!

How do you think the Harry Potter series will end? Write your version of the last few paragraphs of Book 7 over here.