Covering points of interest
My rough speculation, more questions than answers about What The Covers Mean
Let me just preface this by saying I am about to get Incredibly Geeky and Squee-y. Probably to the point of nonsensical rambling, and since doing this means I'm avoiding a crapload of paperwork, I foresee a fair bit of TL:DRism. You have been warned.
Now,
The first thing I noticed in this vault the only jewels shown are rubies - while Slytherins locket is encrusted with only with emeralds. UK editions seem a bit fixated on jewels, no?
Or well, here's the whole thing - I'll probably end up doing another post about the UK back cover
And really there are a lot of interesting little things about rubies and emeralds that tie into Potterverse. First, obviously they are the gems associated with Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively.
'Right then,' said Professor McGonagall, looking up at the hourglasses on the wall. 'Well, I think Potter and his friends ought to have fifty points apiece for alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who! What say you, Professor Snape?'
'What?' snapped Snape, though Harry knew he had heard perfectly well.
'Oh - well - I suppose…'
'So that's fifty each for Potter, the two Weasleys, Longbottom and Miss Granger,' said Professor McGonagall, and a shower of rubies fell down into the bottom bulb of Gryffindor's hour-glass as she spoke. 'Oh - and fifty for Miss Lovegood, I suppose,' she added, and a number of sapphires fell into Ravenclaw's glass. 'Now, you wanted to take ten from Mr. Potter, I think, Professor Snape - so there we are…'
Order of the Phoenix, thanks HP Lexicon!
…I’m curious what Puff gets, citrine? I swear Puffs get gypped constantly. Aaanyway -
Then there’s the little matter of a theory I half-heard at Escapade. This is third hand, so I don’t know whose theory it was originally - I heard it from Ellen_fremdon - and my google-fu found me this:
The alchemical process of creating the Philosopher's Stone is usually divided into 3 stages represented by the colors black, white, and red. But these colors also represent the essential elements necessary to creating the stone (salt, mercury, and sulfur). We know from Geomancy and Latin that Albus means white, Rubeus means red, and Black, well, Black means black.
Vitriol, an essential liquid to creating the stone, is sometime referred to as the Green Dragon, which is sometimes seen as a symbol of corrosive rage and fury. Paracelsus says not to expose vitriol to the sun "for this turns its greenness pale." Snape anyone?
Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius Black, and yes, even Snape, all exert their particular influences and pressure on the development of Harry Potter.
The end result of this alchemical process is the creation of the Philosopher's Stone Could Harry, by the end of the series, be the spiritual embodiment of the Philosopher's Stone?
This is one of those light-bulb theories to me, because so many of my own thoughts on the HP series keep coming back to Book 1 and the Philosophers Stone. Additionally, so much about these covers SCREAM Jabir ibn Hayyan influence to me, and I’ve long thought this was a Very Important Thing JK buried beneath a load of red herring.
But I’m not sure the White/Black/Red symbolism *is* as simple as corresponding to the names. That might be a piece, but it might also be symbolic of the magic by which they died. This of course supposes that Albus’s death was a martyr’s sacrifice and that we Trust Snape.
So White Magic, Black magic - Red magic is what, Blood magic? That does fit with everything we've learned so far. It also ties into some random tangent I read about pigeon blood rubies:
Gems have been thought to possess various mystical powers, from antiquity to the present era... Rubies (red cosmic ray) were thought to attract the passionate love of those desired by the wearer, and were a sacred stone to the Burmese who believe a human soul about to enter the final realm are encased in them. Knights carried them to impart zeal, chivalry and bravery, quickening the blood, while keeping honor intact and without stain or defect. They were to cure diseases arising from cold rays such as circulatory problems, anemia, listlessness and colds because the red ray is associated with the sun, representing the soul in humans, and rules over the structure, or bones on which the body's power rests.
Let me just repeat that: [Rubies] were a sacred stone to the Burmese who believe a human soul about to enter the final realm are encased in them
Now I REALLY want to go back and reread HBP and see about the rubies strewn about.
In any case, I think it’s very interesting that this theory pegged ‘red’ as significant, and we have rubies strewn all over one of the UK cover.
Some nitty gritty (and please, pipe up with your gem knowledge - this list is anything but complete)
Rubies:
Harder than emeralds
Ruby is the birthstone associated with July
…and July of course is a Very Important Month in HP verse
Rubies were thought to lend invulnerability when inserted into the owner's flesh.
The Mogok Valley in Upper Myanmar has produced some of the finest rubies. The unique color in Myanmar (Burmese) rubies is described as "pigeon’s blood".
...pigeon blood? Carrier pigeons deliver mail to muggles - so wizard equivalent, "owls blood" rubies? I'm veering waaay off track here. Except yanno, THIS is fascinating:
This is the legendary Valley of Rubies, impenetrable due to the deadly serpents which covered its floor. To retrieve rubies, men would cast lumps of meat into the valley via catapults. Rubies would become attached to the meat, which was then carried out of the valley by large birds of prey. After the birds had sated their appetites, men would climb into their nests and retrieve the rubies from their droppings.
Rubies and Snakes. I dunno what it means - if anything, but its fun to chew on.
Emeralds:
Emeralds in antiquity were mined by the Egyptians and in Austria, as well as Swat in northern Pakistan.
Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May, as well as the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Taurus and Cancer.
…so who has a May birthday?
One of Jabir ibn Hayyan/Gerber's 'discoveries' was the process of crystallization AND AND AND he cites The Emerald Tablet "an ancient text purporting to reveal the secret of the primordial substance and its transmutations."
Marbode, an 11 century writer, suggested that emerald improved memory and eliminated depression. INTERESTING
Abselmus de Boot, an early 17 century philosopher, recommended the wearing of emerald to prevent epilepsy, bleeding, and panic.
JK does keep circling around depression, no?
Now back to the cover. Where are they? Is this Gryffendor's vault perhaps? This raises another interesting question to me. Surely IF Gryffindor had a Gringott Vault it would already be known, and if Harry was it's heir a key long turned over. But what if it’s Godric's equivalent of the Chamber of Secrets? Or maybe its one of the 'secrets' of Salazar’s chamber - I mean, aside from the basilisk what other 'secrets' did that chamber reveal? If the Big Secret was the basilisk, shouldn't it have been called the Chamber of Secret?
Where ever they are, wow look at all the information we get from what’s in the vault:
money of course.
Rubies,
as mentioned.
A suit of armor:
with a VERY nifty dragon helmet. Paging Charlie! You're needed to plug up a plot hole.
several sealed bottles
...potions? Djinn? Stoppered Death? Ensnared senses?
I nice big golden goblet
Seems to be part of a gold service.
A bit over the top for my taste, but you know how these Gryffendorks get ;D
Now what the hell are Ron and Hermione wearing?
It looks like a Kaftan to me, suggesting that this book took those two somewhere exotic, maybe, dare we say Persia or Arabia? You know where I’m going with this already, right? Of course you do - clap gleefully with me, what device from the books that JK might be revisiting has its historical origin in Persia/Arabia? You got it, baby - the Philosophers Stone.
Ho baby.
Notice how Harry and Hermione's arms are battered and wounded, and yet Ron's appears scratch free.
To be fair, Ron is sporting what looks like a nasty bruise on his face - but it's the wounding of arms that goes back - yet again - to a previous book.
I like this idea plus it fits my over riding theory of what these covers tell us. Namely they hint at some critical thing from each book will be revisited with a twist in Deathly Hallows:
Book one - Philosophers Stone
Book two - the chamber of Secrets Gryffindor
Book three - Sirius?
Book four - rebirth through blood rite?
Book five - The veil
Book six - the horcrux (although I think there's something else there)
This is rough - again, I’ve not had a long think about it, more an off-the-top-of-my-head, typing-as-fast-as-I-can about it.
Finally, HELLO House Elf
The real question is, Which elf? Dobby would seem like the obvious choice - but IF it was dobby, wouldn't we be able to see it's face? This makes me think it might NOT be Dobby. So Kreacher or Winky? Neither is particularly bound by that house elf loyalty thing, and both - in their minds - have been seriously wronged as a direct result of Harry Potter. Whether Winky holds a grudge remains to be seen, but Kreacher certainly does. And while it appears that the elf on Harry's back (or Monkey on his back) is aiding the trio, whose to say s/he isn't attacking Harry?
Now the US version.
One of the things that interested me immediately is that the US artist designs the covers around the bind, and those folds say something. Go on, pull out your US editions. Or, yanno I could just post pictures. It's not like I haven't already killed anyone reading this with dial up
Here's the front and back of Sorcerer's Stone.
I find it a bit interesting that Dumbledore's position mirrors Book 7's Voldemort in the composition. And notice how much is told by what's hidden behind the folds: We see Harry's Hogwarts letter, and Dumbledore appears to be wearing a falconer's glove suggesting he sent it. In book one, Dumbledore was the shadow that was driving Harry's life.
But anyway, back to Book 7 -
Notice how (if I'm even close to being right about where the binding and the flaps hit) Harry and Voldemorts hands meet on the spine. Harry's hand is low, in shadow.
It's anchored to a rock(?) that is also fading away - much more so than anything around it OR what makes sense for perspective. And about those hands. Both Harry and Voldemort are gesturing towards the entrance between two torn curtains. While Harry's posture is welcoming, Voldemort's hand appears to be trying to stop whatever it is they see on the other side of the ragged curtain thing:
Which IF, as I've seen speculated this is the veil - I really hope 'the power he knows not' isn't Sirius Comes Back! Because, yanno lame. But on the other hand, maybe it isn't just Sirius, maybe it’s a whole legion who have fallen behind the veil to combat Voldemorts army of zombies inferi.
...actually, maybe that's what was going on in the Astronomy Tower that night. Dumbledore was thrown backwards by the force of Snape's Avada Kedavra. Could it be that the real argument there wasn't just that Snape was killing him, but also banishing his spirit behind the veil? Again, a “white” death, a sacrifice. Much like Lily’s.
So these are definitely people, right?
People watching? Armies waiting? A circle of death eaters? Zombies? please please please They fon't *appear* to be wearing hoods or masks...
I just thought this was a locket,
But there seems to be a fair amount of speculation that its a pouch.
Another thing I've seen several places is people speculating that this appears to be an arena or the Coliseum, with a crowd watching the final duel. I sort of agree with this. It does look like an arena to me, though not the coliseum. It actually looks a lot like the Istanbul Amphitheater:
which goes back to what Ron and Hermione are wearing on the UK covers, and back to the Philosophers Stone. YAY!
So probably it would be helpful to include the blurbs
The UK editions inside flap reads:
"Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety , and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him…
In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectactular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again."
"
On the back of the adult edition:
""Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing - if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfil the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with?"
"
Other theories, Discussions, Etc.
Irinaauthor: We have a cover - They're not looking at each other. Interesting!
amanuensis1: Deathly Hallows Scholastic Ed. Cover Art - So...wandless magic, y'think?
ixchelmala: HP: DH! HOLY MOTHEROF BOOKCOVERS!- So let me say that it's becoming more of a reality of how the end is near, however, on the theory end of things, I'm really happy to see the foreshadowing that the 7th task from book 1 set up, looks to be showing itself, as predicted on the last of these covers.
hp-speculation: Book Cover Art - We've got Trio being sucked through an opening with a flood of treasure littered with glinting things topped with dragon, suits of armor, gold coins galore, a sword in Ron'sthe house-elf's hand (maybe Godric's sword???).
sev1970: My Thoughts on the HP Book Covers - To me they appear to be trying to catch something. JKR said we would not have any school-related Quidditch in book seven, but who says there is not going to be any Quidditch? Or Quidditch-like antics that take place in DH. From the first few books, I have equated Quidditch with JKR's symbolic manifestation of what the series is about. First of all, there are two sides trying to catch the snitch -- two sides want Harry (Death Eaters and side of the light; seven players -- seven Horcruxes; Harry is the seeker -- Harry is the one who finds the last Horcrux and kills Voldemort (we can only hope).
copperbadge: WHAT - Its all about the comments
Zorb: HP cover art squee! - Also like the past two covers, the location is semi-detailed and unfamiliar to us, so there's not much point in guessing. But it looks an awful lot like Roman architecture, doesn't it? The mythology center of my brain is pinging madly, and the curtains on the sides bring the theatre center out to play, too. The shadows may or may not be people who are actually there at the time this scene takes place. It does, however, look like we're going to get a nice, one-on-one final confrontation, not an epic battle. Good
dreamer-613: HP cover art!! - symbol in marble: hmmm, a triangle...the trio maybe? Also, the marble might be from Gringotts as I have reason to believe HP, RW, and HG are there on the cover. But also, the triangle is split down the center and has a circle in side it which is also split down the center. Maybe this is an arithmetic symbol and a sign of what Hermione's role in this book will entail. ie: deciphering arthimetic codes.
fernwithy: Cover art!!! - Obviously, the Drapery of Doom will figure in it somehow, and the posing of the characters before it, both apparently concentrating on it, may be significant. If Voldemort represents death (paradoxically by seeking immortality), then Harry represents life (again, paradoxically, by being willing to sacrifice it). How does the veil figure?
dnz4him: Deathly Hallows - Things learned from staring at the DH covers (dare I say mild spoiliers?)
Polls n Things
imaginarycircus: HP cover art! OH! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!? Harry Potter Cover Art, the hell?
Zorb: Harry Potter and the Deathly Cover - Reading the cover reactions on my flist today has been interesting! While the covers gave me enthusiasm, where there had been little before, it seems to have gone the opposite direction for others. This calls for a poll.
Let me just preface this by saying I am about to get Incredibly Geeky and Squee-y. Probably to the point of nonsensical rambling, and since doing this means I'm avoiding a crapload of paperwork, I foresee a fair bit of TL:DRism. You have been warned.
Now,
The first thing I noticed in this vault the only jewels shown are rubies - while Slytherins locket is encrusted with only with emeralds. UK editions seem a bit fixated on jewels, no?
Or well, here's the whole thing - I'll probably end up doing another post about the UK back cover
And really there are a lot of interesting little things about rubies and emeralds that tie into Potterverse. First, obviously they are the gems associated with Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively.
'Right then,' said Professor McGonagall, looking up at the hourglasses on the wall. 'Well, I think Potter and his friends ought to have fifty points apiece for alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who! What say you, Professor Snape?'
'What?' snapped Snape, though Harry knew he had heard perfectly well.
'Oh - well - I suppose…'
'So that's fifty each for Potter, the two Weasleys, Longbottom and Miss Granger,' said Professor McGonagall, and a shower of rubies fell down into the bottom bulb of Gryffindor's hour-glass as she spoke. 'Oh - and fifty for Miss Lovegood, I suppose,' she added, and a number of sapphires fell into Ravenclaw's glass. 'Now, you wanted to take ten from Mr. Potter, I think, Professor Snape - so there we are…'
Order of the Phoenix, thanks HP Lexicon!
…I’m curious what Puff gets, citrine? I swear Puffs get gypped constantly. Aaanyway -
Then there’s the little matter of a theory I half-heard at Escapade. This is third hand, so I don’t know whose theory it was originally - I heard it from Ellen_fremdon - and my google-fu found me this:
The alchemical process of creating the Philosopher's Stone is usually divided into 3 stages represented by the colors black, white, and red. But these colors also represent the essential elements necessary to creating the stone (salt, mercury, and sulfur). We know from Geomancy and Latin that Albus means white, Rubeus means red, and Black, well, Black means black.
Vitriol, an essential liquid to creating the stone, is sometime referred to as the Green Dragon, which is sometimes seen as a symbol of corrosive rage and fury. Paracelsus says not to expose vitriol to the sun "for this turns its greenness pale." Snape anyone?
Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius Black, and yes, even Snape, all exert their particular influences and pressure on the development of Harry Potter.
The end result of this alchemical process is the creation of the Philosopher's Stone Could Harry, by the end of the series, be the spiritual embodiment of the Philosopher's Stone?
This is one of those light-bulb theories to me, because so many of my own thoughts on the HP series keep coming back to Book 1 and the Philosophers Stone. Additionally, so much about these covers SCREAM Jabir ibn Hayyan influence to me, and I’ve long thought this was a Very Important Thing JK buried beneath a load of red herring.
But I’m not sure the White/Black/Red symbolism *is* as simple as corresponding to the names. That might be a piece, but it might also be symbolic of the magic by which they died. This of course supposes that Albus’s death was a martyr’s sacrifice and that we Trust Snape.
So White Magic, Black magic - Red magic is what, Blood magic? That does fit with everything we've learned so far. It also ties into some random tangent I read about pigeon blood rubies:
Gems have been thought to possess various mystical powers, from antiquity to the present era... Rubies (red cosmic ray) were thought to attract the passionate love of those desired by the wearer, and were a sacred stone to the Burmese who believe a human soul about to enter the final realm are encased in them. Knights carried them to impart zeal, chivalry and bravery, quickening the blood, while keeping honor intact and without stain or defect. They were to cure diseases arising from cold rays such as circulatory problems, anemia, listlessness and colds because the red ray is associated with the sun, representing the soul in humans, and rules over the structure, or bones on which the body's power rests.
Let me just repeat that: [Rubies] were a sacred stone to the Burmese who believe a human soul about to enter the final realm are encased in them
Now I REALLY want to go back and reread HBP and see about the rubies strewn about.
In any case, I think it’s very interesting that this theory pegged ‘red’ as significant, and we have rubies strewn all over one of the UK cover.
Some nitty gritty (and please, pipe up with your gem knowledge - this list is anything but complete)
Rubies:
Harder than emeralds
Ruby is the birthstone associated with July
…and July of course is a Very Important Month in HP verse
Rubies were thought to lend invulnerability when inserted into the owner's flesh.
The Mogok Valley in Upper Myanmar has produced some of the finest rubies. The unique color in Myanmar (Burmese) rubies is described as "pigeon’s blood".
...pigeon blood? Carrier pigeons deliver mail to muggles - so wizard equivalent, "owls blood" rubies? I'm veering waaay off track here. Except yanno, THIS is fascinating:
This is the legendary Valley of Rubies, impenetrable due to the deadly serpents which covered its floor. To retrieve rubies, men would cast lumps of meat into the valley via catapults. Rubies would become attached to the meat, which was then carried out of the valley by large birds of prey. After the birds had sated their appetites, men would climb into their nests and retrieve the rubies from their droppings.
Rubies and Snakes. I dunno what it means - if anything, but its fun to chew on.
Emeralds:
Emeralds in antiquity were mined by the Egyptians and in Austria, as well as Swat in northern Pakistan.
Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May, as well as the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Taurus and Cancer.
…so who has a May birthday?
One of Jabir ibn Hayyan/Gerber's 'discoveries' was the process of crystallization AND AND AND he cites The Emerald Tablet "an ancient text purporting to reveal the secret of the primordial substance and its transmutations."
Marbode, an 11 century writer, suggested that emerald improved memory and eliminated depression. INTERESTING
Abselmus de Boot, an early 17 century philosopher, recommended the wearing of emerald to prevent epilepsy, bleeding, and panic.
JK does keep circling around depression, no?
Now back to the cover. Where are they? Is this Gryffendor's vault perhaps? This raises another interesting question to me. Surely IF Gryffindor had a Gringott Vault it would already be known, and if Harry was it's heir a key long turned over. But what if it’s Godric's equivalent of the Chamber of Secrets? Or maybe its one of the 'secrets' of Salazar’s chamber - I mean, aside from the basilisk what other 'secrets' did that chamber reveal? If the Big Secret was the basilisk, shouldn't it have been called the Chamber of Secret?
Where ever they are, wow look at all the information we get from what’s in the vault:
money of course.
Rubies,
as mentioned.
A suit of armor:
with a VERY nifty dragon helmet. Paging Charlie! You're needed to plug up a plot hole.
several sealed bottles
...potions? Djinn? Stoppered Death? Ensnared senses?
I nice big golden goblet
Seems to be part of a gold service.
A bit over the top for my taste, but you know how these Gryffendorks get ;D
Now what the hell are Ron and Hermione wearing?
It looks like a Kaftan to me, suggesting that this book took those two somewhere exotic, maybe, dare we say Persia or Arabia? You know where I’m going with this already, right? Of course you do - clap gleefully with me, what device from the books that JK might be revisiting has its historical origin in Persia/Arabia? You got it, baby - the Philosophers Stone.
Ho baby.
Notice how Harry and Hermione's arms are battered and wounded, and yet Ron's appears scratch free.
To be fair, Ron is sporting what looks like a nasty bruise on his face - but it's the wounding of arms that goes back - yet again - to a previous book.
I like this idea plus it fits my over riding theory of what these covers tell us. Namely they hint at some critical thing from each book will be revisited with a twist in Deathly Hallows:
Book one - Philosophers Stone
Book two - the chamber of Secrets Gryffindor
Book three - Sirius?
Book four - rebirth through blood rite?
Book five - The veil
Book six - the horcrux (although I think there's something else there)
This is rough - again, I’ve not had a long think about it, more an off-the-top-of-my-head, typing-as-fast-as-I-can about it.
Finally, HELLO House Elf
The real question is, Which elf? Dobby would seem like the obvious choice - but IF it was dobby, wouldn't we be able to see it's face? This makes me think it might NOT be Dobby. So Kreacher or Winky? Neither is particularly bound by that house elf loyalty thing, and both - in their minds - have been seriously wronged as a direct result of Harry Potter. Whether Winky holds a grudge remains to be seen, but Kreacher certainly does. And while it appears that the elf on Harry's back (or Monkey on his back) is aiding the trio, whose to say s/he isn't attacking Harry?
Now the US version.
One of the things that interested me immediately is that the US artist designs the covers around the bind, and those folds say something. Go on, pull out your US editions. Or, yanno I could just post pictures. It's not like I haven't already killed anyone reading this with dial up
Here's the front and back of Sorcerer's Stone.
I find it a bit interesting that Dumbledore's position mirrors Book 7's Voldemort in the composition. And notice how much is told by what's hidden behind the folds: We see Harry's Hogwarts letter, and Dumbledore appears to be wearing a falconer's glove suggesting he sent it. In book one, Dumbledore was the shadow that was driving Harry's life.
But anyway, back to Book 7 -
Notice how (if I'm even close to being right about where the binding and the flaps hit) Harry and Voldemorts hands meet on the spine. Harry's hand is low, in shadow.
It's anchored to a rock(?) that is also fading away - much more so than anything around it OR what makes sense for perspective. And about those hands. Both Harry and Voldemort are gesturing towards the entrance between two torn curtains. While Harry's posture is welcoming, Voldemort's hand appears to be trying to stop whatever it is they see on the other side of the ragged curtain thing:
Which IF, as I've seen speculated this is the veil - I really hope 'the power he knows not' isn't Sirius Comes Back! Because, yanno lame. But on the other hand, maybe it isn't just Sirius, maybe it’s a whole legion who have fallen behind the veil to combat Voldemorts army of zombies inferi.
...actually, maybe that's what was going on in the Astronomy Tower that night. Dumbledore was thrown backwards by the force of Snape's Avada Kedavra. Could it be that the real argument there wasn't just that Snape was killing him, but also banishing his spirit behind the veil? Again, a “white” death, a sacrifice. Much like Lily’s.
So these are definitely people, right?
People watching? Armies waiting? A circle of death eaters? Zombies? please please please They fon't *appear* to be wearing hoods or masks...
I just thought this was a locket,
But there seems to be a fair amount of speculation that its a pouch.
Another thing I've seen several places is people speculating that this appears to be an arena or the Coliseum, with a crowd watching the final duel. I sort of agree with this. It does look like an arena to me, though not the coliseum. It actually looks a lot like the Istanbul Amphitheater:
which goes back to what Ron and Hermione are wearing on the UK covers, and back to the Philosophers Stone. YAY!
So probably it would be helpful to include the blurbs
The UK editions inside flap reads:
"Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety , and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him…
In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectactular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again."
"
On the back of the adult edition:
""Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing - if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfil the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with?"
"
Other theories, Discussions, Etc.
Irinaauthor: We have a cover - They're not looking at each other. Interesting!
amanuensis1: Deathly Hallows Scholastic Ed. Cover Art - So...wandless magic, y'think?
ixchelmala: HP: DH! HOLY MOTHEROF BOOKCOVERS!- So let me say that it's becoming more of a reality of how the end is near, however, on the theory end of things, I'm really happy to see the foreshadowing that the 7th task from book 1 set up, looks to be showing itself, as predicted on the last of these covers.
hp-speculation: Book Cover Art - We've got Trio being sucked through an opening with a flood of treasure littered with glinting things topped with dragon, suits of armor, gold coins galore, a sword in Ron'sthe house-elf's hand (maybe Godric's sword???).
sev1970: My Thoughts on the HP Book Covers - To me they appear to be trying to catch something. JKR said we would not have any school-related Quidditch in book seven, but who says there is not going to be any Quidditch? Or Quidditch-like antics that take place in DH. From the first few books, I have equated Quidditch with JKR's symbolic manifestation of what the series is about. First of all, there are two sides trying to catch the snitch -- two sides want Harry (Death Eaters and side of the light; seven players -- seven Horcruxes; Harry is the seeker -- Harry is the one who finds the last Horcrux and kills Voldemort (we can only hope).
copperbadge: WHAT - Its all about the comments
Zorb: HP cover art squee! - Also like the past two covers, the location is semi-detailed and unfamiliar to us, so there's not much point in guessing. But it looks an awful lot like Roman architecture, doesn't it? The mythology center of my brain is pinging madly, and the curtains on the sides bring the theatre center out to play, too. The shadows may or may not be people who are actually there at the time this scene takes place. It does, however, look like we're going to get a nice, one-on-one final confrontation, not an epic battle. Good
dreamer-613: HP cover art!! - symbol in marble: hmmm, a triangle...the trio maybe? Also, the marble might be from Gringotts as I have reason to believe HP, RW, and HG are there on the cover. But also, the triangle is split down the center and has a circle in side it which is also split down the center. Maybe this is an arithmetic symbol and a sign of what Hermione's role in this book will entail. ie: deciphering arthimetic codes.
fernwithy: Cover art!!! - Obviously, the Drapery of Doom will figure in it somehow, and the posing of the characters before it, both apparently concentrating on it, may be significant. If Voldemort represents death (paradoxically by seeking immortality), then Harry represents life (again, paradoxically, by being willing to sacrifice it). How does the veil figure?
dnz4him: Deathly Hallows - Things learned from staring at the DH covers (dare I say mild spoiliers?)
Polls n Things
imaginarycircus: HP cover art! OH! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!? Harry Potter Cover Art, the hell?
Zorb: Harry Potter and the Deathly Cover - Reading the cover reactions on my flist today has been interesting! While the covers gave me enthusiasm, where there had been little before, it seems to have gone the opposite direction for others. This calls for a poll.