Get ready for Harry Potter magic!

The wizard is all set to cast a spell once again, with his wizardry. Be prepared to take a spin in the magical world of Harry Potter and his friends with the release of the latest movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the seventh, and the final book in the series titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' in July.

The cute, bespectacled boy Daniel Radcliffe who captured the hearts of many when he first made his appearance in the celluloid world as Harry Potter, has now grown up, and in fact, is hardly recognisable; except, perhaps for his spectacles!

Harry Potter fans throughout the world, are no doubt highly excited and counting the days, anxious to lay their hands on the latest book, to keep up with the adventures of their hero.

But, at the same time, they must be having a fringe of sadness that the author J. K. Rowling has decided to call it a day and make Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the final in the series. There's no doubt that there will be a scramble to get a copy of this book and some of you too would be already planning to buy the book, even if you have to stand in a queue for hours!

In order to appease the curiosity of those who are not so familiar with Harry Potter, and the magic formula that has made him a celebrity and his adventures such a hit, we decided to bring you some interesting info about Harry, his friends, their enemies, and everything connected to him today and in our future issues.

Synopsis of the movie

'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' is a film based on J. K. Rowling's fifth book of the same title in the Harry Potter series. The film is directed by David Yates.

The screen writer is Michael Goldenberg. Filming had been completed on December 12, 2006.

In this movie Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizardry community has been deprived of the truth about the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldermort.

Fearing that Hogwarts' venerable headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldermort's return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new 'Defence against the 'Dark Arts' teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and Hogwarts students.

But, Professor Dolores Umbridge's Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces, threatening them and the entire wizarding community. So, at the prompting of his friends, Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands.

Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves as 'Dumbledore's Army,' Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

It's your turn now to see the film and enjoy it. Keep counting the days till Harry waves his magic wand and casts his spell over you with his latest adventures in the world of wizardry.

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The latest book...

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the story is mostly set in Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry under the leadership of Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

It focuses on Harry Potter's fight against the evil wizard, Lord Voldermort, who uses Dark Arts to kill Harry's parents and attempts to take over the wizarding world.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is Scheduled to be released on July 21.

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Books already published

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - June 26, 1997
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - July 2, 1998
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - July 8, 1999
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - July 8, 2000
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - June 21, 2003
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince - July 16, 2005

A scientist invents Harry Potter 'invisibility cloak'

A clever Japanese scientist has brought the magical world of Hogwarts one step closer! Professor Susumu Tachi of Tokyo University has made a cloak that you can see through just like Harry Potter's 'invisibility' cloak featured in the film.

The Japanese scientist hopes that he'll one day be able to invent a formula to also make a cloak that would enable one to completely see through the person wearing it, getting a clear view of whatever is behind that person. For example, at present, the cloak shows only a view which is similar to one seen through a tinted glass. The future invention would give a view similar to what one sees through a plain or normal glass.

This invention is no doubt going to be hot among surgeons who would naturally like to be able to see the patient's body through their hands, when they are operating, using gloves made from this material. But, I think this magic formula would appeal most to children because they'd love to use it to sneak around, especially at school corridors when they are meant to be in their classrooms!

The world record

Advance orders for author J. K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' have gone up to 500,000 copies, breaking the bookseller chain Barnes and Noble's, record for the most advance requests in the history.

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Harry Potter movies released so far and those proposed...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - (November 16, 2001)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - (November 15, 2002)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - (June 4, 2004)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - (November 18, 2005)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-(July 11, 2007)
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince-(November 21, 2008)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-(most likely to be released in 2010)

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Kept short

The latest Harry Potter movie had initially been too long. However, the recent failure of the double-bill movie 'Grind-house' directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez, which is more than three hours, had influenced Warner Bros. to make the film shorter. So, they have instructed the director David Yates to shorten the movie.

The star of the film series, Daniel Radcliffe also believes that it is best to keep the movie short. He thinks it will please the fans as long as the script and the end result is good.

More on Harry Potter next week.

Compiled by Janani Amarasekara