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"UN-COVERING" BOOK 5 CLUES Looking for Hints in the Book 5 Cover Artwork GENERAL COVER INFO What do the covers look like? Why does the UK have 2 covers? Why are the UK covers so different from the U.S. cover? Why should an HP Sleuth analyze the covers? What are the rules for analyzing the artwork? U.S. COVER ANALYSIS Where is Harry - are we supposed to know this place? Is the room really round? What is Harry doing? Why does Harry have his wand out? Why are the flames blowing/moving? Why are there so many candles? Why all the doors and what's behind them? What does all that blue color mean? Is Harry alone? What's odd about Harry's wand hand? Are there any other possible hidden clues in there? UK COVER OBSERVATIONS Where have we seen that phoenix before? Are there any common themes to all 3 covers? HP SUPER SLEUTH THEORIES How many Doors? (Don't Blink!) Those are not normal candles, even by Hogwarts standards Are they doors or just pretending? GENERAL COVER INFO What do the covers look like? U.K. (Bloomsbury) Kids' Cover & Adult Cover Link U.S. (Scholastic) Cover Link Why does the UK have 2 covers? Even though J.K. Rowling has explained on numerous occasions that she did not write her series specifically for children, everyone knows it is marketed and perceived as children's literature. When adults started getting intrigued enough to read Harry Potter, they were embarrassed to be seen in public with a "children's book." Therefore, Bloomsbury issued an "adult cover" for Harry Potter, so the adults wouldn't feel silly holding the book. Other than the cover, it is an identical text. (So, does that mean if they put an adult cover on "See Dick and Jane" that it could hit the bestseller list? ahem.) Of course, with all the publicity over what the adult cover looks like, it is hard to imagine that anyone would not recognize Book 5 if they happened to see an adult reading it. So, this adult cover is most likely targeted to the collector (we've already ordered ours!). goto top Why are the UK covers so different from the U.S. cover? As most people now realize, each publisher does their own artwork. Therefore, all the previous UK volumes have had different artwork from the U.S. volumes. Naturally, then, all foreign language editions also use their own unique artwork. Many fans like to collect all the international versions (did you know Harry Potter has been published in Latin, and is supposed to be available in ancient Greek?). goto top Why should an HP Sleuth analyze the covers? According to press releases, Mary GrandPre, the artist for the U.S. books, has actually already read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in order to be able to do the internal artwork (Anyone got any spare veritaserum?). The Bloomsbury editions don't have any internal artwork, so Jason Cockcroft and William Webb did not have that priviledge. So, the U.S. cover is definitely based on "inside information," and presumably holds hints about the plot! GrandPre's cover art for the first four Harry Potter books contained lots of genuine plot hints within montages of key scenes and figures. We can only assume that she has again followed that pattern. If so, this new U.S. cover would surely reveal hints about Book 5. What self-respecting HP Sleuth could pass up the temptation to investigate and dissect this blatant clue? Not us - and if you're here reading this, probably not you either.... goto top What are the rules for analyzing the artwork? All rules can be broken. The covers are a creative interpretation (with the emphasis on 'creative'). Unless there is more collaboration than we have been led to believe, the artwork is not under direct supervision of J.K.R. Therefore, it is at the level of fan fiction - based on fact, but with the artist's own interpretation. We cannot consider anything, no matter how overt, to be canon. Nonetheless, as the images are based on fact (the actual story), we can definitely assume that some of these images hold specific plot references. That means we don't take it too seriously, but it's certainly worth investigating. So, leave your HP Sleuth Toolkit in your trunk, and let's have some fun practicing our powers of deduction on the covers. goto top U.S. COVER ANALYSIS Where is Harry - are we supposed to know this place? This room doesn't seem to look like any of the rooms we know. All those doors. Are they really all there, or are some of them images? Maybe if they are cupboards of some sort (instead of doorways), it could be the trophy room. Otherwise, it is a very strange room. This brings to mind the hint J.K.R. gave us that there is a magical room in Hogwarts, which was mentioned in Book 4. Could this be that room? If so, what are its magical properties? A transporter or wormhole perhaps? goto top Is the room really round? What we are seeing could just be an artistic illusion, using a convex lens perspective. Then again, it could be someone/something looking at Harry through a fisheye - such as any water type creatures. However, with so many towers in Hogwarts, there are tons of round rooms that might qualify, so we're thinking it could really be round. For instance, what about that elusive astronomy tower? We haven't been there, but Harry has, it is shrouded in mystery, and is most certainly round (being that it's used for astronomy and at the top of the tallest tower). It is also off-limits to students "except for classes." The "ceiling" in the artwork looks very high (or almost missing), but, of course, that could just be another effect. goto top What is Harry doing? Harry seems to be looking at someone/something. There is a hint of an image in the pupil of his eye, but nothing defined enough to identify (drat!). It almost looks as if Harry might be looking into a mirror...or would that be looking out from within a mirror...? goto top Why does Harry have his wand out? If we ended up in that room with all those candles whirling around, we'd probably have our wand out too! Even so, it's very likely that Harry is wary of something in particular - which means he is (as usual) in some kind of danger. goto top Why are the flames blowing/moving? One thought is that the candles are possibly going different directions because some are being reflected in mirrors. Another reason for the candles blowing could be that all those doors are creating independent drafts. Is there something very tumultuous going on behind Harry, in front of Harry, or all around Harry? It looks mostly to be something going on around him - since the artist has drawn it so that his wand is between two of the candles. However, if there is a mirror surface there, all the action could be taking place on only one side, but we would see the rest of it reflected on the other side. It could be real or virtual or both or... just an artistic whim (sigh). So is it the air or the candles that are moving? If it's the air, it is a circular airflow - vortex style (makes you think of wormholes, blackholes, and tornadoes from Kansas). If the candles are moving, they are going in a counter-clockwise direction (hehe). goto top Why are there so many candles? Actually, there are precisely 12 in the foreground. We didn't notice this at first - that was a catch by HP Sleuths on the Web. Are they there for the purpose of light, or are they, more likely, there for some other purpose? And does that mean the candles are free floating - like the candles hovering over the tables in the Great Hall - or are these candles "supported" by an unseen "hand" or "mechanism"? If there are unseen hands supporting them, that means Harry is (gulp!) surrounded. Maybe there aren't as many candles as it seems. If we are seeing reflections, it could be that there are mirrors everywhere - giving off different perspectives and causing the same candle to be reflected multiple times - like a 'fun house.' goto top Why all the doors and what's behind them? WWP gets the feeling that each of those 'doors' leads to a different place (maybe a different world even?). So, does Harry pick Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3...and what's the "prize"? (cough) Actually, on close inspection, it is almost certain that there are additional doors on either side, so there are more than just the obvious three. As to the burning question: What is behind the doors? If you go by what the artist has drawn, it's...more candles! You can clearly see more candles hovering behind each door. That verifies the candles are important, but are they an effect or associated with some kind of entity or destination? goto top What does all that blue color mean? The choice of an all-blue cover is extremely significant, as it is a total deviation from the established color scheme on the other volumes. According to the Scholastic press release, they have provided the names of the specific colors used in creating that cover. Since most press releases do not go into detail about an artist's colors, it is highly probable that we are intended to interpret that as being meaningful. Here is the quote from Scholastic: "It is drawn in tones of midnight blue, indigo and flame blue." Yes, we can't miss that "midnight" blue. Not only is it another 12 reference, but it ties with the Astronomy tower lessons and any other events that like to occur at the stroke of midnight. Is this another clue? Will we finally find out the riddle of the 12s? Indigo is a shade of purple. Yet another reference to purple. Because it is such a popular wizarding color, WWP didn't notice the extent of purple references throughout the septology, and therefore, we had not included it in our Guide. However, it does definitely belong in the "Running Bits" section at the very least (and will appear there in the future). We can add this to all the purple mentions (see Mugglenet.com Oddities' discussion of the use of purple in Harry Potter - scroll on down to "The Color Purple"). "Flame blue" is an interesting color. Since that term is rarely used, it conjures up specific images. The obvious is that we are looking at blue flames on this cover art. Since everything is blue here, it doesn't automatically seem outstanding that the flames are blue. However, being told that the color is "flame blue" makes those blue flames seem significant. Could the room be blue because of those blue flames, or did the artist make everything blue to reflect the significance of blue flames? The hottest part of a flame is usually blue, and since there seems to be a definite preponderance of flames in Book 5, it may have to do with the burning process (or it may not). We have seen blue flames already in the series. Some of them may not have much significance. For instance, the Goblet of Fire had blue-white flames, the flames that Hermione used in Book 1 to distract Snape, by setting his robes on fire, were blue, plus the fire that Hermione kept in the jam jar to warm themselves outside as Snape limped over to them, had bright blue flames. The most closely related seem to be the candles leading to Nick's deathday party. Those candles had black tapers (rather than the white we see here), but just like those here, they had bright blue flames and were described as casting blue light on everything around them. There also was a chandelier in that dungeon, made up of candles with bright blue flames. Their description was "blazed midnight blue." Sound familiar? That is the exact color mentioned in the press release!! This definitely leads one to ponder a ghostly connection.... goto top Is Harry alone? Harry may be looking behind him at someone who is not showing up in the mirror - otherwise we would see him from our perspective. (Snape perhaps? ...or maybe someone protected by invisibility?) There is also Harry's prickly neck which could have just gone off (hehe). goto top What's odd about Harry's wand hand? If something doesn't quite seem right, it's because Harry is holding his wand in his LEFT HAND! Since we know from Book 1 that Harry is right-handed, this seems as if it could be a big clue. Harry's right hand could be incapacitated, but based on the angle and the circumstances, it may indicate that this a mirror image of some kind. Then again... The cover that Mary GrandPre did for Goblet of Fire, has Harry holding his wand in his left hand too! Oh well.... guess it's not a clue afterall, but just an artist's creative interpretation. Since the books are written from Harry's perspective (we are inside Harry's head), there is no way that Harry could have been replaced without our (the reader's) knowing that. Therefore, it isn't logical that we are looking at anyone but Harry in Book 4. Thus, even if it is a clue about Book 5, we can't infer anything from the artwork at this time. (groan) goto top Are there any other possible hidden clues in there? The use of a hand-written script title is typically a no-no in the book industry - as it is difficult to read. So, it must have been done for a good reason. Does this imply ghostly inscriptions or some special handwriting? In spite of GoF's left-handed Harry, there is a chance here that Harry is interacting somehow with a mirror. If that is true, it may be that Harry could be looking out from within a mirror world. Due to all the 'Alice in Wonderland' references that JKR has in her text, we have felt for a long time that J.K.R. couldn't resist doing an Alice-Through-the-Looking-Glass adventure. However, there haven't been any specific clues yet. So, we still feel that is a good possibility. FYI - we noticed some strange dark markings along the sleeve of Harry's robe - on his wand arm. There is also something strange about the upper-left wall near the ceiling. Again, it could be an artist oogie, or it may be meaningful. None of those are distinct enough to verify, so unless someone has yet better resolution to view them, it may just be color enhancements or something dumb like that. goto top UK COVER OBSERVATIONS Where have we seen that phoenix before? J.K. Rowling had drawn her own image of Fawkes the phoenix that appears in the authorized Scholastic biography, Conversations with J.K. Rowling, by Lindsey Fraser. It looks a bit more like a peacock than a phoenix, so it is very distinctive. We found it interesting that Mary GrandPre's phoenix on the cover of Chamber of Secrets was also like that. Now the artist for the UK version of Book 5 has drawn a phoenix that has that same ultra-long neck, delicate crown, and peacock-like tail - just like in JKR's drawing. No one else seems to draw phoenixes like that. Notice how the phoenix on the cover of the UK "adult" version is much more like the traditional phoenix that we have seen by other artists. Its neck is much shorter with the more massive head (though we can't see the crown or tail). Therefore, there is a high likelihood that the artist for the UK "kids" cover (and GrandPre for Book 2) was in some way guided by JKR's image. goto top Are there any common themes to all 3 covers? The one theme that is in all three versions is the use of flames (even the artist's color is "blue flame"?). Yes, phoenixes are known for flames, but the image of fawkes on Chamber of Secrets had none - because the scene on the front of CoS wasn't from his burning day. However, these phoenixes all are burning! How interesting. NOTE: The adult version was recently changed. They removed an arch and building structure from the scene and replaced it with a mist-like effect. Did they want to better convey the real essence of the book? If the change was due to the plot, it is possible that either the phoenix is not encountered anywhere near a building or that a misty/ghostly atmosphere is more accurate. Of course, it could just be for legal reasons or something mundane like that :( Still, verrrry interesting. goto top HP SUPER SLEUTH THEORIES How many Doors? (Don't Blink!) Even though all we have to go on is one picture, there are more theories about the number of doors on the U.S. cover than there are doors in that room! Are there exactly three doors, are there others we don't see, or... could it represent the ONE DOOR from Harry's dream that Scholastic has published in their catalog? We also don't know why all the candles are "blowing" and the doors appear to be ajar in this (round) room. Remember, we have no real clues about these covers except what we can interpret from the artists' renderings. Yet, HP Super Sleuth "lemonade" has some thoughts about the doors and room that really tie the whole thing together: I was looking at the cover of Book 5, the Mary Grandpre artwork to be specific, and I think that maybe it doesn't have 3-4 doors opening and blowing candle fire, but instead it seems to me that the room is spinning as the one door is opening. (almost animated) The candles seem to be blowing (spinning) counterclockwise, not just away from the doors, and Harry's hair is not being blown around as it might if 3 drafty doors were opening. Also, if you look at the doors, they are opening sequentially. The far left is open the most, middle is less opened, and the right is practically closed. If you glance at the ceiling, it is round, just the perfect shape if you wish to spin a room :). Perhaps the cover is of a dream sequence and not actual events. Harry certainly has his share of visions. Now, even if you don't agree, that really does have some great HP Sleuthing logic, doesn't it? goto top Those are not normal candles -- even by Hogwarts standards Looking at the scene on the cover of the U.S. version, there is clearly some kind of motion. Is the room turning? Is the air flowing? Are those candles spinning around Harry? There is certainly a disturbance going on. No matter what might be happening, something is very suspicious about those candles. Maybe they are being controlled by someone else in the room. Maybe they are being controlled by an outside force. Then again, maybe they aren't even in need of control. HP Super Sleuth Aryuter is suspicious that these candles may be linked to living beings. We think it's a very plausible theory. Most of us are familiar with the ancient mythological beliefs that the stars in the sky represent people. What if each candle represents a life? We also think the candles could be entities in themselves. It does appear that there could be some intent to the candles. It's hard to tell, but they sure have Harry surrounded. Are they protecting or threatening him? Aryuter thinks Harry may even be trying to protect them. A very interesting perspective. It's not easy to determine if those candles could be in trouble -- or maybe just taunting Harry (maliciously). It does seem as if they have purpose. Maybe it's just someone using magic on them, or is it...? goto top Are they doors or just pretending? So, why are there 3 doors on the U.S. cover? Are there more that we don't see? Is there something specific about 3 doors? Maybe it's just a random number. However, this is a magical world. Who said that they even have to be doors at all? HP Super Sleuth Scott Graupner (iharrypotter.net) reminds us that we were told in Book 1 that we shouldn't be trusting any doors. When Harry first gets to Hogwarts, he discovers that doors aren't always what they seem, and that walls have nasty habits of pretending to be doors. So, maybe the question isn't how many doors, or what the doors are doing, but are they even really doors at all? Could this HP Super Sleuth have the key? goto top Now What do HP Sleuths think? So What Do YOU Think About the Covers? E-mail us and we'll post some of your comments on our site!

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