I was also confused about Voldamort suddenly disappearing but it made perfect sense in the end.

...

I'm terribly enjoying watching Gud go through this.

The waiting sequence was nicely tense knowing that somebody wasn't going to come back from the chapter title. I figured it had to be Kingsley, Tonks, or Moody since they are aurors. George's ear was sort of a shock, the twins have seemed impervious from harm but he doesn't seem too fussed over it. Nonetheless the ear is another blow to the Snape is good theory. It seems like the information Snape gave about the departure date was just too useful for it to be a ruse to get Voldamort to trust him. Alas it was Moody, well I can't say I'm shocked but I will miss the character. Like Harry said, he seemed too tough to die (isn't that a Remones song?), but from a storytelling perspective it isn't a surprise. I wonder who Snape's source is, I figure whoever it is isn't aware of giving Snape info. The question of where Olivander is has also been answered, not that it is much of a surprise.

Now I'm reading a lot about wedding preparations and Mrs. Weasleys plot to keep Ron, Harry, and Hermione apart. I have to admit I really don't see why she would want Harry not to drop out of Hogwarts, that just makes no sense to me. Once again, I am amused by Mr. Weasly and his secret muggle vehicle. I guess I'll be listening to the wedding part next.

I'm all twitchy with dread and anticipation as Gud goes through this.

Interesting article on the person translating Harry Potter into Hebrew.

Beyond the lack of British cultural parallels, which can be true anywhere outside of England, for Bar-Hillel there is also the issue of Israelis’ relative ignorance of Christianity, references to which play a small role in the series. A line that posed a special challenge appears in Book Five, where Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather, passes Harry’s door singing “God Rest You, Merrye Hippogriffs” toward his pet hippogriff, Buckbeak. Knowing that Israeli kids would not typically recognize Sirius’ melodic outburst as a parody of a Christmas carol, Bar-Hillel rendered it as a play on a Chanukah tune: Mi yimallel Hippogriff she-ochel, (“who will recount the story of the eating Hippogriff ”), a play on the popular Chanukah song that begins mi yimallel gvurot yisrael (“who will recount the heroic acts of Israel”).

[link]

Gud, when reading all the wedding-preparations chapters, my sister was just about to be married herself. Apparently, it's pretty much the same, whether you're a muggle or a wizard, especially when it comes to the family craziness around it all.

Interesting article on the person translating Harry Potter into Hebrew.

She's a very nice woman (I heard a lecture she gave at the translation and editing department here, last year).

Translating the puns are so very difficult. The names (sometimes she translates them according to their meaning, sometimes not), the spells (she leaves them all in Latin), the names of the creatures and animals (again, sometimes she tries to find a Hebrew equivalent, sometimes she just transliterate the original) and so forth.

And the thing is, no matter what she does, there would be people who would be deeply displeased with the result. In fact, some kids can't wait until the translation can be finished (she hopes to get it done around Hanukkah), and started translating on their on, dividing chapters between themselves and uploading the results online. Nothing like that has ever happened before, of course. And the number of kids who read the books in the original English is also unheard of. Obviously, their translation doesn't meet any professional standards, but still.

Oh Hil, I thought that was going to be a link to another article I read about a group of kids in Israel who are translating DH online. They were very contemptuous of the time Bar-Hillel takes to translate, but they also weren't fussed about errors in their translation. They just wanted their Harry Potter now! (Of course I can't find the link.) Xpost with Nilly!

Also, I saw bit of Daniel Radcliffe on Today yesterday morning and he said they're starting to film Half-Blood Prince soon. It seems that it would be difficult to film, as so much of the action takes place in the last quarter of the book. Harry is mostly passive, just sitting and watching all those memories in the Pensieve.

Hil, I just read the article you linked to, and the funny thing about it is, some paragraphs (if not most of them) could be pretty much translated word-for-word from Gilli's FAQ on her blog. She must have answered these questions oh-so-many-times, the same over and over again, she can just recite the answers by now.

As for the children translating - she said in her lecture that she had a kid telling her that he was reading "Harry Potter" in English, but there was this word that kept appearing and he didn't understand it, "broom". So there's that end of the spectrum, as well.

[Edit: ha, x-post with Sue.]

The kids translation sounds really neat.

I thought this bit of the article was kind of cute:

A child recently wrote to her, she says, that he doesn’t like that Harry eats bacon and could she please say that he eats chicken instead? Bar-Hillel sent an answer to the boy, gently explaining that as Harry is not Jewish and lives in a different culture, eating bacon for breakfast is normal for him. “‘It’s what he actually eats,’” she wrote in her answer and left it at that.

Aww.

It seems that it would be difficult to film, as so much of the action takes place in the last quarter of the book.

I was thinking about this, and it occurred to me that the stuff most likely to be thrown out would be, well, the stuff about "The Half-Blood Prince." Which would be awkward.

It's an odd book ... almost a throwback to the beginning of the series, with Harry and Co. trying to fit back into their old school lives, and finding they don't like the fit so much. I don't think it's any wonder they find it so easy at the end to walk away from Hogwarts to go after Voldemort. They're so far past sitting with books that the moment Harry declares he's not going back is almost a relief.

I have to admit I really don't see why she would want Harry not to drop out of Hogwarts, that just makes no sense to me.

I think it may have more to do with her not wanting them to be off unprotected and in danger. If she could keep Harry safe in the basement until the whole Voldemort thing blew over, she would.