One of my favorite things about the US Harry Potter covers is that each has its own completely unique color scheme that makes it possible to tell the books apart at a glance. Deathly Hallows is drawn in largely yellows, oranges, and browns, which to me either signals rebirth or death (sunrise/sunset), although right now I’m leaning towards death because of the title and also because the cover feels slightly dark and foreboding. Both Harry and Voldemort are wearing brown cloaks, which is very intriguing. Is it just a visual reminder of their fateful connection, or does it signify something more?

The cover, of course, provokes many questions. What is the setting? They seem to be in a large outdoor arena or stage. It looks like the area in the Department of Mysteries where Sirius falls “behind the veil.” Is it the Deathly Hallows? Who are all the people in the background – Death Eaters, members of the Order of the Phoenix, or both? Why are Harry and Voldemort both wandless? However, the detail that provokes my interest the most is: why is Harry not looking at Voldemort in the full cover image!? Even though Voldemort is looking at Harry, both appear to be casting spells towards something that is beyond the curtain. This may be simply because they are on opposite covers of the book, but I think that it is actually a really important clue. Could Harry and Voldemort be working together to accomplish something? Seems preposterous to me. More likely is the possibility that Harry is sacrificing himself to save whatever he is looking at. What’s clear is that either way things don’t look good for Harry.  After seeing this cover, I am much more inclined to believe those that think he is going to die in the story. Only 114 more (long) days until these and many other questions will be answered.

One last thought: The US cover art absolutely blows away the UK editions. Harry looks like a maniac on the UK Deathly Hallows cover. Mary GrandPré has a unique, visually appealing style that has really helped to define the Potter series.

You can view the full, high-resolution cover images of both of the US and UK editions of Deathly Hallows at The Leaky Cauldron.

Picture courtesy of BaddMinton

There’s one thing, however, that I can’t resolve. Is butterbeer alcoholic? We know that it certainly has an effect on house-elves. Winky, the Crouch family’s elf, is often found drunk by the fire with empty butterbeer bottles around her. But does butterbeer have an effect on humans? Why are Hogwarts students allowed to drink butterbeer, but not order other concoctions from the bar such as Firewhisky?

I think I may have found a clue when I recently reread the 6th book, Half-Blood Prince. In the 14th chapter, “Felix Felicis,” just after the part where Hermione reveals that she was thinking of asking Ron to Professor Slughorn’s Christmas party, there are these lines:

“Although Harry watched his two friends more closely over the next few days, Ron and Hermione did not seem any different except that they were a little politer to each other than usual. Harry supposed he would just have to wait to see what happened under the influence of butterbeer in Slughorn’s dimly lit room on the night of the party.”

This quote proves that butterbeer has some of the same effects as alcohol, namely reducing one’s social inhibitions. I’ve decided, however, that butterbeer probably doesn’t contain alcohol. Why would wizards, who can brew sophisticated potions, rely on something as imperfect as alcohol to give them a buzz? Butterbeer is probably made with a low dosage of some kind of potion that simulates the effects of alcohol. Its effect on humans is minimal, but house-elves, being much smaller, are able to get drunk off of it. Other wizarding “drinks” could be made with other potions. Personally, I imagine that the contents of Firewhisky are such that you can breathe fire after you drink it.

Of course this brings up interesting cultural overtones. Most Americans cannot imagine alcohol being served to 13-year-olds, but Europe is more liberal about that sort of thing. I wonder if British readers automatically assume that butterbeer is at least slightly alcoholic?

There are many butterbeer recipes on the internet, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. My friend made some a few weeks ago. The main ingredient was cream soda, and we drank it hot. It was really delicious. I think J.K. Rowling should contract someone like Jones Soda to produce an official butterbeer; she could probably make a lot of licensing revenue.

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on butterbeer in the comments.

Update: It was announced on Feb. 1 that the release date will be July 21, 2007. I’ve already started a countdown widget on my dashboard; only 5 months and 20 days to go!

Update 2: Apple’s dashboard site now hosts a true countdown widget, courtesy of The Leaky Cauldron.

The best plot speculation that I’ve seen so far is that Dumbledore is not actually dead. The article gave a lot of convincing evidence for his death being a ruse cooked up by him and Snape. J.K. basically shot that theory down, saying that “you shouldn’t expect Dumbledore to do a Gandalf,” but there is still room for speculation on how he will factor into Book 7. It is possible that he will communicate with Harry through his portrait in the headmaster’s office.

In any case, I’m sure that J.K. knows what she is doing; the rest of the books (with the exception of the sixth) have been masterfully crafted. All of the loose ends will be tied up, and the plot will probably hinge on something that no one expected. We’ll just have to wait a few more months to find out. Luckily paper is widely available; there probably won’t be copies of the book selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay (that was a PS3 joke, in case you didn’t get it).