As we previously told you, the seventh and final copy of J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be auctioned off at Sotheby's auction house on Thursday, December 13 (more info here). We now know that Sotheby's will also be auctioning several other HP-related items on the same day.

We have a couple of new products to tell you about this morning. For starters, Gentle Giant will be releasing two new Harry Potter character busts in June 2008: Remus Lupin and Professor McGonagall. Meanwhile, NECA has released an image of their Lucius Malfoy Death Eater Mask (for display only). You can view the image here. Finally, several new products have been added to WB's Harry Potter shop, including some stylish new house-themed waterglobes.

The Wandsworth Guardian is reporting that filming for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will take place at a Surbiton train station this weekend (Friday to Sunday). Seargeant Christopher MacKellaich of the British Transport Police said, "They are going to be filming overnight from late evening to the early morning and we will have six or seven officers down there each night." Feel free to send in a report if you're in the area.

J.K. Rowling has added two new Rubbish Bin entries to her official website. In the first, Rowling denies rumors of having asked for two million rupees from religious charities in India, while in the other she hilariously addresses reports about her health.

Warner Bros. issued a press release earlier today which announced the completion of casting on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It confirmed the casting of newcomers Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy), and Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn), and went on to reveal the final new cast members: Nine-year-old Hero Fiennes Tiffin (nephew of Ralph Fiennes, who plays Voldemort) as young Tom Riddle and 16-year-old Frank Dillane as teenage Riddle.

We have a number of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD updates for you this evening. First, the DVD is now available to pre-order on Amazon for those of you in the United States. Other items that are now available to pre-order include the Limited Edition Giftset, the Harry Potter Interactive DVD Game, and the first four films. All of these items will be released in the US on December 11. Click here to begin pre-ordering.

Warner Bros. has released a preview of the Harry Potter Interactive DVD Game. Check it out by going here and clicking on the middle thumbnail (the one where Harry is in an alley). The Interactive DVD Game is already available in the UK, and will be released in the US on December 11.

CBBC Newsround is reporting that 20-year-old Jessie Cave has been cast as Lavender Brown in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. According to CBBC, "It's not known if Jessie attended the open auditions for Lavender." Cave's first on-screen appearance will be in the CBBC drama Summerhill, which comes out next year (watch a clip). You can see pictures of Cave at the galleries.

Coverage of last weekend's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD press launch continues this week as CBBC Newsround has released a new video interview with Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. The stars talk about the success of the fifth film, progress on the sixth film, and the actress who has been cast to play Lavender Brown.

CBBC Newsround presenter Lizo Mzimba has posted an excellent review of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD. In his review, Mzimba talks about the DVD's best and weakest bits, ultimately giving it three out of five stars.

Yahoo! UK has released a two-minute clip from the DVD extras of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The clip is from the DVD's "Trailing Tonks" extra, in which actress Natalie Tena (Tonks) treats viewers to a personal and wacky tour of the Order of the Phoenix set. This particular segment shows Tena in a fight training session with wand choreographer Paul Harris. Check out the clip at this link. The Order of the Phoenix DVD hits shelves in the UK on November 12 and in the US on December 11.

Coverage of last weekend's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD press launch continues today as The Sunday Herald Sun has released new video interviews with David Yates, Imelda Staunton, Evanna Lynch & Bonnie Wright, Matt Lewis, Katie Leung, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, David Heyman, and Daniel Radcliffe. Thanks to Sam for the links!

NECA previewed Series 3 of their Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Action Figures this past week. The figures NECA previewed were Casual Clothing Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange. All three of these figures will be released this winter as part of NECA's third OOTP Action Figure series.

Thanks to HPANA for letting us know that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has been nominated in the "Favorite Movie Drama" category for the 34th annual People's Choice Awards. The film is up against Disturbia and Premonition. Fans have until December 5 to vote for these awards by clicking here. Voting is only open to residents of the U.S., 13 years of age or older. The People's Choice Awards will air on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, at 9:00 p.m. (EST) on CBS. Thanks again, HPANA.

A recent survey held to mark the launch of 2007's Costa Book Awards suggests that Harry Potter novels are the UK's most re-read books. Of 2,034 UK readers, 77% said they re-read books, with the most re-visited reads being Harry Potter novels. Series like The Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice topped the list as well.

Actress Helen McCrory has been cast as Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, reports CBBC. You may remember that McCrory was originally cast as Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, though dropped out due to pregnancy. She was replaced by Helena Bonham Carter. You can see pictures of McCrory over at the galleries.

J.K. Rowling has updated her official website with a new entry about the 'Lexicon' lawsuit. A restraining order has been placed on RDR Books, stopping publication of a print-edition of the Harry Potter Lexicon, an encyclopaedic fan site. The Lexicon website and publisher pressed forward with plans to publish the book despite Jo's wishes otherwise.

Author J.K. Rowling is one of ten people being considered for Time Magazine's Person of the Year title. Time is asking readers to vote for who they think should be Person of the Year in an online poll; the person with the most votes will not necessarily be named Person of the Year, though. At the time of this post, Rowling was leading the poll with 11,535 votes, and Al Gore and Barack Obama rounded out the top three. Click here to vote and support Rowling!

Earlier this week, reports and images from the recent Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD press launch hit the net. The first video has now made its way online over at ITN. In the video, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and director David Yates share their thoughts on Dumbledore being gay. You can view the video at this link. More quotes from Watson and Yates on the subject of Dumbledore's outing can be seen here.

As we have been telling you, the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD hits shelves in the U.K. on Monday, November 12. The Leaky Cauldron now has a report online which goes into great detail about all of the DVD's special features, including the deleted scenes. You can read the report here.