The Telegraph is reporting that 18-year-old Robert Knox (Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) was stabbed to death last night outside of bar in Sidcup, London, after trying to protect his younger brother from several men.  Warner Bros. said in a statement: "We are all shocked and saddened by this news and at this time our sympathies are with his family."

A reminder that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban will air on ABC Family tonight at 8 PM EST, and tomorrow night at the same time.  While there is currently no word on whether Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sneak peaks will be shown, none of the commercials have indicated that there will be. 

Jim Broadbent (Prof. Slughorn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) celebrates his birthday today.

Fans can now pre-order Scholastic's special anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - due out September 23 - over at Amazon.  The site is offering a 34% discount on the book, meaning you need only pay $19.80 as opposed to $30.

A small new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince promotional image showing the trio in the Gryffindor Common Room has been leaked online.  The image is very similar to this official promotional image, but shows the trio from a different angle.

A UK tabloid is quoting John Hurt (Ollivander in the first Harry Potter film) as saying: '"I didn't spend a lot of time on the Harry Potter film but I might be spending more time there next time," he smiled. "We'll see."'  We will let you know if John is officially cast in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Rhiannon D. of Australia has been named the winner of Amazon's "Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest".  She and a friend will be flown to London to spend a weekend with JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard.  You can read the winning submission here.

According to Emma Watson's official website, principal photography on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince wrapped last Saturday, May 17.  The site also notes that Emma is currently studying for her A-level exams now that filming is complete.

Fondation Émergence, a homosexual lobby group based in Canada, has awarded JK Rowling their "Fight Against Homophobia" award.  Rowling reportedly won the award because of her announcement last fall that Dumbeldore was gay.  Three homosexual fans of the books will accept the award on her behalf.

Over the past couple of weeks, Oclumencia has been posting fantastic new images from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which include studio shots, movie stills, and behind-the-scenes photos.

Scholastic has announced that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will be released in a special anniversary edition on September 23.  It will feature "exclusive bonus material from J.K. Rowling as well as new cover art and a four-color frontispiece by Mary Grandpré."  The new cover art can be seen here.

At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, both Jim Broadbent (Professor Horace Slughorn) and John Hurt (Mr. Ollivander) attended the premiere and photocall for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, while Clemence Poesy (Fleur Delacour) took part in a photocall for her upcoming movie Heartless.

German publisher Carlsen will release a colorful box-set of all seven Harry Potter books translated into German on September 15, 2008.  As an extra, the box-set (seen here at our galleries) will include high-quality prints of the original jacket art for all seven books created by Sabine Wilharm.

Miriam Margoyles (Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films) celebrates her birthday today.

Amazon.co.uk has been updated with a number of new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie tie-ins to be released October 2 by Penguin Character Books Ltd.  The tie-ins include a Mini Sticker Book, Deluxe Gift Book, Postcard Sticker Folder, Sticker Book, Notebook, and Funfax (October 1).

A new photo of Harry from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has surfaced online.  In the photo, Harry is searching through a trunk with the letter "S" emblazoned on the side.

Stanislav Ianevski (Viktor Krum in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) celebrates his birthday today.

The Children's Book Council has presented J.K Rowling with their "Author of the Year" award. The list is designed to give children a chance to have their say in which books motivated them to read the most.

It has been confirmed to SnitchSeeker.com that Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films) will not appear in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

J.K Rowling has updated her official website to wish Professor Sprout a happy birthday.