The trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has now officially aired online. It can be watched on the Harry Potter website. The trailer is absolutely spectacular, and shows some amazing scenes from the novel, so I think we're in for a treat this July! There are scenes with Snape, one with Lupin and Tonks, and a particularly interesting one with Voldemort and Harry in the trailer, as well as many more. Tell us what you thought of the trailer in the comments below, or you can contact us.

The official Harry Potter Twitter page has been updated with a tweet explaining that there will be a new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on Thursday! Apparently 'more stuff' will be revealed on Thursday, so it looks like the 28th April will be a day to look forward to for Harry Potter fans. There have also been rumours of a trailer being released on Wednesday in the USA, but either way, it's not far off now! 

The Harry Potter EA website has released the trailer for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 video game, with an introduction by Emma Watson. It seems to have been assigned a 12 rating in the UK, and is due to be released in July 2011, to coincide with the release of the final film. This is just a teaser trailer, but hopefully a full trailer will be released nearer the release date, as well as maybe a trailer for the film...?

You know that the next Harry Potter film is drawing near when the first couple of premiere ticket competitions start cropping up. One of the first competitions has just been launched on the Harry Potter Quest UK homepage! The competition is open to UK residents over the age of 18, with the grand prize being two tickets to the Part 2 premiere in London, including accommodation and travel. See the website for a full list of competition rules. Even if you can't enter the competition, it's exciting to think that DH part 2 is now less than three months away!

What a busy day for Harry Potter fans! The DVD and Blu-Ray editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 have just been released in the USA, which means many more release parties going on perhaps even as I'm writing. On another note, it's a birthday for two Emmas today - Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) turns 21 today and Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney) is now 52. Happy birthday to both of them! Emma Watson also posted a birthday video on her website, outlining some of the things that she has been doing this year, and what she is up to next year. At the moment, she's looking forward to acting in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and continues to be involved in the world of fashion.
Finally, today, a new photo from Deathly Hallows part 2 has been released, seeming to depict Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini. There's rubble in the background, so what are your thoughts about what part of the film this is from? Leave a note in the comments or use the contact form to send in your theories.
UPDATE (19:20pm): Another new photo from part 2 has just been released on Twitter! It depicts Harry, Ron and Hermione, but the scene it is from is unclear. My best guess is that it's at some point during the battle, but, again, we'll have to see.

I'd come across the competition purely by chance. I was about to log out of Facebook when it caught my eye. I couldn't believe what I saw when I opened my emails - I remember screaming and nearly falling over my feet in the rush to get downstairs! A few days after the initial email, a second email arrived to confirm the launch party details. What was originally 'just' a personalised Blu-Ray edition of the film turned into a launch party, question and answer session with the cast and a giant goody bag as well. I am so grateful to the Harry Potter UK Facebook page for such a great prize and such a fantastic day!
My dad and I hopped on the tube (London Underground train system) on the day of the event to join the throng of winners outside the cinema, as there were 100 winners of the competition, and everyone could bring one guest. I spotted several Harry Potter books, scarves and t-shirts, while sporting my 'Keep Calm and Carry a Wand' t-shirt and my Gryffindor scarf. We waited outside, and then went inside and waited a bit more. We were greeted with free drinks and canapés while they began filming a few interviews with some of the other winners. Recently, a video montage of the event, including some of the interviews, has been uploaded to the Harry Potter UK Facebook page. Additionally, for more photographs of the event, see the Harry Potter News Niffler's photo gallery.
After a while, we were all led into the cinema screen, where six seats were set up for the cast. A prominent UK radio broadcaster, Edith Bowman, acted as the interviewer and introduced the five cast members to us: Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick and Griphook), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley), Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)! Then the questions began.
Edith Bowman asked the cast several questions herself, and took questions from the audience too. I had been racking my brains for a good question for weeks, and still hadn't managed to come up with one, but I decided that I had to ask the cast a question - any question! I remembered seeing on Evanna Lynch's Twitter account and on MuggleNet that Evanna and some of the other cast members had recently been to New York to see Daniel Radcliffe acting in 'How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying' and to see the New York stop of the travelling Harry Potter exhibition, so I asked the cast what New York and the exhibition was like for them. They answered that they really enjoyed the exhibition, and Natalia Tena said that she asked the staff to change Tonks' wand, as it wasn't quite right! Evanna Lynch recommended the exhibition to anyone planning to visit New York and all five cast members said that Dan Radcliffe was excellent in 'How To Succeed'.
Even the hugest Harry Potter fan would have learnt a lot from the question and answer session with the cast. Mark Williams revealed that someone who had worked on all eight films was called a 'lifer' and that one lifer had the job of looking after the props, and apparently security was quite strict - Natalia Tena was asked to immediately return some of Tonks' underwear after she'd accidentally gone home wearing it! All cast members agreed that their character's wand would be the prop to have.
Warwick, Mark, Natalia, Matthew and Evanna were all asked which was their favourite film to act in (out of the series) and which is their favourite to watch. Evanna said that Prisoner of Azkaban was her favourite to watch, as it was 'artsy' and she liked the Time Turner sequence, while Matthew said that Deathly Hallows Part 2 was his favourite film to act in because he got to do some action scenes. To which part of the film is he referring? We'll have to wait and see!
One particularly interesting question asked the cast what song their character would have on their iPod. Immediately, Mark Williams suggested 'Poker Face' by Lady GaGa for his character, Mr. Weasley, and then changed to 'Bonkers' by Dizzee Rascal! Natalia Tena suggested that Tonks would be a heavy metal fan, and Evanna Lynch referenced Wizard Rock (I couldn't help but smile at that) before Natalia Tena said that Luna could be looking at bugs and listening to opera, which suits her! Mark Williams then went on to suggest that Neville listens to brass band music, and gave a wonderful demonstration! Mamma Mia and musicals were suggested for Professor Flitwick.
Another question that was asked referred to the actors' similiarities and differences to their characters. Natalia described her audition to us - she turned up late, ran in and then tripped over - as Mark Williams pointed out, nothing like Tonks at all then... On set at Grimmauld Place, Natalia continually tripped over a table, just as Tonks kept tripping over the umbrella stand in the books, so eventually they simply moved the table! Matt Lewis said that he is forgetful like his character as well.

Overall, it was a fantastic day already and I hadn't even received the prize yet! Once the cast had left to go to a signing in HMV in Oxford Street, we all settled down to watch Deathly Hallows Part 1 again, before receiving our prizes and goody bags. The prize itself, a personalised limited edition Blu-Ray edition of Part 1, is beautifully presented, and I was very excited to receive it. I'd like to thank the Harry Potter UK Facebook page a million times over for such an amazing prize, and a day to remember.

Don't forget, UK Harry Potter fans, that the Harry Potter DVD and Blu-Ray editions are officially released today! Different shops are enticing us with different offers, such as Sainsbury's unique Dobby DVD sleeve offering the chance to win a knitted Dobby toy. Asda are also trying to gain popularity among fans by introducing an extra special feature on their version of the DVD. Personally, I like the Dobby offer, and although the sleeve seems to be an old promo poster from the Chamber of Secrets, who doesn't love Dobby?! And, at under £9, the price isn't bad either! Whichever one you choose, the special features are always fantastic, and the extra 'Maximum Movie Mode' for Blu-Ray editions is set to be amazing too. Also, today we have an update on the competition winners' event in London: I went to the event yesterday, and the question and answer session was great, with loads of new answers and new information. As a huge fan, I found it really interesting and just such a great experience to see the cast. I won't keep you waiting too much longer with the full report - it should be up in the next couple of days, and for now, we have two teaser photographs. I'll post more photographs at a later date.

As the release of the Deathly Hallows Part 1 DVD approaches, we are hearing more information about release parties for the DVD and Blu-Ray editions of the film. The release dates are currently set at 11th April for the UK and 15th April for the USA, which is incidentally Emma Watson's birthday as well. Recently, I (Hannah) won a competition for a limited edition version of the Blu-Ray disc, and part of the prize is to attend a launch party with some of the cast in attendance! Although I have my suspicions as to who might be there, I'm keeping quiet until the event so I don't raise any hopes, including my own. You, as HPN2's lucky readers, will be able to read a report on the event, as a Q&A session will be starting the launch party. I hope to provide everyone with lots of fun information about the release party, and it would be great if you could send us some feedback about any release parties that you attend. I may even decide to feature your comments or reports on the site!