NEWS FOR THE DAY 10.03.06

Happy Birthday, Remus Lupin!

JK Rowling updates official site (big time)

JKRowling.com has been updated with several new changes this morning. There are many visual changes and five new easter eggs to hunt for! MuggleNet reader Ashley went through the site and sent us some of the biggest adjustments:

The "?" room, with the closed door, now has two bottles that you can pick up and pour drops from. They do nothing, so far. In the "Extra Stuff" bulletin board, there is a small doodle pad, which you can pick up the pen and draw on. There are a few new books on the bookshelf in her "Links" area, including "Sense and Sensibility" and "My Favorite Spells". Her "Fan Sites" trophy shelf is new, and in the "Rubbish Bin" there are some baby toys, Mackenzie's bib, and a small stuffed piggie. There is also a small pile of magnitized word magnets, that are movable, and a very old and gross looking cup of coffee. Oh yes, and the butterfly is now orange.

Also, a list of how to access the easter eggs from MuggleNet reader Kenny (Warning: Spoilers obviously below if you want to figure out how to access them yourself):

First, go into the "Extra Stuff" Section. Turn the radio off, then on and wait a few seconds. Listen to the announcement telling you to put six drops of red potion followed by three of the green potion on a plant. Now, leave and click on the Eraser Portkey on the desktop. It brings you to the mysterious door. Now, follow the instructions with the potion on the plant. Now you have another scrapbook piece, revealing (around the time of Prisoner of Azkaban) genders of teachers and some attempts for hippogriff names.

Now, go to the Rubbish Bin and move the mug four times in a clockwise circle. When you do that, stop: it forms a circle inside. Now leave and go to the Extra Stuff section, click on the card that says "Circle" with a circle on it. Now you have an original synopsis of Philosopher's Stone.

Next, go to the main page. On the phone, dial "31071965" (which happens to be Jo's birthday, 7/31/65). Now you have an early (around 1994) draft of Philosopher's Stone and information that Draco's surname used to be "Spungen."

Next, go the Extra Stuff section. Grab the pen and draw a lightning bolt on the extra piece of paper. You will get an unrevised portion of Order of the Phoenix.

Go to the Fan Sites page. To the right, click on the small red box five times. It will open. Click the question mark bubble to get the same clue as the phone-dialing one. An early (around 1994) draft of Philosopher's Stone and information that Draco's surname used to be "Spungen."

Thanks to everyone who emailed with the tip!

JKR's interview in Romania airing tonight

Remember that interview JK Rowling did with TVR while visiting Romania earlier this year? It was never broadcast as scheduled. But now MuggleNet reader Ionut wrote to the TV station and was informed that the interview, along with coverage of Jo's trip, will be shown on TVR tonight at 11 EET (3 PM CST, 4 PM EST, 9 PM GMT). If any fans in Romania are able to capture the program and send it in, please let us know.

More discoveries at JKR.com

If you would prefer to find out about them by yourself, we advise that you not read ahead:

Go to the Links area and click on the thin red book on the second shelf, Ancient Runes Made Easy. It reveals some information on several different magical creatures.

At the bottom of the Rubbish Bin page are some words on a piece of paper that can be rearranged. The order is: "Here I am no ring within, tap five times and you get in." It's a clue for the red box you tap five times in the Fan Sites section.

The book Ancient Runes Made Easy lists numbers based on animal symbols. If you look at the Rubbish bin, you can see some of those numbers spread out across the floor. If you write them down in order, they are 3-1-0-7-1-9-6-5 or 31/07/1965 which is Jo's birthday, and is where you get the info for entering the number into the phone we already learned about.

If you have any more clues to things we've discovered so far (or brand-new discoveries), please send them in.