The stars of the sixth Harry Potter film walked up the red carpet in London Tuesday to a rapturous welcome from thousands of fans who braved pouring rain for the world premiere of the new movie. Two years ago the fifth movie and the seventh and final book in Rowling's bestselling series combined to trigger an unprecedented wave of “Pottermania” around the world. The pre-release buzz suggests “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will add a sizeable chunk to the $4.5 billion in box office receipts already earned by the Potter movie franchise. Recovering from swine flu, Rupert Grint took his place alongside co-stars Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry, and Emma Watson, better known to fans as the nerdy Hermione Granger. Radcliffe, 19, said he would miss the character when the Potter films come to an end in 2011, but also admitted he was looking forward to being able to pick and choose other projects. “It's going to be very, very sad to finish these movies but at the same time it will be exciting, there's more stuff to move on to, so I'm not purely depressed about finishing them,” he said. The actors wore white ribbons on their wrists at the premiere as a mark of respect for murdered cast member Rob Knox, who performed in the film before he was murdered in 2008, aged 18, in a knife attack in southeast England. In “Half-Blood Prince” Hogwarts school is increasingly vulnerable to attack from the evil Lord Voldemort. Professor Slughorn, played by Jim Broadbent, joins the cast, and Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore places more and more trust in Potter, determined to prepare him for his inevitable showdown with Voldemort. Meanwhile, love blossoms, with Harry falling for Ginny and Ron attracting the attention of Lavender Brown as a heartbroken Hermione looks on jealously.
