The chamber of secrets

In particular, it looks as though Harry Potter's invisibility cloak and the moving photographs in the fictional Daily Prophet could soon become a reality. A professor at St Andrews University today announced that he is working on a blueprint for a cloaking device. Describing his research into invisibility as a combination of geometry, light and 'a wee bit of magic', Prof Ulf Leonhardt's project focuses on designer atoms called metamaterials. The announcement was made on the same day it was revealed that the first ever video advert to be published in a magazine is to be published next month in the US. When flicking through the magazine, readers can watch a 2.7mm thick screen with the capability of showing up to 70 minutes' material. Despite rumours that transfiguration research is already underway in the Southampton area, we're unable to provide any more details at the moment…