first thoughts on cover art

I thought I'd come here before I've read or heard anyone's comments on the cover art and just ramble on for a bit.

First, the letters are red! I thought the background would be darker, but the letters that say Harry Potter at the top of the US edition cover are indeed red, which I thought would be true ever since they weren't red for the Half-Blood Prince.

Second, the UK cover -- does that look like Gringotts to you? Here are three reasons I think so:

• There's what looks like a Goblin-made tunnel or archway in the background
• There is treasure and gold coins all over
• Is that a Goblin I see peeking around from behind Harry?

So far, two of my predictions have come true.

Questions:

• Is that a dementor on the back of the US edition?
• Why do they appear to be waving (both Harry and the Dementor or whatever it is)?
• Where are they (on the US edition cover), why are people watching, what's going on with the floor (seems to be breaking up)?
• What's up with the snake medallion on the UK adult cover?

And about the text on the UK cover -- Harry is waiting for the Order of the Phoenix to come and take him safely away from Privet Drive? Do you feel a bit like deja-vu? Haven't we seen something like that happen already? I can only assume it won't proceed as safely as it did last time.

Well, at least we have something to think about while we wait for the pages between the covers to be printed.