It's likely testament to J.K. Rowling's writing that all of this hormonal, relationship-centred human story can come through in the penultimate book in a series about an epic battle between good and evil. The feeling on set is that Half-Blood Prince is very much the first half of the series' two-part finale and that perhaps it's the teen wizards' last chance at innocence before they face their ultimate test in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The film opens untraditionally away from Privet Drive - the Dursley family doesn't feature at all - as Harry eats at a cafe at Surbiton railway station and flirts with the waitress serving him. It's a small character moment, but it's crucial; if we as an audience don't believe Harry has some depth to his character we just won't feel the sacrifices he makes in the next film.

Harry gets close with Ginny in one of the film's more human moments.

Between relationship troubles and the sense of exhilaration Harry feels as he learns what he's to do in the final battle, this is a more human story. Even Quidditch makes a long overdue reappearance, though the producers will be delivering a new look for the uniforms and the game itself this time around. It's been a long time, four years in fact, since a match has been played in a Potter film and perhaps that's as much to do with a certain actor as it is the time constraints of big-budget movies...

"Dan's not particularly pleased with Quidditch being back because he has to sit on his broom for five hours a day," laughs Yates. "If you've ever sat on one of those brooms, and I've never, it just looks incredibly uncomfortable. They're not the most seat-friendly contraptions!"

And there's no small amount of comic relief in Ron's fumbled romances with Lavender, either, both in the film on the set. Early on in the shoot they filmed the scene that immediately follows the Quidditch match - Ron kisses Lavender. "I didn't actually see that one being done," says Radcliffe with a real sense of disappointment in his voice, "just 'cause I thought it'd be pretty funny!"

Ron celebrates his Quidditch victory moments before his kiss with Lavender.

Of course, Rupert Grint begs to differ. "He was on his own for his kiss," he protests, "I had a room full of people cheering and I was standing on this little plinth so that made it even worse!"

"Rupert has brilliant comic timing," says Watson, "It comes very naturally to him. So I've been in fits of laughter to the point where we've lost huge amounts of takes because I've been corpsing!"

Continue on to Page 4 as things get serious and we uncover the steps Harry is taking to defeat Voldemort and Draco's dark secret.