I have just re-read the Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton (don't ask why!!!! - am 35, no kids!!) Anyway, I found a reference to an owl who delivered letters and also a magic cloak to make people invisible .... .does anyone know if this is where JKR got some of her Haryy Potter ideas from? Are there any other EB and JKR connections?
If these claims are true, then we still don't know if it was done deliberately. She has to get her ideas from somewhere and could have been subconsciously influenced by books she read and films she saw.