Thousands of Harry Potter fans braved rain and hail to cheer the cast of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" as it made its world premiere.

Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and other cast members, along with the boy wizard's creator, J.K. Rowling, walked up a soggy red carpet in Leicester Square, London.

The sixth Potter film, "Half-Blood Prince" sees Harry and his friends at Hogwarts school battling evil Lord Voldemort - and their raging teenage hormones.

Fans cheered the film's stars despite the weather, some holding placards expressing enthusiasm for the long-running bigscreen legend.

Daniel Radcliffe said, "For the next premiere I'm thinking these shoes might not be so usable after this but no, I'm having fun. This is great. This is brilliant. Emma's dress looks slightly sodden but we're all going to be fine. This is Brit spirit! This is we got through two wars like this. This is fine. This is wonderful. This is nothing. It's tiny. It's a spot of rain."