While the Harry Potter films may have come to a close this summer, the reading experience of J.K. Rowling’s series about the extraordinary world of Witchcraft and Wizardry remains open and continuously expanding!

Pottermore, a magical online community conceptualized by Rowling, serves as a supplementary resource to the seven novels. The website offers an enhanced look into the stories through a variety of additional content and interactive features.

Starting on July 31st, the search for the Magical Quill commenced. Successful completion of the challenge allowed fans to sign up for a username and earn guaranteed access into the beta version of the site before the official launch on October 1st. By August 15th, users began to receive entrance emails in the form of Welcome Owls. Invitations will be spread out over the upcoming weeks until all 1,000,000 Pottermore users are granted access by September 30th.

After a week of obsessively checking my Gmail inbox, I finally received my Pottermore welcome email on Monday morning! The sense of excitement and wonderment I got once I entered the magical portal was similar to the anticipation I felt when I read the first sentence of the first chapter of the latest Harry Potter novel. As I navigated through each moment of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, I was in awe of the beautiful illustrations and the NEW, intricate details Rowling divulged on certain characters, places, objects and concepts. It is quite incredible just how much deep thought and research the author put into every single aspect of her novels! I love being able to follow the story chapter by chapter while simultaneously experiencing First Year adventures as a new student of Hogwarts. At Diagon Alley, users can obtain wand (or, as Ollivander would say, let the wand choose you), select a pet and purchase school supplies. Once users reach the Hogwarts Castle, they proceed to the Sorting Hat Ceremony, where they are placed into one of the four houses – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Once sorted, students can compete for the coveted House Cup. Points are earned by participating in interactive activities on the site, such as collecting enchanted items, brewing potions, casting spells and duelling against other students.

Pottermore Beta is a delightful online experience which brings Harry Potter fans closer to the world of magic as imagined by J.K. Rowling. I have high expectations that this community will continue to grow and reach supreme levels of fascination and fun! Hopefully by the time the website becomes open to all, I will have mastered my potions-making skills!

Add me as a friend on Pottermore – SeekerFirebolt117.