J.K. Rowling Reunites Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Gang for New Story

By Nancy Tartaglione

Writing as gossip columnist Rita Skeeter at Pottermore.com (registration required), J.K. Rowling has brought the Hogwarts band back together. In doing so, she also evidently crashed the site for a while. When I took a look a little bit ago, all was fine, but it just asked me to “come back later and try again.” In a 1,500-word piece that appears in the Daily Prophet section of the site, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are gathered together with their families and other old cohorts attending the final of the Quidditch World Cup 2014 — magical timing just ahead of the final of the (Muggle) World Cup in Brazil next weekend. This is the first time Rowling has written new material about the beloved characters since the last book was published seven years ago. There are also a series of match reports and articles about the wizarding sport’s tournament, all penned by Rowling. Back in March, the author posted the first part of her History of the Quidditch World Cup on the site that is the official digital platform for all things Potter.

Mild spoiler alert below:

Today, Rowling (as the vicious Skeeter) writes that as Harry approaches 34, he has “threads of silver” in his black hair, and also sports a mysterious cut over his cheekbone. Rita deduces it has been inflicted as part of his top-secret career as an Auror, but also wonders if he’s involved in new mysteries — or whether his wife might have cursed him. Ron’s hair, meanwhile, “appears to be thinning slightly.” Their wives, Ginny and Hermione, and their children, along with ex-Dumbledore’s Army members Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, all feature in the sharp-quilled piece that offers updates on their current lives.

Rowling will write again about the final match of the Quidditch World Cup on July 11. She’s got Brazil and Bulgaria duking it out. In the meantime, and in addition to her career as an author of books for adults, Rowling is also prepping the first film in a Potter spinoff series, Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them, which will mark her screenwriting debut.

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Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures