J.K. Rowling Releases New Writings On The Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft And Wizardry

By Karen Valenzuela (@VictoriaNoir89)

 

A few months ago, J.K. Rowling not only revealed the name of the North American version of the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she also released a series of writings that detailed magic in North America from the 14th century to the beginning of the 20th century.

 

In the last few days, the official interactive Harry Potter site, Pottermore.com, published more of Rowling’s writings. This time, she tells us about Ilvermorny, North America’s answer to the school most of us wanted to attend when we were growing up. Let’s be real, though, because we’re all still waiting for our Hogwarts letters, am I right?

 

The Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry officially has a setting, as well. Ilvermorny was built on the highest peak of Massachusetts, known as Mount Greylock, all the way back in the seventeenth century.

 

 

The newly released story chronicles the life and times of Ilvermorny’s founding witch, from her birth in Ireland, all the way to the founding of the school and even the school’s growth. We learn about the different houses of Ilvermorny, why they are named as such, who named them, and what each house represents. We even learn how Ilvermorny sorts its students, and SPOILER ALERT, it does not include an old and tattered talking hat.

 

The heart and warmth that J.K. Rowling infused into her Harry Potter series is still very much present in this story. The characters are rich with depth, the world even more so. And many who have finished reading the new installment on Pottermore have been begging for the stories to be realized in the form of their own series. Whether that’s likely to happen or not is another story altogether. J.K. Rowling is a very busy woman at the moment. (Although, when is she not a very busy woman? She’s J.K. Rowling, after all.)

 

Want to read about Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? You can read the story HERE. Have you been sorted into your Ilvermorny house yet? Sign up for a (free!!) Pottermore account and you can take the sorting quiz for both Hogwarts and Ilvermorny!

 

As Rowling asserted on twitter, the Ilvermorny houses are not equivalents to the Hogwarts houses. So if you’re a Gryffindor in Hogwarts, don’t expect the house you’re sorted into at Ilvermorny to have the same traits!

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Rowling’s new two-part play that picks up nineteen years after we leave Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the end of Book 7 (epilogue aside), opens July 30, 2016 in London’s West End, and the official script book will be sold the day after the play’s premiere. Cursed Child is being called the eighth book in the series, so you can bet readers will be lining up for the midnight release just like they did for the first seven.

 

And don’t forget! In November, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them hits theaters! The film chronicles Newt Scamander’s adventures in 1926 New York City. Scamander and his book of magical creatures was mentioned often in the original Harry Potter series. David Yates, who directed the last few Harry Potter films, is back to direct this one, and it stars Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne as Scamander.
Have you already been sorted into an Ilvermorny house? Let us know which house you’re in!

Matt Goodman
via The Nerd Machine

http://www.thenerdmachine.com/j-k-rowling-releases-new-writings-on-the-ilvermorny-school-of-witchcraft-and-wizardry/