The Twelve Days Of Harry Potter

Hold your wands steady, Harry Potter fans. J.K. Rowling, whom many recognize as the genius behind the Harry Potter novels, released a statement in a Pottermore newsletter this past Friday that she will be releasing 12 new Harry Potter short stories, beginning December 12. One story will be released each day throughout the 12 days preceding Christmas day, Variety informs fans of the series.

There is a catch.

Pottermore, which is a free-to-use website that uses interactive participation to delve into unknown facets of the Harry Potter novels, revealed to its members that, in order to gain access to the new stories, they will have to solve a daily conundrum and tweet #PottermoreChristmas. So, what are these stories about? The Pottermore newsletter reported that they are “brand new moments from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Other tidbits to make Harry Potter fans drool include references to shiny gold Galleons and new potions, as well as the insinuation that readers may finally learn what J.K. Rowling herself really thinks about Potter’s nemesis, Draco Malfoy. One story in particular will center on Florean Fortescue’s ghost. As Potter fans may remember, Florean Fortescue was dragged away and subsequently murdered by Death Eaters for reasons unknown.

Previously, J.K. Rowling has released other new Harry Potter content for this past Halloween, according to a story posted by News.com.au. That story focused on the Hogwarts teacher and witch, Dolores Umbridge. The Umbridge character was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the famous Harry Potter series. Upon the release of that story, Rowling likened Umbridge to Lord Voldemort, because she also possessed a “desire to control, to punish, and to inflict pain, all in the name of law and order, are, I think, every bit as reprehensible as Lord Voldemort’s unvarnished espousal of evil.”

Umbridge was portrayed by Imelda Staunton in the Harry Potter films.

The character of Dolores Umbridge was based upon a teacher Rowling had once had in real life, the author reported. She confessed in an essay that this teacher, upon whom the Umbridge character is based, is someone “whom I disliked intensely on sight. The woman in question returned my antipathy with interest. Why we took against each other so instantly, heartily and (on my side, at least) irrationally, I honestly cannot say.”

For related news, check out this story on J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts.