But let's be real as to why I made up this feature: I just want the opportunity to post something about Harry Potter.
My plan this week had been to post my review of the latest Cormoran Strike novel, Career of Evil. But then A Celebration of Harry Potter in Orlando had to go and reveal all sorts of new exciting news from the Wizarding World, so it seemed more pressing to talk about that instead:
New Fantastic Beasts Preview:
Oh man! This looks so awesome!! The teaser trailer was awesome too, but it's so cool to be getting some insight into the film's storyline, characters, sets, etc. I don't know, it may be too early for me to be getting so excited about a movie that we've seen so little of so far and won't be released until November of this year, but... I can't help it!
New Cursed Child Preview:
Okay, well this preview for the upcoming West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child might not be as exciting as the Fantastic Beasts preview because it has a lot less to show, but it's still an interesting behind the scenes look at the beautiful Palace Theatre where the play will be running starting this July. And maybe this preview means we will soon get to see pictures of the play's cast in action!
Pottermore is Updated:
Some people were dismayed when, a few months ago, Pottermore's read-along moments feature (with sorting and wand quizzes, and house cup tournaments) were taken down to be replaced with a simple news site. Though I admit I wasn't a fan of some of the more childish aspects of the original Pottermore, I was a bit bummed that they just up and took down everything that the site was based around. Well, the moments and house cup seem to be gone for good, but this weekend, Pottermore brought back the Sorting and Wand Selection quizzes, along with some new writings from J.K. Rowling.
Though I have been sorted before, I wanted to see if I would get the same result so I took the sorting quiz again. And - naturally - I was sorted into Hufflepuff again (Puff Pride!):
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| Pottermore House in 2011 |
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| Pottermore House in 2016 |
My wand, however... I have a new wand! I guess I must have answered the quiz questions slightly differently?
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| Pottermore Wand in 2011 |
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| Pottermore Wand in 2016 |
Anyone else get re-sorted and re-wanded on Pottermore this weekend? Let me know your results in the comments below - I'm curious if anyone had any changes like I did!
Maybe the most exciting piece of Pottermore news to come out of A Celebration of Harry Potter was new information from Jo about wizarding schools around the world:
According to Jo, there are eleven long-established wizarding schools in the world (though there are also plenty of smaller ones, apparently). In addition to the ones that we already know about (Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang), there is also Mahoutokoro (in Japan), Uagadou (in Africa), Castelobruxo (in Brazil), and Ilvermorny (in North America). Of course, that's only 7 out of the 11 supposed main wizarding schools in the world, so we're still waiting to hear more about that from Jo. But in the meantime, you can read a bit about each of the aforementioned magic schools here.
Exciting news, no? I know I have always wondered about international wizarding schools beyond Hogwarts for us non-UK folk. Now I only need to know one more thing: what the heck happened to my Ilvermorny letter??
Oh my goodness! So much HP news!!! I am beyond excited for the movie and the play! I will be going to London in 2017 to see the play!!!!! And every new piece of news about is getting me more and more excited. I'm glad there's so much to stay excited about in the HP franchise. Also, I wonder if there will be a movie based off The Tales of Beedle the Bard or Quiddith through the Ages. Have you heard anything?
ReplyDeleteOMG Nori!! That is SO exciting! I won't be able to make it to London I think, so you'll have to share everything on your blog so that I can live through your experience of the play!
DeletePretty sure the other short books in the HP universe have at least been optioned by Warner Bros - we'll see if anything comes of them! (Hopefully with Jo's involvement)
I got sorted into Ravenclaw. I originally was Gryffindor. I think Ravenclaw is more appropriate for me so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteGlad it worked out for you!
DeleteThere's been SO MUCH HP NEWS lately, it's been absolutely brilliant ♥ I hadn't seen the first two videos you shared so thank you so much for that :D I hope they end up adapting The Cursed Child into a book because I'd love to have access to that story. Fantastic Beasts just looks fantastic though doesn't it?!
ReplyDeleteAs for the Pottermore sorting and wand selection. Here's a fun story. Way back, when I first joined Pottermore, I'd been sorted into Hufflepuff. The end quiz had asked which I'd prefer: Hufflepuff and Slytherin (I guess it was a toss up) and obviously, I'd gone with Hufflepuff. Then I'd lost my login info after an email change so I'd made up a new account and ended up in Gryffindor. Naturally, when I saw the quizzes were up again, I was curious where I'd end up. Well, I guess I'm a true Lion because I ended up in Gryffindor again!
The news about the other Wizarding Schools is amazing though - I want to know EVERYTHING about the schools so I can dream about attending every single one LOL!
SO fantastic!! And I have heard rumours that they will release the play in book version... we shall see.
DeleteThat's interesting! I guess you're an unsure, iffy case when it comes to sorting. The Sorting Hat prob would have taken a long time with you :p Unlike you, I'm pretty much a Puff through and through :D
And yes, I hope we get to hear about the other 4 main international schools soon (as well as more about Ilvermorny because that page hasn't been updated yet)!
Yaay for awesome post Aylee :D Thank you for sharing about all of these Harry Potter news. <3 So awesome. I took the sorting hat in 2011. I got Slytherin :D But didn't save my wand.. and I wanted to check again last week, but my account would not log in. I had my username and email used and password saved from years ago, but it would not log in. It wouldn't send me a new passord, and so I tried making a new account.. and I could. With the same email. Ugh. Which means they deleted my old account. Which makes me a bit angry, lol. But anyway. I took the quiz, and I got Slytherin, for the second time :) And YAY for you getting same result twice too :) That is awesome. Gorgeous post sweetie. <3
ReplyDeleteYeah, they got rid of all of that history for everyone. It's really quite bizarre. Why not just pass on all the stats to the new website? That's why everyone had to get sorted and wanded again.
DeleteFunny, I went from Hufflepuff to Ravenclaw. Honestly, I would have been fine with either one of those!
ReplyDeleteHeh, good :)
DeleteI'll have to watch the videos later when I have more time. I was confused on why people were re-sorting themselves, but I guess the change of the website makes sense. I need to go and check again but I'm a bit nervous. I'm a Slytherin now and I love Slytherin. A lot of people on Twitter are mixing the house names if their sorting changes, like they are now a Huffleclaw and all that. hah I love it! I'll retake the quiz and let you know.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
haha, I'm def a Puff through and through, but I'm really curious if you end up switching. Funny, I don't really see you as a Slytherin!
DeleteThe Reading Room has videos - I watched the Top 5 Death Scenes from Harry Potter movies, wanted to share!!
ReplyDeletecool, maybe I'll look that up
DeleteHP news ftw! I love that map! And the trailer is gorgeous. So well done. Great post, you!
ReplyDeleteHeh, thanks :)
DeleteI wasn't going to re-sort myself because I'm Slytherin through and through but I couldn't help myself. I might have made a second account just to see if it would change but shhh don't tell anyone. Anyway, this time I received Gryffindor. I don't know how that worked out but oh well. I guess I could be a Slytherdor? That's a real thing right?
ReplyDeleteHeh, absolutely:D
DeleteYay!!! :D I think I ended up with the same exact wand as last time...and I'm still convinced it just looks like a knotty stick. haha It does have a unicorn hair core though, so that's pretty awesome. :) And I'm also still a Hufflepuff, and this time around I was happy with that sorting. I'm definitely a proud Hufflepuff now even though I was a bit disappointed when I was sorted the first time on Pottermore.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm super excited about Fantastic Beasts, too...it looks AMAZING! And so neat about the wizard schools!!! It's been an exciting HP time lately!
haha, I don't get the impression that real wands are as fancy as the stylized wands from the movies anyways. I'm so happy you are embracing your Hufflepuff-ness :D
Deletehaha you're probably right! The ones from the movies probably aren't even always made from real wood. :P haha I definitely am embracing my Hufflepuff-ness! :D I have to admit that even if I would love to be a Gryffindor for Bravery, a Ravenclaw for Intelligence, and Slytherin because they can be kind of badass, I definitely do fit Hufflepuff. I'm all about being positive and kind to others...and sometimes I really do bring random batches of cookies to work, so I do pretty much fit perfectly in to Hufflepuff. :)
DeleteGood :D
DeleteSUCH AN EXCITING POST!!!
ReplyDeleteAw, it's so nice that you're Hufflepuff. Most of my internet friends get sorted into the house and that makes me so happy because you guys are the best of the lot! I'm a Gryffindor. There's a part of me that wishes to be sorted into Slytherin, but I guess that's not happening.
Sarika @ The Readdicts
Hey, and I got a new wand too!
DeleteI got my Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book today.
ReplyDeleteI ordered it off Amazon and they delivered it in just 2 days!
Check them out:
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2, Special Rehearsal Edition Script