Earlier this month, we had the chance to catch up with the wizarding world of Harry Potter once again when J.K. Rowling reminded us all that this September 1st was the day that James Sirius Potter, the eldest child of Ginny and Harry, headed off to Hogwarts to begin his first year. And as an added treat, the author also revealed that young James had been sorted into Gryffindor later that day. But now, Rowling has offered up even more information about the Potter Family for the first time ever as a part of the relaunch of Pottermore.
Originally acting as an interactive way to read the classic novels and learn additional details about the magical world that the writer had created though games and such, Pottermore.com has been completely redesigned to be the “digital heart of the Wizarding World” where fans can still read new information on their favorite creatures and characters while they get the latest news from the continuing franchise. Plus you’ll still be able to get sorted into your Hogwarts House, which is one of the few things to carry over from the old setup. Check out this teaser video outlining the new purpose of the site:
To kick off this new chapter in the Harry Potter story, the writer kicked off this new venture with an article chronicling the beginnings of the Potter family starting all the way back in the 12th century with Linfred of Stinchcombe, “a locally well-beloved and eccentric man” with the nickname ‘The Potterer’. That nickname eventually became corrupted into “Potter” and he became known for his cures and potions, including the commonly used Skele-gro and Pepperup Potion. The sale of these potions resulted in a sizable fortune for his seven children. The inheritance was then quadrupled when Fleamont Potter (Harry’s grandfather) created Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion (which was famously used by Hermione at the Yule Ball). This explains the mountains of galleons, sickles, and knuts inside a Gringotts vault left to Harry after his parents’ death.
The story also explains how the Potters came to have possession of the legendary Invisibility Cloak. Linfred’s eldest son Hardwin Potter married Iolanthe Peverell, the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. As legend tells us, Ignotus was one of the three brothers that became the first owners of the Deathly Hallows. He went on to pass down the cloak to the eldest of each generation, a tradition that Hardwin and Iolanthe continued by passing it down to their son, James AKA Harry’s father.
You can head over to Pottermore to check out the entire fascinating backstory right here. After you do, let us know what you think about this new ‘Harry Potter’ information and the newly revamped Pottermore.com in the comments below.
