J.K. Rowling has returned to the world of Harry Potter that she created for a new short story that reunites her former boy-wizard hero — now an adult — with his old friends and allies from Hogwarts, the school that brought them all together.
Posted on the series’ official website Pottermore.com, the 1,500-word story is set at the Quidditch World Cup, and is framed as a report on the event by “Rita Skeeter,” a gossip columnist for the fictional newspaper The Daily Prophet who appeared in multiple books. In her report, Skeeter describes the reunion of Harry with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger — now married with children of their own — as well as fellow former classmates Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. Harry is described as having “threads of silver” in his hair and a mysterious scar above his cheek. He’s accompanied by his wife, Ginny (Ron’s sister), and their children.
The short story arrives online seven years after the publication of the final novel in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which hit shelves in July 2007 and went on to sell 11 million copies in 24 hours.
Rowling has written a series of brief stories set during the Quidditch World Cup for Pottermore.com, but this is the first one that directly involved her famous characters and offered some indication of what they’ve been up to since the events of The Deathly Hallows. Her final article — a report on the championship Quidditch match between Brazil and Bulgaria — will be posted to the site July 11 ahead of the real-world World Cup’s final, which occurs July 13.
