Harry Potter

Harry Potter fans can't really give the shirts off their backs to help a house elf, but they're getting close.

Dobby the house elf from the wizarding series of books has his own display in the Warner Bros. Studio tour, featuring him encased in glass, with his eyes closed for some reason.



Well intrepid, altruistic people saw a chance to free the little guy.

Vulture noticed the pictures and wrote about the impromptu jail break

Friends of the house elf have festooned one of his exhibit cases with their socks, a nod to both Dobby's HP story line, as well as the fact that house elves are granted independence if they are given an item of clothing.

People have been trying to free Dobby at the WB Studio Tour 😢 pic.twitter.com/qTduzDmZvu

— Hogwarts Logic (@HogwartsLogic) September 27, 2015

J.K. Rowling retweeted the initial mention, because she has a Twitter problem, and the idea began to spread.

@HogwartsLogic @jk_rowling I did the same in Paris haha !! :-) #freedomforDobby pic.twitter.com/QeuuFFPdJw

— Marion (@xCharlie_) September 30, 2015

So, basically, if you go on the Warner Bros. Studio tour and it smells bad, you know why.

As an orphan, Harry must have some serious questions about his lineage. Aunt Petunia probably has some answers about the Evans side. Hopefully there's a genealogy potion he can take to figure out about his father's wizarding side. On second thought, he can probably just ask Hermione.



But for us fans, JK Rowling has it covered. In a new piece for her site, Pottermore, Rowling goes into detail about the Potter clan and how they came into possession of one of The Deathly Hallows. It also turns out they have a long history of benevolence toward their Muggle neighbors.

"Ralston Potter, who was a member from 1612-1652, and who was a great supporter of the Statute of Secrecy (as opposed to declaring war on the Muggles, as more militant members wished to do) and Henry Potter... Henry caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War."

Check out the full piece at Pottermore.

If you need another reminder that time's flat circle will eventually roll over and crush you, it might as well be in the form of Harry Potter news.

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the public's introduction to Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as the three precocious, magical children who found adventure, friendship and eventually love in the halls of Hogwarts.

Seriously, 15 years.



You probably have memories of this, don't you? Meaning you are even older than old.

Here's part of the original press release that preceded the filming of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:

ATTENTION ALL MUGGLES! Director Chris Columbus and producer David Heyman have discovered their Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger from the thousands of children who cast their names into the hat to play the roles. Young actor Daniel Radcliffe will be the film's Harry, with newcomers Rupert Grint and Emma Watson taking on the roles of Ron and Hermione, Harry's best friends at Hogwarts, in Warner Bros. Pictures' upcoming adaptation of the first in the best-selling series of Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling.

The hashtag #15yearsofDanEmmaRupert has sprung up around the anniversary with people sharing their memories and their appreciation for the wizarding trio.

By the by, this is what they look like now:



And you're probably older. Much older.

Sorry about the reminder that death is hurtling towards you at lightning speed.

JK Rowling's trying to help you get cultured, y'all! Coming soon to a theater (not the movie kind) near you (well, in London) is a brand new Harry Potter play called Cursed Child. JK didn't offer any plot details, but who are we kidding; if it's Harry Potter related, we're in.



Working alongside JK on this project are Tony award winning director John Tiffany (Once) and screenwriter/playright Jack Thorne (Skins, Cast-offs, The Scouting Book for Boys). She's said the play won't be a prequel, but as for what the Cursed Child actually is, we'll have to wait and see.

In other Harry Potter news that will probably make you feel old, JK Rowling reminded us that the first Harry Potter novel was published EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO. Do you remember where you were when the wizarding world of Harry Potter first came to be?

Everyone's least favorite muggle family got a lot of coverage in JK Rowling's latest Pottermore update.  If you're partial to reading it yourself, you can do a puzzle on Pottermore to unlock the new story or just read it here.  If you just want the highlights, read on:

Uncle Vernon hates Harry because he looks so much like James.  Once again, Harry's strong genes that leave him looking like his dad have come back to bite him.  Vernon Dursley and James Potter didn't get along, so seeing Harry is just a constant reminder of a dude Vernon hates.  

Petunia, on the other hand, feels guilty about how terribly she treated her witch sister and takes that out on Harry.  Petunia was jealous of how much attention Lily got from their parents, and secretly wished she too could have been a witch.  Petunia cut Lily out of her wedding, and upon hearing of Lily's death, was racked with enough guilt to take Harry in.  Apparently that guilt wasn't strong enough to help her treat Harry decently

In another interesting tidbit revealed in this update, Rowling describes how Hagrid and Dumbledore got their names:

The colours red and white are mentioned many times in old texts on alchemy. One interpretations is that they, like base metal and gold, represent two different sides of human nature, which much be reconciled. This was the inspiration for the Christian names of Rubeus (red) Hagrid and Albus (white) Dumbledore. These two men, both hugely important to Harry, seem to me to represent two sides of the ideal father figure he seeks; the former is warm, practical and wild, the latter impressive, intellectual, and somewhat detached. 

Aw man, why couldn't Hagrid and Dumbledore have raised Harry full time?  Stinkin' Dursleys.

If I had a dollar for every time I saw a "I didn't get my letter from Hogwarts" joke, I'd probably have as much money as JK Rowling, who apparently now has the luxury of spending her days responding to fans on Twitter.  



The author's latest entry into the JK Rowling Twitter Hall of Fame (seriously, she's basically the president of the great nation of Twitter at this point) reminds you that even if your letter didn't arrive by owl, you definitely went to Hogwarts.  So wipe those tears from your eyes and let the books be your Hogwarts Express.

J.K. Rowling confirmed a fan June 5 in their celebration of the character Draco Malfoy's birthday. She even let slip his age.

At the ripe, old age of 35, Draco can now officially be elected the President of the United States. Except for the fact that he was probably born in England. Or in the Wizarding World. Or whatever.

But if his parents took a portkey to America for the birth of their son and he was naturalized in the colonies, he could still make a run for it.

Rowling didn't stop there.

She amazingly took on a fan who doubted the legitimacy of Harry's naming his son after Serverus Snape.

What a basic fan complaint. Why do you engage with this J.K.? Don't you have things to do? Where are your children?

After Harry Potter author and resident Twitter Goddess JK Rowling tweeted a message of love and admiration for Ireland's recent gay marriage vote outcome by proposing a marriage between Dumbledore and Gandalf, the Westboro Baptist Church (regarded as the resident cesspool of humanity) challenged her fantastic meme by saying they'd picket any such union:



Rowling shut them down deftly, but one twitter user suggested that may not have been the right thing to do:



JK rebutted by saying the WBC wasn't what was important, but rather her show of support for those who need it:



You go, JK Rowling!

It's unclear whether she means "hey, sorry, I wish I hadn't killed him" or "hey, what a bummer, it makes me sad too," but JK Rowling has started a new tradition of apologizing for character deaths with the one and only Fred Weasley.  

After an initial tweet said she was sorry about Fred, one fan asked about Tonks and Lupin.  Rowling replied, "I thought I might apologise for one death per anniversary. Fred was the worst for me, so I started with him."  I'll just be sitting here waiting on apologies for Hedwig and Dobby.


Another fan sought inspiration from the author, who provided a few lovely and humbling images that may get you through a future rough day:



D'aww.  That cute little sloth makes up for Fred...a little.

The internet is full of things that don't need to be mashed together, and I thought this pairing of Harry Potter and Uptown Funk was one of them.  I was wrong.  "Dark Lord Funk" is clever and catchy and I'll be singing it all day.

Luna Lovegood is a Phoebe if I've ever seen one.