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Work topic: harry potter

Contribution: The Birthday Book

non fiction contribution

Index ID: TBB — Publication date: October 1st, 2008

Note: This is an edited extract from The Birthday Book, published by Jonathan Cape to mark the 60th birthday of the Prince of Wales.

I admit that, at first glance, the extract I’ve chosen for The Birthday Book might not seem particularly celebratory, given that it has for its subject my hero walking to what he believes will be certain death. But when Harry takes his last, long walk into the heart of the Dark Forest, he is choosing to accept a burden that fell on him when still a tiny child, in spite of the fact that he never sought the role for which he has been cast, never wanted the scar with which he has been marked. As his mentor, Albus Dumbledore, has tried to make clear to Harry, he could have refused to follow the path marked out for him. In spite of the weight of opinion and expectation that singles him out as the “Chosen One”, it is Harry’s own will that takes him into the Forest to meet Voldemort, prepared to suffer the fate that he escaped sixteen years before.

The destinies of wizards and princes might seem more certain than those carved out for the rest of us, yet we all have to choose the manner in which we meet life: whether to live up (or down) to the expectations placed upon us; whether to act selfishly, or for the common good; whether to steer the course of our lives ourselves, or to allow ourselves to be buffeted around by chance and circumstance. Birthdays are often moments for reflection, moments when we pause, look around, and take stock of where we are; children gleefully contemplate how far they have come, whereas adults look forwards into the trees, wondering how much further they have to go. This extract from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is my favourite part of the seventh book; it might even be my favourite part of the entire series, and in it, Harry demonstrates his truly heroic nature, because he overcomes his own terror to protect the people he loves from death, and the whole of his society from tyranny.

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Harry Potter Prequel

manuscript

Index ID: PREQ — Publication date: June 10th, 2008

Note: The Harry Potter prequel is an 800-word, untitled short story written in 2008 as part of a charity auction event, for which it fetched £25,000. On 11 June 2008, Waterstones held a charity event called "What's Your Story?". Thirteen authors, including Rowling, were invited to write stories on an A5 card for auction with proceeds going to English PEN and Dyslexia Action. A facsimile of the postcards were later published in the limited book "What's your Story?" by Waterstones.

The speeding motorcycle took the sharp corner so fast in the darkness that both policemen in the pursuing car shouted ‘whoa!’ Sergeant Fisher slammed his large foot on the brake, thinking that the boy who was riding pillion was sure to be flung under his wheels; however, the motorbike made the turn without unseating either of its riders, and with a wink of its red tail light, vanished up the narrow side street.

‘We’ve got ’em now!’ cried PC Anderson excitedly. ‘That’s a dead end!’

Leaning hard on the steering wheel and crashing his gears, Fisher scraped half the paint off the flank of the car as he forced it up the alleyway in pursuit.

There in the headlights sat their quarry, stationary at last after a quarter of an hour’s chase. The two riders were trapped between a towering brick wall and the police car, which was now crashing towards them like some growling, luminous-eyed predator.

There was so little space between the car doors and the walls of the alley that Fisher and Anderson had difficulty extricating themselves from the vehicle. It injured their dignity to have to inch, crab-like, towards the miscreants. Fisher dragged his generous belly along the wall, tearing buttons off his shirt as he went, and finally snapping off the wing mirror with his backside.

‘Get off the bike!’ he bellowed at the smirking youths, who sat basking in the flashing blue light as though enjoying it.

They did as they were told. Finally pulling free from the broken wind mirror, Fisher glared at them. They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair; his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter’s guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, tuneless rock band.

‘No helmets!’ Fisher yelled, pointing from one uncovered head to the other. ‘Exceeding the speed limit by – by a considerable amount!’ (In fact, the speed registered had been greater than Fisher was prepared to accept that any motorcycle could travel.) ‘Failing to stop for the police!’

‘We’d have loved to stop for a chat,’ said the boy in glasses, ‘only we were trying -‘

‘Don’t get smart – you two are in a heap of trouble!’ snarled Anderson. ‘Names!’

‘Names?’ repeated the long-haired driver. ‘Er – well, let’s see. There’s Wilberforce… Bathsheba… Elvendork…’

‘And what’s nice about that one is, you can use it for a boy or a girl,’ said the boy in glasses.

‘Oh, OUR names, did you mean?’ asked the first, as Anderson spluttered with rage. ‘You should’ve said! This here is James Potter, and I’m Sirius Black!’

‘Things’ll be seriously black for you in a minute, you cheeky little -‘

But neither James nor Sirius was paying attention. They were suddenly as alert as gundogs, staring past Fisher and Anderson, over the roof of the police car, at the dark mouth of the alley. Then, with identical fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets.

For the space of a heartbeat both policemen imagined guns gleaming at them, but a second later they saw that the motorcyclists had drawn nothing more than –

‘Drumsticks?’ jeered Anderson. ‘Right pair of jokers, aren’t you? Right, we’re arresting you on a charge of -‘

But Anderson never got to name the charge. James and Sirius had shouted something incomprehensible, and the beams from the headlights had moved.

The policemen wheeled around, then staggered backwards. Three men were flying – actually FLYING – up the alley on broomsticks – and at the same moment, the police car was rearing up on its back wheels.

Fisher’s knees bucked; he sat down hard; Anderson tripped over Fisher’s legs and fell on top of him, as FLUMP – BANG – CRUNCH – they heard the men on brooms slam into the upended car and fall, apparently insensible, to the ground, while broken bits of broomstick clattered down around them.

The motorbike had roared into life again. His mouth hanging open, Fisher mustered the strength to look back at the two teenagers.

‘Thanks very much!’ called Sirius over the throb of the engine. ‘We owe you one!’

‘Yeah, nice meeting you!’ said James. ‘And don’t forget: Elvendork! It’s unisex!’

There was an earth-shattering crash, and Fisher and Anderson threw their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back to the ground. Now it was the motorcycle’s turn to rear. Before the policemen’s disbelieving eyes, it took off into the air: James and Sirius zoomed away into the night sky, their tail light twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby.

From the prequel I am not working on – but that was fun!

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Rumours (Desktop Website)

non fiction official website

Index ID: RUMDW — Publication date: May 16th, 2004 to February 29th, 2008

Harry will be asked to become Minister of Magic in book seven

Seventeen is much too young to enter politics.

I am ‘Witch No. 1’ in the film of ‘Chamber of Secrets’.

Nope, not true, sorry. The filmmakers did ask me to play Lily Potter in the Mirror of Erised scene in the first film, but I really am not cut out to be an actress, even one who just has to stand there and wave. I would have messed it up somehow.

Book six is going to be called ‘Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch’ or ‘the Mountain of Fantasy’ and book seven is going to be called ‘Harry Potter and the Fortress of Shadows’ or ‘the Forest of Shadows’

Not even close! Who makes these up?! And this green torch business seems to be cropping up everywhere. Do you really think getting rid of Voldemort would be that easy?

Professor Lupin has a twin

No, but this obviously sprang from the fact that Lupin’s Christian name (Remus) comes from one of the mythical founders of Rome who had a twin called ‘Romulus’. (They were raised by wolves, incidentally).

Neville Longbottom is Peter Pettigrew’s son

See response for ‘Lily Potter was a Death Eater’ above.

Crookshanks is an Animagus

No, he’s not, but he’s not pure cat either. If you buy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (all royalties to Comic Relief, which means you’re helping some of the poorest children around the world) you might just be able to work out what Crookshanks really is.

I am going to write a book about Lily and James once I’ve finished the seven books about Harry Potter

Hmm… once again, too much Star Wars can do this to a person. No prequels are planned.

Lily Potter Was Once a Death Eater

How dare you?!

Lily Potter is still alive

No, afraid not.

Voldemort is Harry’s real father/grandfather/close relative of some description

No, no, no, no, no. You lot have been watching much too much Star Wars. James is DEFINITELY Harry’s father. Doesn’t everybody Harry meets say ‘you look just like your father’? And hasn’t Dumbledore already told Harry that Voldemort is the last surviving descendent of Salazar Slytherin? Just to clarify – this means that Harry is NOT a descendent of Salazar Slytherin.

Professor Dumbledore is Harry’s real grandfather/close relative of some description.

If Dumbledore had been Harry’s grandfather, why on earth would he have been sent to live with the Dursleys?

The mysterious ‘Icicle’

I have been told that I once promised a character with this name during an interview. I can only think that somebody misheard what I said because at no stage have I ever planned a character called ‘Icicle.’ Professor Bicycle, on the other hand, will be a key figure in books six and seven.* *this is a joke

JKR is deadly serious when she forbids people to call Voldemort ‘Voldy’

Erm… I was joking. I thought it was very amusing when I found a chat room full of people calling him ‘Voldy’. Maybe I should develop a secret symbol that means ‘this is a joke’, a kind of anti-Dark Mark? And incidentally… I wasn’t really Squidward that day in the MuggleNet chat room, either. That’s a SpongeBob SquarePants in-joke. I used a different name. So you can all stop logging on as Squidward now 😉

The text on the book behind the (ahem) impossible-to-open door means something highly significant.

It doesn’t; it’s simply filler, as many of you knew. (And if you don’t understand what I’m talking about here, you weren’t online when a clever Potter fan hacked his way through the door with the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on it.)

JKR is not really talking on this site, but instructing other people to write on her behalf.

It’s definitely me.

Book Six is called ‘The Toenail of Icklibõgg’

Well, if you believed the ‘Storgé’ one…

Book Six is called ‘The Pillar of Storgé’

I am trying very hard not to feel offended that anyone thought this was possible. ‘Storgé’, for crying out loud. Come on, people, get a grip.

Gideon and Fabian Prewett were Molly Weasley’s brothers

Yes, they were, but their history is not particularly significant in terms of the overall plot, except in so far as their deaths obviously explain and excuse some of Mrs. Weasley’s fears and her arguably over-protective stance with regard to Harry.

The Order of the Phoenix communicates using chocolate frog cards

This is such a great idea that I was in two minds whether to shoot it down; however, a chocolate frog card, or any object that would have to be remembered and carried on the person, would always be vulnerable to loss, destruction or trickery. The Order communicates in a way that requires nothing but a wand. You saw the Order’s method of communication in use even before you knew about the existence of the Order; it was employed by an Order member.

The Lestranges were sent after Neville to kill him

No, they weren’t, they were very definitely sent after Neville’s parents. I can’t say too much about this because it touches too closely on the prophecy and how many people knew about it, but the Lestranges were not in on the secret.

Luna and Neville will hook up in HP&THBP

The Luna/Neville shippers are much less vehement and scary than the Harry/Hermione, Ron/Hermione tribes, so I hope I won’t receive too much hate mail for quashing this rumour. I see Neville and Luna as very different kinds of people and while they share a certain isolation within Hogwarts, I don’t think that’s enough to foster true love – friendship, perhaps, although I think that Neville would always find Luna’s wilder flights of fancy alarming.

Harry stands trial again in HP&THBP

This theory has been put forward to explain why Harry does not spend as long in Privet Drive during this book as previous ones, but I am happy to say that he leaves the Dursleys early for a much pleasanter reason than a court case.

‘Half-Blood Prince’ will have 38 chapters

Listen carefully, I shall say this only once: the only sources you should trust concerning information on the Half-Blood Prince are official spokespeople for my publishers and my official website. As a spokesperson for Bloomsbury, my UK publisher, has already said, HBP is shorter than Order of the Phoenix, and I can tell you now that it has fewer than 38 chapters. Let’s face it: it wouldn’t be a new Harry Potter book if hoaxers didn’t pop up regularly on the net claiming to know new characters or plot-lines, or to have found stray chapters lying around a printer’s back yard. I can’t waste time denying each and every lunatic rumour, because I’ve got editing to do! So let’s agree here and now that each of these ‘claims’ comes with a free barrel of salt and rise together above the madness.

The painting on the wall of the study Means Something

Well, it means something to me. Lightmaker asked me a couple of weeks ago who my favourite artist is and I didn’t know why until I opened the door myself, but there it was, a little Caravaggio hanging on my study wall – a fantasy Christmas present if ever there was one.

The questions and riddles we had to answer before retrieving the secret message behind the door on 20th December are clues to the plot of ‘Half-Blood Prince’.

I was thinking of cracker riddles when I made up these challenges (crackers are a British Christmas institution; for those who don’t know, they are wrapped and decorated cardboard tubes that typically contain a paper hat, a present – usually something small and plastic – and a joke or riddle. Two people take an end of the cracker and pull it apart; it goes off with a loud bang, or crack, due to what a quick Google search informs me is ‘a strip of chemically impregnated paper’. You generally pull a cracker prior to eating your Christmas dinner, so that you can wear the stupid hat for photographs). Anyway: the riddles and jokes you find within crackers have no deeper meaning or significance and nor, I’m afraid, do mine. You all worked out very quickly that the riddle answers made ‘Half-Blood Prince’, but the three questions relating to Harry, Ron and Hermione relate firmly to past, and not future, books – nothing to do with the publication date, not an anagram, not a clue to the plot of HBP. I greatly enjoyed the facetious speculation about the corned beef-loving otters from Bristol, though.

There will be a chapter in Half-Blood Prince called ‘Lupin’s Papers’

I’ve already answered this in FAQs, but as this rumour is still cropping up in fan letters I thought I’d reiterate here that there will be NO chapter called ‘Lupin’s Papers’ in book six, nor will there be chapters entitled ‘Pettigrew’s Pamphlets,’ ‘Sirius’s Circulars’ or ‘the Pocket Crosswords of Severus Snape’. Let me remind you once again that any ‘information’ about the contents of ‘Half-Blood Prince’ should be treated with extreme scepticism unless it comes from this website or from my publishers or agent. The silly season is upon us; there’s bound to be an ‘inside leak’, ie, total fabrication, any time now.

Colin and Dennis Creevey will be the new Gryffindor Beaters

Nice idea, but no. The new Gryffindor Beaters will be completely new finds of the new Captain’s.

Nicolas Flamel is going to come to Hogwarts to teach potions

Flamel has now died; Dumbledore explained in ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ that his old friend was going to choose death rather than allow his stone to fall into the wrong hands.

Dumbledore is really Ron/Harry ‘from the future’

Your inventiveness knows no bounds, and I do not mean that sarcastically; these theories open up exhilarating new vistas of possibility… but they’re wrong. Could it be that by speculating that Harry/Ron becomes Dumbledore, you are seeking reassurance that neither dies young? I’ve also heard a whisper about Ron and Hermione’s son time-travelling, so I shall go further and tell you that NONE of the characters in the books has returned from the future. As for the idea of Ron and Hermione having a son… (chuckles as the distant roars of a million shippers reach my ears, all cursing me to an eternity of unsatisfied curiosity).

The last part of the prophecy (‘neither can live while the other survives’) means that Harry and Neville will have to kill each other

Inventive and intriguing, but wrong. See the answer to the poll question for a little more elucidation on Neville’s relation to the prophecy.

Luna is Snape’s daughter

This is a most tantalising idea, but no, Mr. Lovegood, the editor of ‘the Quibbler’, really is Luna’s father and Snape does not have a daughter.

The Sorting Hat is a Horcrux

No, it isn’t. Horcruxes do not draw attention to themselves by singing songs in front of large audiences.

Lupin will come back as DADA teacher

Alas, no. Lupin’s exposure as a werewolf did irreparable damage to his prospects for a career in teaching, and with the likes of Fenrir Greyback out there, werewolves are unlikely to receive a good press any time soon.

Harry is a Metamorphmagus

A Metamorphmagus is a wizard who has the innate ability to transform their appearance completely, for instance, from black to white, young to old, handsome to plain and so on. In Harry’s extreme youth, he produced some impressive bits of uncontrolled magic when under stress, including making his own hair re-grow overnight after a particularly brutal haircut from Aunt Petunia (a dream that had its roots in my own childhood. My mother, God bless her, had the idea that she was much more skilled with the kitchen scissors than she really was, and I had a couple of shockingly dreadful ‘trims’ at her hands. How I wished that I could simply stick it all back on…) Anyway: before they have received training, very young witches and wizards are prone to unstable surges of power, often accidentally producing effects that they may have to train for a few years to be able to reproduce deliberately. Their magical ability is bottled up for weeks at a time and then, when made angry or frightened, it simply explodes out of them, sometimes (as in the case of the vanishing glass in the chapter of the same name, ‘Philosopher’s Stone) causing at least as much inconvenience to themselves as others. So Harry is not a Metamorphmagus – just a boy who was clearly magical from birth.

Mrs. Norris is an unregistered Animagus

No, she’s just an intelligent (and unpleasant) cat.

Book Seven will be called ‘Harry Potter and the Pyramids of Furmat’

The Pyramids of Furmat lie a few miles east of the famous Fortress of Shadows, not far from the magnificent Pillar of Storgé. Many tourists prefer to view these ancient monuments at night, when they are illuminated by the Green Flame Torch.

Peter Pettigrew’s silver hand will be used to kill Remus Lupin

Nice idea, clearly predicated on the legend that only a silver bullet can kill a werewolf – but incorrect.

Aunt Petunia will start exhibiting magical tendencies

No, she won’t. Aunt Petunia has never performed magic, nor will she ever be able to do so.

Leaky Mug: the wedding of Melissa Anelli and Emerson Spartz

Ah, Memerson… will any of us ever forget that whirlwind April marriage? OK, so it didn’t work out – but don’t be bitter. After all, in the brief twenty-four hours you remained together, you made something beautiful and lasting: the best little Wall of Shame any spoofily-wedded webmasters could wish for. I think I speak for many of us when I say: thanks for the laughter, thanks for the memories and thanks for the opportunity to read a whole year’s worth of abuse in ten minutes*. * If none of this makes any sense to you, see Mugglenet.com, The-Leaky-Cauldron.org and/or LeakyMug.com. It still might not make sense, though.

The W.O.M.B.A.T.* was graded to ensure that everybody passed

There were many variations on this rumour, for instance, you only needed two correct answers for an ‘Outstanding’, one for ‘Exceeds Expectations’, and everybody else got an ‘Acceptable’. I have also been asked whether grades were assigned at random. All such rumours are false. I wrote the examination, determined the marking scheme (which was quite complicated) and set the Grade levels, so you can take it from me, as the sole examiner, that if you received ‘Acceptable’ or higher you really earned your grade. Of course, this meant that some people had to fail, but what would be the point of putting you through all that work without giving you honestly earned rewards? Incidentally, shame on the people who thought the whole thing was a twisted April Fool’s joke. For one thing, the exam actually went up on March 31st. For another – when have I ever been that cruel?? *In case you missed it, the W.O.M.B.A.T. test was revealed when the ‘Do Not Disturb’ door last opened. Another (more advanced) W.O.M.B.A.T. will appear in due course.

Stubby Boardman is Regulus Black

No, he isn’t. Nice idea, though.

Book Seven will be called “Harry Potter and the Graveyard of Memories”

Wow, I never thought of that! Now I’ve got three titles to choose from! Only kidding. It won’t be called HP & the GOM.

Snape was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak on the night the Potters died

No, he wasn’t.

At the end of book seven, Harry and Voldemort will ‘merge’ to form a single persona who will command both the forces of good and of evil

This is not really a rumour, more a lone theory on the net that the son of a friend of mine pointed out to me. He wants me to repudiate it, so I’m repudiating: Harry will NOT merge with Voldemort to become a single entity, nor would Harry ever wish to command Death Eaters/Dementors/Inferi.

The announcement of the publication date on JKR’s website was unusually brief. This means that JKR is unhappy about the date.

This could not be further from the truth! The 21st July publication date has given me enough time to write the book I wanted to write, and for the manuscript to be properly edited. These are the most important things to me. An earlier date – eg, 7/7/07 – would have meant that either the writing or editing was rushed, and neither my publishers nor I wanted that. Any brevity in my announcement was down to the fact that I was busy editing!

One of the ‘J K Rowling’s on the social networking sites must be the real one.

No, sorry, not even one of them, though they do seem to lead very exciting lives, these fake J K Rowlings. I like to imagine them partying with all my imaginary friends (‘a close friend confided…’) in some bright and shiny alternative universe. But meanwhile, on planet earth, the dull human J K Rowling hasn’t got, and has never had, a profile on MySpace, Bebo or any similar site.

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Original Synopsis of Philosopher’s Stone

official website

Index ID: SYNHP1 — Publication date: May 15th, 2004

Note: In Rowling's own words, "the original synopsis of 'Philosopers Stone' which I sent out to Publishers and which kept wingin its way back!". The first part of the synopsis was shared on her website. The second part, from "mandres and wolfsbane are kept..." was available thanks to the British Library Exhibition and it was reproduced on the companion books of the event.

Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin because his parents died in a car-crash – or so he has always been told. The Dursleys don’t like Harry asking questinos; in fact, they don’t seem to like anything about him, especially the very odd things that keep happening around him (which Harry himself can’t explain).

The Dursleys’ greatest fear is that Harry will discover the truth about himself, so when letters start arriving for him near his eleventh birthday, he isn’t allowed to read them. However, the Dursleys aren’t dealing with an ordinary postman, and at midnight on Harry’s birthday the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid breaks down the door to make sure Harry gets to read his post at last. Ignoring the horrified Dursleys, Hagrid informs Harry that he is a wizard, and the letter the gives Harry explains that he is expected at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a month’s time.

To the Dursleys’ fury, Hagrid also reveals the truth about Harry’s past. Harry did not receive the scar on his forehead in a car-crash; it is really the mark of the great dark sorcerer Voldemort, who killed Harry’s mother and father but mysteriously couldn’t kill him, even though he was a baby at the time. Harry is famous among the witches and wizards who live in secret all over the country because Harry’s miraculous survival marked Voldemort’s downfall.

So Harry, who has never had friends or family worth the name, sets off for a new life in the wizarding world. He takes a trip to London with Hagrid to buy his Hogwarts equipment (robes, wand, cauldron, beginners’ draft and potion kit) and shortly afterwards, sets off for Hogwarts from Kings Cross Statino (platform nine and three quarters) to follow in his parents’ footsteps.

Harry makes friends with Ronald Weasley (sixth in his family to go to Hogwarts and tired of having to use second-hand spellbooks) and Hermione Granger (cleverest girl in the year and the only person in the class to know all the uses of dragon’s blood). Together, they have their first lessons in magic – astonomy up on the tallest tower at two in the morning, herbology out in the greenhouses where the mandrakes and wolfsbane are kept, potion down in the dungeons with the loathsome Severus Snape. Harry, Ron and Hermione discover the school’s secret passageways, learn how to deal with Peeves the poltergeist and how to tackle and angry mountain troll: best of all, Harry becomes a star player at Quidditch (wizard football played on broomsticks).

What interests Harry and his friends most, though, is why the corridor on the third floor is so heavily guarded. Following up a clue dropped by Hagrid (who, when is not delivering letters, is Hogwarts’ gamekeeper), they discover that the only Philosopher’s Stone in existance is being kept at Hogwarts, a stone with powers to give limitless wealth and eternal life. Harry, Ron and Hermione seem to be the only people who have realised that Snape the potions master is planning to steal the stone – and what terrible things it could do in the wrong hands. For the Philosopher’s Stone is all that is needed to bring Voldemort back to full strength and power… it seems Harry has come to Hogwarts to meet his parents’ killer face to face – with no idea how he survived last time…

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Wizard of the Month (Desktop Website)

official website

Index ID: WMDW — Publication date: May 5th, 2004 to October 1st, 2007

Felix Summerbee

(1447 – 1508) Inventor of Cheering Charms

Gwenog Jones

(1968 – present) Captain and Beater of only all-female national Quidditch Team, the Holyhead Harpies

Donaghan Tremlett

(1972 – present) Bass player with the popular wizarding band The Weird Sisters

Honoria Nutcombe

(1665 – 1743) Founded the Society for the Reformation of Hags.

Uric the Oddball

(Medieval, dates unknown) Highly eccentric wizard who is famed, among other things, for wearing a jellyfish for a hat.

Glenda Chittock

(1964 – present) Popular presenter of the W.W.N. (Wizarding Wireless Network) programme ‘Witching Hour’

Devlin Whitehorn

(1945 – present) Founder of the Nimbus racing broom company.

Ignatia Wildsmith

(1227 – 1320) The witch who invented Floo powder.

Derwent Shimpling

(1912 – present) Ate an entire Venomous Tentacula for a bet and survived, though is still purple.

Artemisia Lufkin

(1754 – 1825) First witch to become Minister for Magic.

Mungo Bonham

(1560 – 1659) Famous wizard healer. Founded St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Gondoline Oliphant

(1720 – 1799) Famous for studies of life and habits of trolls. Clubbed to death in the Cotswolds while sketching.

Felix Summerbee

(1447 – 1508) Inventor of Cheering Charms

Elfrida Clagg

(1612 – 1687) Chieftainess of Warlock’s Council

Chauncey Oldridge

(1342 – 1379) First known victim of dragon pox

Bridget Wenlock

(1202 – 1285) Famous Arithmancer. First to establish the magical properties of the number seven

Gaspard Shingleton

1959 – present. Celebrated inventor of the Self-Stirring Cauldron.

Fifi LaFolle

(1888 – 1971) Author of the ‘Enchanted Encounters’ series

Carlotta Pinkstone

1922 – present. Famous campaigner for lifting the International Confederation of Wizard’s Statute of Secrecy and telling Muggles that wizards still exist. Ms. Pinkstone has been imprisoned several times for her blatant and deliberate use of magic in public places.

Bowman Wright

1492 – 1560 Famous for developing the Golden Snitch.

Jocunda Sykes

1915 – present. Famous for flying across the Atlantic on a broomstick – the first person to do so.

Yardley Platt

1446 – 1557. Serial goblin-killer.

Daisy Dodderidge

1467 – 1555. First landlady of the Leaky Cauldron.

Grogan Stump

1770 – 1884 Popular Minister for Magic, appointed 1811.

Fabius Watkins

1940 – 1975 Legendary Captain and Chaser of Montrose Magpies. Died in freak collision with helicopter.

Daisy Hookum

1962 – present Wrote bestseller ‘My Life as a Muggle’, after giving up magic for a year. Married to celebrity gardener Tilden Toots.

Tarquin McTavish

1955 – present Imprisoned for crimes against Muggle neighbour, who was discovered trapped inside McTavish’s kettle.

Erica Stainwright

1932 – 2001 Disgraced 1950s housekeeping guru who made fortune selling ‘cleaning’ potions that really generated more mould and grime.

Hambledon Quince

1936 – present Author of controversial theory that wizards originate from Mars, Muggles from mushrooms.

Idris Oakby

1872 – 1985 Founder of the S.S.S. (Society for the Support of Squibs)

Lorcan d’Eath

1964 – present Heartthrob singer, part vampire, nineteen weeks at number 1 with hit song ‘Necks to You.’

Laurentia Fletwock

1947 – present Celebrated breeder and racer of winged horses. Has campaigned for tighter restrictions on broomstick use.

Harvey Ridgebit

1881 – 1973 Dragonologist, caught first Peruvian Vipertooth, established world’s largest dragon sanctuary in Romania.

Mnemone Radford

1562 – 1649 Developed Memory Modifying Charms. First Ministry of Magic Obliviator.

Tilden Toots

1959 – present ‘The wizard with three green thumbs’ Celebrity herbologist and radio personality

Magenta Comstock

1895 – 1991 Experimental artist whose portraits’ eyes not only follow the viewer around the room, but also follow them home.

Helga Hufflepuff

(Medieval, precise dates unknown) One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts, Hufflepuff was particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related Charms. Many recipes traditionally served at Hogwarts feasts originated with Hufflepuff.

Salazar Slytherin

Medieval (precise dates unknown) One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded Parselmouths, an accomplished Legilimens, and a notorious champion of pureblood supremacy.

Godric Gryffindor

Medieval (precise dates unknown) One of the four famous Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Godric Gryffindor was the most accomplished dueller of his time, an enlightened fighter against Muggle-discrimination and the first owner of the celebrated Sorting Hat.

Rowena Ravenclaw

Medieval (precise dates unknown). One of the four famous Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rowena Ravenclaw was the most brilliant witch of her time, though legend has it that a broken heart – cause unknown – contributed to her early demise.

Albus Dumbledore

1881 – 1996 Brilliant and often controversial headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore is most famous for his 1945 defeat of Grindelwald and his steadfast championing of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Dumbledore’s self-proclaimed proudest achievement, however, was featuring on a Famous Wizards Chocolate Frog Card.

Harry Potter

(1980 – ) The Boy Who Lived, only known survivor of the Avada Kedavra curse and conqueror of Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle. Harry Potter joined the reshuffled Auror Department under Kingsley Shacklebolt at age 17, rising to become Head of said department in 2007.

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Harry’s Books: A note from J.K. Rowling

non fiction

Index ID: HBOOKS — Publication date: April 1st, 2001

Note: This foreword is included in the books Quidditch through the ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. However, Scholastic decided to publish it on their website back in 2001 as well, under the title Harry's Books: A note from J.K. Rowling.

Comic Relief is one of Britain’s most famous and successful charities. Begun in 1985, the organization has raised more than $250,000,000 for such charities as the Red Cross, Oxfam, Sight Savers, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Anti-Slavery International. The Harry Potter books represent a new opportunity in Comic Relief’s quest to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. A special Harry’s Books Fund has been created where proceeds from the sale of Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will go to support children’s causes throughout the world. Every book sold counts! It costs only fifty cents to immunize a child against four fatal diseases in Africa, so each of these books is literally a lifesaver!
Log on to www.comicrelief.com/harrysbooks and see how the money from the purchase of these books is being used to help others. The Harry’s Books Fund will support such efforts as the education of children, the fight against child slavery, and the reuniting of parents and children separated by war. The fund will also educate people about the AIDS/HIV epidemic and will support child victims of landmine explosions.

What is so wonderful about Comic Relief is that its costs are sponsored, therefore it does not take money for its own administration from the money given by the public. This means that in fact, because of accumulated interest, more than 100% of the money it raises it passes on to charity projects.

I have always had a sneaking desire to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, so when Richard Curtis of Comic Relief wrote to me, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to help a charity I have always supported. Everyone involved with bringing these books to fruition, the publishers, vendors, and retailers, has enabled the contribution of a substantial proportion of the cover price of these books to Comic Relief’s Harry’s Books Fund.

Thank you for buying this book!

J.K. Rowling

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