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House Pride Week kicks off today with #GryffindorPride

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     “By Gryffindor, the bravest were
      Prized far beyond the rest;”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter Twelve, The Triwizard Tournament

Pottermore’s House Pride Week kicks off today with #GryffindorPride– lions, let’s hear you roar!

We know Gryffindor students are brave and daring, and the Pottermore Gryffindors have been living up to this reputation by being the most fearsome duellers on pottermore.com, winning more duels in Duelling Club than students from the other houses!

There are so many ways you can show your #HousePride today, and we’d love you to get involved. Tell us what makes you proud to be a Gryffindor using #GryffindorPride, upload a photo or picture showing your #HousePride on Facebook or Twitter; or why not share your favourite quotes and facts about your house and its founder?

To give you some inspiration, check out how Gryffindors in the Pottermore team have celebrated their #GryffindorPride below - we can't wait to see what you do!





Don't forget to update your Facebook and Twitter profile and cover images to show your #GryffindorPride:

Facebook cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Twitter cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Facebook and Twitter profile image
(Click on your house's image)


It’s time to celebrate your #RavenclawPride!

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     “For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
     Would always be the best;”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter Twelve, The Triwizard Tournament

It’s the second day of Pottermore’s House Pride Week, and we’re celebrating #RavenclawPride– eagles, it’s time to see you soar!

We know you Ravenclaw students are clever and keen to learn, but did you know that Pottermore Ravenclaws have also been the most creative house in this House Cup championship, submitting more drawings to pottermore.com than students of other houses?

We want you to share your house pride throughout the day, whether through Facebook or Twitter using #RavenclawPride, or by uploading a video to Youtube.

Tell us what makes you proud to be a Ravenclaw using #RavenclawPride, or upload a photo or picture showing your #HousePride, on Facebook or Twitter.

Why not share your favourite quotes from the series that show your #RavenclawPride, whether about your house or the characters who share your colours; or let us know your favourite fact about your house and its founder?

To give you some inspiration, check out how Ravenclaws in the Pottermore team have celebrated their #RavenclawPride below - we can't wait to see what you do!



Don’t forget to share your #RavenclawPride with all your friends by updating your Facebook and Twitter profiles with our cover images:

Facebook cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Twitter cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Facebook and Twitter profile image
(Click on your house's image)

Today, it’s all about #HufflepuffPride!

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     “For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
     Most worthy of admission;”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter Twelve, The Triwizard Tournament

The third day of Pottermore’s House Pride Week is all about Hufflepuff - badgers, dig deep and show us your #HufflepuffPride!

We know you Hufflepuff students are hard workers and not afraid of toil, which has really shone through during this House Cup championship, and you've only got a few more days to prove your worth.

Tell us what makes you proud to be a Hufflepuff using #HufflepuffPride, or upload a photo, picture or video showing your #HousePride on Facebook or Twitter.

Why not share your favourite quotes from the series that show your #HufflepuffPride, whether about your house or the characters who share your colours; or let us know your favourite fact about your house and its founder?

To give you some inspiration, check out how Hufflepuffs in the Pottermore team have celebrated their #HufflepuffPride below - we can't wait to see what you do!



Don’t forget that you can share your #HufflepuffPride with all your friends by updating your Facebook and Twitter cover and profile pictures with our bespoke images, which you can download here:

Facebook cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Twitter cover image
(Click on your house's image)



Facebook and Twitter profile image
(Click on your house's image)

Happy Birthday Hermione!

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It’s Hermione Granger’s birthday today, and to celebrate we’ve chosen our top ten Hermione quotes and moments from the first four books in the Harry Potter series.

From the moment readers first meet her aboard the Hogwarts Express, the intelligent witch shows a quick wit, and at times, a wicked right hook! It was difficult to choose, but we eventually decided on these ten quotes – vote in our poll below and let us know which your favourite #HermioneMoment is!

1)Hermione is Sorted

‘Granger, Hermione!’
Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
‘GRYFFINDOR!’ shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

2)Hermione defends Hagrid

Harry and Ron both made furious moves towards Malfoy, but Hermione got there first – SMACK!
She had slapped Malfoy around the face with all the strength she could muster. Malfoy staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe and Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hemione raised her hand again.
‘Don’t you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul – you evil –’

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

3)Hermione mocks Draco Malfoy 

‘Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you, Malfoy?’ said Hermione scathingly, and she, Harry and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

4)Hermione demonstrates Wingardium Leviosa

‘You’re saying it wrong,’ Harry heard Hermione snap. ‘It’s Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the “gar” nice and long.’
‘You do it, then, if you’re so clever,’ Ron snarled.
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, ‘Wingardium Leviosa!’

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

5)Hermione discovers who Nicholas Flamel is

‘Nicolas Flamel,’ she whispered dramatically, ‘is the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone!’

This didn’t have quite the effect she’d expected.

‘The what?’ said Harry and Ron.

‘Oh, honestly, don’t you two read?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

6)Hermione breaking the rules

Hermione shut the book with a snap.
‘Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine,’ she said. There were bright pink patches on her cheeks and her eyes were brighter than usual. ‘I don’t want to break rules, you know. I think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don’t want to find out if it’s Malfoy, I’ll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in ...’
‘I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be persuading us to break rules,’ said Ron.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

7)Hermione disparages Divination

“I think Divination seems very woolly,” she said, searching for her page. “A lot of guesswork, if you ask me.”
“There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!” said Ron hotly.
“You didn’t seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep,” said Hermione coolly.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

8)Hermione and the Boggart

Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.
‘Hermione!’ said Lupin, startled. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘P-P-Professor McGonagall!’ Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. ‘Sh-she said I’d failed everything!’

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

9)Hermione founds S.P.E.W

“Not spew,” said Hermione impatiently. “It’s S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.”
“Never heard of it,” said Ron.
“Well, of course you haven’t,” said Hermione briskly, “I’ve only just started it.”
“Yeah?” said Ron in mild surprise. “How many members have you got?”
“Well — if you two join — three,” said Hermione.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

10)Hermione is unimpressed with Ron

‘I can’t come with you,’ said Hermione, now blushing, ‘because I’m already going with someone.’
‘No, you’re not!’ said Ron. ‘You just said that to get rid of Neville!’
‘Oh, did I?’ said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously.
‘Just because it’s taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn’t mean no one else has spotted I’m a girl!’

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


Last but not least, it’s #SlytherinPride Day!

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     “And power-hungry Slytherin
     Loved those of great ambition.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter Twelve, The Triwizard Tournament

It’s the final day of Pottermore’s House Pride Week, and we’re celebrating Slytherin - snakes, it’s time to be cunning!

We know there are a few famous Potion masters that hail from Slytherin house, and the Pottermore Slytherins are keeping up this tradition by being the best potion brewers of the championship so far, with the most house points won in Potions Class!

We want you to share your house pride throughout the day, whether through Facebook or Twitter using #SlytherinPride, or by uploading a video to Youtube.

Why not share your favourite quotes from the series that show your #SlytherinPride, whether about your house or the characters who share your colours; or let us know your favourite fact about your house and its founder?

To give you some inspiration, check out how Slytherins in the Pottermore team have celebrated their #SlytherinPride below - we can't wait to see what you do!



Don’t forget that you can share your #SlytherinPride with all your friends by updating your Facebook and Twitter cover and profile pictures with our bespoke images, which you can download here:
Facebook cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Twitter cover image
(Click on your house's image)


Facebook and Twitter profile image
(Click on your house's image)


House points have now been concealed in the Great Hall!

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There’s a lot of excitement on pottermore.com as students compete to see which house colours will dominate the Great Hall this Pottermore House Cup Championship. With only six days left in the competition it’s time once again for the house points to be concealed. The House Cup will be awarded at 4pm GMT this coming Friday, September 26.

Before the house points were concealed at 4pm GMT on Saturday, September 20, we took one final look at how the house points stood.



With 31,087,682 points, Ravenclaw was a close second to Hufflepuff who, despite a healthy lead throughout, have seen the other three houses grow ever closer over the past few weeks.

In third and fourth place respectively were Gryffindor and Slytherin, but it’s not over yet! It’s not too late to unleash your wands and cauldrons and start earning points for your house over the next week.

Visit pottermore.com today to earn even more house points and do your house proud!

The very best of House Pride Week!

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House Pride Week always showcases the immense creativity of Pottermore members, and last week was no exception. We saw thousands of pictures, posts and Tweets showing your house pride throughout the week, and we’ve chosen some of our favourite displays to show here.

Submitted by: OakWolf6554b, WildLeviosa15463, MirrorRune28933 and HexAsh28465


House Pride Week may have ended but the fight for the Pottermore House Cup is still on! The house points have been concealed in the Great Hall in preparation for the announcement of the winning house this Friday, September 26 at 4pm GMT (1pm EST), so make the most of these last few days to earn as many house points on pottermore.com as you can!




 We loved reading your proud comments in the Great Hall and in the Gryffindor common room:


These are some of our favourite Tweets showing your #GryffindorPride:

We really enjoyed this Gryffindor house pride video:






We loved reading your proud comments in the Great Hall and in the Ravenclaw common room:



These are some of our favourite Tweets showing your #RavenclawPride:



We really enjoyed this Ravenclaw house pride video:






We loved reading your proud comments in the Great Hall and in the Hufflepuff common room:

These are some of our favourite Tweets showing your #HufflepuffPride:


We really enjoyed this Hufflepuff house pride video:







We loved reading your proud comments in the Great Hall and in the Slytherin common room:

These are some of our favourite Tweets showing your #SlytherinPride:

We really enjoyed this Slytherin house pride video:



Happy Birthday Ollivander!

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‘Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn’t it?’ said Mr Ollivander, with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed over his wand. ‘Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn ... must have been seven- teen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches ... ash ... pleasantly springy. It’s in fine condition ... you treat it regularly?’

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter eighteen, The Weighing of the Wands


Mr Ollivander’s knowledge and passion for the mysterious craft of wandmaking is evident throughout the Harry Potter stories, from his first meeting with Harry in Diagon Alley, to the astounding performances he teases from the wands of the Triwizard Tournament champions. Today we’re inviting you to celebrate his birthday, and the wand that chose you in Ollivanders on pottermore.com, by submitting a drawing of your own wand.

You can find inspiration in the some of the examples below, submitted by our talented Pottermore members:
             

Drawings submitted by lightshadow142, questflight59 and felicisthestral15845
If you’re not sure about how to upload a drawing on pottermore.com, you can find a helpful guide to uploading drawings here.

Happy birthday Professor Quirinus Quirrell

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Hagrid grinned at Harry.
‘Told yeh, didn’t I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin’ ter meet yeh – mind you, he’s usually tremblin’.’
‘Is he always that nervous?’
‘Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin’ outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience ... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest and there was a nasty bit o’ trouble with a hag – never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject – now, where’s me umbrella?’
Vampires? Hags? Harry’s head was swimming.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter Five, Diagon Alley


Pictures submitted by AshScarlet207, WalnutPatronus14476 and RiverMoon207


Today is the birthday of Professor Quirinus Quirrell! The trembling teacher travelled all around the world on his ‘Grand Tour’ before returning to Hogwarts, seeking a dangerous discovery.

If you could travel anywhere what would you seek to find in the wizarding world? Answer on Professor Quirrell’s page on Pottermore.com.

The winners of the latest Pottermore House Cup have been revealed in the Great Hall!

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The winners of the latest Pottermore House Cup Championship have been announced in the Great Hall on pottermore.com!
An amazing 888,428 potions successfully brewed, 9,306,060 duels fought and an astounding total of 128,836,881 house points awarded over the past few months, and now you can see whether the Great Hall is decked out in your house colours. Head over to the Great Hall now to see the awarding of the House Cup!

Ravenclaw soars to House Cup victory for the second time

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Congratulations Ravenclaw on winning the Pottermore House Cup Championship for a second time. 


It was a close competition, and all four houses deserve recognition for their excellent efforts! Hufflepuff took the lead for much of the championship, but Ravenclaw snuck ahead of Gryffindor into second place just before the house points were concealed in the Great Hall on Saturday, September 20. The eagles’ triumphs earned them 1,192,309 points in the last six days of the championship, allowing them to soar to victory with a final total of 32,279,991 points.

Ravenclaw colours are revealed in the Great Hall

Head over to the Great Hall to watch the award ceremony unfold live.

A new record broken

Ravenclaw’s victory in the previous House Cup in March marked a milestone in Pottermore history - each house had triumphed at least once in the championship.

Now they’ve broken a new record – shout your #RavenclawPride at being the first house ever to win the Pottermore House Cup twice in a row!

Who will be the next champions?

House points were reset on Friday, and eager Pottermore students have already begun earning points in Duelling Club and Potions Class.

Can Ravenclaw keep their cool and win the House Cup for the third time in a row? We doubt the other houses will want that to happen…

Ravenclaw's prize as winners of the sixth Pottermore House Cup

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On Friday, Ravenclaw became the latest House Cup Champions, rising to the challenge of winning their second House Cup Championship.

We wanted to celebrate those intrepid students who helped their house to victory with a Championship prize, and have created this background image for all you clever Ravenclaws.

Click on the image to expand it and find out if you're amongs the top 5,000 Ravenclaws








Download your very own Ravenclaw background image:

Can you find yourself in the eagle?

To create the image, we included the Pottermore usernames of the top five thousand Ravenclaws who contributed to their house points total. Can you find your name in the image? Tweet #RavenclawPride and let us know if you are one of these impressive students, now immortalized in Pottermore history.




Happy Birthday Minerva McGonagall

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Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.
‘The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to – er – let our hair down,’ she said, in a disapproving voice.
Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter Twenty-Two, The Unexpected Task

Happy Birthday Minerva McGonagall! Although she is known for being a somewhat serious teacher, we hope Professor McGonagall is letting her hair down today of all days.

We’re wondering what the Transfiguration teacher will be doing to celebrate – perhaps attending a dance, as we know she waltzed with Ludo Bagman at the Yule Ball, or perhaps she is a fan of Celestina Warbeck’s powerfully impressive singing, and is enjoying a concert (although we wouldn’t bet more that 5 Knuts on it…).  We expect she’ll treat herself to a Ginger Newt or two as well!

How do you think Professor McGonagall will be celebrating her birthday? Let us know your theories on Professor McGonagall’s page on pottermore.com, Facebook or Twitter using #HappyBirthdayMinervaMcGonagall.

Trick or Treat with Pottermore this Hallowe’en

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We’re counting down to Hallowe’en by playing ‘Trick or Treat’, and we want you to take part.

Every day at 4pm (GMT), beginning October 16, we’ll be alternately releasing a #PottermoreTrick or a #PottermoreTreat to perplex and delight you.

Join our Hallowe’en event on Facebook and share it with your Potter-mad friends as we ‘Trick or Treat’ our way to the spookiest day of the year.



Shall we begin with a Trick or a Treat? You decide…

Fair play on pottermore.com

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Duelling Club has seen hundreds of thousands of spells cast since the seventh Pottermore House Cup Championship began. As the next Championship gains momentum, we wanted to let you know of some recent changes to Duelling Club that, as well as providing a more fun and rewarding gaming experience, will help ensure members of all houses enjoy a friendly and fair competition.

Variations to Duelling Club

You may have noticed that we have made some alterations to Duelling Club to make duelling more enjoyable, whilst also making it more difficult for unfair game play to take place:

The first variation we have made to the spells in Duelling Club is to randomize the letters used to cast each spell.


As seasoned duellers will be well aware, certain letters of the incantations are used to cast spells in Duelling Club. Previously, these letters have remained the same each time – now, the letters used will change each time a spell is cast, so you’ll need stay alert.

The second alteration is to vary the speed at which the power of the spell, shown by the pulsing circle around each letter, grows - so now the speed of your reactions matters more than ever!

We will continue to work on keeping the House Cup and all activity on pottermore.com fair for you to enjoy. If you do encounter any suspicious behaviour, please do not hesitate to contact us here.


'Trick or Treat’ with Pottermore begins tomorrow

Release Dates Set for Trilogy of Films Based on J.K. Rowling’s 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'

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For fans of the wizarding world, here’s a bit of news that will add more sparkle to your wand! Warner Bros. confirmed 15 October that the new film series, written by J.K. Rowling and featuring the magical creatures and characters inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its fictitious author, Newt Scamander, will be a trilogy, with release dates of 2016, 2018 and 2020.

The studio has also confirmed that the Fantastic Beast films, set in the wizarding world, but predating Harry Potter himself, will be directed by David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, and will reunite the filmmaking team of David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.

Keep coming back here for more updates.

Come and play ‘Trick or Treat’ with Pottermore – starting today

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It’s the first day of ‘Trick or Treat’ with Pottermore; over 20,000 of you voted on Facebook, Twitter and here on the Insider, and by popular demand we’re kicking off with a #PottermoreTrick.

This muddled image is an early concept drawing of a forest-dwelling magical being, but can you guess which?


If you’ve worked it out, share it on Facebook and,Twitter using #PottermoreTrickand we’re now on Tumblr too. Good luck.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London unveils their new Dark Arts area

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On Tuesday we were lucky enough to be at the launch of the new Dark Arts area at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, a fantastic display dedicated entirely to the sinister side of the wizarding world.

The new Dark Arts area is located in the main area of the Studio Tour, and to get there we first had to walk through the Great Hall, where a magnificent Hallowe’en feast was laid out.


We even stopped to congratulate Ravenclaw for their victory in the latest Pottermore House Cup!


Death Eaters prowled around the Great Hall and lurked in the corners of the Studio Tour throughout our visit – we tried our best to avoid these intimidating witches and wizards but didn’t always succeed…




When we arrived at the new Dark Arts area, we were immediately enticed by the awe-inspiring Malfoy Manor set – the grand fireplace, the costumes of the Death Eaters lining the table, and the poor Muggle Studies teacher Charity Burbage hovering over the table – an evocative replication of the scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.

We weren’t able to join the Death Eaters gathered at the Malfoy dining table unfortunately (or fortunately some might say!), but we were all close enough to be impressed (and mildly scared) by the incredibly lifelike Nagini, whose scales and patterns – we were reliably informed – were painstakingly hand-crafted.

Pulling ourselves away from Malfoy Manor, we turned our attention to the Borgin and Burkes display, revelling in its creepy artefacts and offerings, from the skeletons in the cabinets to the sinister Hand of Glory, and even spotted the sarcophagus that Harry hid in during a deleted scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.


Of course we didn’t forget to pay a visit to Dolores Umbridge’s putrid pink office which has been relocated so you can see even more of its garish details.


We had a great time at the new Dark Arts area at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. If you’re keen to visit, you can buy your tickets here.

If the Dark Arts and all the spooky additions to the Studio Tour are getting you excited for Hallowe’en, don’t forget to play ‘Trick or Treat’ with us in the countdown to October 31. We revealed our first Pottermore Trick yesterday, and you can find out what today’s Treat is at 4pm (GMT) here on the Insider.

Treat: we’re giving you a spellbinding Pottermore Treat

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During her time at Hogwarts as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge notoriously prevented students from practising and performing spells during her lessons. Luckily, Pottermore students are actively encouraged to cast spells in Duelling Club, and we’re thrilled to announce that there’ll be four new spells to try out very soon.




The only thing that remains is to recall the effects of each of these four spells – what do you think they do? Tell us on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr using #PottermoreTreat.

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