Opinion: J.K. Rowling provides more basis for Harry Potter world in new fan installment

Shelby Lum
Mon, 17 Mar 2014 02:05:46 +0000
Books, Campus, harry potter, hogwarts, j.k. rowling, pottermore, quidditch world cup

Author J.K. Rowling before being awarded a Benefactors Award by Edinburgh University in Edinburgh, UK, Sept. 26, 2011.
Credit: Courtesy of MCT

“Zooming In” is a weekly series in which Photo editor Shelby Lum provides her insight on pop culture.

The doors of Hogwarts reopened, tears for Fred Weasley dried, and Ron and Hermione were finally together. All was right in the wizarding world at the close of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

For a decade, the books took over the bedrooms of second-grade children and adults alike and then suddenly, the world of Muggles mourned the loss of Harry Potter — and author J.K. Rowling likely did too, not wanting the franchise to end either.

Friday, the British author released the first part of “History of the Quidditch World Cup” on pottermore.com, a website dedicated to Harry Potter fans, adding unknown back stories for the characters as well as allowing visitors to take a look back at the books in an interactive way.

In one of her longest installments on the site, she has penned rules and regulations for the Quidditch World Cup as well as added several infamous cups.

A dragon cannot be used as a mascot or a warmer for the winning cup, and no physical changes may be made to the referee (even if he or she asks for it), some of the rules read.

The history doesn’t include any of the beloved characters from her seven Harry Potter books, but still has the same tongue-in-cheek style of writing fans have grown to love.

“The Quidditch World Cup is simultaneously the most exhilarating sporting event on earth and a logistical nightmare for the host nation,” Rowling wrote in the piece.

Are these facts pertinent to the understanding of the original story? No, but for Rowling (and for most Harry Potter lovers), those characters never ended, and neither did the wizarding world she lovingly created. What she has done is created a never-ending world with pottermore.com, and the new Quidditch World Cup rules are just another section of that universe we all met through Harry Potter and his cupboard under the stairs.

While the lightning-bolt hero made no appearances in “History of the Quidditch World Cup,” the original stories intertwine when the “Reappearance of the Dark Mark” makes it into the Quidditch annals. Listed as one of the most recent infamous tournaments, it is the tournament Harry Potter attended in the fourth book.

“For the first time in 14 years, the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, which caused widespread alarm and resulted in many injuries among the crowd. The ICWQC (International Confederations of Wizards Quidditch Committee) censured the Ministry of Magic heavily after event, judging that security arrangements had been inadequate given the known existence of a violent Pure-blood tendency in the United Kingdom.”

The wand that casted that dark mark: Harry Potter’s.

The preliminary rules and infamous tournaments are just the first part of the “History of the Quidditch World Cup” and part two is set to release on pottermore.com Friday.

“Frankly, if I wanted to, I could keep writing stories until Harry is a senior citizen, but I don’t know how many people would actually want to read about a 65-year-old Harry still at Hogwarts playing bingo with Ron and Hermione,” Rowling said after the completion of the books.