The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997. The last movie was released in 2011. Almost twenty years since we were first introduced to our favorite boy wizard and four years since we were forced to say goodbye, we are still getting information about the magical wizarding world we adore from its revered creator, J.K. Rowling, and we're still eating it up.
Since launching Pottermore (an interactive website that takes users through the books and allows them to be sorted, duel, brew potions, etc.) in 2011, Rowling has been revealing new information to her legions of fans that include character backstories, future developments, and minor details about the operations of the wizarding world. It was revealed on the website that Professor Quirrell was a Ravenclaw and enjoyed gardening; not quite what you'd expect from the man who was Voldemort's loyal servant and temporary body. A backstory to the terrifying wizard prison, Azkaban, was also revealed. According to Rowling, an evil wizard would lure Muggles (if you don't know what a Muggle is, you probably are one) to the island, torture them, and kill them, resulting in a rather large graveyard on the island. It is also described why exactly the Durselys and Potters didn't get along. Though she seemed to hate Lily since her magical powers were revealed, Petunia did invite her sister and James Potter to meet her fiance, Vernon Dursley. The meeting went terribly, of course, and ended with Lily in tears and Vernon in a huff. These little nuggets of information, revealed as one plays through the site, offer insight and validity to fan theories, or scrap the fan's musings altogether in favor of stories J.K Rowling created but never found a way to include in the published series.
In addition to revealing information on Pottermore, Rowling is an active member of the Twitter community, with over 5 million followers hanging on her every tweet. Just this past September 1st (the annual first day of Hogwarts and a bit of a holiday throughout the Potter community), Rowling gave us new information about James Sirius Potter (Harry's oldest son) and Teddy Lupin (son of the late Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, and Harry's godson):
It has now been confirmed that James is two years older than his brother, Albus Severus, a central character in the epilogue of the last book, and of course, a Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. What came as a surprise at first, but makes sense when given some thought, is Teddy Lupin's residing in Hufflepuff. Often, Hufflepuff is written off as the weak house, the soft house, the house that has produced nobody important or even worth noting. Teddy's mother, Tonks, lovable, brave, talented Tonks, was a Hufflepuff and accomplished Auror. Cedric Diggory was a Hufflepuff. I will never understand why people make fun of Cedric and the Hufflepuff house as a whole just because his movie counterpart was played by a guy who happened to also play a sparkling vampire with no depth. The Goblet of Fire chose Cedric as a Champion. He was poised to win the entire Triwizard Tournament had he not, um, died. Which only happened because Voldemort ruins everything and Harry was in the tournament, so, had it been a normal year at Hogwarts (save, of course, for the deadly Tournament), Cedric totally would have won. Hufflepuff is indeed a noble house, capable of producing accomplished witches and wizards, and Teddy is a fine addition.
What caught me more off guard about these new revelations was that Teddy had become Head Boy. Not just a Prefect, but Head Boy. Son of a Marauder, godson of an infamous rule breaker, raised by a family that shared blood with the two biggest troublemakers Hogwarts had ever seen? This boy as Head Boy? I couldn't wrap my head around it until I remembered that someone thought it would be a good idea to make James Potter Head Boy. Now that, I maintain, was an oversight or the result of a night that included a bit too much firewhiskey on the Headmaster's part. Taking into account that Teddy is indeed a hardworking Hufflepuff, his "aunt" is Hermione, his father was a Prefect and a stickler for the rules (despite being a Marauder), it's not too hard to imagine.
This is what is so great about the Harry Potter community; it's constantly growing despite being "over." It's not really over, though, is it? Whereas some series rely on fanfiction and fanart to continue the stories we love, the Harry Potter community is getting actual canon from the creator. We don't have to make anything up or wish upon a star that we knew what happened to so-and-so. J.K. Rowling knows how much the series means to her readers, and she's helping us cope with no more book or movie releases. Scratch that, actually, because we are getting more movies, in the form of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Though it has nothing to do with Harry or the adventures of the Marauders, it takes place in the same familiar world of magic we are so comfortable going back to again and again, through page or screen. This extension to the world we knew in the books is welcome, especially as it brings the magic to America. We'll be able to see a new place, a different time, but the same magic that fascinated us from the very first chapter.
It's true, what J.K. Rowling said at the last movie premiere many years ago, "Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." But it's not just Hogwarts, it's that entire world, and as we, the Harry Potter generation, grow up, the world continues to grow with us.
