Harry Potter

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Maggie Smith on Harry Potter, Downton Abbey Roles: Meh

Dame 'didn't really feel I was acting'

(Newser) - Somebody give a dame a challenge. Legendary British actress Maggie Smith, star of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, says she "didn't really feel I was acting in those things." Smith took home three Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild award for her role as... More »

School Kicks Harry Potter Out of Library

Pastor worries about effects of curses and spells

(Newser) - After consulting exorcists, a school in Tennessee has pulled the Harry Potter books from its library because of their magical content. In an email, the pastor of St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville said: "These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in... More »

Magic Is Lost in New Harry Potter Spinoff

Critics do not like 'Crimes of Grindelwald'

(Newser) - Early viewers of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald were told to #ProtectTheSecrets . The directive might've been as much to conceal criticisms as to prevent spoilers, based on what critics are saying. Though the first installment in JK Rowling's Harry Potter spinoff was well-received , the second of five... More »

Harry Potter Star Marries US Girlfriend

Matthew Lewis shares good news on social media

(Newser) - The man Harry Potter fans know as Gryffindor wizard Neville Longbottom is now 28 years old—and a married man. British actor Matthew Lewis married American girlfriend Angela Jones, a lifestyle blogger, during a recent trip to Italy, the Sun reports. He shared a wedding photo on Twitter this week... More »

Harry Potter Train Rescues Stranded Family

After losing their canoe, the Cluetts were picked up by the Hogwarts Express

(Newser) - For one family who found themselves stranded in the Scottish Highlands recently, life became like something out of a movie -- a Harry Potter movie. Jon and Helen Cluett and their four young children were staying in a small cottage in the remote boggy region of Lochabar when they woke... More »

Meet Harry Potter and the Philosophy Class

St. Cloud University offering class focused on the boy wizard

(Newser) - A Minnesota university is mixing the magical world of Harry Potter into philosophy teachings. St. Cloud State University professor Carolyn Hartz is applying Aristotle's work on friendship to character relationships in JK Rowling's books about the boy wizard, the St. Cloud Times reports. The class discusses ethics, logic,... More »

Harry Potter Mania Is Putting Wild Owls at Risk in Asia

Demand for pet 'Hedwigs' has spiked illegal trade

(Newser) - Families looking to bring the magic of Harry Potter into their homes are causing major problems among wild owls in Asia. A paper chronicling this phenomenon as the “Harry Potter effect” traces the rise in the illegal owl trade since the boy wizard’s film debut, reports the Guardian ... More »

Harry Potter Turns 20. Here's How the Internet Is Celebrating

Facebook, Google getting in on the action

(Newser) - The first book in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series was released on June 26, 1997. A roundup of the celebration surrounding the series' 20th anniversary:
  • Facebook has added a fun "easter egg" for anyone who includes the words "Harry Potter," "Gryffindor," "Slytherin,"
... More »

Thieves Make Off With Harry Potter Prequel

Cops asks fans worldwide to be on the lookout

(Newser) - Police in Britain are asking Harry Potter fans worldwide to be on the lookout for a one-of-a-kind Harry Potter prequel. The untitled 800-word story, handwritten on a card, was stolen during a burglary in Birmingham last month, and police say they are going public in the hope that "the... More »

'Harry Potter' Busted Robbing Muggle Banks: Cops

Lookalike suspect in 6 bank robberies arrested

(Newser) - Washington state police say they've nabbed a suspected bank robber who resembles a certain boy wizard, and who they say has a not-so-magical history of busting into banks. Police and the FBI say Caleb Andrew Dierlam, 20, is the "Harry Potter Bandit" responsible for at least six bank... More »

An Old Friend Tops Amazon's Bestselling Books of 2016

'Harry Potter and the Extremely Good-Selling Book'

(Newser) - Amazon has released its list of the top 20 bestselling books of 2016, a year in which a new Harry Potter story was released, so the top spot shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. “The power of Potter is still strong, and readers of all ages can’t... More »

JK Rowling Makes Some Magic for Young Girl in Aleppo

The author sent 'Harry Potter' books to the girl in war-torn Syria

(Newser) - JK Rowling just introduced another child surrounded by daily horrors to the wizarding world. But instead of Harry Potter living under the Dursleys' stairs, it's 7-year-old Bana Alabed living with her family in war-torn Aleppo.The Telegraph reports Bana's parents are trying to distract her from the fighting... More »

Fantastic Beasts Is, Well, Fantastic

It's 'a rare kind of magic,' say critics

(Newser) - Thought the Wizarding World only existed in the UK? Not so. Dive into America's magic community circa 1926 in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first of five planned films in a Harry Potter spinoff (with JK Rowling as screenwriter) centering on Newt Scamander, the author of... More »

Harry Potter's 4 Privet Drive Could Be Yours

Expect visitors (no, not Dumbledore)

(Newser) - A suburban house that starred onscreen as Harry Potter's childhood home is on the market—complete with a cupboard under the stairs. Fans of the boy wizard will recognize 12 Picket Post Close as 4 Privet Drive, home of Harry's dastardly aunt and uncle, who took Harry in... More »

Harry Potter Typo Could Make You $34K Richer

First edition copy will be sold in November

(Newser) - It might be time to revisit your old copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. A hardcover first edition of the book, published in 1997, is expected to fetch up to $33,700 (or about 4,585 Galleons ) at a Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts sale in... More »

Like Harry Potter? You May Have Lower Opinion of Trump

'Fictional story may have implications for general election preferences'

(Newser) - The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was believed to help turn the tide of public opinion away from condoning slavery after it was published in 1852, but even the most popular fictional works today aren't shown to impact political leanings on a mass scale. Now researchers at the University... More »

Harry Potter May Have Distracted Man in Tesla Autopilot Crash

Authorities say they found a portable DVD player in Joshua Brown's car

(Newser) - A man believed to be the first person in America to be killed while his car was driving itself may have been watching a Harry Potter movie at the time, Reuters reports. The fatal crash happened in May but wasn't made public until Thursday. According to the AP , 40-year-old... More »

Warren Wants a New Job—at Wizard School

She wants to fight dark magic, aka 'Trump'

(Newser) - Elizabeth Warren: wizard professor? In a tweet to Harry Potter author JK Rowling—who revealed details about a fictional wizarding school in Massachusetts this week—Warren says she would be up for teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, the class that prepares students to fight dark magic and Lord Voldemort'... More »

Rowling Mourns Orlando Victim Who Worked at Harry Potter Ride

'I can't stop crying,' she writes of Luis Vielma

(Newser) - Harry Potter author JK Rowling is mourning one particular victim of the Orlando massacre: "Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can't stop crying. #Orlando," Rowling tweeted early Monday, along with a picture of Vielma. "Thank You... More »

Rowling's Harry Potter Writing Chair Sells for $394K

The seller would like to see it end up in a theme park or museum

(Newser) - The humble chair JK Rowling sat on while writing the first two books of the Harry Potter series was auctioned in New York City on Wednesday for $394,000, the AP reports. An anonymous private collector made the winning bid, Heritage Auctions says. The chair is one of four mismatched... More »

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