I remember surprisingly little in an ocular sense about my childhood; any feeling of nostalgia stems from strong emotions rather than vivid visuals. Among these sentimental memories I can recall the fear i experienced witnessing an episode of fraternal throttling, the inexplicable joy I recognised after my first encounter with a puppy but, perhaps most prevalently and hauntingly, it is the traumatising melancholy at the end of my 11th birthday when I finally understood why my letter from Hogwarts was not coming.
Ridicule has tended to accompany my declaration of love for all things Harry but on the seldom occasion I find a kindred spirit I am still unchallenged and unrewarded, as if matched up like Rafael Nadal with an infant who’s picked up a racket once and therefore claims to know all things tennis. The only encounters I have had that could be likened to a Grand Slam final were attained through my university’s newly founded Harry Potter Society, ‘Wingardium Leviosoc’. I feel a little bit ashamed in belittling my own people here but they were just a bit too weird.
Harry as a passion does not stem from fancying film actors or genuinely believing that I can be a wizard (anymore), it’s an appreciation of masterful plot-writing and Rowling’s brilliance in creating a world that is simultaneously realistic and fantastical. I feel like the unmentioned but crucial piece in the Harry, Ron and Hermione quartet, having lived through their experiences and often foreseen the consequences of their actions. And so I strive to know and learn all I can about the world of Mr Potter so as to feel part of it in any way possible, while still obviously acknowledging its impossibility. After the filmic finale I thought that pursuit was purely up to my imagination again. Alas, enter Pottermore.
“Pottermore is an online experience built around the Harry Potter books, created for a new digital generation of readers who can explore, share and participate in the stories” is how its maker Sony describes it. The website itself is much more enticing: “Prepare to begin a journey that will take you deeper than ever before into the magical world of Harry Potter.” Such temptation and seduction in such few words... my fingers slip from the mouse as my palms begin to perspire in anticipation.
Quickly and expectedly I am thoroughly enjoying myself. The artwork is terrific and feels almost more realistic than the film thanks to its intimate relationship with the actual text. The interaction tends to be limited beyond picking up certain items and stuffing them in your trunk (including some currency which surely can’t be encouraged.. especially the giant gold coin I decided to pocket from the Christmas dinner table just because it was lying there, perhaps a temporarily forgotten, generous yuletide gift. ‘That could have been Ron’s!’ I think, ‘he can’t have many...’).
Aside from petty theft from both my friends and the Library’s centuries-old collection, (Yes apparently stealing books is cricket too, god knows where Madam Pince was at the time) there are two stand out moments for me. Firstly, attaining my wand. The closest I’ve previously been to this feat is receiving a piece of kindling upon entry into the Bristol student union but this feels quite superior. The process is reasonably simple, every player must answer a series of questions regarding their physical appearance (height, eye colour and dexterity obviously affect wand length) and then some rather more subjective ones (I won’t go into detail about what I was asked so I can reveal my results without any threat of people using this as a template). The wand chooses the wizard they say and “Hawthorn and Unicorn Hair, Ten and Three Quarter inches, Unyielding” has chosen me. All of a sudden it’s clear that no other wand could be more perfect, especially upon discovery that HAWTHORN wands are “complex and intriguing in their natures, just like the owners who best suit them”, and Unicorn Hair is a very “faithful” substance. Good to know. Despite being aware that every wand wood and core’s blurb serve to flatter the player who has just received it I feel like this is a match made in heaven. There is a vast assortment of wand combinations and their descriptions are all exclusive to the site, a bonus that, like most of the exclusive content, feels like a personal gift from JK to me. Thank you JK.
The next highlight follows soon after and it is what I have been looking forward to yet dreading most since starting on this adventure: the sorting. This is a question whose answer I have interrogated myself for many times, always fruitlessly. The questions (as to be expected from JK) are difficult and very personal with a myriad of answers; she’s clearly thought about this a lot. I read later that every player receives a random 6 of many different questions in an attempt to prevent copying certain routes from friends or the internet. It seems to be as true a sorting as there can be with the hat’s answer being unequivocal and undisputable.
Specific and brutal questions run through my head: am I brave enough to be in Gryffindor? Cunning enough to be in Slytherin? Intelligent enough to be in Ravenclaw? Or none of the above and therefore useless enough to be in Hufflepuff? The hat’s answer is predictable but no less disheartening: Hufflepuff.
I have defended Hufflepuff house in the face those less enlightened for its’ students’ noble spirit, selflessness and conscientious intelligence, yet there’s no denying I would rather be anywhere else. JK patronisingly congratulates me and, as im sure you can tell, a surge of resentment makes itself evident, the first since Hedwig's oh so tragic demise. I am whisked off to the common room where I read a small essay from a fictional house prefect telling me why Hufflepuff is so great and why my disappointment should be substituted for pride. Slowly my anger abates as I learn that Hufflepuffs are not just the leftovers, they are often just as great as other houses, with the simple difference that they don’t laud it over others. Hang on.. This does sound a bit like me: “Hufflepuffs are trustworthy and loyal. We don’t shoot our mouths off, but cross us at your peril; like our emblem, the badger, we will protect ourselves, our friends and our families against all-comers. Nobody intimidates us”. Quickly Hufflepuff feels appropriate and I’ve always enjoyed a bit of adversity, although there is a significant mountain to climb. The colours of yellow and black are languishing on the bottom rung of the House Cup ladder with no semblance of upheaval evident. It seems many players are sorted into Hufflepuff and thenceforth either give up or create a new account in an attempt to change house. Shame on them, I’m Hufflepuff and proud (any previous bitterness forgotten) but still very aware that JK felt compelled to write many lines on the virtues of Hufflepuff to keep us interested and loyal.
The story continues from here with consistently attractive artwork, while I unlock various features to be used once the narrative has been covered. Potions can be brewed and duels can be fought, all with the intention of earning House points in order to win the House Cup. This is the social aspect that brings fans together, chatting online in the common rooms, donating Potions ingredients and congratulating victorious duellers.
But above all it is the exclusive content that is the true reward of participation for me. JK offers interesting insight into certain choices she made or information she never shared, such as the naming of Number 4 Privet Drive, Minerva McGonagall’s personal biography and why magical folk don’t use the metric system. It is satisfying and enticing to note that Rowling has all this information stored up, suggesting just how much deeper her imagination has delved into the world of Harry Potter and how much there is left to tell. This is why I will keep coming back for every book and eagerly await the arrival of the 2nd… Although recently I have been known to pop in and duel the stuffing out of some self-righteous Gryffindors. The complete Harry Potter experience became a bit more complete with Pottermore, an idea that hopefully makes the non-participatory understand why over 3 million have joined and more do so every day.
Aside from my personal experience, what are the greater effects upon the business of literature? The irrepressible and unfathomable beast that is the internet has pounced upon our most noble art forms, moulding them from tangible forms into simple bytes. The music industry has already witnessed decline of physical sales and the Amazon Kindle poses a similar threat for literature. However is Pottermore becoming a precedent to deprive children from genuinely wanting to hold a book in their hands, rather than being forced to by schools and parents? I have already praised the interactive experience of Pottermore but as a person who has read the novels an irresponsibly large number of times. If the site starts to function as the method in which children first experience Rowling’s words then it would become a double-edged sword, which provides us with enjoyment but first-timers with a distorted perception of what literature has to offer us. The most successful series ever published shall be turned into a simple Internet game, designed to titillate the eyes and not the imagination.
Yet Rowling’s series is not exactly the mean by which to judge other works. Its figures are staggering and the experience unique, even just the font itself is nostalgia inducing. I can’t imagine another text creating such an experience and attracting so many users, perhaps rendering this sort of entertainment reserved for titles with already long-standing and intense followings. This is what encourages me to keep believing in the appeal of reading the printed word not computer screens. It would be unrealistic to refute the Kindle’s claims of ease, comfort and size when compared to giant hardbacks or even smaller paperbacks, but the faith maintained in page-turning and imagination I can only hope remains entirely realistic.
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