There's a new Harry Potter story.

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The Romulan Republic
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There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/harry-potte ... -1.2699698
Harry Potter is back — mysterious, married, and going grey.

J.K. Rowling has given fans a glimpse of the grown-up boy wizard in a new story posted Tuesday on her Pottermore website.

It's the first update since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published in 2007, but Rowling spokesman Mark Hutchinson said there are "no plans" for a new Potter novel.

BOOKS-HARRYPOTTER/
British author J.K. Rowling has long said that Deathly Hallows would be the last Potter novel. (Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

The 1,500-word story describes Harry, about to turn 34, attending the final of the Quidditch World Cup with his family and old friends Ron and Hermione.

Harry now has "threads of silver" in his hair and a mysterious cut on his cheekbone, related to his "top secret" work as an evil-battling Auror.

Fans flooded to the Pottermore site to read the new story, temporarily crashing the page.

Canadian Potter fan Tarah Bleier said she tried to log on several times before she was finally able to read the update to the Harry Potter saga.

Tarah Bleier
Toronto's Tarah Bleier, 23, remembers picking up her first Harry Potter book, The Philosopher's Stone, at age eight and staying up late to finish reading it. (Tarah Bleier/CBC)

"I was completely blown away," she told CBC Arts Reporter Zulekha Nathoo. "It's finally more of a conclusion to the book series. It definitely satisfies my curiosity, that's for sure."

The story is written in the style of a gossip column for the Daily Prophet by reporter Rita Skeeter, a minor character in the novels.

The style allows Rowling to poke fun at the tabloid press, a real-life bugbear that she has accused of invading her privacy and that of her family.

Skeeter observes that Harry and friends are "no longer the fresh-faced teenagers they were in their heyday" and speculates about the state of Harry's marriage to Ginny Weasley.

She says Ron Weasley's red hair "appears to be thinning slightly," and notes witheringly that Harry still wears "the distinctive round glasses that some might say are better suited to a style-deficient 12-year-old."

The story discloses that Ron now runs the family joke shop, while Hermione is a — literally — high-flying civil servant, Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

There are also updates on other characters, including Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, as well as glimpses of a new generation of teenage wizards.

Rowling has long said that Deathly Hallows, would be the last Potter novel, but has produced other Potter-related material, including spin-off story collection, The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Rowling has also published a novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, and two detective thrillers under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
I haven't read it yet, but I'm curious.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Darth Nostril »

It's pretty funny, typical Skeeter style.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Havok »

Can someone post a more concise book report please? :)
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Havok »

P.S.I heard about this from a Hells Angel.
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It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Purple »

Honestly the HP series pretty much lost my interest once she started writing them darker and edgier. I liked the mostly happy tone of the first two books better.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.

You win. There, I have said it.

Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Gandalf »

I had a read earlier today. It's actually not too bad. It's just a fun 1500 or so words revisiting the characters and sort of confirming their happy ending.
Purple wrote:Honestly the HP series pretty much lost my interest once she started writing them darker and edgier. I liked the mostly happy tone of the first two books better.
Good to know.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Purple »

Gandalf wrote:Good to know.
I was sort of hoping to start a broader discussion on the topic of who prefers which between the happier old books and the darker new ones. Guess I had to be more explicit.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.

You win. There, I have said it.

Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

To be honest, since the third book really introduced the horror that is Azkaban, it getting darker was to be expected. That and the whole "The Dark Lord is returning/has returned/has kicked us to the curb" thing the later books had going on.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
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Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Ghetto edit: There is also the fact that the first two books do contain a lot of pretty dark stuff, it's just stuff that's dark and twisted only when you think about it some more. Like Riddle's diary, or the Mirror of Erised and the fact that it's sat in a classroom that isn't even locked.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Chamber of Secrets is pretty dark.

Their's a ghost-like piece of a teenage killer haunting a school and attacking the students.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Purple »

Dark yes, but in a murder mystery kind of way as opposed to a Warhammer 40K kind of way. Which is basically where the later books have taken it. The first book was a more or less self contained piece. It introduced the character well, had us go on an adventure and had a plot hook on the end. The second one equally so. Especially since the villain was who he was. But the later books just seemed to start adding dark for the sake of dark. They went from "let's go have a scary adventure with our heroes which we know will end well" to "In the dark world of Harry Potter, there is only evil." Now I know that the intent was to have an arc to it and just have things glide over between good, dark and finally happy ending. But I just don't feel it panned out well.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.

You win. There, I have said it.

Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

I disagree. Their was still good even when Voldemort was ruling. But Rowling didn't sugar coat a evil wizard, his authoritarian regime, and a civil war. Which is a good thing.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Purple »

The Romulan Republic wrote:I disagree. Their was still good even when Voldemort was ruling. But Rowling didn't sugar coat a evil wizard, his authoritarian regime, and a civil war. Which is a good thing.
That's the thing. By the time we got to the middle there was this evil wizard, his authoritarian regime, and a civil war and it turned from a childrens book to Warhammer 40K. I mean I get that tastes will vary but in the end you just knew that there was no happy ending to this even if the protagonist wins.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.

You win. There, I have said it.

Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

The series got dark because, y'know, evil things were happening because of prejudice, bigotry and a general hatred of anything that wasn't the same as Voldemort. I wouldn't call it grimdark because that term summons up images of 40K where dark stuff happens for the sake of dark stuff happening. Harry Potter, however, shows us what happens and doesn't make it gratuitously dark. The books don't anyway, the films on the other hand do veer a bit into grimdarkness, especially the last three.

As for the rest of your post Pruple, again, I disagree. I really don't think it turned into 40K and I honestly don't see how you're making that leap. For instance, the good guys are at least trying to be better people than those they fight, for instance, the good wizards generally aren't seen using lethal curses. Book five, the battle at the ministry, five of the sixth Death Eaters are captured, not killed, even after they've been attacking children and killed Sirius. The good guys aren't slaughtering their own, or wasting their forces in futile attacks. They try to protect the Muggles, and so on.

As for their being a happy ending, you know, I'm glad that there was a genuine sense that the heroes might fail, because that's realistic. With the odds stacked against them that much, I'd have been disappointed if there wasn't a feeling among the heroes of "oh shit I don't think we can win." Because if they had just carried on regardless, fully believing that they would succeed no matter the odds, I'd be thinking "this reads like shitty fanfiction."
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Purple wrote:
The Romulan Republic wrote:I disagree. Their was still good even when Voldemort was ruling. But Rowling didn't sugar coat a evil wizard, his authoritarian regime, and a civil war. Which is a good thing.
That's the thing. By the time we got to the middle there was this evil wizard, his authoritarian regime, and a civil war and it turned from a childrens book to Warhammer 40K. I mean I get that tastes will vary but in the end you just knew that there was no happy ending to this even if the protagonist wins.
I don't think any series where horrible things happen=Warhammer.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Dartzap »

I'm struggling to think of any British Sci-fi/Fantasy of the last 100+ years that wasn't dark in someway or another. Time Machine was a bit bloody grim, has to be said!
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by JLTucker »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Ghetto edit: There is also the fact that the first two books do contain a lot of pretty dark stuff, it's just stuff that's dark and twisted only when you think about it some more. Like Riddle's diary, or the Mirror of Erised and the fact that it's sat in a classroom that isn't even locked.
And the Dursleys abusing Harry. That was one of my major problems with hte early books. THe abuse is written in a manner that doesn't take it seriously.

I'm finding it hilarious that a gradual and logical shift to darker territory is seen as a problem.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

It's kinda worrying that I was talking about the first books being dark and it never even occurred to me to mention the abuse.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Metahive »

It could be because it's the "let's treat him like a broken piece of furniture" style of abuse rather than actual violence.

You know what I find funny? That the Dursley years didn't turn Harry into a Voldemort sympathizer. At the beginning of the second book it's said that Harry's getting better treatment from the Dursleys because he's sublty threatening them with his magic (until they find out about the magic ban for minors). Compare and contrast this with Tom Riddle in the orphanage.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

I think it was more that the violence wasn't mentioned explicitly, although in book two there was a mention of Harry having to duck a soapy frying pan swung at his head, and that was after he was trying to intimidate them with magic.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: There's a new Harry Potter story.

Post by Purple »

I think I might not have managed to express my self right. And thus I shall try again.
Books 1 and 2 were childrens books. You could read them to a 7 year old and it would still be fun. And I liked them that way. Sure there was the abuse, and the sad part about him being orphaned violently and all. And there was life threatening danger and drama. But really, the way it was all presented and offset with lighter stuff (like the half giant that treats giant beasts as pets) gave me the image of basically having stories about a child hero going through a magical high school having adventures with his friends. And that's what I expected from the series. A memorably but ultimately local and globally meaningless adventure each year for a number of years as we watch the protagonist grow up. So when it turned dark and focused away from that I felt disappointed.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.

You win. There, I have said it.

Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
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