J.K. Rowling Reveals The Harry Potter Wealth Story Along With New Pottermore Website


Pottermore is unveiling a brand new website, and to commemorate the occasion, J.K. Rowling wrote a brand new Harry Potter story to celebrate. Rowling has revealed several things about the Potter universe in the past, but with this new story, she explained a little about Harry’s family history, including where the Potter wealth was developed. For those of us that saw the huge piles of gold coins in Harry’s vault in the first movie and wondered where that all came from, we finally have the answer.

She begins the story by revealing just how far back Harry’s family can be traced, all the way to the 12th century with a wizard named Linfred of Stinchcombe who made medicinal remedies and crafted pottery. That’s where the surname came from. He was known as the potterer, and it was eventually shortened into the common muggle name “Potter.”

Linfred’s son married into the Peverell family. As fans will remember from the seventh book, Peverell is the surname of the three brothers that possessed the three deathly hallows, and Iolanthe, Linfred’s daughter in-law, was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell and the owner of Harry’s famous invisibility cloak.

Their wealth comes not from a line of wizarding aristocracy, but from years of hard work. The family quietly stowed their money into a vault, building up their savings and passing it down the line. Finally, it reached Fleamont Potter, Harry’s grandfather.

“It was Fleamont who took the family gold and quadrupled it, by creating magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion ( ‘two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet’ ),” Rowling writes. “He sold the company at a vast profit when he retired.”

Through a series of unfortunate events, the money made its way to Harry. Fleamont and his wife Euphemia, James Potter’s parents, were unable to have children until after Fleamont had retired and James was born. They only lived until shortly after James married Lily Evans. And as we know all too well, Lily and James lived only a couple of years after their own wedding, bequeathing that fortune to Harry.

This story came on the wings of a brand new website. J.K. Rowling can’t seem to let Harry Potter go just yet as Pottermore continues to expand. It has spurred a new site redesign in order to keep up with the growing number of fans. Pottermore CEO Susan Jurevics described the new website design to CNN.

“J.K. Rowling is continuing to expand her magical universe, and as the Wizarding World expands, so does Pottermore. The fascinating story of the Potter family, from the author herself, will enthrall everyone interested in this world and shows just how J.K. Rowling’s writing remains at the heart of our new site. Users will find all areas easier to access, due to the elimination of mandatory registration, as well as responsive designs for optimal viewing across a wide range of devices. Our new digital destination is tailored to unlock and stimulate the imagination like never before.”

The website will offer feature articles from the official Pottermore Correspondent, a journalist that will keep Harry Potter fans abreast of the latest happenings in the wizarding world. It will also keep fans updated on the progress with Warner Bros.’ upcoming film starring Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Check out J.K. Rowlings newest story on Pottermore and see what else the new website has to offer.

[Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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