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J.K. Rowling offers back story of North American school of magic on Pottermore

By Karen Butler
Author J.K. Rowling laughs while on stage during the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association in Cambridge, Mass. on June 5, 2008. File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI
1 of 3 | Author J.K. Rowling laughs while on stage during the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association in Cambridge, Mass. on June 5, 2008. File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI | License Photo

LONDON, June 29 (UPI) -- "Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the second installment in a collection of original writing by J.K. Rowling under the banner "Magic in North America," has been published exclusively on pottermore.com.

The essay "provides a vivid and captivating back story of the great North American school of magic, founded in the 17th century" and helps set the stage for the upcoming film franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Warner Bros. Pictures said in a press release.

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"The work of fiction begins in Ireland, where an orphaned young girl who is a descendant of Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin escapes her evil aunt and sets sail on the Mayflower," the studio said of Rowling's latest offering. "Landing in Massachusetts with little more than the clothes on her back and a stolen wand, she ventures out on her own, wandering in the wilderness until she encounters several mysterious creatures and discovers she is not the only magical person in the New World. But she will also have to overcome great challenges and face new dangers on her way to establishing what will become the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the peak of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts."

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In March, Pottermore published "History of Magic in North America," the first episode of "Magic in North America." Posted on the website over four consecutive days, the work documented the history of North American witches and wizards as seen in Rowling's fantasy universe.

The first movie in the Harry Potter spinoff series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set for release Nov. 18. Marking Rowling's screenwriting debut, the film is a new adventure starring Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist Newt Scamander, who arrives in New York in 1926.

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