I, like many in my generation, grew up desperately wishing J.K. Rowling was a parent of mine. Who better in the world to sit on the side of your bed and tell you bedtime stories? To console you that you haven’t gotten your Hogwarts letter yet? (Hey Hogwarts, is 21 too old or?). Nobody. Nobody would be better at those parental responsibilities. This is proven once again when Rowling (or “Jo,” as I like to call her when I pretend to know her) periodically does something that makes us long for a reality in which we grew up under her watch in Edinburgh. This time it has to do with a Hogwarts-inspired treat for her children.
The treat in question? Two treehouse structures to be built in the backyard of their Barnton home, these things are basically little boxes of magic and wonder. According to Digital Spy they are set to feature “spiral staircases, turrets, balconies, nature boxes and a rope bridge connection” and are going to be approximately 40ft tall. The construction plans were revealed when Rowling’s husband, Dr. Neil Murray, applied for planning permission to build the tree houses for their children, ages 7, 9, and 18.
It was revealed this year that Jo has actually given away so much money (a staggering $160 million) to charity in her time as Richest Author Who Ever Breathed that she is actually no longer a billionaire, so we are perfectly OK with reports of her splurging the rest of her fortune however she likes. But may we suggest something, Jo? Perhaps the purchase of a castle in Scotland to perhaps turn into Hogwarts? Please? Maybe? I’ll take that as a maybe.
As Jo herself said at the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 premiere last year, “Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” And sometimes bits of it will literally be in your backyard.
For further proof that Rowling would be the best person to perch on your bed and give you parental advice, I turn to Exhibit B (Exhibit A being the Potter legacy itself), her 2009 Harvard Commencement Address:
(via Digital Spy)
