PLEASE DON’T BUY THIS IF YOU’RE OFFERED IT. Originally auctioned for @englishpen, the owner supported writers’ freedoms by bidding for it. https://t.co/ljEQyyj9yY
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 12, 2017
J.K. Rowling, in support of English PEN, an organization that defends freedom of expression and works to remove barriers from literature, created a handwritten Harry Potter prequel that she wrote on a double sided postcard and allowed English PEN to sell at auction. A lucky bidder won it, purchased it, and everything was honky-dory. That is, until that bidder’s home was burgled.
The handwritten postcard by @jk_rowling was purchased to raise money for charity. #Harrypotter fans if you have any info please call 101 ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ijBtgrxHIL
— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) May 12, 2017
The burglary happened in April, and today the West Midland Police in the UK issued a call to Harry Potter fans via Twitter to be on the lookout and alert them if they see any attempts to sell the piece. As you can imagine, a handwritten Harry Potter story by J.K. Rowling is extremely valuable, though there’s no word on how much the winning bidder paid for it in the charity auction.
The West Midland Police did hashtag #KingsHeath in one of their tweets on the case, so that’s probably the area in which it was first stolen. However, this being the 21st Century and Harry Potter fans being a bunch of nerds, it would not be surprising to see this turn up for sale on the internet, or at some convention.
It’s times like this I wish we could just send an owl to The Burglar of the Harry Potter Story and find this person that way.
I don’t know what would make me more upset. Someone who purposely stole the story, among other valuables, knowing what it’s worth, or someone who burgled a home and inadvertently took it, and now it’s sitting in a bag somewhere with other stuff this thief is trying to hock.
Either way, it’s time for Dumbledore’s Army to get to work, as the winning bidder and Rowling both intended for this story to lead to funds for a good cause, and it would suck if someone then took advantage of that in order to make a profit for themselves. Hermione Granger would not approve. So if you see the item in the photo above being sold anywhere, know that it’s stolen, and do the right thing. Also, maybe throw some ducats English PEN‘s way, if you’re into that sort of thing.
And to the burglar out there, remember: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. You just tickled a bunch of sleeping dragons, home fry. Best give up the stolen fiction before you get caught in the path of someone’s fire breath.
(via The Daily Dot, featured image: Warner Bros.)
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