Pottermore Provides Backstory for Ilvermorny, the “American Hogwarts”

Americans hoping to feel less like Muggles with their own magical tale from the world of Harry Potter will soon get their wish thanks to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, along with all the backstory J.K. Rowling is laying down to set up the movie. Today, Pottermore has revealed the history of Ilvermorny, the American School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The video above is just a taste, featuring some of the major players from the new piece of Rowling writing on Pottermore. The full backstory prominently features the family lineage of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, a name that speaks volumes to Potter fans all by itself. It also puts two witches front and center with Ilvermorny founder Isolt Sayre and her aunt, Gormlaith Gaunt—another familiar name—facing off.

It’s a rather long tale that goes from the past all the way up to present day, so you’ll want to carve out some time to read the whole thing for yourself. You can also now get sorted into your Ilvermorny house with a sorting quiz written by Rowling herself, so go to it. (Welcome fellow Wampuses.) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which follows “Magizoologist”/textbook author Newt Scamander on an adventure in America, comes to theaters November 18.

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