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J.K. Rowling Teams Up With Jessica Williams to Reveal Her Fantastic Beasts Role

Say hello to Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Ever since it was announced that Dope Queen and Harry Potter superfan Jessica Williams was cast in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we’ve been dying to find out more about her character. We now know that Williams will be playing Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, thanks to a tweet from Rowling featuring her with Williams at Broadway premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

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Ilvermorny, located in Massachusetts, is the North American school of witchcraft and wizardry. Since the upcoming film is set in Paris, it’s unlikely that we’ll get a peek at the American answer to Hogwarts anytime soon. We also won’t be seeing much of Lally in The Crimes of Grindelwald, as Rowling also tweeted that we’re only getting “a hint” of Williams in the film, with “her true glory” revealed in the third film.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Williams said, “Those movies and books, especially the books, were so important to me. I could not have fathomed that when I was in the fourth grade reading these books, there would be a character I play that exists in this universe. It’s insane to me.”

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits theaters in November. In the meantime, enjoy this delightful Instagram post from Williams and Rowling … I especially enjoyed Rowling’s response to the term “squirrelfrans.”

🧙🏾‍♀️

A post shared by Jessica Williams (@msjwilly) on

(via Screen Rant, Entertainment Weekly, image: Netflix)

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Author
Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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