Gain Early Access to Hermione Granger Patronus Funko Pop

In December 2019, the Wizarding World released the exciting news of the first Patronus Funko Pop! release.

Members of The Harry Potter Fan Club had early access to adding a translucent figurine inspired by Harry Potter's patronus - a stag - to their collection.

The digital hub of the wizarding world promised more Patronus collectibles would be on the way, and now we have a confirmation that Hermione's patronus (an otter) is next.

A pre-release exclusive will be available to Fan Club members on the Wizarding World online shop, from 11:00am ET on February 4th – subject to availability, while supplies last.

Wizarding World Gold subscribers will have the chance to buy before anyone else from Wizarding World's online shop from 3 February, while stocks last, for 24 hours, beginning 11am ET/4pm GMT.

Similar to the Harry Potter Patronus Funko, this silvery-blue figure of the otter comes in a traditional Funko Pop! window box. It will feature a pre-release exclusive sticker and an Enchanted Key symbol, which can be scanned on the Wizarding World app for an extra treat.

If you can't buy the Funko Pop! on February 4th, keep an eye out at major retailers such as Barnes and Noble (in the U.S.) as figurines are generally released to the public at a later date.

The last Patronus Funko Pop!, at least for this set, is said to be Ron Weasley's patronus - a Jack Russell Terrier. Stay tuned for more updates!

Hermione Granger Bedroom Inspiration from Deathly Hallows

Since the very first time we met Hermione Granger on the train to Hogwarts, we always wandered what her home life was like. After six films following Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we finally got a glimpse of her where she spends her time studying and upbringing away from the wizarding boarding school.

Drawing on inspiration from her wall hangings, color schemes, and accessories in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, here is another dose of bewitching inspiration for my continuing series Get the Wizarding Look. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to comment with your thoughts in the section below!

Here's a fuller look of her room. It's accented with pastel, earthy tones like soft blues, purples, and greens. Everything is in its rightful place and organized nicely. She has a nice bulletin board for photos, drawings, and wizarding news. Her books are kept on clean shelves with ample space on the top shelf for her music player, stuffed bear, and more books. We'll be incorporating these ideas for your own bedroom.

Photo Sources: 1. White smart desk 2.White end table

Photo Sources: Pacific Blue Wingback Chair, White and Plum pillow cover, Purple and Green throw pillow, 16x16 Decorative floral pillow, Purple and White decorative pillow

Keep important reminders and photos of your family and friends on your wall with a 11 x 17 inch black frame corkboard. Here are some different ways to decorate or make your own corkboard: add a clothesline, Do It Yourself Corkboard by Carolina Charm, add pockets, Burlap Covered Corkboard, and Fabric Covered memo board

Decorations: Ombre purple vase, Brass wall hook hanger, and Purple felt garland

Artwork: magic garden Art Painting, Anemone bouquet, and Lilac Botanical Photography

Figurines: Tiny River Otter figurine and Golden Lion bookends

Books Belong to their Readers

News was released through The Sunday Times and Hypable that J.K. Rowling seems to have experienced regrets since finishing the series that Ron and Hermione should not have ended up together. The details are more elaborate in an upcoming edition of Wonderland magazine, in which Harry Potter star Emma Watson guest edited a portion of the magazine. Though the issue will not be released until Thursday, understandably our fandom has reached out online through tumblr and twitter expressing their opposing and supportive opinions.

Tweets erupted last night rang from a number of fellow young adult authors. The one included above by John Green (The Fault in our Stars) caught my attention. It led me to question how much of the books belong to the readers and our own perception of what the author creates.

I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron.”

No matter how much we as fans interpreted the series for Ron and Hermione to end up together, or Harry and Hermione, or Draco and Hermione (the ship list goes on and on), the feeling of betrayal from the Romione camp stems from how much Ron has been treated like a third-rate character.

We all know the second youngest Weasley has not had it easy in the series. The next biggest revelation over the transformation of our favorite ginger came when Rowling shared that she nearly killed him off after experiencing frustration with his future. In the film series, many of his heroic acts was replaced with humor and dumbfoundedness compared to Hermione's intelligence and Harry's bravery. Having often been deemed as the runt of the litter by even his family, Ron rarely earned credit where it was due. He was played second fiddle, and now finally settled with the idea that him and Hermione were married and had children, an alternative ending of him not even receiving true love to Rowling might not have been his either.

So what becomes of our own perceptions? Personally, I haven't figured Hermione to be with Ron, nor Harry, nor Draco. I fiddle with the idea she ended up with Viktor Krum. However, Rowling's official conclusion to the story's printed ending doesn't affect my own hesitant support of Romione.

Words are more than letters and syllables strung together as our own imagination creates a different landscape for sentence, paragraph, and book. It's one of the reasons why film adaptations are rarely successful with an entire audience of readers; we each see a scene differently no matter how successful or terrible the book is translated to the screen. The power of our minds takes characters' lives and give us a vision of someone and somewhere original and new, and carefully orchestrated prose has the ability to spark original and new theories. Even a novel set in the realistic present world has the power to be interpreted in hundreds of different ways, including the author.

Rowling's feelings does not change the outcome of what is left printed in the books. Even her original plan writing the books concluded Ron and Hermione ending up happily ever after. The series' ending has obviously given her hindsight and an alternate perspective of other possibilities. In the end, Ron and Hermione still gather with Harry and Ginny at Platform 9 3/4 Quarter to send their children off to Hogwarts. It's in fine print. Some may see the epilogue in other ways too. Books belong to their readers.

JK Rowling Releases New Details about Ron & Hermione's Relationship

In a recent interview conducted by Emma Watson, where she served as guest editor for Wonderland magazine, new details have come to light by Harry Potter author JK Rowling: she never wanted Ron and Hermione together.

As originally reported by Hypable, the information in question came from The Sunday Times.

Rowling says that she should have put Hermione and Harry together in the Harry Potter series instead of Hermione and Ron, according to the publication’s headline, which reads, “JK admits Hermione should have wed Harry.”

“I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment,” she says. “That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” she continued, “I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people’s hearts by saying this? I hope not.”

Watson didn’t seem shocked by these comments and agreed with her. “I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy.”

Personally, I always saw Hermione not ending up with Harry Potter but with older Weasley brother Fred - whose relationship is not adequately explored in the films. Do you agree with Hermione ending up happily ever after with Harry (or another character)? What do you think of Rowling's revelation Romione?

5 Essential Relationships in the Harry Potter Universe

Being in love with the Harry Potter fandom is not easy. There are characters who passed away, some who didn't end up with the "right" people, and others who just didn't get the time of day we wished they would've gotten. But, to be a character in J.K. Rowling's series? That might be even tougher. So much beautiful love and yet tragic heartbreak came with being a wizard/witch in her wizarding world. February is dedicated to love in spite of all of its disappointments, and here we are celebrating some great relationships from Harry Potter.

Hagrid and his magical creatures

Tested for his individuality of being a giant, Hagrid turned his care and attention towards other creatures that were strange and unusual. From his own dog Fang to the giant spider Aragog and firebreathing dragons, Hagrid adored animals as they were his greatest friends. In the walls of his hut, through the forbidden forest and even after serving time in Azkaban, he never failed to try instilling respect for these misunderstood creatures.

Argus Filch, Hogwarts and Mrs. Norris

Though Harry Potter declared Hogwarts was his home, one guy was with the famed boarding school through its lightest and darkest days: Argus Filch. A janitor to the school he stayed through all the different Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, Yule Balls and Triwizard disasters. As a squib, he lived in the one environment where so many students had powers he couldn't fulfill. After being petrified by Tom Riddle, his other companion Mrs. Norris, was beside him always even when Hogwarts had been reduced to bricks.

Remus Lupin and Nymphadora

A relationship not only tested (but eventually succumbed) to the devastating and dangerous second Wizarding War. Their chemistry, trials, and tribulations were more explored in the book series and in the film. A lightly tended to relationship in the movie series, Remus and Nymphadora were together until the end.

Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter

If you look back on the series, Harry was quite the ladies man. Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, the waitress at the diner, and Hermione Granger were all female characters fans could have seen Harry end up with. Bu through the years there was a quiet relationship brewing. We saw the youngest Weasley pine for the chosen one but their connection was always pushed to the backburner. Eventually, these two end up hitched, with a family sending their own children off to Hogwarts.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley

Possibly one of the most popular relationships in the series. They started out as friends; two peas in the golden trio pod. The first few years together, Ron and Hermione were at odds and ends always bickering with friendly fighting words. Their friendship molded into a romance that took years of fiery chemistry and was finally sealed with a kiss in Deathly Hallows. A married couple with their own kids nineteen years later, we can only imagine that all was well between them.

Hermione And The Grangers, Where ARE her parents?

What do we know about Hermione Granger outside of Hogwarts? She is a muggle born witch. And,  her parents are dentists, who accept that their only daughter is magical. Other than that JK Rowling doesn't let us in on too much about what goes on within the Granger household. It's hard to paint a picture of the brightest witch of her age....other than she is the brightest witch of her age.

With Harry Potter's other friend, Ron Weasley, it seems we never know too little of the Weasley family. Throughout the series, we gain interaction of what life is like out in the Burrows - the shenanigans of George and Fred, the marriage of Arthur and Molly, and the personal attachment Ginny has with Potter.

When we see Granger she is generally always with the Weasleys, Potter or both -such as staying over at the Weasleys' for the Tri-Wizard tournament. Even when she goes to get school supplies at Diagon Alley, her parents are replaced by Arthur and Molly - except on one occasion in Chamber of Secrets. She seems to get along with Ginny rather nicely but no real signs of a bonding friendships is very much explored. Even at Hogwarts, Hermione generally only has Ron and Harry.

I often wonder why did Rowling leave details of Hermione's life out of the picture?

For Hermione, sure it would be more than difficult to set her parents down before dinner and explain that she overbooked her classes during her third year of Hogwarts, and she traveled back in time to to get from class to class - and that she helped a Hippogriff and a prisoner of Azkaban escape execution. Or that in her first year at just eleven years old she assisted her friends through several life-threatening challenges to capture the Sorcerer's Stone.
 

But, it's a curious question and plothole to ponder: if Granger's parents trusted Hermione enough to let her stay with the Weasleys on several occasions, why didn't we see more interaction between the two families? At one such point in Half Blood Prince, Granger mentions that her parents are Muggle Born and even they know something isn't going right in the wizarding world - when danger with Voldemort is creeping towards its highest point. So why then don't we even see the Granger parents putting up a fight for their only daughter to stay safely in Muggle world?

My only solution to this is that Hermione could not relate her magical life to her parents so much that that her isolation matched that of Harrys - his friends was his closest family.

But it begs the question in general: how did Muggle parents deal with their magical sons and daughters - who lead tamer lives than the golden trios - if even they couldn't take them to Diagon Alley or Platform 9 3/4 quarters?

What are your thoughts on Hermione and her parents?    Do you think you would have struggled at Hogwarts  had you been a muggle-born student?

Crookshanks: Conducive or Counterproductive?

Whether he or she is a pet or a wild magical creature, animals make many grand appearances in the Harry Potter series. Some of the first pets we grew to love was Harry's owl Hedwig, which was a birthday gift from Hagrid, and the rat Scabbers, which Ron had inherited as the family pet. As a fan who has just started to read the books, I was always curious about how Crookshanks came into Hermione's life. Upon reading Prisoner of Azkaban for the first time it was exciting to see why and how.

From the beginning of the book in The Leaky Cauldron chapter, one of the main reasons for Crookshanks is to add to the love / hate friendship of Hermione and Ron. While this is a worthy cause for the strengthening of their eventual relationship and the duo's chemistry, this is where my frustration with Crookshanks initially begins. The half-kneazle feline, for the most part, is really only used as a device to cause rifts between Hermione and Ron. It's not until we go further into the book that we come to understand something deeper is going on beyond Crookshanks' mysterious and vicious behavior.

But, at some point, there just seems to be too much Crookshanks.

In chapters 17 - 19, there is a plethora of revelations and information to take in at the Shrieking Shack. We have Professor Remus Lupin explaining the origin of the Maurader's Map, his werewolf transformations, and how/why the Shrieking Shack was created. Sirius Black has truths to be told  about Potter's parents getting killed by Pettigrew's cowardice. And, we learn that Black befriended Crookshanks, when he was in his Animagus form, and used him as intel to know about Scabbers' (Peter Pettigrew) whereabouts.

The build-up of Crookshanks serving as a friend to Black is sold enough, however, in the actual revelation of Pettigrew's betrayal and Black's innocence, Crookshanks slows down the narrative. I didn't really care Crookshanks was apart of the story, and just wanted more of the suspense between Black and Pettigrew. Part of me had hoped Crookshanks was an Animagus of his own to make the character more rounded, which naturally never happens...

It seems funny enough that he's used too much for Hermione and Ron's relationship as the go-to quarrel maker, but when used for other means, I could really have cared less. At the end of Prisoner of Azkaban, we are left with a simple companion to Hermione, who we suspect will be the cause of more rifts with Ron and his new owl.

Was Crookshanks REALLY a needed character in the Sirius Black plot?

The Boy Who Lived And Other Character Summaries

Author J.K. Rowling described our hero Harry Potter in several ways throughout the series. He was known as The Chosen One and Undesirable No 1.

From the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, he was introduced during a celebration in the wizarding world. The darkest wizard of all-time Voldemort had been defeated by a baby, the son of James and Lily Potter. He was hailed and cheered as The Boy Who Lived.

Next to his iconic glasses and lightning scar, this famous four word phrase became one of the most popular ways we memorialize Harry. Yet, other characters in the series weren't bestowed similar nicknames except for the ones that fans give them.

With the thought of Harry's friends, teachers, and villains in mind, I took on a challenge of limiting myself to four words to describe other favorite and least favorite characters. These were my results....

Hermione Granger: The Girl Who Knew
Ron Weasley: The Boy Who Stayed
Draco Malfoy: The Boy Who Reasoned
Fred and George Weasley: The Twins Who Caroused
Ginny Weasley: The Girl Who Survived
Luna Lovegood: The Girl Who Differed
Neville Longbottom: The Boy Who Triumphed
Professor Trelawney: The Girl Who Predicted
Professor McGonagall: The Girl Who Advised
Hagrid: The Keeper Who Protected
Severus Snape: The Boy Who Defended
Lily Potter: The Girl Who Loved
Dumbledore: The Boy of Wisdom
Lord Voldemort: The One Without Love

With four words like The Boy Who Lived, 
how would you describe the characters of Harry Potter?