For a Lucky Bunch, Early Admission to J.K. Rowling's 'Pottermore'

It's been four years since the release of the seventh and last Harry Potter book, and the magical saga ended in July with the eighth movie. However, fans are not ready to be done with the series, and neither is the creator of the wizarding world, J.K. Rowling.

Thirteen years since Scholastic published Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Rowling is releasing a new website to give fans more Potter. It's called, not surprisingly, Pottermore.

"I'm still astonished and delighted by the response the stories met," Rowling said in a video on the site, which is geared toward fans of all ages who can "share, participate in and rediscover the stories."

Rowling said she will be "joining in" on the magic as well to share information that she "has been hoarding for years about the world of Harry Potter."

Following her July 31 birthday — the same as Harry's — she is giving fans perhaps the first opportunity of its kind. She is offering early admission to Pottermore.

The website opens to everyone in October, but there are registration openings this week that will allow a select number — rumored to be 1 million total — to enter Pottermore early through Aug. 6 "and help shape the experience" and the Beta model of the website. There are seven books, so naturally there are seven days and chances to be accepted.

"I'm thrilled to say that I am now in a position to give you something unique. An online reading experience unlike any other," Rowling explained on Pottermore. "It's the same story with a few crucial additions. The most important one is you. Just as the experience of reading requires that the imaginations of the author and the reader work together to create the story, so Pottermore will be built in part by you, the reader. The digital generation will be able to enjoy a safe, unique online reading experience built around the Potter books."

West Hartford teenager Francesca Ciannavei has been trying to get on Pottermore but hasn't been successful. On Tuesday morning, the third clue was posted at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, so early registration was closed by the time she went to the website.

A couple of her West Hartford friends have been accepted and are awaiting a registration e-mail with further instructions.

When she heard about Pottermore on Tumblr, a blogging site, she was excited because Harry Potter has "been such a big part of our generation." She watched her first Potter movie when she was four, and listened to the audio books until she was old enough to read the stories.

"Knowing J.K. Rowling, it's probably going to be pretty cool," Ciannavei said of Pottermore. "I think a lot of people just wanted to know more about Hogwarts and what else went on besides what the main characters were doing. One of the greatest appeals is that everyone wants to go to Hogwarts and people would think Hogwarts would be so amazing."

The mysteries and adventures in Harry Potter often begin with clues and solving riddles, and clues are also the key to early entry into Pottermore. In order to gain a sneak peek, fans must "find The Magical Quill" on the website at a mystery time each day and submit registration details. To find the quill, fans must solve a clue, and quickly, as The Magical Quill "won’t be there for long and registration will only be open while spaces are still available each day." The experience started on July 31 and the opportunity to be one of the first on Pottermore ends Aug. 6.

"The Magical Quill detects the birth of magical children and writes their name down in a large book. To find out if your name is in the book, you need to find The Magical Quill and then submit your registration details on Pottermore," instructions on the Pottermore homepage state.

USA Today gave an example of a clue, which is "how many books are there in the Harry Potter series? Multiply this number by 10." The answer is 70 since there are seven books. There would be further instructions, USA Today reported, such as "next, add this number to the end of the website address," and the fan would type in the URL http://quill.pottermore.com/70 and hit the "return" key to be taken to The Magic Quill.

Rowling said on Pottermore that she still receives hundreds of letters from fans and that "Harry's fans remain as enthusiastic and inventive as ever."

For those readers wondering what it was like to be one of the lucky ones to be invited to Hogwarts, the rush to be accepted into Pottermore may be the closest Muggles will get to the anticipation of wearing the Sorting Hat and waiting for their house assignment.

Owls delivered messages in the Harry Potter books, and Twitter is chirping about Pottermore. There are currently 262,605 Twitter accounts following @Pottermore, the official Pottermore account. Further discussion about Pottermore can by viewed by searching under the #pottermore feed.

"The third @Pottermore clue has been posted! Wake up! Stop working! Good luck!" MuggleNet tweeted at around 6 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.

"Patience isn't my strong suit, and October is a long way away. I'm sure I'll love it when I get in," twitter user JanineHaines wrote on Tuesday.

"Brightside to being ill & being off work? Successfully registered for #pottermore!" emmamotttram tweeted.

Fans have also started Pottermore Facebook pages, such as Pottermore Help, for fans to ask questions to help them solve the clues, and there is a Pottermore Facebook app.

Day 3 registration is closed, but there will be four more opportunities on Aug. 3-6 to access Pottermore.