J.K. Rowling's Official Website

This is an archived copy of J.K. Rowling's old interactive Flash website (2004-2012). This was her website that she used while writing the final two Harry Potter books, and it was full of information about the series as well as hidden tidbits for fans (note: This isn't Pottermore, that was a different website).

To launch the website click the button below. This website needs Flash and cookies enabled to run properly. If on a mobile device you can download a Flash browser like Puffin Browser to view the website, but some parts may be hard to use without a proper mouse and keyboard.

The website can be a bit difficult to navigate, so we've set up a basic guide to the site, including hints and instructions on how to unlock all of the hidden content.

J.K. Rowling's website changed over time and to present the most complete and internally consistent experience we have chosen a slightly modified version of the way it was prior to August 2009.

More technical information about how the site functioned and how this was restored can be found on our Github page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this?

It’s an non-profit preservation of J.K. Rowling’s old interactive Flash website.

Is this the old Pottermore?

No, it is not Pottermore. Here’s an infographic that might help.

Well can you reproduce the old Pottermore then? I want to see that site.

If you have any of the files from there preserved then hit us up, and we’ll see what we can do.

How was this preserved?

Back before the original website shutdown, a Harry Potter fan by the name of Roonwit meticulously saved everything and documented how it all worked. By using these files, along with some of the stuff on the wayback machine and then making some new php files to replicate the server side of things we were able to recreate the website. See the project’s github page for a more technical explanation.

How faithful is this to the original?

This almost an exact reproduction of the pre-August 2009 version of the site. The main differences are that all of the Diary entries are included and that the time-turner WOMBATs will now show certificates on the results wall just like the older WOMBATs. (Type in anything to get past the login.) Also, since the exact wombat grading scheme is not recoverable, we used Roonwit’s answer key. This was determined by careful experimentation with the original, but due to human error it may differ in a few points. We’ve also kept a few things that were later deleted, and the non-English versions now have all the news articles that were previously exclusive to the English site. Everything else should work exactly as intended, even the birthday messages. Click here to see other versions of the site.

What languages is this available in?

Like the original website, this is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. However, not all the languages are complete.
English: 100% complete
French: 100% complete (thanks to Gazette du Sorcier and Univers Harry Potter)
Spanish: 100% complete (thanks to HarryLatino)
Italian: 100% complete (thanks to Portus)
German: 95% complete
Japanese: 15% complete

Why are some of the translated versions incomplete?

Sadly, while we have a very good archive of the English files, we don’t have a good archive of the other languages. The text-only version of the site archived on the wayback machine helped supply most of the text for four of the languages, but some parts weren’t in the text-only version, and the Japanese website was only ever available in flash. We were able to have the missing parts of the French, Spanish, and Italian translations filled in by Gazette du Sorcier, Univers Harry Potter, HarryLatino, and Portus. Please contact us if you’d like to help finishing the German or Japanese translations.

Why doesn’t this work on my phone?

The website (like many from its time) used Adobe Flash. Most mainstream mobile browsers do not support Flash. You can still run the website on your phone by downloading a mobile browser that supports flash (like Puffin Browser). However, some parts of the site may still be difficult to execute without a mouse and keyboard. You can also just use a regular computer.

Is there any point to this site besides just reading news articles?

Certain puzzles unlock Rowling’s notes and illustrations to your “scrapbook”. The door behind the eraser could be opened on various dates after completing overly complicated puzzles to see sneak peaks of upcoming books or to take WOMBAT trivia tests. (Adjust the time turner near the door to visit past puzzles.) And if you visit the website on certain days you’ll see something to celebrate certain characters’ birthdays. See our guide for more details and solutions to all the puzzles.

What is the WOMBAT card for? It asks me type in a code, but nothing seems to happen.

That is to bring you to the page where you can see the results of your WOMBAT tests. You need to take the tests first by setting the time-turner behind the pink eraser to a date when the test was active and solve the puzzle. Typing in anything will get past the results login screen, but whatever you enter there will show up on your printed certificate.

So how do I take the WOMBAT tests?

Click the pink eraser to get to the page with the secret door. Use the handles on the time-turner to change the date to 31/03/06, 29/09/06, or 13/06/07 (depending on which test you want), and then try solving the puzzle to unlock the door and start the test. If you need any hints for the door puzzles check out our guide.

I found a bug what do I do?

Please tell us about it.

This project is really cool. Is there a way I can help?

If you’re fluent in German or Japanese you can help us complete the missing translations. If you have any archives you made from the original site (flash files, screenshots, text copies, etc) please share them with us. You can also help us by exploring our recreation to test for bugs and helping ensure that this gets preserved as accurately as possible. (more technical information is available on github). If you want to help us defray server costs, we also have a Patreon where you can support this and future projects. To get in touch with us regarding translations, bug reports, archived materials, or anything else click here.