Dumbledore

The Rowling Magazine Issue #72 · December 2022

Potter’s Progress: The Christmas Pig and Harry’s quest

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women famously begins at Christmas: ‘“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.’ The Christmassy nature of the book was stressed in the 1994 film adaptation, but in the book it is the Christian import of Christmas that is central, made explicit by the Christmas gift […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #71 · November 2022

After seven in Rowling’s words

After the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling kept revealing facts from the lives of the main characters, especially what happened to them after the events of the seventh book. Some of these revelations were done during interviews or reading events, some of them in pieces that she published in Pottermore, […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #71 · November 2022

Book four: The Age Line

In the fourth Harry Potter book, the young wizard craves a quiet life. But death is close at hand and the end of innocence is inevitable. Harry Potter is too young to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, which comes as a relief. After three years getting battered by various dark forces he has had enough […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #70 · October 2022

The Dementor Metaphor

Shorn of world-building Prisoner of Azkaban is the story of one boy’s struggle with depression, as Harry Potter comes to terms with the murder of his parents. Harry’s depression is manifested in the terrifying form of the Dementors of Azkaban, which threaten to consume his soul. Depression is the adversary he must overcome to survive […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #70 · October 2022

Is Molly Weasley still alive?

The Wizarding World franchise is one of the most developed and immersive works by J. K. Rowling, with fans and readers around the world trying to decipher every little detail as much as they can. Jo understands this, as she acknowledges that fans love every single detail from the books. In 2007, when Harry Potter […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #67 · July 2022

Let’s call it love (or commitment)

This is the third and last act of a response to the essay “The Mirror Dimension,” from The Rowling Library Magazine (Issue 64, April 2022). It was announced since the first one – “The Blood Network” (Issue 65, May 2022) –, which dealt with the encounter between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in what appears as a […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #66 · June 2022

Of Watches and Mirrors

“I give away to you the secret of secrets. Mirrors are doors through which Death comes and goes. As for the rest, glare at yourself all your life through a looking-glass and you will see Death at work like bees in a glass hive.” – from Jean Cocteau’s Orphée3, 4 Nicolas Flamel, Paris resident and […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #66 · June 2022

Book One: Entrances

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door – The first years enter Hogwarts, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone features an extraordinary number of doors. In this first book Harry Potter enters the magical world, physically and emotionally. His progress towards knowledge, to […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #65 · May 2022

Harry Potter: a literary canon – Part 3

Read Part 1 and Part 2 in the previous issues of The Rowling Library Magazine. One of the salient features of the Harry Potter series is the depiction of the realistic and true to life theme of power and its various forms. This comes into focus as an allegory to portray the different shades of […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #65 · May 2022

The Blood Network

I would like to take up, from The Rowling Library Magazine (Issue 64, April 2022), the three encounters that were described in the essay The Mirror Dimension: the meeting of Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) in what appears as a London café, the meeting of Dumbledore and Credence (Ezra Miller) in what looks […]

Read more

April 5th, 2022

Review: Fantastic Beasts 3 – The Secrets of Dumbledore

After the unenthusiastic reception of The Crimes of Grindelwald, Warner Bros. knew they had to do something different for the third part of the Fantastic Beasts series. Something different that would appeal back to the casual fans of the Wizarding World: that something different is Fantastic Beasts – The Secrets of Dumbledore. Warner Bros. knew […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #59 · November 2021

How Dumbledore and Grindelwald might meet before their legendary duel

After September’s surprising title reveal for ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ (FB:SoD), many fans have begun to speculate about the plot of the upcoming wizarding world movie installment. While magizoologist Newt Scamander and the gang are certain to take centre stage again, the Fantastic Beasts films have increasingly drawn upon the conflict arising from […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #52 · April 2021

Fantastic Beasts 3 Title: Will it be related to a Phoenix or to Albus Dumbledore?

Although Gellert Grindelwald is part of the title of the second film of Fantastic Beasts, one could argue that the main character is Albus Dumbledore. Not only because of his actions and scenes, but also because he is part of the open question that is left at the end of the film for fans to […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #43 · July 2020

The Boy Who Dreamed

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”* Ten-year-old Harry Potter sleeps in a cupboard. He dreams of a magical world. His mean, adoptive family inspire the villains in his imagined adventures. Strange people he sees are transfigured into witches and wizards. […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #41 · May 2020

The Lost Years

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has a 19-year-gap between the defeat of Voldemort and the final pages. The book’s epilogue shares a snapshot of 36-year-old Harry Potter’s life and concludes: all was well. In “19 Years Later” and in her online writings, JK Rowling gifted us with clues about her characters’ lives. What can […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #30 · June 2019

Is the Wizarding World still in the closet?

It’s Pride Month and we couldn’t stop to analyze how this could be celebrated in the Wizarding World that J. K. Rowling created. Amidst the controversy that Rowling launched when publically made clear for second time that Albus Dumbledore is gay and that he may have had a sexual relationship with the villain of Fantastic […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #26 · February 2019

Fantastic Beasts 3 is postponed until 2021

Will we ever get to see Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s great duel in a fifth movie or will the story shrink to fit fewer films? Right after the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and the bad reviews that sprang up, some fans started to wonder if there was any chance that the series […]

Read more

November 2nd, 2018

Spoilers: The surprise in The Crimes of Grindelwald that could break canon (again)

Today Warner Bros. released the full cast list for Fantastic Beasts: “The Crimes of Grindelwald and someone truly important to the Harry Potter world came up among these names. According to the press release, actress Fiona Glascott has been cast as no other than Minerva McGonagall. What’s relevant about this addition is how old Glascott […]

Read more

March 15th, 2018

What Secrets Lurk within the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Trailer?

On Tuesday, Wizarding World fans across the globe celebrated as the long-anticipated first trailer for Fantastic Beasts 2 finally apparated online. And while the sight of wizards apparating onto Hogwarts grounds quickly Accio’d fans’ attention, it was the desire to seek out and share all possible clues about the upcoming plot that led to an explosion of discussion.

Read more

March 16th, 2017

What was changed in the new Fantastic Beasts book, and what it means for canon

A few days ago, J.K. Rowling released a new edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, originally published as a mock-textbook in 2001. A few sections were removed, including all of Rowling’s handwritten parts, some new content was added, and a handful of lines were edited to ensure consistency with the new movies. While Rowling […]

Read more

March 8th, 2017

What we learned from the leaked German edition of the new Fantastic Beasts book

A new edition of J.K. Rowling’s Newt Scammander’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them releases next week. In addition to new artwork, this will feature six new creatures and a new Introduction by Newt. The German Amazon site offers a preview of the book, including the full introduction.

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #2 · December 2016

Fantastic Clues and Where They Lead Us

After watching Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, one seems to leave the theatre with more questions than answers. The first movie in this five-part series is more of an introduction to this new era of the Wizarding World than anything else, so it is natural that it leaves some loose ends. But, will […]

Read more

November 11th, 2016

J.K. Rowling reveals more about Fantastic Beasts at Press Conference and NYC Premiere

Yesterday was the Press Conference for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the World Premiere too in London. J.K. Rowling was present at both events, and she revealed more about the upcoming films of this new series. Rowling talked about Albus Dumbledore and what we are going to see in the second film: […]

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #1 · November 2016

Deathly Hallows and Where to Find Them

The Deathly Hallows symbol appears in a promotional image of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald also makes an appearance in the trailer and is mentioned in the movie’s official summary. What to expect from the upcoming film.

Read more

The Rowling Magazine Issue #1 · November 2016

2004: J.K. Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival

In August 2005, J.K. Rowling was present at the International Edinburgh Book Festival. After reading an extract from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which was published a month earlier, she took questions from the audience. Here is a transcription of the most interesting questions from that moment, which take us to a time when we still did not know about the last two books.

Read more

The Rowling Library is an online medium that publishes a digital monthly magazine, has reported exclusive news, and has done several fan projects, such as the Rowling Index.

Support us by becoming a Patron of The Rowling Library