He epitomizes our generation. Ask a ten-year-old who Hamlet is and he probably won't even know “To be or not to be,” but you can bet your broomstick he knows all about Harry Potter. Fans ranging from kindergarteners to grandparents recognize the story of the boy hero who, with the help of his friends and mentors, overcame all odds to defeat the Dark Lord and save the wizarding world.

Though the Brit Joanne “J.K.” Rowling didn’t publish Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) until 1997, Harry’s story really began in 1990 on a crowded train to London. As she gazed at the English countryside whizzing by her window, the image of a magically-endowed orphan with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead “apparated” into Rowling’s mind. As she told The Boston Globe in a 1999 interview, “I really don’t know where the idea came from. It started with Harry, then all these characters and situations came flooding into my head."

That initial idea grew into a wildly popular series of seven novels chronicling Harry’s adventures — and misadventures — at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and

Wizardry. Now, two decades and countless butterbeers later, the books have been translated into 67 languages, adapted into a $7 billion-grossing film series — surpassing Star Wars and James Bond to become the highest-grossing film franchise ever, according to the Internet Movie Database — and even transformed into “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” an entire theme park within Universal Studios’ Orlando, Florida resort.

Pottermore, A History

Despite the worldwide abundance of Harry Potter, this summer’s release of the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, was the end of an era for fans who grew up alongside Harry. “My dad used to read every single Harry Potter book out loud to me,” junior Zoe Charter-Kuo explained. “It was a huge part of my childhood.”

So, just when Potterheads began to panic, Rowling made her next move.

In summer 2011, speculation on a new website, Pottermore, spread across the web like Fiendfyre, setting Tumblr, Twitter and Harry Potter forums alight with rumors and theories. On June 23, Rowling addressed fans in “J.K. Rowling Announces Pottermore,” a video featuring the author seated on a couch, describing Pottermore as an “online experience unlike any other.” But her explanation was vague, at best, and even the sharpest Potter fans were confunded by her cryptic parting words, “Simply follow the owl. Good luck.”

Within a month, Rowling more specifically defined Pottermore as “an interactive, illustrated companion to the books.” Rowling would continue to write — the site promised over 18,000 words of previously unrevealed information about the epic. Additionally, it would exclusively sell Harry Potter e-books and allow fans to participate in “Moments” from the stories, such as the “Sorting” of students — and now Pottermore participants — into the four Hogwarts houses.

An early opportunity to access Pottermore began on July 31 — both Rowling and Harry Potter’s birthdays — although Pottermore will be released free to all Muggle-kind in October. The “Magical Quill Challenge” granted early registration to the first million fans who correctly answered one of seven daily trivia questions. In early September, weeks after the challenge ended, the first of the lucky million were finally allowed to access a beta — or trial — version of Pottermore. Needless to say, fans felt like young wizards receiving their owl-delivered Hogwarts acceptance letters when Pottermore finally emailed them their activation links.

Pottermore’s Features

The Story

Pottermore enables fans to step into the stories and explore the halls of Hogwarts alongside Harry. The twisting, snakelike map on the home page (or “gateway”) divides the site into the seven novels, which are further subdivided into chapters. Each chapter contains colorful, slightly animated illustrations (think Hogwarts’s enchanted portraits) of important scenes, such as the driveway of number four Privet Drive and the zoo where Harry releases the boa constrictor. Within each scene lie hidden, clickable objects that, once uncovered, either become “items” to collect in your Trunk or serve as portkeys to new information worth Galleons from Rowling.

Pottermore’s users may enjoy collecting Chocolate Frog cards of everyone from Albus Dumbledore to Salazar Slytherin, but Pottermore’s biggest treat lies in Rowling’s exclusive commentary and elaborations on the world of Harry Potter. “It’s nice to see some of the characters’ back stories that weren’t really included in the book,” sophomore Hufflepuff Lina Anderson reflected after learning such new details as Minerva McGonagall’s childhood in Scotland and Petunia and Vernon Dursley’s early relationship. “It lets you re-read the books again but see them differently. You get to see how Rowling pictured it.”

The Sorting Hat

Are you a valiant Gryffindor or a clever Ravenclaw? A loyal Hufflepuff or an ambitious Slytherin? Upon arriving at the Great Hall in chapter seven, users take “The Sorting Hat” quiz to join the Hogwarts house that best suits their personalities. The quiz’s questions range from simple (“Heads or tails?”) to profound (“When you have died, what would you most like people to do when they hear your name?”), and were devised by Rowling to find people who particularly fit each house. “The Sorting was some of the best fun I’ve had on this project,” Rowling said in a June press conference about Pottermore, according to Potter fan site The Leaky Cauldron. “I was writing the Potter books for sixteen years and during that time I had just had this real sense of where people belonged, in what house they belonged. It was something I was unconsciously doing a lot of the time when I met people.”

Potter fans look forward to learning their house assignments. “I spent three and a half days making my own Gryffindor robe,” junior Marissa Choy said as she waited to get access to her Pottermore account. “If I don’t get sorted into Gryffindor, I might die.”

The House Cup

Once in their houses, users can compete in the “House Cup” tournament. Just as in the books, with Hermione often earning “ten points for Gryffindor” for her encyclopedic display of knowledge, users can accumulate house points by successfully casting spells and brewing potions in virtual mini-games, and for collecting hidden items.

Ollivander’s Wand Shop

Mr. Ollivander always said, “The wand chooses the wizard,” and Pottermore stays true to this axiom. Users visit Ollivander’s shop and take a quiz similar to that of the Sorting Hat, which includes questions about eye color and phobias. After evaluation, one of 33,000 unique wand combinations of varying wood, core and length chooses each user, according to The Leaky Cauldron.

Fans Talk Back

Doubling as a social networking site, users can “friend” other users and post comments in their house’s “common room” or in the “Great Hall” for all four houses to see. This system allows users to cheer for their houses in the House Cup competition — comments such as “Let’s go ‘Puffs!” and “Come on, lions!” are common. Additionally users can comment on their experiences at the end of each chapter, and fans with the beta version can offer advice for improvements.

The Boy Who Lived Lives On

Harry Potter’s world has traces scattered throughout the real world. References to the book have crept into everyday dialogue — the name “Dumbledore” is now recognized by Microsoft Word. Walk across a college campus, and you might see students playing a match of Quidditch or sporting red and gold Gryffindor scarves. Fans who long to live out

the wizarding fantasy have made it into more than a story: it’s a way of life.

Reading Harry Potter helped our generation grow up. “The series champions the underdog, showing that even a scrawny boy can triumph over the forces of evil,” senior Ravenclaw Kim Tran said. “It taught me that love and friendship always prevail, and that it doesn't matter if you’re good or evil, as long as you know to do the right thing during your most trying times.”

With the recent release of the final movie, fans must face the reality of a post-Potter world. Pottermore will help fans cope with wizarding withdrawal, but how can we know if Harry’s story will endure?

Sophomore Cate Stern thinks it will. “It’s been a thrilling experience to grow up with such a monumental series,” Stern said. “Harry Potter has been in my life ever since I learned to read, and I plan on reading it to my children. I already read it to the kids I babysit, anyway.”

A version of this article first appeared in the Oct. 7, 2011 print edition of The Lowell.

Photos by Elena Bernick and Daniel Green

Models: Yu Ling, Julianne Villegas, Mara Woods-Robinson