Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling had fans in a froth overnight with news that James S Potter has started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I'm in Edinburgh, so could somebody at King's Cross wish James S Potter good luck for me? He's starting at Hogwarts today. #BackToHogwarts
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 1, 2015
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Rowling also assured them that young James would be following in his father's footsteps, in a reference to the Sorting Hat ceremony in which each child is placed into one of the four houses at Hogwarts.
Have just heard that James S Potter has been Sorted (to nobody's surprise) into Gryffindor. Teddy Lupin (Head Boy, Hufflepuff) disappointed.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 1, 2015
The hashtag #BackToHogwarts began trending, primarily driven, presumably, by the generation who have grown up with him. It has been 18 years since Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was first published in the U.K.
Fans had mixed emotions about the momentous occasion.
.@harriethashtag says: 'Yes, your childhood is officially over - Harry Potter's son starts at #hogwarts today.' #Red #HarryPotter
— ABC Radio Melbourne (@774melbourne) September 1, 2015
.@jk_rowling DON'T KNOW IF I WANT OFFICIAL NEXT GEN SORTING INFO?? VERY CONFLICTED??
— anna borges (@annabroges) September 1, 2015
@jk_rowling Wish this was a book not a Tweet!
— Screen Team (@TheScreenTeam) September 1, 2015
@jk_rowling I'm sure Albus Severus' house anxiety has only increased because of this.
— EPCOT Explorer (@EPCOTExplorer) September 1, 2015
@jk_rowling Too bad James can't tweet about his own Hogwarts experience... all that magical interference with technology and all.
— Diana Urban (@DianaUrban) September 1, 2015
James Sirius Potter, for those who may have forgotten, is the eldest boy of Harry and Ginny, who is introduced in the epilogue at the end of the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He is teasing his younger brother Albus Severus who is himself sitting before the Sorting Hat that day.
Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be released in 2016. It is based on a book that Rowling published in 2001 which also serves as a textbook read by Harry, Hermione and their classmates in the original series. Eddie Redmayne will play the lead character.