“Harry Potter” fans were given a major Halloween treat on Friday with the release of six new stories from J.K. Rowling. The author put up the new tales on Pottermore, her online platform, along with an essay that studies the character of Dolores Umbridge, the Ministry of Magic.
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Rowling reveals that the evil Hogwarts professor is based on someone from the author’s real life. She describes the actual woman as someone “whom I disliked intensely on sight. The woman in question returned my antipathy with interest. Why we took against each other so instantly, heartily and (on my side, at least) irrationally, I honestly cannot say.”
Another new detail divulged in the essay is that during detention, Umbridge forced Harry to cut the words “I must not tell lies” on the back of his hand, thus becoming the only person other than Lord Voldemort to leave a permanent physical scar on Harry.
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Umbridge is also revealed to be a half-blood herself, the daughter of a wizard and a Muggle. This is noteworthy because Umbridge lies in the books and claims to be a pure-blood in order to bolster her own credentials.
In July, Rowling a story about a grown Harry Potter competing in the Quidditch World Cup.
