Twenty years after first being introduced to The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter fans can finally feel the pressure of a Hogwarts curriculum, thanks to two soon-to-be released books: Harry Potter - A Journey Through the History of Magic and Harry Potter - A History of Magic. Can you please stop asking your tea leaves, "When can I buy the two new Harry Potter books?" One, you're still a Muggle and two, I'll just, like, tell you.
Both books have been compiled by the British Library's curatorial team and will be released by Bloomsbury, the British Harry Potter publisher, on October 20, the same day a new exhibition celebrating 20 years of Harry Potter opens at the Library. The exhibition, which is set to run through February 2018, is a mind-blowing collaboration between the Library, Bloomsbury and J.K. Rowling, creator of the wizarding world. Pulling from personal collections and extensive archives, the showcase will highlight centuries-old manuscripts, spell books and tokens of magic, as well as original material from Bloomsbury and Rowling.
If you've ever cursed the lack of mysticism in the Muggle world, this exhibition may change your mind. There's plenty of magic out there — you might just need to start perusing the nonfiction section of the library more carefully.
For fans wanting to take home a bit of the magic (or who want to tap into their inner Hermione Granger), the library will be exclusively selling Harry Potter - A Journey Through the History of Magic ($15.00) which does a deep-dive into the Hogwarts curriculum, covering everything from Herbology to Defense Against The Dark Arts, and Harry Potter - A History of Magic ($35.00) the official book of the exhibition which highlights the history of magic and its real-life counterparts — think actual witch brooms, incantations, spells and insightful essays from historian experts.
The British Library is currently accepting pre-orders for both books and are offering several worldwide shipping options. So no, you can't accio the books right to your doorstep but you can order them online which is honestly the next best thing. Us Muggles are so inventive sometimes, huh?
