How Harry Potter lost it's magic

In 1997, a woman named named Joanne Rowling, a struggling author released a novel that would change the course of hers, and many others lives forever. A long time ago, Harry Potter used to be one of the most popular series in the entire world. It was so popular that halfway during the series, one of the books was responsible for the normalization of midnight release parties at mainstream bookstores. It's a story about a lonely orphan who's been abused and alone all of his life, and suddenly discovers that there is a whole other world that he's a part of where he is beloved, and makes friends and family and fights the incarnation of evil to save the world! A series responsible for seven mainstream books, three side-books about the wizard world, a stage play, and eleven movies set in the universe of Harry Potter. Nearly everywhere you went, you would hear or see someone talk about this worldwide phenomenon, Now it's 2026, and a brand new series on HBO is coming out this December, and while it is certainly getting attention, it's not quite in the same way that the series once received nearly two decades ago. Why is that though? What changed about this series? The answer will probably not shock you, as it largely has to do with the author herself.

The biggest reason why this series is getting not as much attention as it once was has to do with the politics that J.K. Rowling has stood by as of late. It didn't fully start as that though. After she wrote the books and concluded the story, J.K. would take to the internet to add little tidbits of information that she didn't disclaim in the books. Fair enough, an author is fully allowed to talk about their stories and have information that they decided to leave out of the books because there wasn't much time to talk about it. The first big statement that I remember was her tweeting that even though she didn't write it, Albus Dumbledore was gay. This kicked off an avalanche of tweets about the series where J.K. would take the time to add increasingly curious statements- some of my personal favourites was that Hermione was black, despite cover art depicting her as white, the books talking about her "white face" and the movies that had Emma Watson, a white person portray Hermione. I also find the notion that said before plumbing was adopted in the wizarding world, Wizards would go to the bathroom where they stood and the vanish the evidence of it. This was quickly turning from little interesting facts that she kept out of the books, to weird and nonsensical statements that made it seem like she was just trying to say the most random things so that people would still stay talking about Harry Potter. This certainly made people do a double take, but that wasn't enough to take peoples interest away from the series as a whole. If there was one specific piece of the Potterverse that I would say started the general decline of interest in the series, it would go to 2019's Fantastic Beast's and the Crimes of Grindelwald. In this movie, nobody is a good human being, the plot is nonsensical, and they ruin the characters personalities that were established during the first Fantastic Beasts movie from 2016. Despite mine and many's disappointment with that instalment in the series, this wasn't what I would say was where the magic was fully lost yet. Even if this destroyed my expectations on the Fantastic Beasts movies that were yet to come, I still had the books and prior movies to look back on and adore, because they were loveable stories about good vs evil, and the author, though not making the best content, still wasn't someone who was exactly despised for her opinions or anything like that yet.

People adored the books, myself included, because at their core they were fun adventure novels, where the characters would come together, learn how to perform magic spells and abilities, and try and solve a mystery, often dealing with other magic users or creatures as obstacles in their ways. At a first reading, it's very easy to get sucked into this world and not look at all the contradictory plot points that the novels present to the reader. One major one is the issue of the time turner, a device that lets its user go back in time. It is introduced in the third novel, used to save the day, and then not mentioned until the fifth novel, where they are all promptly destroyed by an accident. This was done on purpose because J.K. Rowling became annoyed with the fans bringing up the question of why didn't any of the main or even side characters- knowing that time travel exists in this world- try to go back in time and stop any of the terrible events that have unfolded from happening. So, if there is an author that is willing to go ahead and change whatever they want, and someone who decides that their words are law, and whatever they say is the new proper answer, what kind of effect does that have on the readers who decide to engage with the authors content? Knowing this now, if we are to look closer at the stories J.K. presents, we will see that there are many instances of fat shaming, racism presented as "being one of the good ones" on the side of the protagonists, slavery, sexism, and segregation that are depicted in what i would say is a perplexing manner. I don't want to say that Rowling doesn't know how to write strong characters that are female, but with every female character, even Hermione, she seems to plop them all into subsections that are critiquing any woman who doesn't conform to Rowlings personal ideas of what a woman is supposed to be. Many are written as too rude, overbearing, pushy, dumb, or fat. Mrs. Weasley is depicted as plump, but she is also portrayed as very loud and controlling as well. Hermione is smart, loyal and hardworking, but painted as a nerd that nobody really likes, and is rather unattractive. Rowling never really goes into the same sort of characterization for any of the male characters she writes on the same level. Nearly every male character feels unique, even the ones who are meant to be mockeries of stereotypes. Despite all of this, all of these small things that you can look at and dissect while reading Harry Potter though isn't why I'm writing this article. The reason why I'm writing this article is because of the statements of Rowlings against transgender people as a whole.

Years ago, Rowling got into many online arguments regarding trans women not being real women. I know that this is still an ongoing argument for many, and I firmly stand on the side for trans people as a whole, because truly, it doesn't matter to me who you decide to be. Which I find incredibly ironic, considering that the entire point of the Harry Potter series is that love is the magic that will conquer all, and is incredibly important to the story and growth of characters. It was something that baffled me, if I'm being honest with you readers. But it would be one thing if Rowling is just transphobic, then it would be a difference of opinion and nothing else. However, Rowling is actively funding anti transgender legislation instead of merely looking away from something that she doesn't want to look into, or believe. This action shows that she has become the anthesis of every single major lesson that she wrote about in this series. And because she is the creator and collects royalties from every purchase of a Harry Potter content, she is going to be donating the money that you earn towards a hateful process. And the series that comes out in December is a direct cause of her views. It exists solely out of hate and distain that the majority of the cast and crew from the original movies have vocally disagreed with her about her viewpoints. This is why I won't be watching the new series that comes out. And I do want to say that people should not be attacking the actors that appear in the series. Jobs are important to have, and the child actors are just kids who are excited to be playing these characters that they grew up either watching or reading. The matter still stands, that by spending your money to watch this show, you will be giving money to someone who is attempting to erase a group of people who simply feel different than you do.

J.K. Rowling wrote a long and convoluted story about a boy who grows up in a world where he is a celebrity, and he has to learn and adapt as his life changes dramatically, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. As the series progressed, so did the popularity for the series, and a woman who was struggling slowly became very wealthy and happy. She felt love from her accomplishments, but unfortunately chose to embrace distaste and hatred to ensure her legacy continues. By all means, enjoy the series of Harry Potter if you wish. If you still have the books or movies, you loose nothing by watching them, because your money will not be going towards a hateful thing. I do however, urge anyone reading this to not watch the show. If you are truly interested, maybe check out a clip on youtube or something. But I believe that love will triumph in the end, and that this once loveable and popular series can stand for something that is good, and not a terrible act.