Get ready, Harry Potter fans. There’s some big news out of the wizarding world today. As you all know, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the upcoming Harry Potter spinoff film that takes place in 1920s New York City. It’s a massive shift of time and location, and eager Potterheads are highly anticipating the movie’s November release date. If you find yourself unable to wait for the arrival of Fantastic Beasts, perhaps some juicy spoilers can hold you over. The house names of Ilvermorny, aka American Hogwarts, have been leaked along with its attribute descriptions.
Gone are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and in are Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird and... Pukwudgie? Wait, what? That’s right, according to a report from the Daily Mail, Federico Ian Cervantez -- a software engineer -- accidentally discovered the names of the four American houses while digging around the javascript he found on the official Harry Potter site that was still under construction. He was merely glimpsing at a random quiz he noticed when he was prompted with a question: "Where do you belong? Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird, or Pukwudgie..." Oh snap!
But wait! It gets better. The quiz also included descriptions for the four Fantastic Beasts houses. They are as follows:
Horned Serpent: "Dragon-like serpents with horns and long teeth. They are often associated with or said to control the weather, particularly rain, lightning, and thunder. Magical abilities ascribed to them include shape-shifting, invisibility, and hypnotic powers."
Wampus: "’Cat-like’ creature described as ‘some kind of fearsome variation of a cougar.’"
Thunderbird: “‘Legendary creature’ which is ‘often described as a very large bird, capable of generating storms and thunder as it flies.’"
Pukwudgie: “Two-to-three feet tall and human-shaped, but with a larger nose, ears, and fingers and smooth, grey skin that sometimes glows. Its magical abilities include disappearing and reappearing, partial or complete transformation into a porcupine or cougar, and creating fire."
Bruh.
These houses… these names... these descriptions… are wild. Leave it to J.K. Rowling to completely invent some ridiculous creatures with incredible powers. We still don’t know how the sorting process works, or what characteristics lead to being placed in each house (i.e. brave = Gryffindor) but this is a massive breakthrough that’s bound to get Harry Potter fans excited.
Here’s a refresher of the synopsis of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in case you need a reminder: In the 1920s, Newt Scamander -- a magizoologist who specializes in the study of magical creatures -- travels to New York carrying his weathered case which contains extensive ecosystems full of mythical creatures and their habitats, made possible due to the properties of magic. Upon his arrival, Scamander discovers that the American wizarding community fearfully hides from American Muggles (known as No-Maj’s in the States) due to an extreme form of intolerance that pales in comparison to the UK. The main plot of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will reveal what happens when Newt Scamander’s case of magical and quite dangerous creatures escape from their case and enter the “wiz-phobic” streets of America.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them arrives in theaters on Nov. 18.
