II. Signing Up for Pottermore.com
In This Section
• Register to Be a Hogwarts Student
• Follow in Harry’s Footsteps, but Experience Your Own Adventure as Well
• Choose Your Pottermore Username and Password
• Discover if You, too, Are Magical
For one very special young boy named Harry, his magical wizarding adventure began on Privet Drive in the most unusual of ways. After all, Harry was raised as a muggle by his aunt and uncle. He grew up not knowing that his parents possessed incredible magical powers or that his destiny was to become one of the greatest wizards who ever lived.
Your magical adventure and education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can begin in your own home, or anywhere you have a computer or device that can connect to the Internet. But like all up-and-coming wizards and witches, you need to apply to become a student at Hogwarts and discover firsthand if you, too, are indeed magical.
From any computer or tablet with a web browser, visit www.Pottermore.com. Near the center of the screen, look for this question: Are you magical? Click the Sign Up button.
Register to Be a Hogwarts Student
The Hogwarts admission process involves five steps. To complete Step 1, answer this question: When were you born? Using the onscreen pull-down menus, select the day, month, and year of your birth, and then click Continue.
To become a student at Hogwarts, answer five questions.
Step 2 requires you to tell the Admissions Department at Hogwarts what country you live in. Use the pull-down menu to select the United States (or wherever you live). Click Continue to move to Step 3.
Near the top center of the screen, click the Change Language option to select your native language. Your choices include English (US), English (UK), Spanish, French, Italian, or Dutch.
For a truly authentic Pottermore experience, select English (UK) as your language. After all, J.K. Rowling is British, and she wrote the Harry Potter books in her native language.
Now it’s time to introduce yourself. When you reach Step 3, enter your first name and last name in the proper fields. Then, click the Male or Female option. You’re also asked to enter your email address. (If you don’t have your own email address, ask your parents if you can use theirs.)
When you are experiencing Pottermore, your name, age, and email address are kept private. However, the Pottermore website needs to know who you are and be able to send you important emails to you about your adventure.
If you’re under the age of 13, you have to provide a parent’s email address, so he can give you permission to visit Pottermore and set up your own account.
One of the best things about experiencing your adventure on Pottermore is that you can share it with other Harry Potter fans. However, whenever you’re posting public comments, never reveal your real name, age, address, email address, what school you attend, the names of your brothers or sisters, or any other personal information about yourself.
As soon as you register at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Pottermore, you receive a really special and one-of-a-kind username. Not only will you use this username to sign in to Pottermore from now on, but it is also how you are known to your online friends while you’re experiencing Pottermore.
As you move on to Step 4, you create a super-secret password that you use to access Pottermore in the future. Your password must be at least six characters long and include at least one number. Select whatever password you want, but make sure you write it down and remember it.
In Step 5, you are asked which Harry Potter books you’ve read and which of the movies you’ve seen. Using the mouse, click the check box for each book you’ve read and for each movie you’ve seen, and then click Continue. If you’re a true Harry Potter fan and have read all the books or maybe you’ve seen all the movies (or have done both), click either or both the All options at the bottom of the list.
Choose Your Unique Pottermore Username
Congratulations! Your application for admission to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is finished. You have been chosen for admission because you too are magical. Click Continue to receive your very special username.
You select your Pottermore username while viewing this screen.
On the left side of the screen, under the Please Choose Your Username heading, five choices for your Pottermore username appear.
After you select a username, you cannot change it. Instead of being known by your muggle name, from now on, when you’re experiencing your magical adventure on Pottermore, you’re known by the username you select. Choose wisely.
On the right side of the screen, within the empty field, enter the two words in the box that’s displayed. (What’s displayed might not be real words that muggles use, but you should enter them exactly as you see them into the empty field.)
Next, confirm that your email address is correct, and then click Create My Account.
Your Admission Letter Comes by Email, Not by Owl
Although Harry and other soon-to-be students typically receive messages from Hogwarts via owl, your letter from Hogwarts comes via email, so check your inbox.
Within a few minutes (or hours), you receive a confirmation email that your application to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is pending.
The first email you receive from Pottermore includes a validation link. It’s important that you click this link within 7 days of receiving the email to confirm your information.
When you click the link within your confirmation email, your computer’s web browser opens, and you’re asked to sign in to your Pottermore account using your brand new username and the password you created. Enter your password where it says Please Type in Your Password to Explore Pottermore. Then, click Sign In to Pottermore.
Your Pottermore account is now officially validated. You’re just one step away from starting your magical adventure.
Now, you have need to wait for Pottermore to send you a Welcome email. However, it could take a few hours or even a day or two for this important email to arrive. Be patient, but check your email account’s inbox regularly so that you don’t miss it.
The second email you receive tells you that “The World Of Pottermore Awaits.” You are reminded of your username. Your Pottermore.com account is now ready. Your adventure and exploration can finally begin.
From your computer or tablet’s web browser, visit www.Pottermore.com, and click Sign In to Pottermore near the upper-right corner of the screen. Enter your username and password, and then click Sign In. Your next stop is Privet Drive.
To save time in the future when signing in to Pottermore, use the mouse to click the check box located next to the Keep Me Signed In option. When you do this, your web browser remembers your username and password. Then, you won’t have to reenter this information every time you visit Pottermore.
After you begin your adventure, you can change your Pottermore account settings at anytime. For example, you can change your email address, password, or language choice. You can also delete your account altogether.
You can access the Account Settings page in several ways. Check out Section I, “Harry Potter Goes Interactive,” for details on how to do this.
After you sign in to Pottermore for the first time, your adventure kicks off in with Book 1, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chapter 1, “The Boy Who Lived.”
Follow in Harry’s Footsteps, but Experience Your Own Adventure As Well
From this point forward, two things happen while you’re experiencing Pottermore. You relive some of Harry’s adventures, and as a Hogwarts student, you also experience some of your own unique challenges and have the opportunity to find and collect items, cast spells, brew potions, and earn house points for the house that the Sorting Hat assigns you to.
In fact, you are also given your own unique magic wand, can select your own pet, and the Sorting Hat places you into a house that might or might not be Gryffindor.
Remember, what happens to your character during your adventure might be different from what Harry, Ron, or Hermione experienced in the Harry Potter books, but that’s part of what makes Pottermore truly exciting.
You earn house points by successfully brewing potions, casting spells, and participating in Wizard’s Duels. On an ongoing basis, your house, whether Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin, needs to collect as many house points as possible to win the Pottermore House Cup. Every point you earn helps your house toward winning this important prize.