After a long wait since the Magic Quill contest began this past August, the Official Pottermore Blog has announced that Pottermore.com will officially be opening to the public.  Not everyone will be able to access the site at once. You will first be asked to create an account (similar to those who won access to the closed Beta phase) and will later receive an invite to come join in the fun!  There will be invites going out to new members over the next couple of days, so be sure to sign up as soon as possible.  This staggered invite system is most likely put in place to prevent the servers from crashing, as there are many Harry Potter fans who have been waiting to experience Pottermore.

Those of you who won Beta access this past summer will be happy to hear the site is up and running once again.  You can compete in potion brewing and duels to win house points, or go back and explore “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone” once again.  New content will be added in the coming months to Pottermore, including six more books to explore and collect new information about the wizarding world!

Many new and exciting updates have arrived on Pottermore this week. After many months of waiting, those who didn’t find he magic quill will be happy to know Pottermore is now scheduled to open this April!

After the delay in opening this past October, there is no doubt that members are getting anxious to try the “magical” website out for themselves.

Along with the update regarding the site opening, members will also be thrilled to hear the Harry Potter series is finally available in eBooks.

The books range from $7.92 to $11.10 (Canadian) individually or you can purchase the complete series for $61.34 — a 10% discount! This is a fantastic way to rediscover your favorite books, or gift them to a newly minted Potter fan!

Stay tuned for more information on the Beta ending, and the long awaited release of Pottermore.com!

The Pottermore Insider blog has announced that Pottermore.com is open to Beta users (those who found the Magical Quill during the contest) once again. The behind the scenes improvements have been applied, and users are asked to continue to explore Pottermore as they normally would to allow the Beta team to test these improvements.  These changes were made to hopefully allow the site to run more smoothly in the future. Brewing potions, exploring chapters, interacting on pages will all help to make sure these improvements are running correctly!

If you haven’t completed the most recent Beta survey, you may want to consider doing that this weekend. You only need to answer a few questions (and you only have to do it once), your feedback  may help future changes and adjustments made to Pottermore.  The Beta Survey is closing on November 7th and it can be found HERE.

Many users expected Pottermore to be open to the general public at the end of October, however, it appears those who did not get early access will have some more waiting to do.  The Pottermore Insider Blog has announced that Beta will be extended through the month of November.  A new opening date has not been set and should be announced closer to the end of extended Beta.

Pottermore is now offline for a few days to make some improvements to the website. This delay in open access will give Beta users a chance to test the new technical improvements being made.  These improvements will not be changes to the game-play or experiences found in the first book & potion making, rather these “background” changes will hopefully make the experience less frustrating for players to participate in.  Right now some early access members are still having issues with lag and disconnections from the site.

Stay tuned for the latest information on Pottermore’s opening!

Did you receive your welcome eMail today? Many users have reported finally receiving their “Owl” and letter to preview the highly anticipated Pottermore.com. These users found the Magic Quill in a contest earlier this summer, and were selected to participate in the Pottermore Beta.

If you didn’t receive your Owl with the latest batch, you may not have to wait much longer!  The official Pottermore blog announced today the new plan is to ” …send emails out daily over the next two weeks” as they feel the pause in between them is no longer required at this phase in the Beta testing.

There is always a possibility that this plan may need to be changed based on how the site handles the traffic.  But your Owl could be on the way shortly! Keep checking Pottermoreinsider.com for the latest updates, and keep your eyes on your inbox.

One of our very own Administrators here at Pottermore Insider, FairlyOddMom, finally received access to Pottermore yesterday and she has been gracious enough to take pictures of the site to share with all of us.

Shown above is the wand FairlyOddMom purchased at Ollivanders.  It is Apple with Dragon Core.  To see the process she went through to discover which wand was best suited for her, come on in to our forum and take a look at her “Wand Journey” album.  FairlyOddMom has promised to bring us even more pictures as she explores more of the site

Have you joined the Pottermore Insider forum yet?  If not, what are you waiting for!  It’s free, it’s fun, and there’s no better way to stay connected with other Pottermore fans.  We’ll be with you through the Beta Testing and beyond.

Have you been staring at your e-mail in-box all day? Is your finger getting sore from repeatedly clicking “refresh?” Are you chanting “Accio Letter” over and over in your head? If you’re one of the “Pottermore Letterless,” one of the Harry Potter fans waiting to get into Pottermore, you’ve probably engaged in some pretty bizarre behavior over the past week. Here at Pottermore Insider we understand, because we are right there with you.

While you wait, we’ve got something for you to think about.  The official press release for Pottermore said that the site would be a “companion” to the original Harry Potter stories, and according to player reports, anyone who has not read the books will be “lost” after just a few minutes.  So, our question to you is: How well do you remember the stories?

For Harry Potter fans who started reading the series way back in June 1997, and even for those who began reading much later, odds are that a lot of the important details have slipped out memory.  So, rather than spending your time staring at a computer, why not pick up a copy of one of the books and get reading again?  It’s great fun, and when you finally get your letter for Pottermore, you’ll be all prepared!

Also, don’t forget to check out the Pottermore Insider Forum where you can hang out with other fans to chat about Harry Potter and more!

If you managed to find the Pottermore Magical Quill at the beginning of the month, this next bit of news is for you.  Pottermore has announced that the first round of “early access” emails has gone out to players and that more messages will be going out over the coming weeks.  Instead of letting everyone in at once, they are going to “stagger” entry to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

Once you get your message, jump on in and start testing things out.  If you have any questions, complaints, or suggestions, just click on the “BETA Feedback” button that can be found on every page inside Pottermore.  Your feedback could help the developers shape the site!  Also, be prepared to fill out a survey on your experience to give them even more information.

If you weren’t able to get signed up to be a Beta-Tester, don’t worry.  Pottermore will be open to all players, for free, beginning in October.  Just stay tuned to Pottermore Insider for all of the latest details!

Last week, the BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation) ran a short story on the launch of Pottermore. Although most of the “news” is stuff we already knew, there are some interesting screen shots from inside the site, including a peek at the wand selection process.

So, click “play” below and have your “pause” button at the ready to soak up all of the details!

And, remember to tune into Pottermore Insider for the latest-breaking Pottermore news!