Good news for Harry Potter fans – J.K. Rowling is to publish a new Potter story online as a treat for Halloween.
The new 1,700-word tale will provide backstory to the life of malicious pink-wearing Hogwarts professor Dolores Umbridge, and will be published for free on Rowling's website, Pottermore.
Umbridge, who was played by Imelda Staunton in the films, was first seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. A witch who was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, she tortured Harry before being sentenced to life in Azkaban for her crimes against Muggle-borns. But you already knew that anyway, didn't you?
Fans were notified of the exciting news this morning through Pottermore, where she often posts new original Potter material.
According to The Independent, the statement on the site teased fans: "Umbridge is not only one of the most malicious Potter characters, she is the only person other than Lord Voldemort to leave a permanent physical scar. ...
"(It promises a) rich, 1700-word back story about Umbridge's life, filled with many new details, as well as Rowling's revealing first-person thoughts and reflections about the character."
Earlier this year, Rowling released another short story, about a grown-up Harry Potter.
It was the first time the author had written about her main characters as adults since the epilogue of Deathly Hallows. The short story, which was uploaded in July, revisited Harry as an adult in his thirties with greying hair attending the Quidditch World Cup final.
The Dolores Umbridge story is expected to be on the site on 31 October.
