J.K. Rowling Launches Pottermore Two Months Early

Despite original plans by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling to launch the Pottermore website by opening it up to a select few (one million to be exact) in October, the magical and mysterious site launched early due to "overwhelming demand" that may have something to do with the sense of panic that set in for viewers at the end of the final film in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.

So Pottermore decided to meet that early demand and open its doors prematurely, though eager users are still finding the need to slip through the cracks. Since the launch on July 31, the site has experienced such heavy traffic that just to gain access can require hours of page refreshing, reports Gigwise.com. Persistent fans who stick it through are eventually prompted to answer a question about something that happened in one of the books. The question changes every day but is always easily searchable, if not common knowledge to anyone who would likely be an early entrant. Once this hurdle has been jumped, the user can click on a "Magic Quill" that leads him or her to the registration process, after which a confirmation informs that it could be about a week before the registration processes is complete and access is therefore re-granted, again due to "overwhelming demand."

The opportunity to register each day ends relatively early, as there is a daily cap on new users. "Be quick," the Pottermore site warns. "The Magical Quill won't be there for long and registration will only be open while spaces are still available each day." The website has been known to crash during the hectic virtual stampede, but that hasn't stopped fans from coming back to secure an early spot.

Pottermore, in addition to offering online versions of all seven Harry Potter books, will also feature 18,000 words of new material written by Rowling that delves into the details of the wizard world – the kind of stuff that true devotees would want to know about – but not a cohesive story in itself. Other magical delights the site might offer have been kept under lock and key, to be discovered by everyone – not just a select few – when the site goes completely public on October 1.