The books and movies may have ended for the Harry Potter franchise, but the magical adventure isn't over yet.
Pottermore, an interactive fan website, is allowing the world of Harry Potter to live on beyond its pages and movie scenes.
Author J.K. Rowling wants Pottermore to provide Harry Potter fanatics a more in-depth look at the world beyond the walls of Hogwarts, according to the site.
Danielle Lowe, junior in environmental design, said Pottermore is an online Harry Potter experience where fans can explore the series in more detail by reading different passages from the books' chapters.
As users read, previously unknown information appears, including character profiles, magical history explanations and back-stories presented by Rowling.
"You explore different areas of the book, and you go through it like you're actually being accepted at Hogwarts," Lowe said. "You can explore the school and pick up items, books and galleons."
Lowe was one of a select few granted early access to the site to test its functionality.
She said only 1 million people worldwide were chosen.
"I'm a really big Harry Potter fan," Lowe said. "I've read all the books, seen all the movies ... I wanted to be a part of this. I didn't know what to expect. I just knew I wanted early access."
Lowe said the process lasted seven days and began early in August.
"I was day three," Lowe said. "There were scavenger hunts and daily questions we had to answer. Some questions came at like 5:30 a.m. I set an alarm every hour to do it. There was no pattern; it was completely random times every night."
Once granted early access, Lowe said users created a character and went through the process of becoming a Hogwarts-style witch or wizard.
"You get to go pick out a pet and go to Ollivander's to get your wand," she said.
When the character creation and virtual school supply shopping are complete, users are quizzed to be sorted into the different houses.
"My favorite part was being sorted. It was a lot of fun," Lowe said. "The quizzes asked you to choose between things like sunset or sunrise, or black and white."
Users in the same house can chat on the message board and view updates, as well as check the status of the House Cup competition, a point-based contest between the four houses of Hogwarts.
Points are awarded and revoked by Hogwarts professors for things like exceptional classwork and good deeds, or the lack thereof.
Lowe said despite the Harry Potter series originally being thought of as only children's books, the Pottermore website will be successful among all age groups.
"I think it's going to have a really good audience," Lowe said. "Even if it's just mostly girls, it'll have a good standing with college students."
Pottermore opens to the public in early October after feedback is received from the beta testers.
With the opening date near, the site has generated so much interest the server is becoming overloaded nearly every evening, and an automatic page refresher has been added.
"It's like you're at Hogwarts," Lowe said. "It's really the coolest thing ever."
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