MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti) - Author J.K. Rowling has a special Halloween surprise for Harry Potter fans – she is set to publish a new tale on October 31, according to her website Pottermore.
The new 1,700-word story will focus on Hogwarts professor and witch Dolores Umbridge.
Umbridge first appeared in "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix" as the Minister for Magic’s Senior Undersecretary. She was portrayed by Imelda Staunton in the movie adaptations. She memorably forced the young wizard to scar himself with the words "I must not tell lies" with a Blood Quill.
"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," reads a statement on Pottermore.com.
The website gave no further information about the plot, but promised fans a "rich 1,700-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".
In July, Rowling released online a 1,500- word Potter story. It saw a 33-year-old Harry reunite with Ron Weasley, Hermione Grainger, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom for the final match of the Quidditch World Cup. The installment attracted so much traffic, that the Pottermore site temporarily crashed.
Earlier this week, Rowling was forced to dismiss rumors that she has recently finished a romantic novel. Newspaper reports had suggested she "celebrated" the book completion in a London bar, but the allegations proved false.
Currently, Rowling is writing another novel and working on a screenplayy, according to a series of tweets posted earlier this month.
“Very busy at the moment working on a novel, tweaking a screenplay and being involved in @lumos campaigns. Back when I've finished something!” she wrote on October 5.
The message raised numerous questions among Harry Potter fans. Some of them suggested that "a screenplay" could mean "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", a film trilogy based on her book about magical creatures from the Harry Potter universe. The novel is assumed to be the author’s next crime fiction work under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
