Harry Potter is 20 years old today!
YUP. It's been 20 years since JK Rowling first opened up the portal to the wonderful wizarding world when the bloody brilliant Harry Potter and The Philopher's Stone was published.
Not gonna lie, 20 years has flown by quicker than Hazza on his Nimbus 2001 chasing the Golden Snithch in a tense game of Quidditch, and we feel ridiculously old now.
As well as being 20 years since the first book was published, it turns out 2017 is also a super important year in the Harry Potty universe as it is the year that the epilogue (you know, the bit set 19 years later right at the end of the Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows?) is set in.
Basically, the guys over at CinemaBlend have carried out an in-depth study into all things Hazza P, and have worked out all the important dates.
There's a bit of maths involved so bear with us.
As you'll know (or you should know if you call yourself a Harry Potter fan) Nearly Headless Nick celebrates the 500th anniversary of his death in the second book, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. On his cake it reveals that he died in 1492 – which would mean the Chamber of Secrets is set in the school year of 1992-1993.
Are you following so far? Good.
In the final book and film there is a big battle, The Battle of Hogwarts, which would have occurred towards the end of Harry's 7th year at Hogwarts, making it 1998.
So…19 years on from 1998 is 2017!
Spoiler alert: this practically means Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is set in 2017, too.
Besides making us feel MEGA old, the 20th anniversary year is set to be a bit of a biggun for HP fans.
According to the Pottermore blog, this year will see the publication of four special editions of the first book – one for each of the Hogwarts houses - and new editions of The Tales of Beadle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them.
YAAAAAS.
NOW READ:
Harry Potter fan finds potential plot hole but J.K. Rowling has ALL the answers OBVS
OMG! You won't believe what this Harry Potter star looks like now