Harry Potter fans…so everyone with a pulse…you might want to sit down for this. I know it’s been an exciting summer, what with exciting new short stories and expanded character bios, but I’ve got a riddle for you. More importantly J.K. Rowling has a riddle for you.
Our story begins with a relatively innocuous tweet:
Very busy at the moment working on a novel, tweaking a screenplay and being involved in @lumos campaigns. Back when I've finished something!
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 5, 2014
It seems harmless enough, she could be writing any novel. We’ve all come to terms with the fact that there will be no more Harry Potter stories…and we all (okay, some of us) know that the screenplay she’s working on is “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Right?
That is, it was harmless until someone over-analyzed the post (and slightly bent the English language), and this happened:
.@peruseproject See, now I'm tempted to post a riddle or an anagram. Must resist temptation… must work…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 5, 2014
The mere promise of a puzzle got everyone buzzing, and then the clue was dropped:
Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won’t tolerate this nonsense.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 6, 2014
And just to make sure we were all taking this seriously, one last tease:
Something to ponder while I'm away X
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 6, 2014
And that my dears, is how it’s done. Brava Ms. Rowling, I don’t know what it means, but whatever it is, it’s brilliant
She’s either devised an ingenious, incognito procedure for crowdsourcing new Harry Potter material (in addition to the insane amount of fan fiction already available), or she’s more than adequately distracted her fans while she writes in peace…although I’m sure she’s already sketched out the new storyline on a coaster by now.
Either way, well done.
Now, onto breaking the code…
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…bi-daily smile…
