J.K. Rowling will explain the nuances of American magic in the Harry Potter universe through a series of short stories called The History of Magic in North America. Rowling’s four new stories, which will publish on Pottermore this week, may serve as an appendix — and promotion — for fans awaiting the upcoming expanded Potter-verse film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is set in 1920s New York and will be the first story taking place in the U.S..
According to a report from Entertainment Weekly , the stories will describe some of America’s “wizarding” institutions, including The Magical Congress of the United States, and Ilvermorny, the American equivalent of Hogwarts. Some of the stories will also explain some of North American continent’s defining cultural and historical events, such as the Salem witch trials, and the intersection between wizards and pan-Native American culture.
While America and its wizards were never covered in the core Harry Potter novels, Rowling has alluded to the fact that the continent has a different form of magical society before. During an interview promoting Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them last year, she explained that, in America, wizards live among non-magical people, which they refer to as “no-maj,” rather than the series’ established term, “muggle.”
The first story from The History of Magic in North America will be available on the site on March 8 at 9 a.m. EST. Pottermore will publish a new story every day at that time, through March 11.