14 Harry Potter things to love that aren’t J.K. Rowling

On Saturday, J.K. Rowling posted her latest string of transphobic tweets, in which she suggested that only women can menstruate and that gender inclusivity erases the female experience. As an ardent Harry Potter fan myself, with a network of friends in the community, I saw my Twitter timeline fill up with exactly one sentiment in response to these tweets:

Fuck that.

This isn’t the first time Rowing has been transphobic; previous likes and tweets have followed the line of thought demonstrated on Saturday. I personally expressed my disappointment in her December 2019 tweets, but wrote them off. I assumed she was oblivious and disconnected from the right resources due to shoddy PR, her own ignorance, and that bubble away from reality that most of the ultra-rich and famous seem to occupy.

But again, fuck that.

Saturday’s tweets are further evidence of Rowling’s ignorance, but there can be no doubt now that it is willful. Even Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, couldn’t remain silent and issued a statement in solidarity with the queer and trans community. 

For a generation that grew up on the Harry Potter values of standing up to power and bigotry, the irony is not lost and the heartbreak is real. It’s been a long time coming for some but totally new for others who might not be able to stop loving Potter as easily as they turned on its creator.

Harry Potter has been around long enough that its influence spreads far beyond a certain writer. Songs have been written, merch designed, organizations launched, and discussions furthered far beyonds the limits of what Rowling could ever have imagined. Those of us who read Harry Potter as children are writers, artists, and activists now, equipped to enjoy the wizarding world without her.

So now that you’ve accepted the Death of the Author, here are 14 places to direct your Harry Potter love that have nothing to do with You-Know-Who. 

Note: The author (I mean myself now) knows individuals involved with several items on this list. 

Launched in 2005, the HPA is a social justice organization that works toward gender equity, LGTBQIA+ equality, racial justice, climate change activism, education, and more. It has partnered with groups like the American Library Association, ACLU, and Hank and John Green’s DFTBA. In 2010, the HPA raised enough money through fan campaigns to send five airplanes of medical supplies to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. They have a handy guide on how to advocate for trans people right here.

This multifandom resource for black creators encourages fans to recognize that you can love something while still being highly critical of it. They raised $16,000 in a week for organizations helping Black Lives Matter through a Hogwarts house-themed points competition. Through podcasts like #WizardTeam and the Doctor Who-themed TARBIS (Who Watch: Time and Relative Blackness in Space), the BGC community promotes intersectional representation, especially for black women.

This breezy web series what would have happened if 25-year-old Hermione Granger didn’t marry Ron and become a cop, but questioned it all and hightailed to California to hang out with former classmate Parvati Patil. Created by Eliyannah Amirah Yisrael and starring Ashley Romans, the series imagines how wizardry looks for millennial adults and how the magical and muggle worlds collide. It’s even brave enough to suggest Hermione go to therapy, something that would certainly have helped all the adults in Cursed Child. And speaking of that nonsense…

Filmed in a 100-seat basement theater at the University of Michigan, A Very Potter Musical became an early viral sensation in 2009. It expertly pokes fun at its source material and expands upon the canon, as with Harry’s obvious desire to be the center of attention or Draco’s inability to stand still. The cast and characters are more diverse in race and sexuality than any Harry Potter content ever distributed by Warner Bros. or Universal, a statistic that will probably hold up for a very long time.

AVPM spawned a sequel (“There is literally no way forward from this point”) and a threequel, but its creators have created over a dozen non-Potter productions since then, including Holy Musical, B@man!, Ani: A Parody, and originals like Firebringer and Black Friday.

Two Harry Potter fans (Jessie Blount and Lark Malakai Grey) host this weekly podcast that examines the books through a queer feminist lens. They were quick to note after Rowling’s comments that this person was being openly transphobic during an uprising in a pandemic and that there is truly no weirder or worse flex.

Jackson Bird‘s 2019 memoir about coming out as trans is inextricably linked to his experiences in the Harry Potter fandom. Bird’s writing is thorough and informative yet never overwhelming. He takes you on his journey through childhood and adolescence, weaving in the boy wizard’s influence and the community that ultimately helped him accept who he was and offered support when he declared it. The title refers to the Sorting Hat, but especially to Dumbledore’s musing in Deathly Hallows that “I sometimes think we sort too soon.” Once again, the fans understand Rowling’s message more than it seems she ever could.

This clothing brand started as a part-time source of cheer apparel and now provides some of the swaggiest HP clothing Warner Bros. could only dream of. The house face hoodies give mascots as much a chance to shine as colors, and the varsity jackets will be the envy of every former high school athlete you meet. Best of all for this Ravenclaw: The Ravenclaw colors of blue and bronze and the house eagle are resplendent, putting that hideous blue-gray raven gear from the films to shame.

Writer Mark Oshiro has made a career of watching and reading things (and is now an author too) because their voice is so utterly entertaining. They started Harry Potter for the first time in 2010 with little to no prior exposure (the podcast Potterless started a similar journey in recent years) and there is nothing quite like experiencing the joy of a grown adult becoming obsessed with Rubeus Hagrid for the first time.

Image: St. Martin’s Griffin

Rainbow Rowell’s YA fantasy novel is a spinoff of her own Fangirl, but the characters are undeniably influenced by Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy as they occupy a slightly different magical realm. Simon Snow is his world’s Chosen One, guided by “the Mage” and anointed by a prophecy — and as if that’s not enough, he finds it harder and harder each day to deny the attraction he feels to his so-called enemy Basilton (a.k.a. Baz). Carry On and sequel Wayward Son (yup) are the Drarry fic you crave on ink and paper, and a beautiful example of how joyous and easy it is to write a queer magical story.

The now-closed off-Broadway play about “a certain school of magic and magic” tells the story we all know through the eyes of Hufflepuff students — sometimes confused, often endangered, and always nice even in the face of certain danger brought upon them by the Boy Who Lived. It may not be running anymore, but the show lives on digitally.

This European YouTuber happily declares “Harry Potter (minus JKR)” in their Twitter bio, and has a wonderful time exploring the books, films, spells, and more in video form regardless. Vegard proves there is no end to answers to the question of how one can manifest one’s Harry Potter love, whether it’s explaining the story drunk, editing oneself into scenes, talking about it to Siri, and so much more.

The musical genre launched in the early 2000s now boasts hundreds of musicians and bands who sing about the series, including to challenge its heteronormativity or ridiculousness wherever they can. The wizard rock community has long been a haven for queer fans, and the growing roster of artists means more diverse talent joining its ranks every day.

This TikTok creator and cosplayer known as Michael is doing the ridiculous and yet very important work of recreating popular TikToks with a Harry Potter spin. Apologies in advance to all your friends for the slew of links you’re about to send them.

Though it does occasionally praise the author, The Ringer’s Binge Mode podcast hosted by Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion provides exceptional analysis and raucous commentary as they reread the Harry Potter books. No amount of Fantastic Beasts films (and we hope there are no more) could conceive of anything as brilliant as “McGalleon,” a headcanon about McGonagall’s aggressive sports betting and how it clouds her objectivity as a teacher. You’ll learn to turn down the volume when Jason yells, and you’ll love it.