When Pottermore was announced in June 2010, Clube do Slugue, a Brazilian fansite (extinct nowadays) already had a lot of informations based only on the premise of copyright protection. The fans were anxious for news, and [J.K. Rowling] extended part of the magic world created in the books and movies to the internet with a interactive website with unpublished stories.
And today, history repeats itself. Rafael Bento, one of Clube do Slugue’s founders, today releases his new discovery on Potterish, a fansite online since 2012 with an award from JK Rowling herself.
By Rafael Bento
Edited by Pedro Martins
Translated and reviwed by Marina Anderi, Orley Lima and Marcelo Neves
We are very close to having the chance to revisit to the magical world of Harry Potter through the movie: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, a kind of encyclopedia about the magic creatures existing in the Harry Potter series, written by the Mazoologist Newt Scamander.
We know little about the movie: its screenplay is written by J.K. Rowling, in her first screenplay-writing role; it’s produced by David Heyman, who already produced all the movies from the series, and it’s directed by David Yates, director of the final Harry Potter movies. Besides that, it has been announced that the plot will take place in New York in the 20s (but it isn’t known if it will be entirely in the city), and Rowling also mentioned on Twitter that we will get to know people who have studied in the American magic school.
Based on this information, and based on the research methods used in the past for Pottermore, I came across a curious name, which has the potential to unlock a new element of this magical universe:
“ILVERMORNY”!
The word sounds very odd, and it’s exactly this oddness that caught my attention. A quick search on Google reveals that there’s nothing about this name except trademark registrations filed around the world. These filings indicate that it’s big news! Moreover, in Brazil, the trademark was registered by Bhering Advogados (a law firm), the same office that registered the brands: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, “Fantastic Beasts” and “Newt Scamander”.
In the registration process, we can see that Warner Bros followed a pattern, dividing the principal names related to “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” and to “Quidditch Through The Ages” on different days, but being careful with Ilvermorny registration, not registering anything on the same day and waiting a while, so there would be no probable association of the registration with the new project.
A research on Google Images associates the register ONLY to names related to the “Harry Potter” series.
It’s worth highlighting that the brand’s registration is still in progress. The last activity took place in early May, 2015. We think Warner Bros really has an interest in using “Ilvermorny” in some cinematographic project, and is trying very hard to keep it a secret.
But what can Ilvermorny mean? Having researched dictionaries across several languages including German, French, Latin, Greek and English, there’s nothing to be found. Not even if we divide the word up. Even in a search of the languages originally used by Native Americans, there’s nothing to be found. The word is probably another one of the magical Rowling-esque words Jo loves to create, and which defy translation.
What I believe is that it could be the name of the American school of witchcraft and wizardry J.K. Rowling has been mentioning on Twitter. Believe me, she never says something without it being relevant and it’s very likely that this school has huge significance to the plot. But this is just a supposition, obviously. The name can belong to a magical object, a place, a person (maybe the headmaster or headmistress of the new school, or a famous witch or wizard) or something much more mysterious. Who knows.
It could even be that it’s not even related to the movie, because sometimes offices register brands and don’t use them, although this seems pretty unlikely due to the facts presented above.
So what do you think? Do you believe Ilvermorny is the American magic school? A town where some parts of the plot will happen? Any name with no relation? Share your opinions with us and let time (and J.K. Rowling) provide an answer.
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