Mugglenet March Madness and a Bit More from Pottermore

When the phrase 'March Madness' is heard, many people would probably think of college basketball. Not the Potterheads over at Mugglenet.com. They have created a bracket of their own... for Harry Potter characters.

The HP tournament is currently in its "Elite Eight" stage. It pits Harry Potter against Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom against Luna Lovegood, Sirius Black against Severus Snape, and Hermione Granger against Minerva McGonagall.

There have been several upsets, including number six seed Tonks beating out number three seed Ginny Weasley, Colin Creevey (11) ousting Dudley Dursley (6), Xenophilius Lovegood (14) winning over Peter Pettigrew (3), and more recently, Ron Weasley (1) losing to Sirius (4).

If I had to choose a winner out of the remaining characters, I would probably predict Snape. People's like of Snape now due to the revelations in Deathly Hallows combined with their love of Alan Rickman (who portrays Snape in the films) seems to make him a fan favorite.

To vote for your favorite character, head over to http://www.mugglenet.com/marchmadness/.

In other news, Pottermore has opened a shop where fans can download the Harry Potter series in eBook and digital audio book form.

Books 1-3 as eBooks cost $7.99 each, while the rest are $9.99 apiece. Or, you can get the entire collection for $57.54.

The audio books are a bit more expensive. Books 1-3 are $29.99, and books 4-7 are $44.99. The entire collection is $242.94.

According to the Pottermore Shop site, "Harry Potter eBooks are compatible with all leading eReaders, tablets and smartphones," and the audio books "are compatible with MP3 players, including iPods and hundreds of other audio devices."

To check out the shop, go to http://shop.pottermore.com/en_US?c=USD.

(Also... I don't know why all this text is underlined. I don't know how to get rid of it...)

myHogwarts Beta Opened

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened - or rather, myHogwarts has started to open to beta users. (Lame joke, sorry...)

Anyway, myHogwarts was (at least for me) a highly anticipated new website for Harry Potter fans to meet and interact with other fans, take Hogwarts classes, and more.

I have finally gained access to the site, and I'm here to tell you what it's like.

After activating my account, I read through an orientation about the world of Harry Potter beyond the books and movies. It covered topics such as wizard rock music, Muggle Quidditch, the Harry Potter Alliance, and Starkid (the creators of YouTube sensations A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel).

Then, it was time to create my profile. It was a fairly easy process, just inputting information about myself and uploading a profile picture. And if you weren't happy with your Sorting on Pottermore or have your heart set on being in a particular house, never fear. myHogwarts lets you choose your house.

When I finished creating a profile, I was placed in a dorm with other Hufflepuffs (my house). Dorms, when completed, are made up of 10 people of the same house. These people are automatically added as your friends on myHogwarts.

Everyone has their own profile where you can see information about them. You can post statuses as well as post things in your dorm. You can add other friends, send messages, and "prod" people.

So in case you haven't guessed by now, myHogwarts is like a Harry Potterized version of Facebook. The layout is very similar, and there are a lot of the same features (prodding is like poking, it seems).

Not everything myHogwarts has to offer has been made available to beta testers yet, but there will be more added sooner or later. Right now, the profiles and dorms are open, as well as a wizard wrockbox (hope I spelled that right) to listen to wizard rock music. I haven't checked that out yet but I plan to very soon.

That's all I have for right now, but I will be sure to post more as I explore the site and more areas of the site are opened. I am so excited for this!

Pottermore and myHogwarts

For those of you waiting for entry to Pottermore, the wait is almost over. Pottermore Insider has revealed that the site will open in early April. An exact opening date hasn't been given.

Many Pottermore beta testers, however, are waiting for the release of the second Harry Potter book, Chamber of Secrets, on the site. I have heard a rumor that only one book will be released each year, but I don't know if that is confirmed or not.

Meanwhile, another Potter site will be opening to beta users soon - myHogwarts. From what I've gathered about the site, "students" at myHogwarts will be able to sort of attend Hogwarts. There will be classes with professors, online textbooks, and even homework. There will also be other activities, such as a myHogwarts choir.

myHogwarts will begin granting access on March 15. However, only people that got into beta testing on day one will be able to get in that day. Day two people will get in on March 16, day three people on March 17, etc.

Also, the entire site won't be available right away. They will open more and more things over time.

I am a beta tester of myHogwarts, and I am so excited to get into the site. Once I start, I will be sure to post a review on this blog. I am hoping that myHogwarts won't turn out to be somewhat of a disappointment like Pottermore, but from what I've seen, it looks like it'll be pretty cool.

For more information on myHogwarts, check out their site: myhogwarts.co.uk.