J.K. Rowling Releases New, 4-Part Series on Pottermore: The History of Magic in North America

J.K. Rowling has given Harry Potter fans a treat well ahead of the new trilogy's release. The British author is releasing a new series of four original stories on Pottermore titled, The History of Magic in North America. The fictional tales will only be available on Rowling's Pottermore, with the first one dropping on March 8 at 9 a.m.

The History of Magic in North America will explore topics not yet discussed in the book series or movies, but will get readers and fans prepared for what's to come in Eddie Redmayne's forthcoming movie. The new series will cover a variety of topics including, Ilvermorny, the U.S. version of Hogwarts; Skin-walkers, a Native American legend; the Salem Witch Trials; and the Magical Congress of the United States of America, the U.S.' Ministry of Magic. 

The new series will fill in a lot of the backstory before meeting Newt Scamander (Redmayne) in 1920s New York. But we're definitely interested in checking out the whole Salem Witch Trials installment because the video shows witches being burned, which was considered useless because they could use a Flame-Freezing Charm to protect themselves. Rowling addressed this in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, writing that persecuted witches would pretend to scream because the burning fire really felt like a tickling sensation. The spell ultimately saved them from Muggles who wished them dead.