When J.K. Rowling created the world of Harry Potter, an entire universe was born from her words and the story she had to tell. She not only gave Harry a place to escape to, but also the millions of fans who have read and adored her series. There is an uncountable number of ways that fans express their love for the characters, Hogwarts, and the magic tied to everything.

The thing that first drew me into the massive Harry Potter fan community was a podcast, which is similar to a radio show that you can download from online in which one person or several people discuss a topic. A friend introduced me to Mugglecast, a Harry Potter-focused podcast that gives news, comedy, and book analysis. The casters consisted of a host and several other people that alternated having turns on the show. They were hilarious and extremely entertaining to listen to. An online forum was created for all the Mugglecast fans to gather and discuss the latest episode, play games together, and just have a good time with the other people out there who shared each other’s interest in Harry Potter and Mugglecast.

The most popular outlet for Harry Potter fans is the reading and writing of fan fiction. Fan fiction, for those who may not know, is written by the fans of any particular novel, movie, television series, or anything else that strikes a person’s creative mind. There are literally thousands of fan fictions based on the Harry Potter series. The topic is searched online more often than even Star Trek fan fiction, which is equally, if not more so, popular. The fan fictions mostly deal with pairings, or the romantic involvement between characters. Whether the pairing is canon, meaning that the pairing is true in the books, or not is of no concern to writers. Fan fiction authors have a distinct tendency to mix and match pairings to his or her liking.

Harry Potter fans have even, and not surprisingly, created an entirely new genre of music that is based on the books. The genre is called Wizard Rock, featuring a dizzying amount of bands. The bands are named after characters, objects, and spells from the books. Several popular ones include Harry and the Potters, The Parselmouths, Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, The Moaning Myrtles, and The Remus Lupins. Wrock, the short-hand term for Wizard Rock, depends on the fans that are more musically talented and are able to put it out there for everyone to enjoy.

There are multiple other categories tied to the enormous Harry Potter fan world, these three being some of the largest. I have met many fellow fans throughout my experience with the fandom, several of which I have become close friends with. Amazing people are brought together through their admiration for Harry Potter, and everyone one of them play a part in the fan experience.