5. The 1920s
Um…wardrobe much? The 1920s are probably your go-to answer to the question: "What's your favorite decade?" The hats, the bobs, the finger waves, the speakeasies, the bow ties, so much yes. Mixing the magic of the 20s with the magic of, you know, J.K. Rowling, might make our hearts explode into one big swoony mess.
4. The Beasts
Let's go ahead and admit that some of our favorite characters from the HP series were Buckbeak, Fawkes, and Hedwig (RIP). The magical creatures that (unfortunately, to our knowledge) only exist in the Harry Potter universe make muggle pets look like peasants. The three that we're MOST excited about are:
The Niffler: a furry platypus/anteater-looking chunk that's attracted to glittery objects. Can you say #newspiritanimal?
The Bowtruckle: sassy lil teeny tiny tree guardian that's partial to wood lice and fairy eggs. It's super hard to spot and will claw out your eyes if you threaten its host tree…probably.
The Demiguise: ok goosebumps. If Falcor and a perfect little baby monkey had a baby, it would be a demiguise. It's extremely sought-after because its hair can be woven into invisibility cloaks. They are hard to catch because they can tell the future, so you have to do something unpredictable in order to be able to find one. But please don't cuz… they are angelic angelly baby angels and we love them.
3. Ilvermorny
The American version of Hogwarts has us feeling some feelings. It was founded by a witch and her No-Maj (American term for "muggle") husband, so it's like the more progressive, non-elitist cousin of the other wizarding schools. Like Hogwarts, it has four houses. Prepare yourself for endless debates with your friends on what house you/they/your fav HP characters would be sorted into. The houses are as follows:
Horned Serpent: favors the scholars
Pukwudgie: favors the healers
Thunderbird: favors the adventurers
Wampus: favors the warriors
Unlike Hogwarts, there's no sorting hat. Basically you stand in a spot in a circular room and these statues fight over you. If more than one wants you, you get a choice. Sound a little familiar? #harrypotter #thevoice
2. Eddie Redmayne
We. can. not. think of a better human in all of existence to lead us back into the Harry Potter 'verse than Eddie Redmayne. His performances in The Theory of Everything, My Week with Marilyn and oh yeah, The Danish Girl, put him in the forefront of our minds for weeks. He seems equal parts someone you could probably be friends with if you met him on the street and someone that you can't quite look in the eyes because he's too…handsome? smooth? perfect? enthralling? magical? I dunno, you choose. He's a lot of things that we both can and can't handle. From what we've seen in the Fantastic Beasts trailer, he might give our baby Matt Smith a run for his money with his bow tie game. He's a big fan of the Harry Potter books and films, so we trust that he will at least meet, if not exceed, our very..very…very high expectations.
1. And obviously…it's a return to the world we love/miss/need so much.
We've been described as the Harry Potter generation, and we'll gladly accept. Even a quick reference to the Harry Potter world in an unrelated book or movie makes our heart skip a beat and a creepy smile cross our faces. Do you ever catch yourself eavesdropping on conversations because you heard the word "Dumbledore", "Harry", "Potter", "Pot" "Ter", or "magic" and you think there might be a new friend in your midst? We do this quite often. So naturally, when news came that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was being made into a film, we felt like we were getting to go home again. There's something exciting and comfortable and addicting about the world that Goddess Rowling has created, and we need our fix. Cue Fantastic Beasts.
Also, there's the possibility of OG cameos, so...