The ‘Harry Potter’ Character You Never Really Knew Until Now
Though our queen and savior JK Rowling just recently gave us a nostalgic taste of our old friends from Hogwarts, she seems to not be finished updating Pottermore with more glimpses into the magical world we all grew up in. You may recognize the name Celestina Warbeck as the witchy singer that played at the Weasley’s house–or you may not because she was such a quick blip in the world of Harry Potter that her character didn’t leave a lasting impression—but for whatever reason, Rowling has released a brand new story about her, and her alone. She provided some serious insights on Warbeck for those of us with an unquenchable thirst for all things Potter. Here’s what we just learned:
Warbeck is like some of the best Harry Potter characters: not a pureblood. Her mother was a Muggle, her father a wizard, and apparently, she was in Gryffindor house. (Much like all of our favorite characters.) The story delves pretty deeply into the jazzy witch’s life.
Warbeck was born on August 18, 1917, which is a date likely purposeful, considering Rowling published the piece on Pottermore yesterday. Warbeck’s father worked in the Muggle Liason Office, perhaps where he met his Muggle wife, who was an actress in her earlier years. With the performance itch passed onto her from her mother, Warbeck had a musical note in her heart from a young age. Little Warbeck went to Hogwarts as a member of Gryffindor, where her mother tried with all of her might throughout her daughter’s years there to form a musical theater club, or a choir, or at least a dance class.
Once out of Hogwarts, Warbeck used her honey-voice talent to protest various causes in the wizarding community. She was against the Ministry’s Halloween celebrations ban, and she often raised money for the wizarding hospital St. Mungo’s. Besides the charitable uses for her voice, Warbeck had extremely famous, and therefore expensive, concerts. Her tickets were typically sold on the black market at inflated prices.
Most interestingly, Rowling writes that Warbeck’s personal life “provided much fodder for the gossip columns of the Daily Prophet.” Warbeck married a back-up dancer, her manager, and finally, a composer by the name of Irving Warble. Together they had one son.
Along with the fun and surprising piece, Pottermore offered a song with a video from Miss Warbeck. The video comes from Universal Studio’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter and is called “You Stole My Cauldron, But You Can’t Have My Heart.”
. . .you tell ’em, Celestina.
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