Avada Kedavra, Pottermore? Here’s why some are worried for ‘Harry Potter’ site

Whether your team Gryffindor or Slytherin (though seriously, team Slytherin?), we can all agree that it was massively frustrating when we could only obtain our Harry Potter ebooks from Pottermore. Don’t get me wrong, I love and am so grateful to Pottermore for all the digital goodies the site provided,but the dearth of Harry Potter ebooks in an increasingly ebook friendly world was downright annoying.

This likely explains why, for the last year or so, Harry Potter ebooks have been increasingly available through other services such as Kindle Unlimited. Now, however, Kindle and Nook versions will be available for $8.99 from, well, anywhere. There’s no longer a need to cast a spell to obtain our beloved Harry Potter books — you just have to be willing to pay! (The goblins at Gringotts must be pumped for the increased activity.)

The reason the books have become more easily accessible is, of course, financial. TechCrunch reports that Pottermore saw losses to the tune “of £6 million in 2015.” That’s a lot of money. With sales numbers dropping, the site let go of its exclusive hold on the Harry Potter ebooks and made them available for download through Amazon’s Kindle Store on December 8.

I’m torn, guys, real torn. I love Pottermore, but I’m also really glad the Harry Potter series is more easily available for those readers who don’t wish to own physical books (or who want a copy for their e-reader in addition to their physical copies). And this seems to be a bit of a warning regarding the end of Pottermore: In early October 2015 we saw the enhanced iBook versions fly into Apple devices, and November brought Harry Potter audiobooks to Audible. Things are looking pretty glum for the site. To quote TechCrunch’s John Biggs: “I doubt Pottermore is going to survive as the Site Who Lived.”

I fear that, somewhere, Voldemort is laughing.

(Image via Warner Bros.)