Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling delighted fans when she recently unveiled Harry Potter at Home. It’s an initiative designed for people stuck in lockdown and features celebrities reading chapters of the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or, I guess, The Sorceror’s Stone *rolls eyes Britishly*).
A trailer for the project revealed a glittering array of readers. These include Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts), Claudia Kim (Nagini in The Crimes Of Grindelwald), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione Granger in the original West End and Broadway runs of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Stephen Fry (who read the acclaimed audiobooks), David Beckham, Dakota Fanning and many more to be announced.
But they kicked off the project with someone very special: Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. He read the first chapter of the first book, The Boy Who Lived and, well, let’s just say it went down very well with Potterheads.
daniel radcliffe: "he couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting up in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'to harry potter, the boy who lived'"
me: pic.twitter.com/vOaXQ2e30t
— ˢᵗᵉᶠ ⎊?️? (@uncleofthunder) May 5, 2020
As soon as I heard "Hi, I'm Daniel Radcliffe" on the audio book I immediately had tears in my eyes and all I want to know is WILL THIS HURT EVER END?!
— Envy (@QuinnEnvy) May 6, 2020
Daniel Radcliffe: Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they
were perfectly normal, thank you very muchYo: pic.twitter.com/cLVZvQcyRb
— Capa͛ Invisible ⚯͛ (@capa_invisible) May 5, 2020
Daniel Radcliffe: 'To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!' pic.twitter.com/wpuad74ZPt
— ʳ ᵃ ʷ ʳ ˚* ❀ (@monosortia) May 6, 2020
Daniel Radcliffe is reading the first chapter of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone for us all!!!
I'M CRYING! YOU'RE CRYING!
This made my quarantine ???❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/o1WSMvWFcl
— fran Radson Driver (@Harmione4eever) May 5, 2020
I'm crying too just by listening to him ?❤️
— Nadira Yasmine (@irrainbow) May 5, 2020
I’ve listened to it twice already, I would totally read any audiobook read by him.
— Ashley (@lunaandginny) May 5, 2020
he really has us all out here like pic.twitter.com/2gbWIFOb1m
— ?? ♡︎ ???????? ??????? (@scorpsmoon) May 5, 2020
daniel radcliffe reading the first chapter of the philosopher's stone MY HEART
— fiona ✩ (@aryashelbyy) May 5, 2020
If you want to check out this emotional bombshell for yourself, the audio versions of the chapters are available on Spotify (and you do not need a subscription to stream them). Right now, it’s not known what the schedule will be or whether they’re going to work chronologically through The Philosopher’s Stone. That’s an achievable ambition though, as there are 17 chapters in the first book, so if they maintain a decent pace, they should be able to get the whole thing done by the time the lockdown (hopefully) ends.
In the meantime, fans are just happy to see Radcliffe back in the Wizarding World in any capacity, with many hoping that he’ll eventually reprise the role that made him a global superstar. While Harry Potter and The Cursed Child may never be directly adapted for film, there are rumors that we might see a contemporary sequel to it about the future adventures of Albus Potter, so they just might get their wish.
Whatever else happens though, the outpouring of emotion caused by Radcliffe’s reading proves that fan passion still burns incredibly brightly for this iconic franchise.
