Five Pottermore Early Access Wait Coping Tips

An e-mail may be more prompt than an owl carrying an invitation to Hogwarts, but the wait could be as much as six weeks for those who were not among the first slew of early registrants to receive e-mails Monday inviting them to log onto the test version of J.K. Rowling's Pottermore.

I solved the Day 4 clue (How many students take part in the Triwizard Tournament during Harry’s fourth year?) after six hours of waiting and refreshing the Pottermore Aug. 3. Now it seems my wait will be longer until I can access the site. People who registered early will be able to access the Beta version of the website by Sept. 30, and regular entry starts in October.

, 12, of West Hartford, who solved the Day 2 clue, has not gotten the official e-mail yet inviting him to log on Pottermore, though, he wrote in an e-mail to Patch Monday that he knows some Day 1 registrants who were able to sign onto Pottermore Aug. 15.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," he said.

Here are five things I have done in anticipation of entering the virtual world of Harry Potter, so hopefully it will help the rest of you cope.

• I received an e-mail on Aug. 11 from Pottermore (I can't guarantee it was from Rowling herself), stating, "We will activate your account between mid-August and the end of September, so keep checking your inbox for our Welcome email. When this arrives you will be able to enter Pottermore." Since I don't know if my access will come sooner or later, I only check my personal e-mail as much as I would normally in a given day, usually once or twice. For those of you who also went through the agony of pressing "enter" a billion times a few weeks ago until the clue for the Magical Quill challenge appeared, I would advise against checking your e-mail compulsively. After all, you already passed the test, so why bother stressing?
• I have finished a box of Harry Potter Fudge Flies (it's just milk chocolate, don't worry) that I bought at the on Main Street in Mystic, CT. Harry Potter candies are scarce though, so please eat your regular Muggle meals. I'm thinking some risotto is in order for dinner, not in an Order of the Phoenix sort of way.
• I rescued all seven Harry Potter books from being buried somewhere in my parents' Farmington, CT home and now have the series proudly displayed in my kitchen. Cramming (yes, sadly) for the Pottermore quiz gave me an incentive to start re-reading the series. Now they are there for friends and loved ones, who have not read the saga, to borrow (you know who you are).  
• I went on the Pottermore Insider blog and read all the clues from the other days. I started reading them to my brother, who, along with my father, both told me not to read them out loud.  Unfortunately, Pottermore entrants, not everyone will share your enthusiasm, so be respectful of all Muggles, Harry Potter fans or not. Whatever, bro, you know you also got early access onto Pottermore. We'll talk about it when we can both log on.
• Immediately after my friend from Pennsylvania sent me a Facebook message about the first day of entry to Pottermore, excited to gain access in the next six weeks, I wrote this post on Avon Patch. That reminded me to get back to work (don't worry, boss, I've been working hard, as per usual), which brings me to my fifth tip. Go about your normal day. Don't let waiting for the virtual world get in the way of your real world. I do foresee Pottermore become the next Facebook distraction, though, for many Potter fans. Luckily, for me, Facebook and social media are part of being a web journalist.

If you are from Avon, CT, or neighboring towns and have been able to log onto the Pottermore Beta version, e-mail Jessie.Sawyer@patch.com to share your experience.