Once you’ve written a beloved series of children’s books, which were in turn adapted into an equally adored franchise of movies, theme park rides, and a play, and became a near-billionaire in the process, you’re allowed to spend your day correcting people’s pronunciations on Twitter. Especially if you’re Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, and it’s a character you created.
A day after revealing it’s hip to be Hufflepuff, Rowling responded to a tweet about Voldemort:
@Universe_Box One piece of Harry Potter trivia I always forget to mention: the "t" is silent in Voldemort, according to @jk_rowling.
— Michael Lucero 🍹🌴 (@travelsoflucero) September 9, 2015
… but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who pronounces it that way. https://t.co/HxhJ5XY5HP
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 9, 2015
Wait, Harry Potter’s villain is named Voldemort? I’ve been calling him Voldemont!
The “t” being silent — which is how the French say it, as does Jim Dale in the first two Harry Potter audio books — doesn’t really change anything, although ending on a soft “r,” rather than a hard “t,” sounds less menacing. Still, fans, who have already bought their plane tickets to Toronto to visit the Harry Potter-themed bar, are realizing they’ve been living a lie for 17 years.
@jk_rowling my whole life is a lie
— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) September 9, 2015
Wait until she learns Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans don’t actually come in every “flavour.”
Anyway, this is just the kind of thing I imagine Hermione would correct everyone on. She’s the “ACTUALLY” of Hogwarts. Even when she’s right, it’s still kind of annoying.
