Harry Potter Clue Unlocks A New Writing From J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter fans were promised festive surprises in the days leading up to Christmas, and today, the first treat arrived. Check it out and see if you know who the riddle is referencing. (Hint: It's not Riddle.)

Post by Pottermore.

Ok, even casual Harry Potter fans should be able to guess who the riddle is referring to, but if you want to take a stab at it yourself, head on over to Pottermore (you'll probably have to log in to do this) and answer the riddle. Doing so opens a new moment in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and a new writing.

If you'd rather skip that part, get spoiled ahead...

As we said, this riddle's not that tricky. After all, who's the most well known "potions master" in the Harry Potter series? That would be the Half-Blood Prince himself, Severus Snape...

The riddle points to Severus Snape, but it focuses very specifically on the Unbreakable Vow that's made between Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy...

This crucial scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has Severus promising Narcissa that he would watch over Draco as he attempts to fulfill Voldemort's wishes, and protect him from harm. Severus also promised to perform the task that Voldemort set Draco to fulfill, which was to kill Albus Dumbledore. We all know how that turned out.

The exciting part about this riddle is that it unlocks one installment in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince section of J.K. Rowling's official Harry Potter website, Pottermore. Submitting the correct answer to the riddle opens up the Unbreakable Vow scene from "Spinner's End." The chapters before and after that aren't open yet, but the Unbreakable Vow scene offers some new collectables, along with a new writing entry, which focuses on Cokeworth, which is where you'll find Spinner's End (where Snape grew up, and where the Unbreakable Vow takes place). Rowling's writing offers some interesting insight into the relevance of the town to the series, including why Uncle Vernon chose it as a hiding place when he was trying to evade Hogwarts' letters earlier in the series.

This unlocked chapter is a pretty obvious indication that Half-Blood Prince is making its grand arrival at Pottermore. It's exciting for those of us who appreciate these illustrated and interactive walkthroughs of the stories. What's more, J.K. Rowling's added essays always offer interesting updates and tidbits about the Harry Potter universe. We learned quite a few fascinating facts about Harry Potter when The Order of the Phoenix debuted on Pottermore this fall.

What will we learn from these new "festive surprises"? If the first riddle is any indication, hopefully a lot more about Severus Snape! (#TrustSnape). And we also know that we'll be learning more about Draco Malfoy, who played a crucial role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so there's much to anticipate.