J.K. Rowling Clarifies Harambe Is Not A Patronus

The Internet isn’t done with Harambe, not yet. Netizens have taken the gorilla’s untimely death and made it into a crusade. Armed with keyboards and Wi-Fi, these warriors are trying to immortalize Harambe after his death, and it looks like they’re now hoping Harry Potter can ‘abra kadabra’ the gorilla’s legacy – something which J.K. Rowling is speaking out about.

Unless you have been stupefied by a rogue wizard, then you probably know that Pottermore has released its Patronus Quiz to the world. The beautiful site is filled with swelling orchestral music, quick-time choices, and stunning animation befitting of the Harry Potter franchise. Thousands of fans have already taken the quiz to discover what form their Patronus takes, and it looks like some muggles are conjuring up Harambe like a charm.

Well, sort of.

The CHIVE posted a mock photo to Twitter of what Harambe would look like as a Patronus. The gorgeous ape is seen shining brightly as he sits in a dark forest outside of Hogwarts, and Harambe definitely looks like he could take on a Dementor or ten. J.K. Rowling even retweeted the photo, leaving fans to laugh and even wonder whether the gorilla was an easter egg on Pottermore. However, the author is saying fans won’t actually see Harambe as a quiz answer.

“I’ve been asked to make it clear that Harambe is not a Patronus you can actually get on @pottermore,” Rowling recently tweeted. “The previous RT is a joke. As you were.”

Then, in a separate tweet, Rowling admitted that she “thought it was very funny, btw.”

Surely, it won’t be long before PotterHeads take the author’s tweets and turn them into fan-art. It’s only a matter of time until we see #WandsforHarambe start trending with photo-shopped images of the ape wandering about the Wizarding World.

If you haven’t kept up with the Internet phenomenon that is Harambe, then you should know it all started when the Cincinnati Zoo killed the beloved gorilla after a child found its way into the ape’s enclosure. People all over the world were stunned by the institute lethal intervention and rallied for justice. However, the Internet took the pursuit several clicks too far and turned the gorilla into a world-wide meme.

Unsurprisingly, the zoo is not too happy with Harambe’s legacy these days. In a statement, the facility said, “We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe. Our zoo family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward more difficult for us. We are honoring Harambe by redoubling our gorilla conservation efforts and encouraging others to join us.”

But, in true online fashion, Netizens continue to share viral stories about Harambe. Recently, fans even petitioned Nintendo and The Pokemon Company to honor the ape in a future video game. Fans hoped to see a new starter Pokemon named Hambo star in a new project and eventually evolve into Harambe. The petition got over 30,000 signatures shortly after being posted.

[H/T] Twitter