--- description: Featuring James Potter and his soon-to-be-wife Lily title: Watch a Stunning Fan-Made Harry Potter Prequel image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Fan-Made Harry Potter Prequel Is Stunning by [Dana Getz / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Dana Getz / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2016 1:56 PM CUT by [Dana Getz / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Dana Getz / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2016 1:56 PM CUT Few literary phenomena have accrued the ravenous fanbase spawned by J.K. Rowling’s _Harry Potter_. A treasure trove of theories, fan fiction, and other ephemera exists at the Internet ready, and Rowling regularly contributes post-series musings to the conversation. The latest spin-off comes in the form of a fan-made prequel posted to YouTube earlier this month. Written and directed by Los Angeles video editor Justin Zagri, the 25-minute video picks up in 1978, just after the Marauders — James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin — have graduated from Hogwarts. The strapping young foursome gather at a nearby pub to reflect on their time at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, discussing everything from Potter’s love affair with soon-to-be-wife Lily and the impending threat of war on their supernatural world. Soon enough, Severus Snape waltzes in to give their sentimental get together some action. He exchanges a few harsh words with Potter, and the pair set off to a blackened forest to defend Lily’s honor in a high-thrill brawl. According to [Buzzfeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/alivelez/severus-snape-and-the-marauders?bftw&utm%5Fterm=.ss3YZEDgB#.qnxEy9xo6 "undefined"), the entire film was shot in four days. Post-production took roughly a year to complete, but to stunning results: the visual effects are remarkable. Unfortunately, it’s probably too late for Rowling to take note for the [official](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/19/harry-potter-goblet-fire "undefined") Harry Potter prequel, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,_ which debuts in theaters in November. Watch the video above. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/24/fan-made-harry-potter-prequel "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://EW.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4271941/watch-harry-potter-prequel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4271941/watch-harry-potter-prequel/"},"headline":"This Fan-Made Harry Potter Prequel Is Stunning","datePublished":"2016-03-25T13:56:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:13:16.219Z","description":"Featuring James Potter and his soon-to-be-wife Lily","url":"https://time.com/4271941/watch-harry-potter-prequel/","keywords":["movies","Books","Harry Potter"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dana Getz / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4271941/watch-harry-potter-prequel/","name":"This Fan-Made Harry Potter Prequel Is Stunning"}}]}] ```