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---
title: Harry Potter Fans Can Now Discover Their Own Patronus
description: Pottermore launched an official Patronus Quiz developed by J.K. Rowling herself to help fans determine the shape their Patronuses take.
canonical: https://time.com/4504169/patronus-pottermore/
author: Raisa Bruner
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2016-09-22T14:40:09.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:36:52.187Z
og:title: Harry Potter Fans Can Now Discover Their Very Own Patronuses
og:description: Pottermore released an official quiz for fans on Thursday, developed by Rowling.
og:url: https://time.com/4504169/patronus-pottermore/
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twitter:title: Harry Potter Fans Can Now Discover Their Very Own Patronuses
twitter:description: Pottermore released an official quiz for fans on Thursday, developed by Rowling.
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf4a17f55373d83b/69887c4a0b72e39c436e7ff7/harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban_145089c2.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf4a17f55373d83b/69887c4a0b72e39c436e7ff7/harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban_145089c2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Harry Potter Fans Can Now Discover Their Patronus in a Quiz Developed by J.K. Rowling Herself


![Raisa Bruner](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7115d86fab01279f/698938c17cdbacff0cd5dc5b/r_bruner-web-resized.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)


![Raisa Bruner](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7115d86fab01279f/698938c17cdbacff0cd5dc5b/r_bruner-web-resized.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Raisa Bruner


Sep 22, 2016 2:40 PM UTC

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf4a17f55373d83b/69887c4a0b72e39c436e7ff7/harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban_145089c2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

![Raisa Bruner](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7115d86fab01279f/698938c17cdbacff0cd5dc5b/r_bruner-web-resized.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)


![Raisa Bruner](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7115d86fab01279f/698938c17cdbacff0cd5dc5b/r_bruner-web-resized.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Raisa Bruner


Sep 22, 2016 2:40 PM UTC

A Patronus is much more than a spirit animal. It’s the concentrated form that your happiest memories coalesce into, creating a protective spirit that will shield you from dark forces — soul-sucking Dementors, for instance. And now, J.K. Rowling has created a virtual test that gives _Harry Potter_ fans (yes, even us Muggles) the definitive answer to the question: [what form does my Patronus take?](http://time.com/4209231/harry-potter-spell/?iid=sr-link3)

To see for yourself, you’ll need [to join Pottermore](https://www.pottermore.com/), the digital destination for all things Harry Potter. You can only take the Patronus test — or “experience,” as it’s called — one time, so make sure you’re mentally prepared. The appropriately magical digital experience, which includes custom animation and music, involves a series of rapid-fire questions that you are meant to answer instinctively until you come to your creature match. You’ll want to come ready with a single, powerful happy memory to draw on, too; that’s the key to casting the [advanced-level charm.](http://time.com/4014510/harry-potter-jk-rowling-hagrid/?iid=sr-link1)

The launch of the quiz comes [on the heels of a frenzy of speculation](http://time.com/4503336/pottermore-tweet-fan-reactions/?iid=sr-link2) after Pottermore began teasing some kind of dark, mystical environment via Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday. Many fans correctly predicted, however, that the Patronus experience would soon drop.

As for the breadth of your animal options? That remains a mystery, but it seems to be massive. Fans [tweeting about their results](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778943747832807425) have gotten anything from a goshawk to a unicorn. “Patronuses are drawn from animals both familiar and magical, although magical beasts are amongst the rarest Patronuses,” Pottermore shared in a statement on the launch. It’s well-documented that Harry Potter’s own Patronus is a stag, Hermione’s is an otter, and Professor Snape’s takes the form of a doe, while J.K. Rowling shared this series of tweets about her own Patronus experience:

> [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778942133231312896)

> [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778942344523550720)

> [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778942632017952768)

> [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778943747832807425)


(It’s a heron.) In any case, fans are ecstatic about the added element of magic now at play in the Muggle world.

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