• Newsfeed
  • Books

J.K. Rowling Wants You to Know That ‘Harambe’ Is Not an Official Patronus Option

1 minute read

No, the gorilla Harambe is not an official, J.K.-Rowling-approved Patronus option.

On Thursday, Harry Potter fans went into a frenzy with the launch of the Patronus “experience” on the all-things-Potter Pottermore site, in which Muggles can discover the corporeal animal form that their spirit shields would take — if we were able to perform the advanced-level magic of the beloved Patronus Charm, of course.

As users have shared across social media, the results are exceptionally diverse and specific: all kinds of creatures have been produced, from tortoiseshell cats to run-of-the-mill rats to even mythical fire-dwelling salamanders. But in the seemingly-endless universe of Patronus options, there’s one animal that’s definitely not going to appear at the end of the quiz, and that’s the deceased, meme-ified mountain gorilla Harambe, who once called the Cincinnati Zoo home and has since become a running viral joke.

Rowling retweeted a comedy account that shared a Harambe-as-Patronus joke image — but then tweeted again to clear everything up.

Now, carry on practicing your pronunciation of “Expecto patronum,” wizard wannabes!

 

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com