J.K. Rowling Celebrates the Official ’19 Years Later’ Date From Harry Potter

It’s been 19 years (and four months) since Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts to end the Second Wizarding War. And as many Harry Potter fans are aware, that means it’s officially the day Albus Severus Potter — the second son of Harry and Ginny Weasley — boards the Hogwarts Express for his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As we now know from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Albus will go on to be sorted into Slytherin, not Gryffindor as he hoped. But that just means he has the opportunity to live up to his namesake. “You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts,” Harry reminded him on Platform 9¾. “One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”

J.K. Rowling took to Twitter Friday morning to mark the occasion, tweeting out a reminder for fans of the date from The Deathly Hallows prologue. “Today’s the day Albus Severus Potter boards the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross for the first time,” she wrote.

Harry must be so proud.