10 objects on which J.K. Rowling maybe wrote Harry Potter

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 10: (L-R) Carmen Ejogo, J. K. Rowling, and Ron Perlman attend the ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on November 10, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Consider: bits of paper attached by string to the legs of various owls.

All those scraps of paper Rowling wrote on during her writing process must have ended up somewhere. Furthermore, she must have come up with the idea of Owl Post from somewhere, right? Obviously, we must explore the possibility that J.K. Rowling wrote at least a portion of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on tiny scraps of paper that she then attached to the legs of various owls.

She might have gone to an owl sanctuary, been allowed to interact with the birds, and left each of them with a different, juicy tidbit from the book. Alternately, she might have wandered into the woods at night, befriended some owls, and convinced them to carry her notes for her. The possibilities of this theory are endless, but one thing is definitely true.

Owl Post is one of the coolest elements of the Harry Potter books. If Rowling ever did get to deliver notes via owl, then I’m definitely jealous. Growing up with Harry made me want to go to Hogwarts, sure, but mostly it made me want a pet owl of my own. Carrier pigeons are so passé. Owls are cooler, smarter, and infinitely more interesting.

J.K. Rowling, tell us: what happened to all those notes on which you wrote your ideas for the Potterverse? Have they been scattered all over the world by friendly owls looking for a treat from their recipients? I certainly hope so. What a wild scavenger hunt that would be.