CRI听力:Harry Potter Makes Brief Return, Echoing World Cup

Harry Potter is back mysterious, married, and going grey.

J.K. Rowling has given fans a glimpse of the grown-up boy wizard in a new story posted Tuesday (July 8, 2014) on her Pottermore Website.

The 1,500-word story describes Harry, about to turn 34, attending the final of the Quidditch World Cup with his family and old friends, Ron and Hermione.

Harry is now greying and has a mysterious cut on his cheek, related to his "top secret" work as an evil-battling Auror.

Meanwhile, Ron now runs the family joke shop, while Hermione is a, literally, high-flying civil servant: Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

The story is written in the style of a gossip column for the Daily Prophet by reporter Rita Skeeter, a minor character in the novels.

There are also updates on other characters, including Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, as well as glimpses of a new generation of teenage wizards.

It's the first update since "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was published in 2007, but there are "no plans" for a new Potter novel.

Rowling has long said that "Deathly Hallows" would be the last Potter novel, but has produced other Potter-related material, including spin-off story collection, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard".