It’s not every day that one of the world’s most renowned authors sits up and takes notice of one of your illustrations.

The Harry Potter series of books and films might have a huge worldwide following, but some of the series’ most ardent fans reside in Japan, where they pay homage to the epic fantasy tale by cosplaying as Harry Potter himself, ride around in trains featuring the characters’ images and stock up on unique anime merchandise.

Now, with the latest addition to J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World franchise hitting shores last week, with the opening of the film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, fans in Japan have shown they have plenty of room in their hearts for more of the author’s imaginary tales. One talented Japanese fan perfectly illustrated this point with a beautiful artwork, showing the passing of the baton from one beloved character to the next, with Harry Potter casually walking out and Newt Scamander striding in.

▼ The anime-style drawing is titled “Hero, change”.

Posted on the day the new movie was released in Japan, the illustration was quickly shared online by fans who fell in love with the simple yet deeply meaningful picture. One fan brought it to the attention of J.K. Rowling herself, who surprised everyone by replying, eager to find out who had drawn the image.

The Japanese artist who’d drawn and shared the picture online, @kirikawa_juu, immediately replied.

Rowling then sought confirmation that the image had been correctly attributed.

Sounding understandably thrilled, @kirikawa_juu then replied to the author directly.

Rowling then responded with this beautiful message.

@kirikawa_juu followed up with some words of support for Rowling’s new lead character…

And expressed sadness over Harry Potter’s departure, but also a welcoming attitude towards Newt; sentiments which were perfectly expressed in the beautiful drawing.

J.K. Rowling then posted the picture on her Twitter account to share with her 8.75 million followers.

Following this unexpected interaction with the famous author, @kirikawa_juu then posted this sweet message of thanks to everyone involved.

“I actually spoke to my sister about this, and told her that the warmth from the ‘Harry Potter’ cluster of fans is out of the ordinary.
I never thought that drawing this picture would bring such happiness and create so many replies from people I’ve never spoken to. Truly, thank you.”

Now, J.K. Rowling’s tweet sharing the illustration is proudly pinned to the top of @kirikawa_juu‘s Twitter page, with the comment, “This is a memory I’ll never forget for the rest of my life”.

The power of the Internet to connect fans with famous authors and creators is always a heartwarming thing to behold. Sometimes, even creators reach out in an attempt to connect with fans, and when that happens, we need to make sure we have a box of tissues nearby to cope with all the emotion!

Source: Net Lab
Featured image: Twitter/@kirikawa_juu

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