With her readers confined due to COVID-19, J.K. Rowling has launched a new online service: “Harry Potter at Home.”

On the digital hub, readers of all ages and their families can access Harry Potter-related activities and free downloads. Through April, users can get free audiobook and ebook versions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, through partnerships with Audible and OverDrive. 

Crafts, quizzes and other activities will be available on the hub and through an associated newsletter, all to be updated weekly on “Wizarding Wednesdays.” 

One can listen to the first Harry Potter audiobook in a choice of six languages—English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Japanese, via the new Audible Stories Collection. American readers take note: it’s the Stephen Fry edition of the audiobook and not the Jim Dale version—an opportunity for a whole new listening experience, suggests the site. Users can access the audiobook on their desktop, laptop, phone or tablet, without joining or logging into Audible. 

Through a partnership between library supplier OverDrive and Pottermore Publishing, OverDrive customers can borrow Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as an ebook or audiobook in over 20 languages from participating public and school libraries, including via Overdrive’s Libby app, and the Sora app for schools.

The Harry Potter at Home initiative follows Rowling’s earlier announcement of an open license, which granted educators permission to record themselves reading the Harry Potter stories aloud. The open license runs until July 30 or the end of the school year, whichever comes first, according to a release.