There’s a whisper about growing to a tumultuous roar about the Wizarding World, and it’s not a pleasant one. Public perception of author J.K.Rowling’s public statements is that she espouses transphobic rhetoric.
This hit a lot of trans fans hard, knowing that their favourite author doesn’t accept them, and they may not belong in her world.

Enter Harley, otherwise known as Breadwitchery – the co-founder of the collaborative Tabletop RPG channel here

Harley, a nonbinary gamer put together a plan which involved the use of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

W&W is a Powered by the Apocalypse RPG based in the PotterVerse and completely free to download, with no money required at any point. GM Wacksteven has assured people that the system and setting will remain absolutely free as well, so the author will make no money from it whatsoever.

Thus, the Fifth House was born!

Stories Told’s own campaign set in Hogwarts, and set in the Wizarding World, but devoid of the problematic attitudes and material which fans have discovered lie at the centre of the books they grew up with.

Harley still faced a few challenges, because despite Witchcraft & Wizardry being free this campaign would have an audience and that would still feed into the author’s popularity. Harley was transparent about this, posting on the Stories Told Patreon.

Harley outlined the reasons for the campaign and was extremely upfront about it, noting that the cast of the show would be primarily trans people and People of Color. It became obvious to people that Harley’s heart was in the right place, and this was designed to fight back against Rowling as well as declare a love for Harry Potter as a whole – not the author herself.

“We’re using it as a personal reclamation and basatardization of the narrative and it’s very much like we’re trying to reclaim this for our nostalgia, and we think it’s funny if it’s a bunch of nonbinary people trotting around in the world.” Said Harley.

At the same time the Fifth House campaign ran, there was also a fundraiser for Mermaids UK. An organisation dedicated to helping transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse individuals. This was another spark of rebellion from Harley, and would fly in the face of everything that Rowling would hate.

Plus, the campaign raised over $1,300 for the cause over run of five episodes!

There was also one amusing twist, one that we really love here, and it only happened during the End of Year speech. It was subtle, and the GM pulled it off extremely well according to Harley – the cast loved it.

The villain of the season turned out to be someone who had helped create Hogwarts, but in the end turned out to be a despicable and pretty horrible person.

J.K.Rowling might be the person who created Hogwarts and the Wizarding World, but to see a favorite author seem to deny that you have the right to exist, is pretty disheartening and doubly so, when Rowling herself doubles-down in public.

For many Harry Potter became a beacon of acceptance, change, and had a massive trans following prior to Rowling’s public reveal of her stance regarding trans rights. Now, there are trans fans still of her work, but the author’s fall from grace has ensured her legacy won’t be fondly remembered and has lit the spark of rebellion in people like Harley, who create such wonders as the Fifth House.

The good news for fans of this show? A second season is confirmed and the cast will ride their broomsticks once more!