Jk Rowling has leapt to the defence of Harry Potter fans who claim they’ve been banned from a wand shop in Huddersfield because they are not real wizards.

Early last week, a story broke in The Independent in which Richard Carter, the owner of Mystical Moments that supplies handmade wands among other things, was quoted as saying: “Harry Potter is for children”, and that “if I had someone come in wanting a wand just because they liked Harry Potter I would not sell them one, no matter how much they were offering.”

JK RowlingJK Rowling has intervened in the wand-shop dispute

“You wouldn’t believe how many real witches and wizards there are knocking about. You would be amazed,” Carter continued. “They know they can come here and reveal themselves without people thinking they’re mental. I don’t have customers who have been Harry Potterfied.”

Rowling, 51, has now decided to get involved with the dispute by tweeting the link to the original article on Sunday (August 14th) with her own comment: “Oh yeah? Well, I don’t think they’re real wands.”

It was instantly liked more than 15,000 times, but some people criticised the Scottish-born author for making fun of pagan religions with the comment.

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For his part, Carter has since insisted that his original quotation was taken out of context, with The Sun even erroneously reporting that he had banned Potter fans from his shop.

“I said that if Harry Potter fans wanted a wand they should go on eBay because what they’re basically after is a toy. But I have not banned them from the shop,” he told the local newspaper the Huddersfield Daily Examiner in response this weekend.

“I have nothing against Harry Potter and actually liked the films. The wands I make, though, whether you believe it or not, are real and spiritual. If a Harry Potter fan came to the shop, whether they would be able to buy a wand would depend on why they want one. If for a toy, then no, but if they had watched Harry Potter and been inspired to start their own spiritual journey, then yes.”

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