An eighth Harry Potter book has been announced...sort of

The new book is being billed as The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later. but before you go getting your Hufflepuff-themed knickers in a twist, it’s worth pointing out that it’s actually the scripts for the upcoming stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II that are being published in book form, rather than a new prose novel.

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Either way, it’s still an exciting time to be a Harry Potter fan.

The book was announced by the Pottermore Twitter account and it’s described as "a new play based on an original new story by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany".

It’s being published by The Little, Brown Book Group and it’ll hit shops on 31 July, 2016.

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The stage play also officially opens at the Palace Theatre London in July, with previews starting in May. The show’s website now has an official synopsis too.

It confirms the story is set nineteen years after the events of The Deathly Hallows and centres on Harry’s son Albus.

"It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley will lead the cast as Harry, Hermione and Ron, with 30 more cast members still to be announced.

Tom Butler writes for Yahoo Movies UK

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