Harry potter and the sorcerers stone read aloud chapter 1

Celebrities are reading the first book of the Harry Potter series. Here's how you can listen along.

Is there any book series as uniquely and universally beloved as Harry Potter? We don’t think so. Across all age ranges and even around the world, Potterheads bond over their shared enjoyment of that fantastical world—and all the spectacular characters and creatures that populate it.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that many have turned to the Wizarding World as an escape from current events. (You can even take Hogwarts classes for free.) For those who’ve been sorted into their house and know the correct pronunciation of “wingardium leviosa,” we have good news: You can now listen to Daniel Radcliffe read the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Accio computer!

Put on your cloak and dust off your wand—and head over to The Wizarding World’s official website. There, you’ll be able to choose from two options: You can either watch a video of Radcliffe reading the book, or you can head over to Spotify for an audio-only version.

There’s no word yet on when the second chapter will be released, but there’s an all-star lineup of readers in the works. Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni, and Eddie Redmayne will all read different sections of the story. So you can either keep up with these segments as they’re released or do a “binge-read” later. Either way, there’s plenty of magic to be found.

Hogwarts at home

These readings are part of Harry Potter at Home, an initiative meant to “cast a banishing charm on boredom” while everyone’s in quarantine. The website allows offers users the chance to see what Hogwarts house the Sorting Hat would put them in, instructs them on how to make Hogwarts-themed bookmarks, and more. Make sure you listen for these details you probably missed the first time you read Harry Potter.

Story time! To save us all from quarantine-induced boredom, a magical line-up of celebrities have assembled to read the first of J.K. Rowling's wildly popular Harry Potter novels in its entirety. Each chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will be read aloud by somebody new each week, starting off with the boy wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character in Warner Bros' adaptations of all seven books from 2001 to 2011.

Head over to the Harry Potter at Home site to watch the first video, in which Radcliffe reads the very first chapter in the saga, which also happened to give his character that longstanding nickname: "The Boy Who Lived."

Subsequent chapter readings will be performed by actors who have also had roles in the franchise, including Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, who plays Newt Scamander in the prequels Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Noma Dumesweni, who played a grown-up version of Hermione Granger in the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Claudia Kim, who played Nagini in The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Stephen Fry, who narrated the audiobooks of all seven Harry Potter novels when they were first released.

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Harry Potter at Home | Wizarding World

Other famous faces who will be taking part and reading different chapters include British soccer legend David Beckham, who looks every inch the narrator in a trailer for the series, wearing his Hogwarts scarf and sitting comfortably next to a roaring fire, and actress Dakota Fanning.

Each of the book's 17 chapters will be released on a weekly basis, and will also be available to stream in audio format on Spotify.

Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.