Harry Potter fans are going to have a wizard time during lockdown thanks to author JK Rowling who has made Stephen Fry’s audio-book version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone available online free of charge.

Ipswich Star: Harry Potter and the Phillospher's Stone - JK RowlingHarry Potter and the Phillospher's Stone - JK Rowling (Image: Archant)

In addition to the novel – the first in the Harry Potter series – there will also be a range of Harry Potter entertainment available and resources for parents and teachers as well.

The resources will be collected together under the banner Harry Potter At Home here.

To access The Philosopher’s Stone free, you’ll need to head to Audible (Amazon’s audiobook platform) search for Harry Potter and press play. For those wanting to read the ebook, it will be available through OverDrive, which is an ebook platform which manages loans through libraries. You need to be a member of a library that uses OverDrive, but that includes many public and school libraries.

Author JK Rowling is hoping that her free Hogwarts Hub will spread a little joy to families as the lockdown stretches into the early summer. “I hope these initiatives will give children and even adults a happy distraction during their enforced stay-at-home time,” she said.

Ipswich Star: Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the part of Harry Potter, is shown in a scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Photo: Warner Bros/IMDBDaniel Radcliffe, who plays the part of Harry Potter, is shown in a scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Photo: Warner Bros/IMDB

“The teachers, parents and carers working to keep children’s lives as normal and happy as possible while we’re all on lockdown deserve a bit of magic.”

For teachers, J K Rowling has already granted an open licence (until the end of July) for teachers to read the Harry Potter novels to children via educational platforms, essentially meaning that the normal copyright conditions in those circumstances don’t apply.

As time goes on further treats will be unveiled on the Harry Potter At Home platform and various activities will be offered on WizardingWorld.com so there will be plenty for Potter fans to keep themselves entertained with.