Elizabeth Warren Appears in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Photo via Twitter. / Illustration by Kyle Scott Clauss

It’s a busy time for Harry Potter fans. Between the upcoming premiere of the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the accompanying stories about American wizarding magic, and the sequel play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, there’s been plenty for fans to dissect. One particular fan might be especially pleased: our very own senator, Elizabeth Warren.

Fans of both Massachusetts politics and the world of HP might be taken by surprise when the senator’s name pops up in the script.

The story is full of cameos from much-loved Harry Potter characters, including some who don’t survive the books, some who do, and some who are stuck, well, somewhere in between. In the play, Albus Potter, the titular cursed child and Harry’s son, and Scorpius Malfoy, his best friend and Draco Malfoy’s son, encounter the famously emotional ghost Moaning Myrtle. Being somewhat insensitive teens, they refer to her by her nickname, and she angrily corrects them by pointing out her full name: Myrtle Elizabeth Warren. As she puts it, “a pretty name—my name—no need for the moaning.”

It’s actually not the first time this has come up. A fan asked Rowling on Twitter in May of 2015 what Moaning Myrtle’s full name was, and she answered, then quickly clarified that it had nothing to do with the senator. Still, given Warren’s desire to be a professor at the American Hogwarts, Ilvermorny, we can’t blame her if she’s enjoying her shoutout, unintentional though it might be.

.@pableshiff @HotmHayles @lankytwat ‘What’s a good middle name of the period?’ Then, the moment I’d committed myself, I thought: uh oh 🙂

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 11, 2015