'Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery' Year 5 Begins Today

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery gets a major update today, and invites players to come back to Hogwarts for their most important year of classes and adventures yet! Year 5 is officially under way, so pack those trunks, grab your Owl, and grab your O.W.L. study materials. You have so much to do!

"Year 5 is a pivotal year for any student at Hogwarts, with the O.W.L. exams looming, new professors to navigate, and for some, a prefect badge on their robes," said Amanda Heaton, Executive Producer at Jam City. "We wanted to reflect the rigors of this year in the mobile game, balanced of course, with the core extra-curricular activity at Hogwarts: unraveling mysterious with your school mates. Year 5 brings the most robust year of content yet to the game, and we're excited for players to start this new chapter."

There's a lot going on here, and depending on how much time you've poured into Hogwarts Mystery so far, you may get to enjoy certain privileges only available to prefects. That's right! Percy Weasely would be so proud. You, too, could attain that coveted Prefect's badge and earn entry into the exclusive Prefect's bathroom. I know it's not real, y'all, but I'm so excited about this. I've wanted to go into the Prefect's bathroom for over a decade now. This is the kind of vicarious experience I've been craving.

Here's a quick overview of the goings on at Hogwarts this year:

• Preparations for the all-important O.W.L (Ordinary Wizarding Level) exams, much like the Muggle-world's SATs

• New Defense Against The Dark Arts class (what mystery professor will join the ranks of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors like Lupin, Umbridge and Mad Eye Moody?)

• Players who successfully completed the Prefect quest in year 4 will receive their Prefect badge, to be worn on their robes once they enter Year 5 and take on the coveted responsibilities of the role

This morning's press release also gave us a little more information about the (mis)adventures upon which you can expect to embark once you get settled into your classes:

"As Year 5 unfolds, players will head into new territory - and mischief - exploring decidedly dodgy areas like Knockturn Alley. Back on school grounds, players will learn from new professors like the lauded, but legendarily long-winded History of Magic Professor, Cuthbert Binns and the identity of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be revealed. Outside of classes, players will cross paths with more members of the Weasley clan and other familiar characters from the Wizarding World."

If you haven't started playing yet, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is free, and you can download it right now on iOS or Android. You have a lot of catching up to do, but that just means that there's a ton of new content waiting for you, so head on over to platform nine-and-three-quarters and start making some magic, y'all.