Mischief managed? J.K. Rowling shot down any critics who sniffed at a black actress being cast as Hermione Granger in the sequel play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," which picks up the story from after we left the now adult trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the flash-forward of "Deathly Hallows."

Rowling first re-tweeted news about the play's casting:


Here's the start of Pottermore's story:

Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley will lead the cast as Harry, Hermione and Ron when Cursed Child opens in London's west end next summer. J.K. Rowling told Pottermore: 'I'm so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I can't wait to see Jamie, Noma and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermione and Ron to life on stage next summer.'"

But then Rowling -- and the "Harry Potter" film cast -- were inundated with questions on how they felt about a non-white Hermione.

Here's Rowling's response:


That is now Rowling's Pinned Tweet. And quoting text to support your argument is very Hermione of her! Rowling also tweeted casting defense from Matthew Lewis, aka the film's Neville Longbottom:


There were also questions about this Ron being ginger enough, but apparently ginger is a state of mind. Here's one argument:


However, there are now fans literally highlighting text of Harry Potter books to somehow prove that Hermione was meant to be a white girl:


Other fans are offering the logical defense that she could be going "white as a sheet" as the expression goes, when someone is terrified. But some people will inevitably see this as "PC" and "social justice" and "the end of the world" because it's not what they're used to, even if the author herself loves it. Solution: Don't go see the play!

Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.