Matias said translating the “Harry Potter” books was a no-brainer. “It’s a bestseller,” he said in Filipino. “I couldn’t let it pass me by without trying to translate it. We have Lampara, which caters to children and personally it’s one of my favorites.”

Even though many Filipinos have already bought and read the “Harry Potter” books in English, Matias said he believes there’s an audience for the Filipino translations. “I think there are many who want to read this in Filipino. It’s easier to understand in our own language.”

Matias first approached “Harry Potter” publisher Scholastic about a possible translation at the London Book Fair last year, then hunted down the contact details of Rowling’s new management. “It was a bit difficult,” Matias admitted, but his hard work paid off when he signed a contract for the translation of “Sorcerer’s Stone” in March, 2013.

Bravo said she kept it in her mind not to change the tone of Rowling’s original text. “If Rowling could write in Filipino, how would she translate her own words in ‘Sorcerer’s Stone,’” she said to herself. She insisted “the names of the characters, names of the spells and quite a number of English terms used in the original had to be retained.” The title alone was a good example, as Bravo did not want either “Si Harry Potter at ang Sorcerer’s Stone” or “Si Harry Potter at ang Bato ng Mangkukulam.” That’s why they kept words like “witch” and “wizard.”

Bravo said “it would never do to refer to Harry and Ron as ‘mangkukulam’ or to Hermione as a ‘bruha.’” Matias was with her every step of the way, working toward a reader-friendly version. Harry is now “ang batang nabuhay” and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is now “Alam-Mo-Na-Kung-Sino.”

The first paragraph now read: “Ipininagmamalaki nina Mr. at Mrs. Dursley ng number four,

Privet Drive na normal sila. Sila ang huling mga taong iisipin mong masasangkot sa kahit anong bagay na kakatwa o misteryoso, dahil hindi sila pumapayag sa ganoong klaseng kalokohan.”