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As true Harry Potter fans, we want to know every last detail about our beloved series. Here you will find some of those tiniest details from the entire Potter canon – including minor facts not mentioned in the series, notes from Rowling's early drafts, slight mistakes, and much more.
Expanded Canon
Expanded Canon
This is a collection of facts that Rowling has revealed outside of the books, in various interviews and on her website over the years. For a collection of the information revealed on the Pottermore website, visit our page here.
- Prefects can take points; Ron got it wrong in Order of the Phoenix, which makes him a pretty poor prefect, eh?
- Fred and George Weasley were born on April Fools' day (no joke).
- Ginny Weasley's first name is Ginevra, and she is the first female Weasley born for "several generations."
- Arthur Weasley has two brothers.
- Molly Weasley's maiden name is Prewett. Gideon and Fabian Prewett were indeed Molly's brothers. Molly even gives Fabian's watch to Harry for his seventeenth birthday. Their deaths do provide some explanation and excuse for some of Mrs. Weasley's fears and her overprotective stance towards Harry.
- Crookshanks is half Kneazle.
- Dean Thomas's father was killed by Death Eaters when he refused to join them. Neither Dean nor his mother know.
- Hagrid, Lily, and James were in Gryffindor. (Hagrid was NOT in Hufflepuff.)
- Hogwarts has about a thousand students. (True, that number doesn't seem right, but JKR said so and she's the boss.)
- James Potter was a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team (although the movie claimed he was a Seeker).
- The Hogwarts teachers do not stay at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays. However, Filch, Hagrid, and Dumbledore do.
- A few of the Hogwarts professors have spouses.
- To remove the tail that Hagrid gave Dudley in the hut on the rock, the Dursleys went to a private hospital where the staff were very discreet, and said that a wart had gone out of control.
- Dragons can't be domesticated, no matter what Hagrid thinks.
- James Potter inherited lots of money and didn't need a well-paying profession.
- James Potter inherited the Invisibility Cloak from his father.
- Witches and wizards have longer lifespans than Muggles.
- The Gringotts goblins return the Muggle money they acquire back into circulation.
- The approximate value of a galleon is about five pounds ($7.30 or 8.00 Euro), though the exchange rate varies.
- Dumbledore is 150, McGonagall is 70 (and is really an old softy; she just doesn't act like it), Snape is 35 or 36.
- The happiest people do not become ghosts. (Therefore, we can assume that ghosts are people that died while sad, angry, etc.; Myrtle was teased.)
- The animal that an Animagus turns into is a reflection on his/her personality.
- For Hagrid, keeping dangerous creatures is all about overcoming something that could kill him.
- Azkaban is in a sea north of the North Sea. A very cold sea.
- You can do unfocused and uncontrolled magic without a wand (like when Harry blows up Aunt Marge), but to perform really good spells, you need a wand.
- Muggle education is not required for wizard children prior to attending Hogwarts.
- A magical quill detects the birth of every magical child and records it in a book, and Professor McGonagall sends an owl to each child when he or she turns eleven.
- Sirius was "around twenty-two" years old when he was sent to Azkaban.
- Mrs. Norris is not an unregistered Animagus, but an intelligent (and unpleasant) cat. (To our knowledge, JKR has not specified if she is part Kneazle like Crookshanks.)
- JKR sees Neville and Luna as very different people. She says that, although they share a certain isolation within the walls of Hogwarts, this wasn't enough to foster true love. They may be friends but "Neville would always find Luna's wilder flights of fancy alarming."
- If a teacher is head of a Hogwarts house, they were in that house; that goes for ghosts as well.
- Fred and George never noticed Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map because they didn't know who he was. Even if they had recognized his name, they would have assumed he was just a student with the same last name. Pettigrew was one of many moving dots on the map, and Fred and George would have only been focused on the path their mischief took that day.
- Colin Creevey's Muggle camera worked because it was "running off the magical atmosphere," and his photographs were developed "in the magical potion that causes the figures therein to move."
- House-elves are different from wizards; they have their own brand of magic, and the ability to appear and disappear within the castle is necessary to them if they are to go about their work unseen, as house-elves traditionally do.
- When Aunt Petunia said Lily turned teacups into rats, she was exaggerating a little, although "just like her son, Lily was not averse to testing the limits of the Statute of Secrecy, so you can safely assume she will have had a few warning letters – nothing too serious, though."
- Wizards can make themselves untraceable, which is why they can't be found simply by sending and following owls.
- Veritaserum is not used in criminal trials because it works best on "the unsuspecting, the vulnerable, and those insufficiently skilled (in one way or another) to protect themselves against it." Veritaserum is not infallible.
- Dumbledore did not request the school song since Book 1 because he has not felt as "buoyant;" times were getting darker.
- When the Marauder's Map insulted Snape, Prongs was not writing the insult, but it was like he had left a magical recording of his voice in the map.
- Most wizard children are home educated before Hogwarts because they cannot be trusted to keep their magical abilities hidden from Muggle schoolmates.
- None of the pure-blood families are actually "pure" – they merely cross Muggles and Squibs off the family tree. The number of families who can claim to be pure is diminishing as they are finding it increasingly difficult to perpetuate themselves.
- Nymphadora Tonks was in Hufflepuff House, while Moaning Myrtle was in Ravenclaw.
- Theodore Nott has been raised by an elderly widower and a Death Eater father. He is a clever loner who does not need to join gangs — including Malfoys.
Early Drafts and Other Ideas
Early Drafts and Other Ideas
- The infamous Weasley cousin who was cut from Goblet of Fire was named Mafalda; she was in Slytherin. She was edited out of the books in favor of Rita Skeeter.
- Dean Thomas was named Gary in the first drafts of Sorcerer's Stone.
- Dean Thomas had an involved backstory in Chamber of Secrets, but his plot was sacrificed for Neville's — which is more central to the overall plot.
- Fred and George's names did not come from the twins in Gone with the Wind; they were chosen to fit with the old-fashioned names of their brothers. Ron was created first, then Rowling invented his brothers and sister.
- Hedwig's name was taken from St. Hedwig, which Rowling found in a book of medieval saints years ago.
- Rowling has discarded a scene (twice, in CoS and GoF) where Theodore Nott goes to the Malfoys' home to visit Draco. Rowling said she liked this scene because it showed the Malfoys' home, thus the difference between where Draco and Harry grew up. She also liked it because "We rarely see Draco talking to anybody he considers a real equal, and he is forced to see Theodore as such because Theodore is just as pure-blooded as he is and somewhat cleverer. Together these two Death Eaters' sons discuss Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts and Harry Potter, with all sorts of stories that the Death Eaters tell about how this baby boy survived the Dark Lord's attack."
- There were several discarded opening chapters for Book 1, one of which had a Muggle betraying the Potters; one had a character called Pyrites, whose name means "fool's gold," meeting Sirius in front of the Potters' house. Pyrites was a servant of Voldemort. A very early draft of Book 1 mentions Argis Pyrites as the author of Alchemy, Ancient Art and Science.
- The very, very earliest drafts of Book 1 had the Potters living on a remote island and Hermione's dad seeing an explosion out at sea. He sailed out and found their bodies in the ruins of their house.
- Rowling came close to using a chapter very like the opening one of Book 6 in Book 1, Book 3, and Book 5, but it didn't fit properly until the Half-Blood Prince chapter "The Other Minister."
- Rowling removed a character named "Mopsy the dog-lover" from Book 4; this character lived near Hogsmeade and took Sirius in. Instead, Sirius stayed in a cave.
- Hermione's original surname was Puckle, but it didn't suit her.
- Gilderoy Lockhart is the only character that she has consciously modeled after someone she has met. Gilderoy Lockhart is not based upon Rowling's first husband.
- West Ham is the only soccer club ever mentioned in the books; this is in honor of one her oldest friends, who supports them.
- The Irish Quidditch players are named after people Rowling has known.
- Draco's last name was originally Spungen.
- When Rowling was planning Prisoner of Azkaban, Arithmancy Professor Vector's first name was given as Septima, but Rowling also considered Pi and Digit.
- There was originally a professor named Mopsus who taught Divination.
- Umbridge's first name was originally Elvira, not Dolores.
- The Order of the Phoenix was originally the name of the student group Hermione and Harry started, not Dumbledore's Army. Dumbledore's Army was originally the name of the adults-only Death Eater resistance group, not The Order of the Phoenix.
- In an early draft of Order of the Phoenix, the person visiting Bode at St. Mungo's on Christmas Eve was the Death Eater Macnair.
- Grawp was originally Hagrid's cousin.
- In this image of Rowling's plans for characters, it shows that Professor Sinistra's name was Aurelia (later referred to as Aurora) and Professor Binns was given the name Cuthbert. This was also the first time we saw Pomona Sprout's first name. Peter Pettigrew was planned to be DADA professor in Book 4, and his name was originally Erid Pettigrew. Erid Pettigrew was also listed as possibly teaching Divination. Sinistra was listed as a possible DADA professor, and Oakden Hernshaw was listed at the DADA professor for Book 5.
- Two names were also considered for the DADA professor in Book 5: Mylor Silvanus and Oakden Hobday (not Umbridge).
- This ballad originally appeared in the Chamber of Secrets manuscript. It was cut in the editing process, but appeared on J.K. Rowling's official website. In 1992, in around his five-hundreth Deathday, the ghost of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington authored a ballad titled "The Ballad of Nearly Headless Nick" explaining why he was sentenced to beheading and how his head had (nearly) come off in a botched execution:
It was a mistake any wizard could make,
Who was tired and caught on the hop,
One piffling error, and then, to my terror,
I found myself facing the chop.
Alas for the eve when I met Lady Grieve,
A-strolling the park in the dusk!
She was of the belief I could straighten her teeth,
Next moment she'd sprouted a tusk.
I cried through the night that I'd soon put her right,
But the process of justice was lax;
They'd brought out the block, though they'd mislaid the rock,
Where they usually sharpened the axe.
Next morning at dawn, with a face most forlorn,
The priest said to try not to cry,
"You can come just like that; no, you won't need a hat,"
And I knew that my end must be nigh.
The man in the mask who would have the sad task,
Of cleaving my head from my neck,
Said "Nick, if you please, will you get to your knees,"
And I turned to a gibbering wreck.
"This may sting a bit," said the cack-handed twit,
As he swung the axe up in the air,
But oh the blunt blade! No difference it made,
My head was still definitely there.
The axeman he hacked and he whacked and he thwacked,
"Won't be too long," he assured me,
But quick it was not, and the bone-headed clot,
Took forty-five goes 'til he floored me.
And so I was dead, but my faithful old head,
It never saw fit to desert me,
It still lingers on, that's the end of my song,
And now, please applaud, or you'll hurt me.
Book Mistakes
Book Mistakes
Note that mistakes could differ between the US and UK editions, and that many mistakes were corrected in later editions, thus they may not exist in your own copy.
- CoS
- PoA
- GoF
- OotP
- It mentions that the snake in the zoo winked at Harry. Harry can't be blamed for being so surprised, as snakes don't have movable eyelids.
- When Hagrid comes and gets Harry out of the little hut on the rock, they use the boat that the Dursleys used earlier to get to the rock. So how do the Dursleys get off the rock?
- On Harry's equipment list in the letter from Hogwarts, "1 wand" is listed twice. This was corrected quickly and only appears in the earlier versions.
- Harry's letter from Hogwarts says he may bring a cat, an owl, or a toad, but Ron brings his rat, Scabbers.
- Arguable: When Hagrid brought Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time, Harry heard a woman say "Seventeen sickles an ounce for Dragon Liver. They're mad." But Hagrid told Harry that there were seventeen sickles in a galleon, so that would be like saying "100 pennies" instead of a dollar. Think of it this way: If the Dragon Liver weighed three pounds, a galleon (or for our purposes, a dollar) per ounce is quite a lot of money.
- Harry buys the book One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, but later in the book it says that Harry looked up "dittany" in One Hundred Magical Herbs and Fungi.
- When Harry looked up at the Sorting Hat's stool, there were only three people left to be sorted. Professor McGonagall calls the names of four more people instead.
- In the chapter "The Sorting Hat," Nearly Headless Nick says that he hasn't eaten in "nearly four hundred years;" but in the second book, Harry goes to Nick's 500th Deathday Party, meaning that Nearly Headless Nick has been dead for 500 years, not 400.
- It says that Hermione lent Harry Quidditch Through the Ages: "She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read." On page 46, paragraph three of QTTA, it says: "The most successful Japanese team, The Toyohashi Tengu, narrowly missed a win over Lithuania's Gorodok gargoyles in 1994." However, Harry borrows QTTA in Book 1, which is set in 1991.
- Fred says: "We haven't won [the Quidditch Cup] since Charlie left…" However, according to JKR, Charlie is three years older than Percy (who is in his fifth year at the time), so Charlie should still have been in Hogwarts the year before. This makes Fred's statement as: "We haven't won since last year!"
- "Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room… The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared…" But soon after, it says: "They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight…" So are they cutting class to discuss Norbert?
- The trio, who are coming from Gryffindor Tower, go up two flights of stairs to get to the third floor. Gryffindor Tower is on the seventh floor, so they should have gone down, not up.
- At the beginning of the chess match, Ron is the knight in the giant chess set. However, it later says that he had to "move ahead one" so that the queen could take him, opening the path for Harry to checkmate the king. If he was a knight, he could only move 1) ahead one, sideways two, or 2) ahead two, sideways one, like an "L."
- Dumbledore said that he and Hermione's owl crossed in mid-air. However, later Hermione said that they ran into Dumbledore on the way to the Owlery to send him the owl.
- Ron says: "Well Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle." But the castle is next to the knight, not the bishop.
- The day of Harry's birthday, Rowling says, "And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry…" but they had actually written before Harry's eleventh birthday. He'd been receiving them before, but he just never had the chance to read one. So technically he had been written to before his eleventh birthday.
- It states that Nearly Headless Nick "took several deep breaths, and then said, in a far calmer tone, 'So what's bothering you?'" However, in GoF, Myrtle says that ghosts do not breathe: "When I can't …when I haven't…not for ages…"
- "Several (freshly caught Cornish pixies) shot through the window, showering the back row with broken glass." The glass would have splintered outward, not back into the classroom.
- It states, "…Harry was dragging his feet along the second floor corridor to Lockhart's office. He gritted his teeth and knocked." However, after Mrs. Norris is found petrified on the second floor, Lockhart urges Professor Dumbledore to use his office to examine her, saying that it is just upstairs. That would mean that his office is on the third floor, not the second.
- (Note: This mistake applies only to the US edition.) When Professor McGonagall took Harry to Professor Dumbledore's office, the password was "Lemon drop." But then in the fourth book when he's going to tell Dumbledore about Mr. Crouch in the forest, it says: "…five minutes later he was hurtling towards a stone gargoyle standing halfway along an empty corridor. 'Sher-sherbet lemon,' he panted at it. This was the password to the hidden staircase to Dumbledore's office – or at least it had been two years ago."
- The chapter picture in the US edition for "The Rogue Bludger" shows Harry's left arm deboned. But in the story, his right arm has been deboned.
- At the end of the book, Dumbledore tells Harry that Lord Voldemort is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin. But it should say that Lord Voldemort is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
- On the last page where it gives a preview of the next book, it reads: "Harry Potter has to sneak back to his third year at Hogwarts after accidentally inflating his horrible Aunt Petunia." It should say that he inflated his Aunt Marge, and that he did not have to sneak back.
- The cover of Prisoner of Azkaban (US edition) clearly depicts the night that Harry and Hermione save Sirius and Buckbeak. That night is also supposed to be a full moon, as stated in the book. However, on the back side of the cover, the moon appears to be crescent when it should be a full moon.
- It states that Harry is being waited on by the manager of Flourish and Blotts. The manager takes him to the Divination section and takes down Unfogging the Future. However, after Harry is fixated on the Death Omens book, the manager is suddenly referred to as the "assistant."
- When Mr. Weasley is arguing with Mrs. Weasley at the Leaky Cauldron, he says: "You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves – they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice!" Ron has only been in the Forbidden Forest once – to see Aragog in CoS.
- It states that "Harry and Ron led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty. They loaded the trunks onto it, stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the luggage rack, then went back outside…" Later, it states: "Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train. This one had only one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window." They had just put their belongings into an empty compartment, so they didn't need to look for another. Later, it states: "A faint, tinny sort of whistle was coming from somewhere. They looked all around the compartment. 'It's coming from your trunk, Harry,' said Ron, standing up and reaching into the luggage rack." Their trunks couldn't have been in that compartment as they had stowed them in another one.
- It says: "Harry felt strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch." Later, however, it says: "Harry began to fumble with the rope tying Buckbeak to the fence." Here, Buckbeak is tied to a fence, not a tree.
- Throughout the series, the future Hufflepuff prefect is referred to as "Ernie Macmillan." However, in PoA, his last name is spelled "McMillan."
- It says in Chapter 13 that all of the players on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team ride on Cleansweep Sevens. However, later it states that Wood told Harry that Cho Chang (Ravenclaw Seeker) rides a Comet Two Sixty.
- It says that after his exam with Professor Trelawney, "Harry got up, picked up his bag and turned to go." But when Professor Trelawney began her prediction, the book then says: "Her eyes started to roll. Harry sat there in a panic." How could Harry be sitting when it states that he got up right before Professor Trelawney began her prediction?
- It says: "Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it." But then when Professor Lupin comes in, it says: "His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor." This cannot be, as Ron is lying on the bed.
- When the group is exiting the Whomping Willow, it states: "Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Hermione and Harry to pass." But then after Harry and Hermione turned back time and are watching their other selves, "They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione… then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry and Black." The order is different. The first time, it's Snape, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius. The second time, it's Hermione, Snape, Harry, and Sirius.
- "Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar." This allows Harry and Hermione to hear the conversation inside. Then later it says: "Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang." How can it open again, since it was never closed?
- Dumbledore was Transfiguration teacher before he was Headmaster, and Remus Lupin was born in/around 1960 (in OotP, Snape is 35 or 36, so we can make an estimate on Remus's age in PoA from that). Now in PoA, Lupin says, "I was a very small boy when I received the [werewolf] bite," and on the next page says, "It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts… But then Dumbledore became Headmaster…" and of course, Dumbledore allowed Remus to attend Hogwarts. Now, skip ahead to OotP. In the chapter "The Hogwarts High Inquisitor," McGonagall says she has been teaching at Hogwarts for "thirty-nine years this December." Assuming that McGonagall has always taught Transfiguration (never any other subject) at Hogwarts, and also assuming that at this point Remus would also be 35 or 36 (based on Snape's age), then Dumbledore would have been Headmaster for at least three years before Remus was born. So why did Remus say he wouldn't have been able to attend Hogwarts if Dumbledore hadn't become Headmaster after Remus was bitten?
- Slytherin Marcus Flint was stated to be a sixth year in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, yet he was still at the school in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (two years after his debut). J.K. Rowling admitted that this was a mistake, but gave it an explanation by saying that he had to repeat his last year due to failing his exams.
- In Chapter 16, the schedule for exams is given, and Ron and Harry ask Hermione how she is going to be in two exams at once. The thing is, for the first round of exams it is Arithmancy and Transfiguration together, and then the second round of exams includes Charms and Study of Ancient Runes. If Transfiguration and Charms are core courses, it would be impossible to include the optional courses at the same time, which means that Hermione would not have been the only student with schedule conflicts.
- When Harry is writing to Sirius about the pain in his scar, it says he was "marveling at the fact that he hadn't thought of Sirius straight away. But then, perhaps it wasn't so surprising – after all, he had only found out that Sirius was his godfather two months ago." Harry actually found out that Sirius was his godfather about eight months before, on that day in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
- It states that Ron, Harry, and Hermione had entered Ron's room, which is here called the "attic room." However, later it states at the bottom that one of the sounds that could be heard from Ron's room was the ghoul "in the attic." How, then, could Ron's room be considered the attic room, when there is a ghoul living above that room in "the attic"?
- It reads, "Moody had insisted on putting Harry through his paces four times in a row, until Harry could throw off the curse entirely," referring to the Imperius Curse. However, later it says, "And Harry felt, for the third time in his life, the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought…" Wouldn't that be the fifth time instead of the third? (Possible Explanation: The first time that Harry's mind was wiped clean was at the Quidditch World Cup, and the times that Moody tested the Imperius Curse on Harry count as one time. Therefore, when Voldemort placed the curse on Harry, it was the third time he experienced the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought.)
- Krum tells Hermione that she has a beetle in her hair, "but Hermione brushed away the beetle impatiently." In Chapter 37 on the train after she had captured Rita Skeeter, Hermione says, "And Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair…" Hermione says Viktor pulled the beetle out, yet the book says that she brushed it away.
- In Chapter 35 ("Veritaserum") Dumbledore asks, "How did your father subdue you?" The book then states, "'The Imperius Curse,' Moody said." Yet the Polyjuice Potion has already worn off, and Barty Crouch, Jr. is speaking.
- Mrs. Weasley "reminisced at length about" Ogg, the gamekeeper before Hagrid. Hagrid was given the position right after he was expelled in his third year. Since this was over fifty years ago, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't remember another gamekeeper.
- Fudge says, "You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who… well…" Shouldn't he have said "You-Know-Who" or "He Who Must Not Be Named" like he usually does?
- When Harry and Voldemort's wands met and created the "Priori Incantatem," the ghosts of those that Voldemort killed came from his wand in reverse order, from Cedric until Lily. But she was supposed to come out before James, as she was killed last protecting Harry. This was changed in later editions.
- The cover of Order of the Phoenix (US edition) shows Harry in the Department of Mysteries holding his wand in his left hand. However, it is clearly stated that his right arm is his wand arm.
- On page 1, Harry is lying in Aunt Petunia's hydrangea bush, but later he recalls that "someone magical had been near him as he lay among Aunt Petunia's dying begonias…" (Possible Explanation: Aunt Petunia may have had a variety of plants and flowers in her garden.)
- It says: "Harry stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited." But lilacs grow on bushes, not trees.
- The description of 12 Grimmauld Place states: "The silver door knocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or letterbox." However, it clearly shows on the title page (the drawing of Snuffles exiting number twelve) that there is a keyhole (in the US edition).
- In Chapter 9 ("The Woes of Mrs. Weasley"), it says: "He pretended to be rummaging for something while Hermione crossed to the wardrobe and called Hedwig down. A few moments passed; Harry heard the door close but remained bent double, listening… He straightened up and looked behind him. Hermione and Hedwig had gone. Harry hurried across the room, closed the door…" But Harry had already heard the door close.
- Harry is able to see the Thestrals at the beginning of the book. It is later explained that you can see them after you have seen death. Harry had seen the death of his mother and possibly his father before he saw Cedric Diggory die, so why didn't he see the Thestrals before? (JKR's response: You can't see them until the death "sinks in.")
- It says: "The horse was there in front of him, gleaming solidly in the dim light issuing from the station windows behind them, vapor rising from its nostrils in the chilly night air." Before this line, Harry tells Ron that he can see the skeletal horses and Ron can't see them. However, even if Ron couldn't see the horses, he should have been able to see the vapor rising from nowhere.
- Ron groans about their schedule. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts…" Shortly after, Harry and his classmates suffer "an hour and a half's droning." Later, Snape informs the class that they have "an hour and a half" to complete their assignment. It was a regular History of Magic lesson, yet it lasted the same amount of time as double Potions.
- In Chapter 13 ("Detention with Dolores"), Professor Grubbly-Plank states: "I want a sketch from each of you with all body parts labeled by the end of the lesson." The inconsistencies are noticeable at the end of that class; for example, it says: "When the bell echoed distantly over the grounds, Harry rolled up his blood-stained Bowtruckle picture and marched off…" Then, Harry says that they all (specifically Ron and Hermione) have tons of homework, including to "finish the Bowtruckle drawing," and again it's mentioned later, and then again when Harry even skips lunch to finish it. Wasn't it due at the end of the original class, therefore not being homework?
- It says "…but Harry pulled out his Charms books and set to work on finishing his essay…" However, the excerpts from the Charms book have nothing to do with Charms – they sound like potion ingredients: "Therefore much used in Confusing and Befuddlement Droughts…" Then, after his conversation with Dobby, "He [Harry] bent and picked up his Potions book. He'd have to try and finish the essay tomorrow." It appears that Harry's Charms essay magically transformed into a Potions essay.
- In Chapter 22 ("St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries"), it says: "There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor." But the next paragraph reads: "'It's Fawkes's warning,' said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell." Dumbledore couldn't have caught the feather – it was already on the ground.
- In Chapter 24 ("Occlumency"), it says: "'That bossy woman up front 'oo got on with you, she's given us a little tip to move you up the queue. We're just going to let Madam Marsh off first, though–' There was more retching from downstairs, followed by a horrible spattering sound. 'She's not feeling 'er best.'" Nowhere did it say that they had heard retching, so why did it say "more retching"?
- The illustration in the US edition shows Fred and George flying into a night sky with a very full moon. However, it says: "Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset."
- In Chapter 29 ("Career Advice"), Professor McGonagall seems to make a mistake. She tells Harry that he will need a minimum of five NEWTs, but only four are listed: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions. What happened to the fifth subject?
- In Chapter 30 ("Grawp") at the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Quidditch match, it says: "They [Harry and Hermione] found seats in the topmost row of the stands." Later on, when Hagrid comes to take them to see Grawp, it says: "Apparently he [Hagrid] had squeezed his way all along the row behind." How can that be if Harry and Hermione were in the top row?
- In Chapter 31 ("OWLs"), when Harry is taking his practical Astronomy exam around midnight, the book says that he sees Orion and Venus from his position on the Astronomy Tower. However, Orion cannot be seen at night in the month of June in the northern hemisphere, and Venus can never be seen at midnight. (Thanks to Vicki for the tip!)
- While Harry is vanishing an iguana for his practical Transfiguration exam, the book says that Hannah Abbot "lost her head completely at the next table and somehow managed to multiply her ferret into a flock of flamingos…" However, on the previous page, we are shown that the students were called in in alphabetical order: "Parkinson, Pansy – Patil, Padma – Patil, Parvati – Potter, Harry." If they were all called alphabetically by last name, why are Abbot and Potter together?
- In Sorcerer's Stone, it says that Percy had a silver prefect badge. However, in Order of the Phoenix, it says that the prefects' badges are scarlet and gold.
- In Chapter 37, Harry is upset that he did not get the chance to ask Sirius if he thought Harry flew as well as his father, James, did. Meanwhile, in Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius had already discussed the similarities between Harry and James's flying as he was trying to declare his innocence when he told Harry, "…I journeyed north and slipped onto the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I'd been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry." Harry never would have needed to ask Sirius in Order of the Phoenix because Sirius had already told him in Prisoner of Azkaban.
- The cover illustration portrays Dumbledore with a normal-looking right hand, but the text makes it clear that it is Dumbledore's right hand and arm that are blackened and shriveled, and that are still in such condition at the precise moment depicted by the cover illustration.
- When Dumbledore and Harry enter Horace Slughorn's house, something "darkly red and glutinous was spattered over the wallpaper." Later, when asked what kind of blood it was, Slughorn explains: "On the walls? Dragon… My last bottle, and prices are sky-high at the moment." However, in OotP, when Hagrid finally returns in Chapter 20, he is nursing his bloodied face with a green-tinged steak of dragon meat. "He picked up the steak and slapped it over the left side of his face. Greenish blood trickled down into his beard as he gave a soft moan of satisfaction."
- Slughorn says: "One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis enough for twelve hours' luck. From dusk 'til dawn, you will be lucky in everything you attempt." But then later, Harry says: "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twenty-four hours' worth…"
- It states: "Malfoy looked rather as he had done the time Hermione had punched him in the face." However, in PoA, it says that Hermione "…had slapped Malfoy around the face with all the strength she could muster."
- In PoA, it states that: "The exam results came out on the last day of term." It continues: "Percy had got his top-grade NEWTs; Fred and George had scraped a handful of OWLs each." But in HBP, Dumbledore says that the OWL results are expected sometime later today – "today" meaning sometime during the summer holidays, and not while the students are still at Hogwarts. It is possible that the exam results aren't released at the same time every year.
- In HBP, Dumbledore states that Gryffindor's sword is the only relic left of Godric Gryffindor's – but the Sorting Hat belonged to Gryffindor as well.
- In the Jim Dale audiobook, it states near the end of Chapter 5 that Hermione got ten Outstandings. In the book, it is stated that Hermione received 9 Outstandings and 1 Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
- The Elder Wand was supposed to be unbeatable, but Dumbledore defeats Grindlewald to win it.
- In Chapter 9, Hermione, Ron, and Harry escape the Burrow to Tottenham Court Road where they are followed to a small, shabby cafe by two Death Eaters. The Death Eaters are hit by spells by Harry and Hermione, and they have to decide what to do with them. Harry suggests they just wipe their memories, and Hermione says she's never done this. But earlier in Chapter 6, Hermione explains that she has modified her parents' memories and sent them to Australia to keep them safe.
- Aunt Muriel states that she is 107 at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and talks about when Ariana Dumbledore died (pg. 153-158 US edition). Ariana died when Dumbledore must have been about 17 or 18, given that he had just gotten out of Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling says that Dumbledore was in his 150s when he died, which would have made Aunt Muriel much older than 107.
Things You May Have Missed
Things You May Have Missed
- CoS
- PoA
- GoF
- OotP
- Other
Mirror of Erised: Erised is "desire" spelled backwards, or how it would appear in a mirror. Also, the inscription reads "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," which, read in a mirror, reads, "I show not your face but your heart's desire."
They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could towards Peeves' shouts.
"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock and whispered, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked and the door swung open – they piled through it, shut it quickly and pressed their ears against it, listening. "Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." "Say 'please.'" "Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?" "Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.
Then, as you know, they turn around to face Fluffy, who is glaring at them and about to attack. They were inside that room for quite a while listening to Peeves and Filch before they turned around to see Fluffy. Why didn't Fluffy attack as soon as they entered the room? Possibly because of Peeves' singsong voice, which might have started putting Fluffy to sleep. Fluffy didn't start baring his teeth until after Filch and Peeves had left.
Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes – and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.
That sharp burst of pain did not come from Snape, but from Quirrell's turban, where Voldemort was "hiding." It should have been obvious after finishing the book, but for many of us, it wasn't!
After the students finish their exams and are lounging around by the lake, Harry gazes at an owl flying towards the school with a letter in its mouth. The letter that owl was carrying was the "urgent letter from the Ministry" that lured Dumbledore away from the school.
"Harry didn't see how he could – yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds."
As we find out later in the series, Severus Snape was a master at Legilimency and Occlumency. So yes! He can read minds and may have known that they had the stone.
When Harry first meets Snape, Snape asks Harry: "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Asphodel is a type of lily meaning "my regrets follow you to the grave." Wormwood means "absence" and symbolizes bitter sorrow. It is possible that he is basically saying "I bitterly regret Lily's death."
We've known ever since Sorcerer's Stone that Harry was going to be replaced as Seeker! At the beginning of the chapter right after Harry catches the Snitch in his mouth, Draco is making fun of Harry and saying how a "wide-mouthed tree frog is going to replace Harry as Seeker" next. This didn't exactly come true, but in Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge (the wide-mouthed tree frog – check all the toad references about her) bans him from the team, essentially replacing him with Ginny!
Dudley's friend, Piers Polkiss, shares his initials with Peter Pettigrew. Both are likened to rats. Piers is described as "a scrawny boy with a face like a rat" and Peter, an Animagus with the ability to turn into a rat, also had "something of the rat linger[ing] around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes."
In Borgin and Burkes: "Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left…"
This is the same vanishing cabinet Draco uses to allow Death Eaters into Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince. In HBP, it also says that while looking for a place to hide the Half-Blood Prince's potion book from Snape, Harry took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet.
"Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion. "Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco."
Again, Draco uses the Hand of Glory in Half-Blood Prince.
"Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed – Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date."
Yet again, Draco uses this cursed necklace in Half-Blood Prince. It is intended to be given to Dumbledore, but attacks the messenger, Katie Bell.
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trying to figure out what Tom Riddle did to get a trophy with his name on it: "Could've been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty OWLs or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favor…" Of course, Tom Riddle did kill Moaning Myrtle.
Dumbledore's office door has a griffin door-knocker… "Griffin-Door," get it? Could this have been Godric Gryffindor's office? Or is this because Dumbledore himself was a Gryffindor?
The Basilisk comes out of the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets, and the Dark Mark is a serpent coming out of the mouth of a skull.
When Harry gets in trouble with Filch for tracking mud into the school, it is Nearly Headless Nick who saves him by encouraging Peeves to drop a cabinet on the floors above. It is very possible that this is the same cabinet Draco repairs and uses to allow Death Eaters into Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince.
When Harry and Hermione are using the Time-Turner, Rowling writes in extremely subtle things that occurred the first time around, such as Harry and Hermione having to hide in a closet from themselves.
Chapter 11, "The Firebolt": "GET-HIM-OUT-OF-HERE!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks's claws ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling with pain. Crookshank's fur suddenly stood on the end. A shrill, tinny whistling was filling the room. The Pocket Sneakoscope had become dislodged from Uncle Vernon's old socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor."
At first, we think that it was Crookshanks that made the Sneakoscope whistle. But later on in the story, we find out that Peter Pettigrew (aka Scabbers) was causing it as he attempted to escape off of Ron's shoulder.
Sirius Black slashed the Fat Lady's portrait with a knife. Later, he stood over Ron "holding a knife." Could this be the same knife that Sirius gives Harry as a present in OotP?
After Harry sends the food package off to Sirius, he sees an eagle owl with a note in its mouth soar past Hagrid's cabin toward the castle. That eagle owl was carrying Voldemort's order to Barty Crouch, Jr. that he should stop Barty Crouch, Sr., who had escaped, at all costs.
Should I go and get someone?" said Harry. "Madam Pomfrey?" "No," said Dumbledore swiftly. "Stay here." He raised his wand into the air and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Harry saw something silvery dart out of it and streak away through the trees like a ghostly bird.
And then a couple of paragraphs down:
The sound of thunderous footfalls reached them, and Hagrid came panting into sight with Fang at his heels. He was carrying his crossbow.
Dumbledore sent a Patronus, a phoenix, and this is the way that the Order communicates with each other.
Hermione pounds up beetles in Potions class while wondering how Rita Skeeter knew that Viktor Krum had asked her to visit him over the summer.
Ron and Harry sit making up predictions for Trelawney's class. If you read the book enough times, you start to realize that the predictions are more like foreshadowings. Ron suggests to Harry that he should write down that Harry gets stabbed in the back by someone he thought was a friend. That comes true when Ron gets mad at Harry for becoming a champion. Then, Ron says that he'll come off worse in a fight. Later, Hermione and Ron fight about the Yule Ball, and Harry thought that Hermione had gotten the point much better than Ron had. Harry said that Ron would lose a treasured possession, and the gold he gave to Harry for the Omnioculars disappeared. Later, Hermione came up after Harry and Ron were finishing their predictions and observes that Ron seems to be drowning twice. For the second Triwizard task, Ron and Hermione are placed at the bottom of the lake, and Harry thinks that they'll drown if he doesn't get them out.
Harry and Cedric take a Portkey into the graveyard, where there is a large yew tree near Tom Riddle, Sr.'s grave. When Harry gets his first wand in PS/SS, Ollivander reveals to Harry that Voldemort's wand is made of yew.
On page 11, Voldemort says to Wormtail – "I will allow you to perform a task for me [that] many of my followers would give their right hands to perform." Later in the book this proves true — Wormtail literally gives up his right hand. -Thanks, Kay!
The number that Mr. Weasley punches into the telephone to get into the Ministry of Magic, 62442, spells "MAGIC" on the phone pad.
In Chapter 2, when Harry is trying to explain what has happened to Dudley, he mentions Dementors and we find out that Aunt Petunia knows what they are:
"And what the ruddy hell are Dementors?" [Uncle Vernon said.] "They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban," said Aunt Petunia. Two seconds of ringing silence followed these words before Aunt Petunia clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had let slip a disgusting swear word. Uncle Vernon was goggling at her. Harry's brain reeled. Mrs. Figg was one thing – but Aunt Petunia? "How d'you know that?" he asked her, astonished. Aunt Petunia looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Uncle Vernon in fearful apology, then lowered her hand slightly to reveal her horsy teeth. "I heard – that awful boy – telling her about them – years ago," she said jerkily. "If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you use their names?" said Harry loudly, but Aunt Petunia ignored him. She seemed horribly flustered."
That "horrible boy" was not James Potter but, as we learn in Deathly Hallows, Severus Snape.
The seemingly random number of Sirius's vault, 711, is also the number of the page on which Sirius falls through the veil in the UK edition of Order of the Phoenix.
In PoA, Lupin says, "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone…" Yet in OotP, "Moody's electric-blue eye swiveled upward and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen…'Yeah, I see it… Yeah, it's a Boggart…'" Moody may be seeing the Boggart in its natural form due to his special eye.
"Step over here," said the wizard in a bored voice. Harry walked closer to him and the wizard held up a long golden rod, thin and flexible as a car aerial, and passed it up and down Harry's front and back.
The thing that the guard uses to check Harry is a Secrecy Sensor.
"Warrington of the Slytherin Quidditch team reported to the hospital wing with a horrible skin complaint that made him look as though he had been coated in cornflakes." (Chapter 30, "Grawp")
Back in Chapter 6 ("The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black"), Sirius got "a bad bite from a silver snuffbox; within seconds, his bitten hand had developed an unpleasant crusty covering like a tough brown glove." He (Sirius) then says that it must have been Wartcap powder. Fred and George then snuck the snuffbox of Wartcap powder. They may have later put it on Warrington, as his symptoms seem to be very similar to Sirius's.
When Harry and company are visiting Mr. Weasley in St. Mungo's, one of the portraits of old Healers mis-diagnoses Ron's freckles as Spattergroit. This same disease was used by Ron, when he disguises the ghoul as himself in Deathly Hallows.
In Chapter 2, while explaining to Snape that Voldemort trusts her, Bellatrix says: "The Dark Lord has in the past entrusted me with his most precious…" She's talking about the Horcrux (Hufflepuff's Cup) stored in her Gringotts vault.
Mundungus Fletcher is described as having "short bandy legs" and "long, straggly ginger hair," while Crookshanks is described as a "bandy-legged ginger cat." In PoA, Crookshanks's fur is described as "long." Rowling has told us Crookshanks is not an Animagus, and we know that there is not an actual connection, but it is an interesting coincidence.
In Chapter 32, Ron, Harry, and Hermione are trying to get through the Whomping Willow, and Ron asks: "How – how're we going to get in? I can – see the place – if we just had – Crookshanks again —" Hermione retorts with "Crookshanks? Are you a wizard or what!?"
This echoes Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 16: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are stuck in the Devil's Snare. Harry shouts at Hermione to light a fire (to make it release them), and Hermione responds with, "Yes – of course – but there's no wood!" Ron then screams, "Have you gone mad? Are you a witch or not?!"
The Maruaders died in reverse order from the order they are listed on the map. The map order: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Death order: James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus.
Voldemort, Dumbledore, Snape, Ollivander, Trelawney, Dobby, and goblins are all frequently described as having long fingers (Voldemort's are described as "unnaturally" long). Could long fingers be a sign of magical power?
Argus Filch and Arabella Figg – they have the same initials, both are Squibs, and both love cats!
Harry seems to take his finals only every other year: he took them in his first year, Dumbledore cancelled finals for the whole school in his second year, he took them in his third year, he was exempt from finals as a Triwizard champion in his fourth year, he took OWLs in his fifth year, and in his sixth year all examinations are postponed. And, of course, in his seventh year, he did not attend Hogwarts.
Harry receives a few Christmas packages from the Dursleys while at Hogwarts. How do the Dursleys send Harry the packages? They refuse to have anything to do with magic and they hate owls… Maybe through Dumbledore? And since they normally don't give Harry presents at Privet Drive, do they send the packages (such as they are) because Dumbledore suggests they do?
There are quite a few references to combinations of red and green: Gryffindor-red, Slytherin-green; Ron's maroon (red) Weasley sweater and Harry's green one; Dobby's Christmas gift to Harry, a pair of socks – one red, with broomsticks, the other green with Snitches; in the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Draco are told by Hagrid to send green sparks up in the air if they find the unicorn, and red sparks if they are in danger; Voldemort's eyes are red and Harry's eyes are green; Lily was a redhead with green eyes; the Irish National Quidditch team wore green robes, and Bulgaria wore red; Ron's dress robes were maroon and Harry's were "bottle green;" Voldemort's green Killing Curse and Harry's red Disarming Spell that collided when they dueled.
Covers on the Harry Potter US editions seem to depict a character/creature who dies in the book: Sorcerer's Stone shows a unicorn; Chamber of Secrets shows a snake (Basilisk?) and Fawkes (who dies and is reborn); Goblet of Fire shows Cedric; Order of the Phoenix shows Sirius; and Half-Blood Prince shows Dumbledore. Prisoner of Azkaban had no deaths, but depicts Buckbeak on the cover who was sentenced to death. Deathly Hallows shows both Harry (who "died") and Voldemort.
It seems that many members of the Black family have been named after stars:
- Sirius – Called the "Dog Star," it is the brightest star and is located in the constellation of Canis Major.
- Bellatrix – Often translated as "Female Warrior," this is the third brightest star in the constellation of Orion.
- Regulus – The heart of the lion in the constellation Leo.
- Alphard – The only bright star in the constellation of Hydra, known as the "Solitary One."
- Andromedra – "The Chained Maiden," a constellation also containing the Andromedra galaxy.
A number of important and grim events happen on Halloween. Harry's birthday is July 31, so theoretically he could have been conceived on Halloween. Also on the day, Harry's parents were murdered by Voldemort, Quirrell let in the mountain troll, Nearly Headless Nick was killed, Mrs. Norris was petrified and the Chamber of Secrets was opened, Sirius Black slashes through the Fat Lady's portrait, Harry is chosen by the Goblet of Fire, and Sibyll Trelawney made the prophecy about Harry and Lord Voldemort to Dumbledore.
In each book in Chapter 13, an evil character (or in DH's case, a Horcrux) is introduced or is central to the plot of the chapter.
There are many characters and locations with flowers in their names: Arabella Figg, Fleur Delacour, Lavender Brown, Lily Potter, Poppy Pomfrey, Moaning Myrtle, Narcissa Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Petunia Dursley, Remus Lupin, Rose Zeller (first-year Hufflepuff in OotP), Violet (lady in a portrait who spends time with the Fat Lady), and Rose Weasley; also, Magnolia Crescent, Privet Drive, and Wisteria Walk.
- People
- Objects and Places
- Titles
- Other
"Harry James Potter" is an anagram of "Major Threat Persy." Yes, Percy is really spelled with a "C," but this could be much like the "Severus Snape/Pursues Evans" anagram. Interesting, interesting…
"Harry Potter" is an anagram of "Try Hero Part." We know Harry likes to "play the hero," so this is an interesting anagram.
"Ollivander" is an anagram of "An Evil Lord." This could mean that Ollivander is not someone to be trusted or is on Voldemort's side.
"Severus Snape" is an anagram of "Perseus Evans," "Pursues Evans," or "Save Pureness." The first anagram, "Perseus Evans," could mean several things. Perseus was a character in myth that, to put it briefly, went on a courageous quest and ended up killing the God Poseidon to save the princess (Lily?). Also, the character Medusa is linked with the legend of Perseus. Anyone who looked directly at Medusa was turned to stone. Can you say "basilisk"? Perseus also married Andromeda, who, as we learn in Book 5, is the name of Tonks's mother. Naturally, the Evans part could mean either Snape is related to Lily or had a relationship with her. The second anagram, "Persues Evans," could mean that Snape went after Lily, either to kill her or to have a relationship with her. The word is spelled "pursues," but this could be a deliberate misspelling. As for the third anagram, "Save Pureness"… enough said.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle" is an anagram of "I am Lord Voldemort." Obviously, this one has already been given much importance, but it just goes to show that a lot of information can be held in anagrams.
"Dolores Jane Umbridge" is an anagram of "Dumbledore goes in jar." "Dumbledore" means "bumblebee" in Old English. Rita Skeeter was a beetle and ended up in a jar. Perhaps there is a link between Dumbledore and Rita? Also, an urn is a type of jar where they place the ashes of a cremated body. And Dumbledore's tomb burst into green flame, so his body was cremated. – Thanks, Geoff
"Remus Lupin" is an anagram of "Primus Lune." Primus comes from the Latin word meaning "first," "beginning," or perhaps "full." Lune is the French word for "moon." Lupin turns into a werewolf when there is a full moon. Coincidence? – Thanks, Jenny
"Peter Pettigrew" is an anagram of "Tip: Pet We Regret." This really speaks for itself – the Weasleys probably regret keeping Scabbers as a pet for so long and not knowing or realizing that he was an Animagus, even with his abnormally long lifespan. – Thanks, Megan
"Dean Thomas" is an anagram of "Death Moans." This doesn't seem like a good sign for Dean. Perhaps the word "moans" means that if he does die, he will come back to haunt as a ghost. Moaning or wailing is usually associated with unsettled spirits, though perhaps the anagram could be hinting more towards him being used as an Inferius after death. – Thanks, Megan
"Dean Thomas" is also an anagram of "Man So Hated." Poor Dean – none of his anagrams look good. Maybe he just has a very unfortunate name. – Thanks, jwadsworths
"Seamus Finnigan" is an anagram of "Is Unsafe Naming." Maybe this is hinting that Seamus will be captured by Voldemort's followers and will have to give them names or locations of specific people who are threats. If he is "unsafe" in doing this, though, he probably won't give anything away. – Thanks, Megan
"Bill Weasley" is an anagram of "Will Ably See." Though it's unlikely Bill has any Seer blood in him, he might somehow predict what will happen in the battle between good and evil. Or maybe he saw something after being attacked – something that could help Harry in his search. It could also, more obviously, mean that his sight wasn't affected during the attack. – Thanks, Megan and Jen
"Arthur Weasley" is an anagram of "We Salute Harry." We know that Mr. Weasley will fully support Harry on his quest, so the anagram could mean this. However, in military circles, a salute can be given when honoring the dead. This sounds ominous for Harry if Arthur is saluting him. – Thanks, Megan
"Irma Pince" is an anagram of "I'm a Prince." Could the "vulture-like" librarian be related to Snape? Both are described as having sharp features and a short temper… – Thanks to everyone who submitted this
"Romilda Vane" is an anagram of "Love in a Dram." In case any of you don't know what it is, a dram is a unit of measurement. Very appropriate for the girl who tries to slip Harry a love potion. – Thanks, Frank and V.K.
"Albus Dumbledore" is an anagram of "Blamed old Rubeus." What could the Hogwarts gamekeeper have done that Dumbledore blamed him for? Perhaps it goes as far back as Hagrid's third year at Hogwarts, when he was expelled for being suspected of opening the Chamber of Secrets. – Thanks to everyone who submitted this
"Tom Marvolo Riddle" is an anagram of "Immortal, Odd Lover." This is something more than just coincidence – because of the seven Horcruxes he created, Voldemort is immortal. Moreover, Horcruxes are very, very uncommon and rare, and we all know that Voldemort has a fixation with trophies, cups, and treasured possessions; so "Odd Lover" is applicable to him. He also loves such "odd" things as immortality, power, and hating love. – Thanks, Menka
"Ollivanders" is an anagram of "Ronald Lives" or "Ronald's Evil." This could hold several meanings. I think it's safe to assume that "Ronald" is Ron, so it may mean that Ron will not die throughout the seven books. However, it may also have been a clue for Book 5. When Mrs. Weasley tackled the Boggart and it took the form of Ron sprawled across the carpet, some of us thought that Ron was actually dead. This anagram may have told us four books before that he wasn't really dead when this happened. The anagram may also be telling us that if Ron does appear to die in future books, it will not be true. As for the second possibility, I think it's just a coincidence.
"Hogwarts" is an anagram of "Ghost War." Is this referencing a battle between the ghosts of Hogwarts a long time ago? Either that or perhaps the anagram is meant figuratively, saying that the war will not be seen by the teachers or students. – Thanks, Alex
"Drooble's Best Blowing Gum" is an anagram of "Gold bribe below St. Mungo's." Very interesting… In Book 5, Neville's mother gives him a gum wrapper. Is she passing on an important message? Also, in Half-Blood Prince, Lupin said that he was working underground with the werewolves. Could they be under St. Mungo's, too? – Thanks, Dawn
"Platform nine and three quarters" is an anagram of "Frequent trains ran to help dream." The train reference speaks for itself, but I'm interested about the dream part – JKR wouldn't really end the series that way, would she? – Thanks, Courtney
Also, maybe this coincidentally refers to Harry's childhood dream coming true when he was able to live a new life away from the Dursleys at Hogwarts. – Thanks, Chris and Sarah
"The Lightning Struck Tower" is an anagram of "The Glowing Stricken Truth." The word "glowing" could represent the Dark Mark that was placed above the infamous tower in HBP. The Dark Mark is used to show that someone within the area has been killed by one of Voldemort's followers, so if this is the "stricken truth," then could this mean that Dumbledore is really dead? – Thanks, Aarif
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is an anagram of "Treachery rests on Transported Hero." I'm almost positive this is coincidental, but it's interesting anyway! – Thanks, Tyler
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is an anagram of "Halt! Interbred arch-foe lord not happy." I think this speaks for itself. – Thanks, Courtney
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is an anagram of "Portrayed Orphaned Hero for the Next Hit." Harry, the orphaned hero, is back for the next film. Will this be as much of a "hit" as the previous motion pictures? We'll have to wait until the summer to find out. – Thanks, Savreet
"Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson" is an anagram of "Cue fine new film drama starring Potter lad." While this doesn't hold any significance to the books, I think this anagram is an interesting coincidence. – Thanks, Courtney
"The children's author J.K. Rowling" is an anagram of "Hint: Her skill conjured Hogwart!" Very true! And another funny coincidence. – Thanks, Courtney
"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" (inscription on the Mirror of Erised) is an anagram of "Trust what you see a hero inscribed for you." When read backwards, the inscription reads, "I show not your face but your heart's desire." This anagram shows that the cryptic writing on the mirror could have more than one meaning… Also, "Erised" backwards is "desire." – Thanks, Ralph
"Mike Newell's 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'" is an anagram of "Enthralling film, yet we prefer to read the books!" This is probably true for most fans! – Thanks, Mey
Oddities and Coincidences
Oddities and Coincidences
We realize that we are probably overanalyzing some things with this page, but we saw several running bits in the books that we thought were worth mentioning. We also had fun poring through the books searching them out.
- References to the Number 4
- References to the Number 7
- References to the Number 12
- Sock References
- Unusual Events that Happen on Halloween
- Chapter 13
- References to the Color Purple
- Nose References
- Watch References
- Flower References in Names
- Hog, Pig, and Boar References
- Other
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Harry lives with his aunt and uncle at 4 Privet Drive.
- The Dursley House has four bedrooms.
- Uncle Dursley's rations for the house on the rock in the sea were a bag of chips and four bananas.
- Ron's mother packed four sandwiches for his first trip on the Hogwarts Express.
- According to Hagrid, no more than four to a boat to get from the train station to Hogwarts.
- There are four houses in Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, named after the school's four founders: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin.
- A four-legged stool is used by the first years for their Sorting.
- Nearly Headless Nick says he hadn't eaten in nearly four hundred years (but this is a anomaly as he has a 500th Deathday Party at Halloween).
- Hermione's Wingardium Leviosa spell raised her feather about four feet up from the desk.
- Harry hit the ground on all fours after nearly swallowing the Snitch.
- Charlie Weasley's four friends came to get Norbert at Hogwarts.
- Four balls are used in Quidditch: two Bludgers, one Quaffle, and one Golden Snitch.
- The Great Hall at Hogwarts contains four long house tables.
- Harry's room in Gryffindor Tower had four-poster beds.
Chamber of Secrets
- An argument breaks out over breakfast at 4 Privet Drive.
- Harry misses sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory (among other things) when not at Hogwarts.
- Quidditch is explained as the most popular sport in the wizarding world with six tall goal posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks.
- Harry sympathizes with Dobby about house-elves enslavement, saying he thought he had it bad staying at the Dursley's another four weeks.
- After Harry is locked in his room after the pudding incident, he wonders if he'll even be alive in four weeks to return to Hogwarts, or if anyone will notice if he doesn't show up.
- Four or five chimneys were perched on the red roof of the Burrow.
- After Harry's rescue by the twins and Ron, their four breakfast plates were clean in a surprisingly short time.
- Mrs. Weasley tried to force Harry to eat fourth helpings at every meal.
- Back at Hogwarts, innumerable candles hovered in midair over four long, crowded tables.
- The Sorting Hat sorted new students into the four Hogwarts houses every year.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- Ron's wand is fourteen inches long and made of willow.
- Dudley was eating his fourth slice of pie.
- Harry's summer homework was to write a discussion on witch burning in the fourteenth century.
Goblet of Fire
- The Riddle's cook had four sherries while relating what happened at the Riddle house.
- Harry turns fourteen. Harry is in his fourth year at Hogwarts.
- Harry receives four birthday cakes from Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and Sirius.
- Dudley's tongue grows to four feet long after eating one of Fred and George's Ton-tongue toffees.
- Four beds were squeezed into Ron's room for Ron, Harry, Fred and George.
- A wizard appeared in plus-fours at the Quidditch World Cup campsite.
- One of the pair of two-man tents for the Weasleys had four bunkbeds.
- Harry and Hermione go with the Weasleys to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
- The family of four muggles (the Roberts family) were spun in the air by the Death Eaters after the World cup.
- Mrs. Weasley buys 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4' for Ron, Hermione, and Harry.
- Moody is the new DADA teacher, meaning Snape has failed to get that job for the fourth year running.
- Harry is held up by Peeves trying to overturn a large vase on him halfway along the fourth-floor corridor while on his way to the Owlery.
- Moody puts Harry through the paces four times in a row until he can completely throw off the Imperious Curse.
- Harry, Ron, and Hermione stand in the fourth row in front of Hogwarts awaiting the arrival of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang.
- Filch adds four chairs to the staff table before the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament.
- The Goblet of Fire chooses four champions for the Triwizard Tournament: Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory, and Harry Potter.
- Moody guesses someone submitted Harry's name under a fourth school to fool the Goblet of Fire.
- Four summers before, on his eleventh birthday, Harry had been to Ollivander's to purchase his wand.
- Four dragons are brought in for the first task (one for each champion): Swedish Short-Snout, Chinese Fireball, Common Welsh Green, and the Hungarian Horntail.
- The date of the First task is November 24th. Harry is left with dragon number four, the Hungarian Horntail, when the champions choose their dragons from Ludo Bagman's purple silk sack.
- Karkaroff gives Harry a score of four for the first task.
- The date of the Second task is February 24th.
- The Yule ball is only open to fourth years and above (younger students may be invited). Hagrid tells Rita Skeeter that he has never had to tell Harry off in his four years at Hogwarts.
- Cho goes everywhere with an escort of four or five girls.
- Krum tells Hermione that Durmstrang has only four floors.
- The Prefect's bathroom is the fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor.
- According to Hagrid, Unicorns grow horns at about the age of four.
- There are four people bound to the tail of a stone merperson to be rescued by the champions in the second task.
- With his four paws, Sirius easily climbs the mountain to his hiding place.
- The Third task takes place on June 24th. Four Hogwarts house-elves carry a great silver platter of eclairs to Ron in the kitchens.
- A gray owl lands in front of Hermione, followed by four barn owls to deliver a deluge of mail.
- Harry falls in to the pensieve and sees four people being brought into the Council of Magical Law and placed in four chained chairs for a hearing, one of whom was Barty Crouch Jr.
- Four-Point Spell: points a wand due north Mrs. Weasley was told off by the Fat Lady for coming back to the dormitory at four in the morning when she was at school at Hogwarts.
- There are four patrollers to watch the perimeter of the maze in the third task: Moody, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid.
- The Sphinx repeated the last four lines of the riddle for Harry.
- Voldemort speaks of how four years before, Quirrell gave him the means to return.
- Ollivander wrote to Dumbledore, four years before, to inform him Harry had bought the second wand with Fawkes' tail feather.
Order of the Phoenix
- Harry lies outside number four Privet Drive in a flowerbed to listen to the news through the open window.
- For four solid weeks since he left Hogwarts, Harry felt he had been completely cut off from the magical world.
- Harry taunts Dudley that he needs four mates behind him to beat up a ten-year-old.
- A fourth owl came shooting out of the kitchen fireplace with a note from Sirius to Harry.
- On the fourth night after Harry sent Hedwig out for information, Uncle Vernon came in to his room to tell him they were going out.
- When the group of wizards came that night to get Harry, he was very conscious of the fact that he hadn't combed his hair in four days.
- After being confined to his room for four days, and in a very bad mood, Harry's room was a mess. While cleaning Grimmauld Place, a Doxy soared at Harry, it's four tiny fists clenched with fury.
- Mr. Weasley told Harry, 'Four more stops…' while taking the Underground to Harry's hearing.
- The number Mr. Weasley dialed to get into the Ministry of Magic is '…six' and 'two…four… and another four… and another two…'
- Eric, the security wizard at the Ministry, identifies Harry's wand as being in use for four years.
- Four or five witches get out of the lift as several paper airplanes swoop in.
- Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau.'
- George comments on what has happened to the last four DADA teachers as being the problem with Dumbledore getting a new teacher.
- Molly Weasley celebrates Ron becoming the fourth prefect in the family. Ginny is now a fourth year student.
- The Sorting Hat sings " 'Together we will build and teach!' The four good friends decided" … and of the four founders.
- .. and compares the houses to 'pillars four'
- Harry remembers that the Sorting Hat usually confines itself to describing the different qualities looked for by the four Hogwarts houses.
- Harry forgets to add syrup of hellebore to his Draught of Peace potion, and proceeds straight to the fourth line of instructions.
- While in Umbridge's detention, Harry sneaks a look at keeper tryouts, thinking the fourth person was terrible.
- After knowing Percy for four years, Harry wonders why Percy thinks him unbalanced and possible violent.
Half-Blood Prince
- Harry sat in a chair by his bedroom window for the best part of four hours, waiting for Dumbledore.
- Mrs. Weasley comments to Harry that she thinks Ron has grown four since she last bought him school robes.
- A group of fourth-year girls were whispering and giggling outside the Hogwarts Express compartment where Harry, Neville, and Luna were sitting.
- Tonks conjures her patronus – an immense silvery four-legged creature – to the castle to send word that she has found Harry.
- Hermione confiscates a lime-green Fanged Frisbee from a fourth year boy.
- The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom is located four floors below the Gryffindor common room.
- Four Slytherins and four Ravenclaws progressed to the N.E.W.T. level potions class.
- Professor Slughorn was raving about Harry's potions abilities by their fourth lesson (thanks to the Prince).
- Most of the fourth group trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team had come without brooms.
- Cormac McLaggen saved four penalties out of five while trying out for the position of Gryffindor Keeper.
- Ron saved one, two, three, four, five penalties in a row when he tried out for Keeper, but later told Hermione he thought he was going to miss the fourth one.
- When Hagrid told them about Aragog dying, Harry thought about the narrow escape he and Ron had had from the gigantic spider four years previously.
- Harry had seen the cursed necklace in Borgin and Burks four years previously.
- Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to the four of them (Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leanne) about what had happened to Katie Bell.
- Harry lay awake in his four-poster bed wondering about his feelings for Ginny.
- During the first half hour of the Quidditch match with Gryffindor, Ginny had scored four of their six goals.
- Slughorn introduces Harry to Eldred Worple, who suggests Harry spend four or five hour sessions with him to write his biography.
- The four Heads of House shouted for quiet during the first apparition lesson in the Great Hall.
- Susan Bones splinched herself on her fourth attempt to apparate.
- Harry and Ron had to take a short cut back to the Gryffindor common room when Peeves jammed a door shut on the fourth floor.
- Tom Riddle was due at four to visit Hepzibah Smith with an offer from Mr. Burke for her goblin-made armor.
- Harry could not take his apparition test because he would not be seventeen for another four months.
- Dumbledore tells Harry that four years ago Harry had handed him proof that Voldemort had split his soul.
- Two Horcruxes are destroyed, and Dumbledore theorizes that four remain of Voldemort's seven-part soul.
- Dumbledore thinks that the Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup became Horcruxes three and four.
- Four objects from the four founders would most likely appeal to Voldemort as objects for his Horcruxes.
- Harry realizes that if Gryffindor loses by more than a 100 points to Ravenclaw, they would be in fourth place for the Championship.
- Snape gives Harry detention and then taunts him with the possibility of Gryffindor in fourth place.
- Dumbledore drinks halfway through the fourth goblet of potion in the cave when he staggers and falls forward against the basin, wanting to stop.
- Four people in black robes burst onto the balcony where Malfoy is threatening Dumbledore.
- Snape shouts that Harry's father would never attack him unless it was four on one.
- There are 7 books in the Harry Potter series.
- There are 7 years of studies at Hogwarts.
- Harry's birthday is in July, which is the 7th month of the year.
- The Weasley family has 7 children.
- The Alohomora spell can be found in the Standard Books of Spells chapter 7.
- There are 7 Quidditch players in a team Add the numbers of Platform 9 3/4 together … 9+3+4 = 16, and 1+6=7!
- There are 142 flights of stairs at Hogwarts which adds to 7 (1+4+2=7).
- Gryffindor Tower is located on the 7th floor.
- Gryffindor hadn't won the house cup for seven years before Harry came.
- Nicholas Flamel and his wife have 7 years age difference.
- There are seven obstacles to obtaining the Sorcerer's Stone: Fluffy, Devil's Snare, flying keys, chess game, troll, potions, and the Mirror of Erised.
- One of the obstacles that Harry and Hermione come across while trying to find the Sorcerer's Stone is seven differently shaped bottles and a riddle.
- Hogwarts students have to buy all 7 of Lockhart's books.
- There are 7 hidden passageways out of Hogwarts shown on the Marauders' Map.
- Flitwick's office (where Sirius is locked in the third book) is located on the 7th floor.
- There are 700 ways to commit a foul in Quidditch.
- Harry's Quiddich number is 7 in the PoA film.
- The Triwizard Tournament was first established 700 years before its appearance in the GOF.
- Fred and George charge 7 sickles for a canary cream.
- There are 7 locks in Moody's trunk Moody was locked in the seventh lock of his trunk.
- In the US version of PoA, beginning Chapter 15, an illustration of Hagrid's letter to Hermione in regards to Buckbeak's trial shows 7 teardrops.
- Frank Bryce was said to be nearing his seventy-seventh birthday in GOF.
- After the Weasleys, the Diggorys, Harry, and Hermione arrive with the Portkey to the Quiddich World Cup campground, a voice said, "Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill."
- After hearing a loud, cracking noise while watching the news, Uncle Vernon waves from the window at "Mrs. Number Seven, who was glaring from behind her net curtains."
- In OotP, during Harry's trial, Dumbledore states "…clause seven of the Decree [for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery] states that magic may be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances…"
- Also in OotP, the boggart in the desk changes seven times to reflect Mrs. Weasley's worst fears: dead Ron, Bill, Mr. Weasley, Fred and George, Percy, and Harry.
- The Room of Requirement which is used for DA meetings is on the 7th floor.
- Lily began dating with James in their 7th year at Hogwarts.
- The prophecy is in row 97 in the Department of Mysteries.
- In OotP, when Harry fell down the stairs into the room with the veil, seven people came to his aid; Neville, Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, and Dumbledore.
- Also in OotP, Harry and his group visit 7 rooms in the Department of Mysteries: the circular black room with the blue candles and many doors, the time room, the space room, the room with the veil, the Hall of Prophecy, the locked room, and the room with the brains.
- In PoA, when Snape is filling in for Professor Lupin, he instructs the class to turn to page 394. 3 + 9 + 4 = 16: 1+6 = 7. (also see "The Number 12" regarding this number)
- There are 7 Animagi registered with the Improper Use of Magic Office HBP came out on July 16, 2005 … the month, date and year each add to 7!
- In HBP, The Ministry of Magic sends out a purple leaflet with seven ways to protect the home and family against dark forces.
- Harry and Ron both receive 7 OWLs. In HPB, Harry took up his position by his bedroom window, where he had been watching for Dumbledore since seven o'clock.
- Blaise Zabini's mother is a famously beautiful witch who had been married (and widowed) seven times.
- Harry takes the Half-Blood Prince's advice in his book to brew his Draught of Living Death and "…add a clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir."
- Slughorn took the Felix Felicis potion for the second time in his life when he was fifty-seven.
- While on his way to Dumbledore's office, Harry hides as Professor Trelawney passes by, shuffling dirty-looking playing cards. The second one she reads is the seven of spades – an ill omen.
- Dumbledore's office is on the seventh floor of Hogwarts.
- Quidditch practice is held at seven o'clock in the evening.
- Six or seven Inferi crumpled when Harry hit them with the Petrificus Totalus spell.
- Voldemort thinks 7 is the most powerfully magical number; therefore, Dumbledore believes that he divided his soul by 7: six Horcruxes and himself.
Contributing to this section: Monica, Serla, Christa, Dennis, Stephanie, Nolan, Kevin, bookworm, Annie, Cullen, Morgan, Brittany, Angelique, Brandi, M Strauss, Kathy, Estie, Dina, Ash, Bethany, Sese, Brittney, Julie… and special thanks to Matt.
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Dumbledore uses his Put-Outer to extinguish the 12 street lamps on Privet Drive.
- Dumbledore's watch has 12 hands.
- The milkman delivers two dozen letter-filled eggs to the Dursleys.
- On Friday, 12 letters arrive for Harry.
- Hagrid is described as being at least twice the height of a normal man.
- If a normal man is around 6 feet tall, that would make Hagrid approximately 12 feet tall.
- Platform 9 3/4 – 9 is 3/4 of 12 Hogwarts school song has 12 lines.
- The troll Quirrell let in on Halloween was 12 feet tall. During the flying lesson, Neville originally rises to 12 feet.
- The Wizards Duel with Draco was supposed to happen at midnight.
- At the first Quidditch match, Neville tells Draco he's worth 12 of him.
- There are 12 Christmas trees in the Great Hall.
- Dumbledore is famous for discovering the 12 uses of Dragon's blood.
- At exactly 12:00 a.m. Harry turns 11, and Hagrid bangs on the door.
- Shortly before the trio leaves to go through the trapdoor, Hermione says that she won't get kicked out because she got 112 percent on Flitwick's exam.
- Harry hears Quirrell sobbing and giving in to someone in a classrom. After Quirrell leaves the room, Harry says he would bet 12 Sorcerer's Stones that the other person in the room was Snape.
- Gryffindor was "in fourth place, with three hundred and twelve points."
- JKR said in an online chat that her favorite chapter out of all the books was Chapter 12, Book 1 (The Mirror of Erised).
Chamber of Secrets
- Harry turns 12 years old.
- After Dobby drops the pudding on the kitchen floor, Harry receives an owl from the Ministry saying that a Hover Charm was used at 12 minutes past nine.
- Ron tells Harry that he wrote to him about twelve times over the summer to come and stay with him at the Burrow.
- When Draco is complaining about Harry, Lucius cuts him off and says he's heard this a dozen times already.
- There are 12 school governors that sign an Order of Suspension for Dumbledore.
- Lockhart says there are 12 dwarf cupids roaming around the school delivering Valentines.
- Lockhart tells Harry, '… when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now.'
- Lockhart says that in Chapter 12 of his book, Wandering with Werewolves, he divulges that his ideal birthday gift is to have peace among all creatures.
- We learn that Bill and Percy both got 12 OWLs.
- Tom Riddle tells Harry that his mother bought him twelve years of borrowed time.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- Aunt Marge has 12 bulldogs.
- Sirius escaped from Azkaban after being imprisoned for 12 years.
- To get his mind off of Aunt Marge's insults, Harry tries to remember page 12 of his book: "A Charm to Cure Reluctant Reverses."
- There were no seats, but half a dozen brass bedsteads on the bottom deck of the Knight Bus.
- Harry's Nimbus 2000 was smashed into a dozen pieces.
- Fudge says Black murdered 12 Muggles and 1 wizard with a single curse.
- We should note here that Pettigrew actually DID murder 12 Muggles in total. Thanks to Joel for pointing that out!
- At The Leaky Cauldron, Ron and Percy stay in room #12.
- Hermione's bag split as it was crammed with at least a dozen large and heavy books. Buckbeak's wingspan is said to be 12 meters long.
- Snape, substituting for Lupin's Dark Arts class, tells the students to turn to page 394 – if we play with those numbers, we get: 3 + 9 = 12, 3 x 4 = 12, 9 is 3/4 of 12. (Also see "References to the Number 7" regarding this number.)
- Ron tells everyone when he woke, Sirius was standing over him with a 12 inch knife.
- At the Christmas feast, Trelawney counts 12 people at the table and refuses to sit down because she would be thirteen.
- McGonagall isn't happy when Harry asks about the status of his broom for the 12th time.
- Sirius tells Lupin to hurry up with the explanation since he's been waiting 12 years to get back at Pettigrew.
- Trelawney's prophecy states "The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years."
Goblet of Fire
- Frank Bryce estimates Nagini to be 12 feet long.
- While Percy is lamenting about Rita Skeeter's complaints that they should be stamping out vampires instead of quibbling about cauldron thickness, he says: "As if it wasn't specifically stated in chapter 12 of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans–"
- "By 12 o'clock the next day, Harry's school trunk was packed with his school things and all his most prized possessions."
- The Basilisk fang from Harry's second year is described as being 12 inches long.
- At the Quidditch World Cup, the Bulgarians insisted on having 12 more seats in the Top Box.
- Crouch's grandfather used to have a magic carpet that could seat 12.
- The letter Harry sends Sirius after the first task is so heavy that when Harry tosses Pigwidgeon out the window with it, he plummets 12 feet before recovering.
- The Weasley's grandfather clock shows where each family member might be (such as "work," "traveling," etc.). In the position where the number twelve would be, it states "mortal peril."
- As Harry is about to enter the common room after being picked as School Champion, a dozen hands pull him inside.
- In the Great Hall at the Yule Ball, instead of the usual four house tables there are about a hundred smaller tables, each seating about a dozen people.
- "Harry thought of Sirius, and the tight, tense knot in his chest seemed to ease slightly. He would be speaking to him in just over 12 hours."
- Hagrid tells Harry to meet him at midnight, and to bring that cloak with him.
- Sirius tells Harry he would need half a dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon.
- Harry, Ron and Hermione bring Sirius a dozen pieces of chicken.
- While Harry and Ron are making up false predictions for Divination, one of their prediction is that Harry will be stabbed in the back by someone he thought was a friend because Venus is in the 12th house.
- We learn that Dumbledore has been Hagrid's guardian since he was 12 years old when his dad died.
- Mundungus Fletcher put in a claim for a 12-bedroom tent with en-suite Jacuzzi.
- Cedric's wand is 12 inches long.
- Professor Binns drones on about the Goblin Rebellions of 1612.
- 12 Durmstrang students arrive for the Triwizard Tournament.
- During the final task, the spider drops Harry 12 feet.
- Before Harry leaves to get Dumbledore, Crouch tells him that his son Crouch Jr. got 12 OWLs.
Order of the Phoenix
- On the American cover there are 12 candles in the foreground.
- The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place.
- Harry had barely run a dozen steps when he reached Dudley and the dementor.
- Harry thinks it's "galling" to be told not to be rash by someone who had spent 12 years in Azkaban.
- Harry's disciplinary hearing with the Ministry is on the 12th of August.
- Sirius explains to Harry that Voldemort is not going to go up against the Ministry with a dozen Death Eaters.
- While Bill is asking Harry if he's alright, he's gathering up 12 scrolls at once.
- Roughly half a dozen of the Wizengamot vote in favor of conviction.
- In the OotP, Luna Lovegood is looking at page 57 in the Quibbler; add 5 + 7 to get 12
- One of Snape's homework assignments is 12 inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making.
- When Hermione is talking to Harry and Ron in the Great Hall, she glances around and sees a half a dozen empty seats around them.
- During Harry's detention with Umbridge, he glances out the window to the Quidditch Pitch and sees half a dozen black figures.
- At midnight, Harry is in the common room when he starts drifting off and almost gets to the door before he's awakened by Dobby.
- Harry sees Dobby picking up a half a dozen hats that Hermione left.
- Before Harry first enters Dumbledore's office after seeing the snake bite Mr. Weasley, Harry thinks it sounds like Dumbledore is entertaining at least a dozen people.
- When the Weasley kids are at Grimmauld Place worrying about their dad, Sirius summons a half a dozen Butterbeers.
- "He was exhausted, he was confused beyond measure, he had experienced terror, relief, and then terror again in the last 12 hours, and still Dumbledore did not want to talk to him."
- Kingsley asks Mr. Weasley for as much information as possible on flying Muggle vehicle sightings in the past 12 months.
- When they meet Lockhart in St. Mungo's, he says: "Well, how about those autographs then? Shall we make it a round dozen?"
- Harry is grumpy about having to go back to Hogwarts and place himself under the tyranny of Dolores Umbridge, who had no doubt managed to force through another dozen decrees in their absence.
- Harry makes a mental note how much more difficult it is to extend his arm 12 inches and touch Cho's hand than to snatch a speeding Snitch from midair.
- Hermione tells Harry to meet her at 12 o'clock in The Three Broomsticks during Harry's date with Cho.
- After the article in The Quibbler is published, Trelawney breaks out in tears during one of her classes and exclaims that Harry would not suffer an early death after all, but would live to a ripe old age, become Minister of Magic, and have 12 children.
- When James disarms Snape, his wand flies 12 feet in the air.
- Harry says he wasn't the sole witness to Voldemort's rebirth, and that there were a dozen-odd Death Eaters there too.
- There are a dozen doors in the circular room in the Department of Mysteries.
- When the trio are spread out in the shade of the beech tree near the lake, Ron talks them through his first save of the match for what felt like the dozenth time.
- In the Care of Magical Creatures OWL, the fifth-years have to correctly identify a knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs.
- Ron reminds Harry that Hermione got 112% on her Charms exam last year.
- Ravenclaw sixth-year Eddie Carmichael offers Ron and Harry a whole pint of Baruffio's Brain Elixir for 12 galleons.
- Harry pulls Ron's arm over his shoulder, just as he had done with Dudley months ago, and thinks they have a 1-in-12 chance of getting it right this time.
- There are a dozen death eaters in the Department of Mysteries.
- After Fudge sees Voldemort Disapparate in the Ministry Atrium, Dumbledore tells him it's time he listened to sense, and he's been chasing the wrong man for 12 months.
- Dumbledore pulls out his watch with 12 hands and tells Fudge he may have a half-an-hour of his time.
- Fred and George's joke shop is at 93 Diagon Alley. 9 + 3 is 12.
Half-Blood Prince
- As Harry waited for Dumbledore, the minute hand on the alarm clock reached the number twelve and the street-lamp outside went dark.
- The bottle of Felix Felicis that Slughorn gives Harry is enough for twelve hours of good luck.
- Ginny shouted at Ron that he had about as much experience with snogging as a twelve-year-old.
- Hagrid delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees to the Great Hall.
- Apparition lessons consist of a twelve-week course. Cost: 12 Galleons.
- Harry wishes he hadn't used the Sectumsempra spell on Malfoy … "and not just because I've got about a dozen detentions."
- Snape assigns Harry's detention as clearing out old files beginning with box "one thousand and twelve."
- Harry's stomach started rumbling during his detention at half past twelve.
- Dumbledore drinks twelve goblets of green potion to empty the basin in the cave.
- A dozen giant winged palominos pulled the powder-blue carriage of Beauxbatons to the funeral.
- Al-bus Per-civ-al Wulf-ric Bri-an Dum-ble-dore. 12 syllables.
- So far, we know of 12 course options offered at Hogwarts: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Potions, Transfiguration. (There is a 13th if you include Flying lessons for first years.)
Note: In HBP, Hermione receives 11 OWLs AFTER dropping Divination and Muggle Studies, so that would indicate a total of 13 courses. It's either a mistake (gasp!) or there's another course we haven't heard of yet. Thanks to Rory!
Contributing to this section: Ashley, Kelly, Lindsay, Whitney, Joel, Jordon, Ruepert, Corry, Samuel, Kyle, Shaharazad, Becky, Matt, Elizabeth, Erich, Nick
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- We learn that, in the past, the Dursleys have given Harry an old pair of Uncle Vernon's socks for his birthday.
- The very first time we meet Harry he is in his cupboard looking for socks.
- Dumbledore tells Harry that in the Mirror of Erised he sees himself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks.
Chamber of Secrets
- At The Burrow, Mrs. Weasley is "fussing over the state of his socks."
- And also at The Burrow: "Mrs. Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks."
- When Dobby explains to Harry that, for a house-elf, clothes means freedom, he says: "The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir."
- Harry tricks Lucius into giving Dobby Harry's sock.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry uses Uncle Vernon's old socks to cover his Sneakoscope: "I never wear those socks if I can help it."
- One of the worst birthday presents Harry ever got was that pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.
- Ron unwraps a pair of maroon socks for Christmas, but drops them to check out Harry's new Firebolt.
- The Fat Lady is found hiding in a portrait of Argyllshire, a place famous for socks.
Goblet of Fire
- At The Burrow, Mrs. Weasley washes Harry's socks.
- On Christmas morning, Harry gives Uncle Vernon's "foul," "mustard-yellow," and "extra knobbly" socks to Dobby.
- Ron gives Dobby an unwanted violet pair he got from his mum. Dobby is ecstatic. Ron (looking embarassed) says: "They're only socks…"
- Dobby gives Harry a pair of socks; one red, with broomsticks, the other green with Snitches, that he knitted himself.
- At the Yule Ball, Moody tells Harry … "Nice socks, Potter."
- Harry resolves to buy Dobby "a pair of socks for every day of the year."
- On the morning of the first task, Harry dressed so inattentively that it was a while before he realized that rather than trying to pull on a sock, he was trying to pull a hat onto his foot.
- While Hermione is arguing with Hagrid about S.P.E.W., Hagrid is putting on socks.
- Harry and Ron have fun in Hogsmeade picking out strange-looking socks for Dobby, including "a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly."
Order of the Phoenix
- Tonks talks about her mum's knack of getting socks to fold themselves … "It's a kind of flick-" She flicked her wand hopefully. One of Harry's socks gave a feeble sort of wiggle and flopped back on top of the mess in the trunk.
- Mundungus's pipe had a lingering acrid smell of burning socks.
- "Match his what?" said Mrs Weasley absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.
- When Fred and George offer to attach Ron's prefect badge to his forehead with a Permanent Sticking Charm, Ron wraps it tenderly in his maroon socks and locks it in his trunk.
- Seamus dressed at top speed next morning and left the dormitory before Harry had even put on his socks.
- When Harry looks in the Pensieve at Snape's memories, he sees a group of laughing girls (including Lily Evans) sitting with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water.
Half-Blood Prince
- Harry kept his Felix Felicis potion in a pair of rolled-up socks in his trunk (under which he also found his Marauder's Map).
- The Weasley twins get Mrs. Weasley flowers, saying they appreciate her more now that they have to "wash their own socks."
- Harry's birthday is July 31st; theoretically, Harry could have been conceived on Halloween.
- Harry's parents were murdered by Voldemort. Quirrell lets in the Mountain Troll.
- Nearly Headless Nick was murdered on Halloween in 1492 (of which he marked the 500th anniversary with his 'Deathday Party' in CoS).
- Harry finds a petrified Mrs. Norris.
- Harry is disappointed that he can't go to Hogsmeade, and Sirius Black slashes the Fat Lady's portrait.
- The Goblet of Fire spits out Harry's name, which will eventually be the cause of Cedric's death.
- Sibyll Trelawney made the prophecy about Harry and Lord Voldemort to Dumbledore on Halloween.
In each Harry Potter book, the "bad guy" seems to make their appearance in Chapter 13!
Sorcerer's Stone
Professor Snape threatens Professor Quirrell, who we think is a decent man for resisting Snape. We soon discover that Professor Quirrell has joined with Lord Voldemort.
Chamber of Secrets
We learn about T.M. Riddle, which stands for Tom Marvolo Riddle, and is an anagram for I Am Lord Voldemort. We thought at first that Tom was a good person because he led us to believe that he had captured Hagrid with the creature from the Chamber of Secrets.
Prisoner of Azkaban
Wormtail, or Peter Pettigrew, fakes his death by hiding, making everyone believe that he had been eaten by Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. Of course, he's a rat, so how could we have thought there could possibly be anything wrong with him?
Goblet of Fire
'Mad Eye' Moody, or at least, who we think is 'Mad Eye' Moody, makes his appearance, and turns Draco Malfoy into a white ferret, leading everyone to believe that he's a cool guy. A little Veritaserum, and short supply of Polyjuice Potion help reveal the truth!
Order of the Phoenix
Harry has detention with Dolores Jane Umbridge, and at no point during the book could anyone have thought that she was even remotely close to being a nice, caring, or loving person.
Half-Blood Prince
Harry and Professor Dumbledore go into the Pensieve and see the first meeting of Professor Dumbledore and Tom Riddle (who is already showing his 'Dark Lord' tendencies) at the orphanage.
Contributing to this section: Adam
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- At five o'clock, when Vernon leaves work, he bumps in to a man wearing violet (shade of purple) robes.
- Quirrell's turban is purple.
- Hagrid swishes his umbrella down and with a flash of violet light, Dudley sprouts a curly pig's tail
- In Ollivander's window, a single wand sits on a faded, purple pillow.
- Dumbledore wears a purple cloak.
- There's a girl in Harry's class named Lavender Brown. Lavender is a shade of purple.
- Harry sees enormous purple toads in the Magical Menagerie.
- Dedalus Diggle's robes are purple.
- Harry's letter from Hogwarts is sealed with purple wax.
- During the train ride to Hogwarts, the sky is described as being "dark purple."
- The fire engulfing Harry and Hermione in the room with the potions is purple.
- At the end of Chapter 2, Harry recalls "a tiny man in a violet hat bowing to him once while out shopping."
- Harry recalls "that a bald man in a very long, purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street…" Thanks to Steph.
Chamber of Secrets
- At Flourish and Blotts, Lockhart's photographer's camera emits purple smoke every time a picture is taken.
- At one point, Ron's broken wand emits purple bubbles.
- Lockhart's favorite color is lilac, a light shade of purple.
- Fudge is wearing purple boots.
- Lockhart wears plum-colored robes to the Dueling Club.
- "London was soon far behind, replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors."
- When Filch gets sick his nose turns "unusually" purple.
- Young Mandrakes are tufty little purplish green plants.
- Neville buys a pointed purple crystal, among other things, to protect him from the heir of Slytherin.
- When McGonagall comes out onto the Quidditch field to announce that the game has been cancelled, she comes out with an enormous purple megaphone.
- Filch's Kwikspell letter is purple.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- The sleeping bags the students slept in are purple.
- The Knight Bus is purple.
- Stan Shunpike is wearing a purple uniform.
- Lee Jordan uses a large, purple megaphone to commentate the game.
- As Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hagrid's hut, the sun was setting and the sky "turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey."
Goblet of Fire
- The letter Mrs. Weasley sent to The Dursleys was purple.
- After eating the Ton Tongue Toffee, Dudley's tongue swells and turns purple.
- Ron gives Dobby a pair of violet socks Mrs. Weasley had made for him.
- The bag that holds the miniature models of the dragons is purple.
- The programs at the Quidditch World Cup are purple.
- A lady in a portrait who hangs out with the Fat Lady is called Violet.
- Mr. Roberts is described as having deep purple shadows under his eyes.
- A group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past Ludo and the Weasleys, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of magical fire that was sending violet sparks in the air.
- At the camp site, wizards in white long robes sat together roasting a rabbit over a blazing purple fire.
- When Harry looked at the ceiling that was enchanted to look like the sky outside, he noticed that it was very stormy looking, and the clouds were black and purple.
- The words the Omnioculars' commentary system uses are purple. The stairs are covered in a rich purple at the Quidditch World Cup stadium.
- The chairs in the Top Box of the Quidditch World Cup stadium are purple.
- Rita Skeeter wore a furry, purple-colored shirt.
- Rita Skeeter's photographer's camera emits purple smoke with every flash.
- Ron went purple when Fleur Delacour came to the Gryffindor table to borrow the bouillabaisse.
- The liquid that Madam Pomfrey pours on to Harry's cut after he faces the Horntail is purple. Cornelius Fudge is wearing a purple hat.
- Ludo Bagman wore a purple robe with yellow stars.
- One of the taps in the prefect bathroom gushes out purple bubbles.
- The Sleeping Potion Harry took after his encounter with Voldemort was purple.
Order of the Phoenix
- After Harry heard the loud crack while outside the Dursleys', two large purple hands reached through the open window and closed tightly around his throat.
- And then Aunt Petunias thin, horsey face appeared beside Uncle Vernons wide, purple one.
- Harry stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited for Dudley.
- Several more references to a purple Uncle Vernon: purple-faced, shouting, his fist still raised; the vein in his purple temple was throbbing worse than ever; Uncle Vernon seemed to be swelling, his great purple face stretching before Harrys eyes; …his massive purple face coming close to Harrys …
- Tonks was described as having short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet.
- Dedalus Diggle dropped his violet-colored top hat.
- Mundungus rescued Ron from an ancient set of purple robes that had tried to strangle him.
- Fred and George invent 'puking pastilles' to sell to students – the orange half makes a student throw up to get out of class; the purple half restores them to good health after leaving the class.
- Mrs. Weasley wore a quilted purple dressing gown the morning of Harry's hearing.
- In the Ministry of Magic, Harry noticed several pale violet paper aeroplanes in the lift.
- Fudge turns a shade of magenta 'of which Uncle Vernon would have been proud.'
- Fudge also turns a slightly deeper shade of puce (which is a dark brownish shade of purple for those of you reaching for a dictionary).
- Mrs. Weasley places a pair of maroon socks on Ron's pile of clothes.
- Tonks wore a purple hat shaped like a pork pie while accompanying Harry to the Hogwarts Express.
- At the staff table, Dumbledore wore deep-purple robes scattered with silvery stars and a matching hat.
- Filch came wheezing into the room.
- There were purple patches on his sunken, veined cheeks.
- Dumbledore was wearing a magnificently embroidered purple and gold dressing gown over a snowy white nightshirt when Harry came to tell him about the snake biting Mr. Weasley.
- Gilderoy Lockhart was wearing a long lilac dressing gown in St. Mungo's.
- A dull purple flush was creeping up Neville's plump face when he unexpectedly met Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in St. Mungo's.
- Again we meet the purple Knight Bus and Stan Shunpike in his purple uniform.
- Dolores Umbridge's face turned an ugly, patchy violet when she read Harry's interview in The Quibbler.
- Marietta Edgecombe's face was horribly disfigured by close-set purple pustules that spelled out SNEAK.
- One of the Fred and George's fireworks was a large, smoking, purple bat.
- Neville was turning steadily more purple while Crabbe overzealously restrained him in Umbridge's office.
- Neville had a large purple lump swelling above his right eye after escaping Umbridge's office.
- The sky was turned a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars.
- A Death Eater struck Hermione with a streak of what looked like purple flame.
- Tonks was wearing a bright purple T-shirt bearing the legend, "The Weird Sisters."
- And once again, Uncle Vernon turned a deeper shade of puce, this time while glaring at Mr. Weasley.
Half-Blood Prince
- The Ministry of Magic posts and distributes purple posters and leaflets with security advice and photographs of Death Eaters.
- Vernon Dursley is wearing a puce dressing gown when he opens the door to Dumbledore.
- Horace Slughorn first appears wearing lilac silk pajamas.
- Hermione ends up with a brilliantly purple black eye after an encounter with Fred and George's telescope.
- Fred and George's shop has a gigantic purple poster in one window with flashing yellow letters about 'U-NO-POO.'
- Ginny's new pygmy puff, Arnold, is purple.
- Dumbledore wears a 'flamboyantly cut suit of plum velvet' in his Pensieve memory of going to see Tom Riddle at the orphanage.
- A third-year girl delivers two scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon to Harry and Neville.
- Harry's Draught of Living Death turns the exact shade of lilac described by the textbook.
- Hermione's Draught of Living Death is a deep shade of purple.
- A great bang and a puff of purple smoke cleared to show that the Heads of House were able to reunite Susan Bones with her splinched leg.
- Mundungus was slowly turning purple after Harry pinned him against a wall by the throat for stealing Black family items.
- Ernie MacMillan invented his own potion, which had curdled and formed a purple dumpling at the bottom of his cauldron.
- The merpeople have purplish hair.
- What appears to be Dumbledore is wrapped in purple velvet with golden stars.
Other Purple References
- Many times throughout the books, characters (especially Vernon, Petunia, and Ron) are described as being purple in the face over something.
- JKR showed up to the movie premiere in a purple dress.
- The Hebridean Black Dragon's eyes are purple.
- The Graphorn has purple horns.
- Pride of Portree, a professional Quidditch team, has purple robes.
We don't know whether JKR is hinting at something with all these nose references, or if she just likes noses! Supposedly, in ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose. Could that mean anything? Big thanks to RoCkYz21 for compiling most of this list!
Dumbledore's Nose
- His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.
- Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.
- Harry's whole body went numb. Dumbledore was looking unusually grave. He stared down his very crooked nose at them, and Harry suddenly found himself wishing he and Ron were still being beaten up by the Whomping Willow.
- The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking.
- Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages.
- Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of great energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles, and an extremely crooked nose.
- He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, full length wizard's robes, and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion onto his long crooked nose.
- Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose.
- His long silver beard and hair gleamed in the torchlight as he drew level with Harry and looked up at Fudge through the half-moon spectacles that rested halfway down his very crooked nose.
- [Harry] put [his glasses] on and raised his head a little to find Dumbledore's crooked nose inches from his own.
- Half-moon spectacles were perched on his crooked nose, and he was wearing a long black traveling cloak and a pointed hat.
- "It is a long time since my last visit," said Dumbledore, peering down his crooked nose at Uncle Vernon. "I must say, your agapanthus are flourishing."
- Harry stared into the whitened face he knew so well, at the crooked nose and half-moon spectacles, and did not know what to do.
- Harry reached out, straightened the half-moon spectacles upon the crooked nose, and wiped a trickle of blood from the mouth with his own sleeve.
- Dumbledore was slumbering in a golden frame over the desk, his half-moon spectacles perched upon his crooked nose, looking peaceful and untroubled.
- "And then, the boy would return to Hogwarts, where he is under the crooked nose of that Muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take him?"
Snape's Nose
- Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.
- Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville.
- "Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other peoples' business."
- Harry spun around. There, his black robes rippling in a cold breeze, stood Severus Snape. He was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair, and at this moment, he was smiling in a way that told Harry he and Ron were in very deep trouble.
- Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.
- On Professor Sinistra's other side was the sallow-faced, hook-nosed, greasy-haired Potions master, Snape – Harry's least favorite person at Hogwarts.
- Harry's loathing of Snape was matched only by Snape's hatred of him, a hatred which had, if possible, intensified last year, when Harry had helped Sirius escape right under Snape's overlarge nose – Snape and Sirius had been enemies since their own school days.
- "Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs." Snape stared down his hooked nose at Colin, whose smile faded from his eager face.
- In the very centre of the group Harry saw the dark, greasy-haired head and prominent nose of his least favourite teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Snape.
- The surface of Hermione's potion, however, was a shimmering mist of silver vapour, and as Snape swept by he looked down his hooked nose at it without comment …
- It was not until the glowing yellow light was ten feet away from them, and had pulled off his Invisibility Cloak so that he could be seen, that he recognized, with a rush of pure loathing, the uplit hooked nose and long, black, greasy hair of Severus Snape.
- Trapped, with Slughorn's arm around his shoulders, Snape looked down his hooked nose at Harry, his black eyes narrowed. "Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything at all."
McGonagall's Nose
- "Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.
- Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose.
- Professor McGonagall gave a tiny sigh; Harry saw the nostrils of her sharp nose flare.
Madam Pince's Nose
- They waited, and a moment later the vulturelike countenance of Madam Pince appeared around the corner, her sunken cheeks, her skin like parchment, and her long hooked nose illuminated unflatteringly by the lamp she was carrying.
Mad-Eye Moody's Nose
- [His face] looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred.The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing.
- Mad-Eye Moody was sniffing at a chicken-leg with what remained of his nose …
Tonks's Nose
- Opposite Harry, Tonks was entertaining Hermione and Ginny by transforming her nose between mouthfuls. Screwing up her eyes each time with the same pained expression she had worn back in Harry's bedroom, her nose swelled to a beak-like protuberance that resembled Snape's, shrank to the size of a button mushroom and then sprouted a great deal of hair from each nostril. Apparently this was a regular mealtime entertainment, because Hermione and Ginny were soon requesting their favourite noses.
- I mean, Tonks is okay-looking when she isn't doing stupid things to her hair and her nose, but…"
Peter Pettigrew's Nose
- His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes.
- The man crept, hunchbacked, down the last few steps and moved into the room. He had small, watery eyes, a pointed nose, and wore an unpleasant simper.
Dobby's Nose
- The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm-and-leg holes.
- The house-elf's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at Harry through the darkness. A single tear was running down his long, pointed nose.
- He sank into a deep bow so that his pencil-like nose brushed the threadbare surface of the hearthrug and Hedwig gave an indignant hoot and fluttered on to the arm of Harry's chair.
Winky's Nose
- The tiny creature looked up and stretched its fingers, revealing enormous brown eyes and a nose the exact size and shape of a large tomato. It wasn't Dobby – it was, however, unmistakably a house-elf, as Harry's friend Dobby had been. Harry had set Dobby free from his old owners, the Malfoy family.
Kreacher and Grimmauld Place House-Elves' Noses
- Pressing her finger to her lips, she led him on tiptoe past a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains, behind which Harry supposed there must be another door, and after skirting a large umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall. A closer look showed Harry that the heads belonged to house-elves. All of them had the same rather snout-like nose.
- [Kreacher's]eyes were a bloodshot and watery grey and its fleshy nose was large and rather snoutlike.
- At the sight of Sirius, Kreacher flung himself into a ridiculously low bow that flattened his snoutlike nose on the floor.
- The gloomy house seemed warmer and more welcoming all of a sudden; even Kreacher looked less ugly as he poked his snoutlike nose into the kitchen to investigate the source of all the noise.
- There was a loud crack, and a house-elf appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat's ears, and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the Dursleys' shag carpet and covered in grimy rags.
Ron's Nose
- She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.
- And so he tried to imagine his other best friend, Ron Weasley's, reaction, and in a moment, Ron's red hair and long-nosed, freckled face seemed to swim before Harry, wearing a bemused expression.
- Ron, he saw, was now holding Hermione and stroking her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder, tears dripping from the end of his own long nose.
Cho Chang's Nose
- [Harry] could have counted the freckles on [Cho's] nose.
Viktor Krum's Nose
- Viktor Krum was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.
- Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, Harry caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He didn't need the punch on the arm Ron gave him, or the hiss in his ear, to recognize that profile.
- Cedric and his parents were just inside the door. Viktor Krum was over in a corner, conversing with his dark-haired mother and father in rapid Bulgarian. He had inherited his father's hooked nose.
Cedric Diggory's Nose
- Then there was the fact that Cedric looked the part of a champion so much more than he did. Exceptionally handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and gray eyes, it was hard to say who was receiving more admiration these days, Cedric or Viktor Krum.
Marietta Edgecombe's Nose
- Marietta gave a wail and pulled the neck of her robes right up to her eyes, but not before everyone had seen that her face was horribly disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word 'SNEAK'.
Neville's Grandmother's Nose
- "He's a good boy," she said, casting a sternly appraising look down her rather bony nose at Neville, "but he hasn't got his father's talent, I'm afraid to say."
We don't know whether JKR is hinting at something with all these watch references, or whether she just likes watches! (And she has a wrist watch on her website desktop!) Big thanks to RoCkYz21 for compiling most of this list!
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"
- He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.
- Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet.
- The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time.
- Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.
- When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.
Chamber of Secrets
- "Hermione, let me read your composition," said Ron desperately, checking his watch.
- "We'd better get going," said Harry, loosening the watch that was cutting into Goyle's thick wrist."We've still got to find out where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow…"
- Harry looked at his watch. Five of their precious sixty minutes had already passed.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- Uncle Vernon drained his teacup, glanced at his watch, and added, "I'd better be off in a minute, Petunia. Marge's train gets in at ten."
- "We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.
- Ron looked at his watch. "If we hurried, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early…"
- Hermione checked her watch. "We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in five minutes." They hurried through the portrait hole and into the crowd, still discussing Snape.
- "She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed them as they went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.
- "Nope," said Ron in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; Harry knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.
- "Yeah," said Harry, looking at his own watch. It was now two o'clock. "Wish she'd hurry up…"
- "I am going to lock you in. It is –" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."
- "Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing…."
- "D'you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.
- Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us – before Dumbledore locks the door –"
- "Oh, he's horrible," whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. "I bet he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off Sirius…." She checked her watch."Three minutes, Harry!"
- "I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"
Goblet of Fire
- Dudley was crammed into an armchair, his porky hands beneath him, clamped firmly around his bottom. Harry couldn't take the tension; he left the room and went and sat on the stairs in the hall, his eyes on his watch and his heart pumping fast from excitement and nerves.
- "Look at the time," Mrs Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch.
- They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Harry's hands and feet were freezing. Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch.
- "Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"
- "Three…" muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two…one…"
- Harry disentangled himself from Ron and got to his feet. They had arrived on what appeared to be a deserted stretch of misty moor. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, though very inexpertly: The man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes; his colleague, a kilt and a poncho.
- "Nearly six," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"
- So far, however, all they had managed to do was get the badges stuck on POTTER STINKS. Harry crept past them to the portrait hole and waited for a minute or so, keeping an eye on his watch.
- And still they walked, Harry getting more and more irritated as he jogged along in their wake, checking his watch every now and then.
- Wand tip alight, he crept along the bookshelves, pulling down more books – books of hexes and charms, books on merpeople and water monsters, books on famous witches and wizards, on magical inventions, on anything at all that might include one passing reference to underwater survival. He carried them over to a table, then set to work, searching them by the narrow beam of his wand, occasionally checking his watch…
- "Ten minutes?" Harry croaked. "Ten – ten minutes?" He looked down at his watch. Dobby was right. It was twenty past nine. A large, dead weight seemed to fall through Harry's chest into his stomach.
- Where were the other champions? Would he have time to take Ron to the surface and come back down for Hermione and the others? Would he be able to find them again? He looked down at his watch to see how much time was left – it had stopped working.
- Harry checked his watch, then remembered it hadn't been working since it had spent over an hour in the lake.
- One of the nifflers had suddenly leapt up and attempted to bite Pansy Parkinson's watch off her wrist. She shrieked and jumped backward.
- Harry took off his watch, which he was only wearing out of habit, as it didn't work anymore, and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he picked up a niffler. It put its long snout in Harry's ear and sniffed enthusiastically. It was really quite cuddly.
- History of Magic had rarely gone so slowly. Harry kept checking Ron's watch, having finally discarded his own, but Ron's was moving so slowly he could have sworn it had stopped working too. All three of them were so tired they could happily have put their heads down on the desks and slept; even Hermione wasn't taking her usual notes, but was sitting with her head on her hand, gazing at Professor Binns with her eyes out of focus.
- Hermione looked at her watch. "We haven't done any practicing!" she said, looking shocked. "We were going to do the Impediment Curse! We'll have to really get down to it tomorrow! Come on. Harry, you need to get some sleep."
Order of the Phoenix
- "Hes excellent," said Lupin, who was checking his watch.
- "I dont know, its just what Mad-Eye says," said Hermione, distractedly looking at her watch. "Wotcher, Harry," she said, winking. "Better hurry up, hadnt we, Molly?" she added, checking her watch.
- "Just a couple of people," Hermione repeated, checking her watch and looking anxiously at the door.
- A few goals and they would be in the lead as usual, Harry assured himself, bobbing and weaving through the other players in pursuit of something shiny that turned out to be Montagues watchstrap.
- "So, anyway," he checked his watch, "phase one is about to begin."
- "You will tell your Aurors to stop searching for my Care of Magical Creatures teacher so that he can return to work. I will give you " Dumbledore pulled a watch with twelve hands from his pocket and surveyed it, "half an hour of my time tonight ."
Half-Blood Prince
- Ron receives a heavy gold watch with odd symbols around the edge and tiny moving stars instead of hands from his parents for his seventeenth birthday.
- Arabella Figg
- Fleur Delacour
- Lavender Brown
- Lily Potter
- Madam "Poppy" Pomfrey
- Magnolia Crescent
- Moaning Myrtle
- Narcissa Malfoy
- Pansy Parkinson
- Petunia Dursley
- Privet Drive
- Remus Lupin
- Rose Zeller (first year Hufflepuff in OotP)
- Violet (lady in a portrait who hangs out with the Fat Lady)
- Wisteria Walk
- Hogwarts
- Hogsmeade
- Hog's Head
- Hog's Head sign has a severed boar's head on it.
- Hagrid's dog, Fang, is a boarhound.
- Harry said that Dudley looked like a "pig in a wig. (SS)
- Hagrid said this about Dudley after giving him a pig's tail: "Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." (SS)
- Dudley's "piggy little eyes" were fixed on the [television] screen. (PoA)
- Aunt Marge was like a vast life buoy with piggy eyes. (PoA)
- Ron's owl's name is Pigwidgeon – "Pig" for short. (GoF)
- Harry asked Dudley if he had been told he looked like a pig that's been taught to walk on its hind legs. (OotP)
- "Pig snout" is used as a Gryffindor password.
- Tonks tranformed her nose into a pig snout for Ginny and Hermione. (OotP)
- There are two towering pillars at the entrance gates of Hogwarts on either side atop which are "two winged boars." (OotP)
Contributing to this section: Sita, Rebecca, and Stacy
Foreshadowing Snape's Love? – In SS, when Harry first meets Snape, Snape asks Harry "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Asphodel is a type of Lily meaning "my regrets follow you to the grave." Wormwood means "absence" and symbolizes bitter sorrow. Basically, he is saying "I bitterly regret Lily's death." (Thanks to Tessa for the tip!)
Sorting Hat Stool – In SS, a four-legged stool is used for the Sorting, but in PoA and GoF, it is a three-legged stool. Oh, and in OotP, it is just a "stool."
Long Fingers – Voldemort, Dumbledore, Snape, Mr. Ollivander, Sibyll Trelawney, Dobby, and goblins are all frequently described as having long fingers (Voldemort's are described as "unnaturally" long). Could long fingers be a sign of magical power?
Cat Lovers – Argus Filch and Arabella Figg: they have the same initials, both are Squibs, and both love cats!
Wide-Mouthed Tree Frog – We've known ever since Sorcerer's Stone that Harry was going to be replaced as Seeker! At the beginning of the chapter right after Harry catches the Snitch in his mouth, Draco is making fun of Harry and saying how a "wide-mouthed tree frog is going to replace Harry as Seeker" next. This didn't exactly come true, but in Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge (the wide-mouthed tree frog, check all the toad references about her) bans him from the team, essentially replacing him with Ginny! Thanks to Leah for this one.
The Marauders – James, Sirius, and Remus, all end in 'S,' are loyal members of the Marauders and would never betray the group. Peter, whose name ends in an 'R,' betrayed the Marauders by giving away James' secret and allowing Sirius to be wrongfully sent to Azkaban. And here's another Marauder thought: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs (aka Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Potter), the best friends who invented the Marauders Map, listed their names in no particular order. But Prongs (James) died first, then Padfoot (Sirius)… Could Wormtail be next?
How Old? – In the "enormous, old" reference book where Flamel is mentioned, it says that he was 665 years old as of "last year." That means he was the big 666 when the book was published.
Number, Please – In Order of the Phoenix, the phone number to get into the Ministry of Magic is 6-2-4-4-2 (which spells out "MAGIC" on the phone keypad).
"711" – The seemingly random number of Sirius's vault, 711 (which appears on page 315 in the UK copy of PoA), is also the number of the page on which Sirius falls through the veil in the British version of OotP.
Not so Final – Harry seems to take his finals only every other year: he took them his first year, Dumbledore cancelled finals for the whole school in his second year, he took them his third year, he was exempt from finals as a Triwizard champion in his fourth year, he took OWLs his fifth year, and in his sixth year all examinations are postponed.
Dursley Post – Harry receives a few Christmas packages from the Dursleys while at Hogwarts. How do the Dursleys send Harry the packages? They refuse to have anything to do with magic and they hate owls…maybe through Dumbledore? And since they normally don't give Harry presents at Privet Drive, do they send the packages (such as they are) because Dumbledore SUGGESTS they do?
Mirror, Mirror – There are instances where mirrors talk. In Chapter 4 of CoS, a mirror at the Burrow says to Harry: "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" And in Chapter 4 of PoA (another Chapter 4!), "'I'm not going to be murdered,' Harry said aloud. 'That's the spirit dear,' said his MIRROR sleepily." Bring to mind a certain two-way mirror Sirius gave Harry in OotP? Maybe it will be useful after all…
Red and Green – There are quite a few references to combinations of red and green: Gryffindor-red, Slytherin-green; Ron's maroon (red) Weasley sweater and Harry's green one; Dobby's Christmas gift to Harry, a pair of socks – one red, with broomsticks, the other green with Snitches; in the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Draco are told by Hagrid to send green sparks up in the air if they found the unicorn, red sparks if they are in danger; Voldemort's eyes are red and Harry's eyes are green; Lily was a redhead with green eyes; The Irish National Quidditch team wore green robes, Bulgaria wore red; Ron's dress robes were maroon and Harry's were 'bottle green,' Voldemort's green Killing Curse and Harry's red Disarming Spell that collided when they dueled.
Blue Candles – The candles on the walls of Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day party burn an unusual color – blue! Blue-burning candles are also found on the walls of the large, circular, spinning room in the Department of Mysteries. In SS, Hermione conjures blue fire and scoops it into a jar. The Goblet of Fire burns with a blue-white flame. And speaking of odd colored fire, Harry and Hermione encounter purple and black fire conjured by Snape's spell to protect the Sorcerer's Stone.
Knock, Knock – Dumbledore's office door has a griffin door-knocker…'Griffin-Door', get it??? Could this have been Godric Gryffindor's office?
Rats! – Dudley's friend, Piers Polkiss, shares his initials with Peter Pettigrew. Both are likened to rats. Piers is described as "a scrawny boy with a face like a rat" and Peter, an Animagus with the ability to turn into a rat, also had "something of the rat linger[ing] around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes."
Cat-Dung – In OotP, Mundungus Fletcher is described as having "short bandy legs" and "long, straggly ginger hair" while Crookshanks is described as a "bandy-legged ginger cat." In PoA, Crookshanks's fur is described as "long." JKR has told us Crookshanks is not an Animagus, but it is an interesting detail.
Out of the Mouth of Ron – In CoS, Harry says, "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either." Ron jokingly replies: "Could've been anything…maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favor…." He DID murder Myrtle, through the Basilisk.
Serpent got your Tongue – The Basilisk comes out of the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets, and the Dark Mark is a serpent coming out of the mouth of a skull. Seems to be a Slytherin thing.
Sirius' Knife – In PoA, Sirius Black slashed the Fat Lady's portrait with a knife. Later, he stood over Ron "holding a knife." Could this be the same knife that Sirius gives Harry as a present in OotP?
Alliterations (Doubles) – Several characters and creatures have repeating initials: AA (Archibald Alderton), BB (Bathilda Bagshot, Bellatrix Black, Bertie Botts, Bloody Baron, Broderick Bode), CC (Cho Chang, Chudley Cannons, Colin Creevey), DD (Dudley Dursley, Dedalus Diggle, Dilys Derwent), FF (Fat Friar, Filius Flitwick, Florean Fortescue), GG (Gladys Gudgeon, Godric Gryffindor, Gregory Goyle), HH (Helga Hufflepuff, Holyhead Harpies, Hungarian Horntail), II (Inigo Imago), JJ (Joey Jenkins), LL (Luna Lovegood), MM (Minerva McGonagall, 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Marlene McKinnon, Moaning Myrtle, Morag MacDougal), PP (Peter Pettigrew, Piers Polkiss, Pansy Parkinson, Parvati and Padma Patil, Madam 'Poppy' Pomfrey), QQ (Quirinus Quirrell), RR (Rowena Ravenclaw), SS (Severus Snape, Salazar Slytherin, Stan Shunpike, Swedish Short-Snout), TT (Ted Tonks, Tilden Toots), VV (Vindictus Viridian), WW (Willy Widdershins) and I think we could throw in Barnabas the Barmy, Emeric the Evil, Elfric the Eager, Peeves the Poltergeist, Wendelin the Weird, Wimbourne Wasps and William (Bill) Weasley. And how about Fawkes the Phoenix? A phonetic double!
Boggarts Don't Tell – In PoA, Lupin says, "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone…" Yet in OotP, "Moody's electric-blue eye swiveled upward and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen…'Yeah, I see it…Yeah, it's a Boggart…'" How does Mad-Eye know it's a Boggart if nobody knows what they look like when they are alone?
Detention with Dolores – Dolores means "pain" in Spanish.
Bugs – In GOF, Hermione pounds up beetles in Potions class while wondering how Rita Skeeter knew that Viktor Krum had asked her to visit him over the summer. And beetles can be SO annoying.
Yew, Too? – In GOF, Harry and Cedric take a Portkey into the graveyard, where there is a large yew tree near Tom Riddle Senior's grave…and when Harry gets his first wand in SS, Ollivander reveals to Harry that Ol' Voldy's wand is made of yew.
Cover Clues – Covers on the HP US editions seem to depict a character/creature who dies in the book: Sorcerer's Stone shows a unicorn; Chamber of Secrets shows a snake (Basilisk?) and Fawkes (who dies and is reborn); Goblet of Fire shows Cedric; Order of the Phoenix shows Sirius; and Half-Blood Prince shows Dumbledore. Prisoner of Azkaban had no deaths, but depicts Buckbeak on the cover who was sentenced to death.
Vanishing Act – The Vanishing Cabinets used by Malfoy and the Death Eaters in HBP have quite a history throughout the HP books. In CoS, Harry hides from Malfoy in a 'black cabinet' in Borgin and Burkes, then Peeves drops an 'extremely valuable vanishing cabinet' to distract Filch from giving Harry detention. Harry later sees the wreckage of the black and gold cabinet after meeting Nearly Headless Nick who had persuaded Peeves to drop it. In OotP, Fred and George tell Harry about forcing Montague into the vanishing cabinet on the first floor for trying to dock them points. In HBP, Draco stood in Borgin and Burkes with his back to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, just visible beyond the very same large black cabinet in which Harry had once hidden to avoid Malfoy. Later, Harry, while looking for a place to hide the Half-Blood Prince's potion book from Snape, 'took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet' in the Room of Requirement.
Went to Pieces – Voldemort's soul is probably in seven pieces, and there are seven books. What if one piece were hidden in each book?
- Book 1 = Voldemort is introduced (the last part of his soul in him)
- Book 2 = Riddle's diary
- Book 3 = ?
- Book 4 = Voldemort's snake, Nagini
- Book 5 = The locket in Sirius's house
- Book 6 = Marvolo's ring
- Book 7 = ?
Hats Off – In HBP, Dumbledore states that Gryffindor's sword is the only relic left of Godric Gryffindor's – but the Sorting Hat belonged to Gryffindor as well.
Snake Eyes – Could the snake Harry released from the zoo in Sorcerer's Stone be Nagini? Note on this theory: the snake in Sorcerer's Stone is a Boa Constrictor in the book (and a Burmese Python in the movie), both of which are non-venomous, while Nagini is definitely venomous. But Nagini might be venomous BECAUSE it's a Horcrux and now evil and Voldemort… ahem… sorry. Never mind.
Who is RAB? – For those of you who haven't yet heard the loud rumblings around you: could RAB be Sirius Black's brother, Regulus Black? Remember, he had wanted to leave the Death Eaters, and he was killed for it…and remember a heavy locket was found in the Black house that couldn't be opened. Could this be the missing Horcrux from the cave? Where is it now? Has Kreacher stashed it away with his other Black family "treasures"? Did Mundungus perhaps "borrow" it along with the family silver? And think about this: the note in the Dutch version of Half-Blood Prince says RAZ instead of RAB "Black" is zwart in Dutch… hmmm…
Black Stars – Seems many members of the Black family have been named after stars:
- Sirius – Called the "Dog Star," it is the brightest star and is located in the constellation of Canis Major.
- Bellatrix – Often translated as "female warrior," this is the third brightest star in the constellation of Orion.
- Regulus – The heart of the lion in the constellation Leo.
- Alphard – The only bright star in the constellation of Hydra, known as "the solitary one."
- Andromedra – "The Chained Maiden," a constellation also containing the Andromedra galaxy.
Prediction Puzzle – MuggleNet has received several versions of the following coincidences about Ron and Harry's predictions, so we'll post one here that mostly summarizes what we've been receiving – make of it what you will!
In GOF, Ron and Harry sit making up predictions for Trelawney's class. If you read the book enough times, you start to realize that the predictions are more like foreshadowings. Ron suggests to Harry that he should write down that Harry gets stabbed in the back by someone he thought was a friend. That comes true when Ron gets mad at Harry for becoming a champion. Then Ron says that he'll come off worse in a fight. Later, Hermione and Ron fight about the Yule Ball and Harry thought that Hermione had gotten the point much better than Ron had. Harry said that Ron would lose a treasured possession and the gold he gave to Harry for the Omnioculars disappeared. Later, Hermione came up after Harry and Ron were finishing their predictions and observes that Ron seems to be drowning twice. For the second Triwizard task, Ron and Hermione are placed on the bottom of lake and Harry thinks they'll drown if he doesn't get them out. Thanks to Lindsay for putting it all together!
Contributing to this section: The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter, The Harry Potter Lexicon, Judy, Padfoot127, NuttyNiffler, Stine, Carly, Mallory, Serenity, Kacedawg625, Joan, Ceri_Granger, Wizard 319, Tack, Heather, Fides Araneta, Samantha, Katie, funy_frog18, Kimberely, Sandy, AshleyBalt, daffodilz1402, Artemis, Angel, Pat, Puppy, Paula, Spirit5960,Lily4James, Amy, Keely, Mog, Raven, Olivia, Rachael, sarroopoo, Stephen, Bhaktirpatel, Aliah, Erica, Bob, Raydel, Susan, Amanda, Ashley, Slyserpent, Graeme, Liz, Breland, Brad, Alex, Matt, Wendy, Hannah, Nick, Mel, Jessica, JJ, Valentina, Sam, Rayne, and Victoria
Death Clues
Death Clues
J.K. Rowling has hidden a lot of clues in the Harry Potter series that tell us who is going to die before they actually die! However, it takes a cunning eye to spot them…
- OotP
- On page 60 (US edition), just as they enter number twelve Grimmauld Place, it says "The other's hushed voices were giving Harry an odd feeling of foreboding; it was as though they had just entered the house of a dying man."
- On Harry's first night at Grimmauld Place, the entire house sits down to dinner. In total, thirteen of them eat together. According to Trelawney in PoA, when thirteen people dine together, the first one to rise is the first to die. No prizes for guessing who rises first here: "Sirius started to rise from his chair." (Note: This is arguable as Ginny is not sitting at the table at the time, but she may be counted as "being" in the room and eating with the others, thus it can still count as foreshadowing.)
- Sirius' house is number twelve, Grimmauld place. The Grim is a sign that death is coming. – Thanks, Kristin
- When Fred and George were levitating dinner onto the table at 12 Grimmauld Place, they lost control of one of the knives. It dropped and embedded itself into the table right very near Sirius. This could be foreshadowing Sirius' death.
- On page 462 (UK version), it says "Harry had an unpleasant constricted sensation in his chest; he did not want to say goodbye to Sirius. He had a bad feeling about this parting; he didn't know when they would next see each other." This speaks for itself; the part about them never seeing each other again was true in the end.
- A lot of people say that Sirius's Animagus form (big, black, shaggy dog) is uncannily similar to the Grim and so his death was coming from when we first met him in PoA.
- In Chapter 9, Sirius says, "It's a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open; once he does, the whole Ministry's going to be begging us to forgive them. And I'm not sure I'll be accepting their apology." Why? Because he's dead by then. – Thanks, LizzyBeth
- In Book 1, Chapter 15, when Hagrid, Harry and Hermione run into the Centaurs, Ronan makes the pronouncement, "Always the innocent are the first victims." Everyone thought Sirius was guilty, but he turned out to be innocent.
- On page 477 (US edition), Sirius says, "This is how it is – this is why you're not in the Order – you don't understand – there are things worth dying for!"
- In St. Mungos, when they are going to visit Mr. Weasley, 'They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the "Creature-Induced Injuries" corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words 'DANGEROUS' DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES.'
If you put these words on a sign, they would read:
Creature-Induced Injuries.
Dai Llewellyn Ward
Serious Bites
Take the first word of each of these and what do you get get? Creature Dangerous Dai Serious? No – Kreacher dangerous, Die Sirius…
- In the American book, the first page shows the book title and an illustration. There is a picture of Sirius's Animagus form leaving 12 Grimmauld Place. It shows that Sirius would be leaving something; in this case, it was life. – Thanks, Elz P.
- Page 20 of the UK edition: "The darkness pressed on his eyes like a weightless veil." This looks like foreshadowing to me! – Thanks, Adam
- Sirius tells Harry, Ron and Hermione to call him "Snuffles." To snuff it means to die, foreshadowing the death of Sirius.
- On page 741 (US version), about in the middle of the page, Kreacher says, "Master will not come back from the Department of Mysteries!" he said gleefully. "Kreacher and his Mistress are alone again!" He meant this literally. – Thanks, Jess
- On page 75 (US version), Molly Weasley says: "The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now, everyone's dying to see you, Harry." This is very unlikely to be a death clue, but I thought I'd mention it all the same. – Thanks, Sila
- On page 773 (US version): Harry goes up to the archway and the veil in the Department of Mysteries. He gets up to the archway and calls for Sirius, possibly foreshadowing Sirius's death by calling for him at the place of it. – Thanks, Eli
- On page 717 (UK edition), in the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort, it says, "Dumbledore was stood in front of the golden gates." The golden gates could be associated with heaven or the afterlife, hinting towards his death in Book 6. – Thanks, Breanna
- On page 113 (US edition), Narcissa Malfoy says: "I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."
- On page 166 (US edition), Harry, Ron, and Hermione talk about Dumbledore's arm and Hermione says, "It looks dead."
- On page 551 (US edition), Dumbledore says to Harry: "If I tell you to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you?"
- On page 573 (US edition), the following occurred:
- Dumbledore drank [the potion], and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, KILL ME!
- This – this one will! gasped Harry. Just drink this . . . It'll be over . . . all over!
- On page 167 (US edition):
- "Well, there's one good thing," he said savagely. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."
- "What do you mean?" asked Ron.
- "That job's jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year …. Quirrell actually died doing it…. Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…."
- As it turns out, it was a death that got Snape out of the job for next year (presumably, anyway). – Thanks, Amy
- On page 543 (US version), Professor Trelawney gives a major clue about Dumbledores death when she explains how she is foreseeing calamity and disaster:
- "If Dumbledore chooses to ignore the warnings the cards show-" Her bony hand closed suddenly around Harry's wrist. "Again and again, no matter how I lay them out," and she pulled a card dramatically from underneath her shawls. "The lightning struck tower," she whispered. Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time."
- Seems as if another one of Trelawney's predictions was right. – Thanks, Chelsea
- On page 549 (US edition), Harry yells at Dumbledore:
- "Haven't you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?"
- You could relate this to the fact that Snape later stares at Dumbledore "with revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face" before he kills him. This would suggest that Snape isn't actually working for the good side. – Thanks, Cristyn
- On page 197 (US edition), Dumbledore says, "I make mistakes just like the next man. In fact, being – forgive me – rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger."
- This could foreshadow the fact that Dumbledore's possible mistake in trusting Snape led to his death. – Thanks, Danielle
- One of the chapters in this book is entitled "Phoenix's Lament." A lament is "a cry of sorrow or grief," so obviously Fawkes would lament over Dumbledore.
- As Professor Trelawney tells us in Book 6, whenever 13 people gather, the first to leave the group will be the first to die. In Chapter 5, 13 of the survivors of Voldemort's attack (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, Ginny, Hagrid, Tonks, and Lupin) all drink Firewhiskey together. Lupin is both the first to finish his glass (he had "drained his glass in one") and the first to leave the gathering (to look for Mad-Eye's body). (pp 79 and 81, US edition) – Thanks, Meg!
- James Potter (Prongs) was the first of the Marauders to die, followed by Sirius (Padfoot) in Order of the Phoenix. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs appear to be dying in reverse order, which is confirmed by the end of the book. – Thanks, Ryan!
- When George lost his ear after Voldemort's attack, he lost something that was an important part of a pair to him. This could foreshadow the loss of his twin. – Thanks, Stephie! Similarly, the Weasley twins are referred to as individuals throughout the book; when the trio hear "Potterwatch" on the radio they immediately recognize that it is Fred, not George, who is on the show. The fact that they are seen not as a pair for perhaps the first time in the series could give a clue that only one of them will survive the final battle.
- On page 328 (US edition), we find out that written on the Potters' gravestones is "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." This is not strictly a death clue, although it does foreshadow the topic and its importance at the end of Deathly Hallows. – Thanks, Angela
- Harry thinks that he "seemed set on course to become just as reckless a godfather to Teddy Lupin as Sirius Black had been to him" on page 418 (UK edition). This could foreshadow the deaths of Tonks and Lupin, as this would put their son Teddy in the same situation, in regards to upbringing, as Harry found himself in. – Thanks, Agnieszka
Sorting Hat Songs
Sorting Hat Songs
The Sorting Hat is famous at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for many reasons. It holds the important responsibility of determining a new student's house, and also creates its own songs that it sings to the whole student body at the beginning of each Sorting Ceremony that takes place during the Welcome Feast. Although Harry missed out on the Sortings in his second, third, and sixth year, he did manage to hear the others. Read on to find them all!
- CoS
- PoA
- GoF
- OotP
Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
Harry wasn't the only one to miss the Sorting in Chamber of Secrets. He and Ron flew the Weasleys' car to Hogwarts after Dobby had sealed the gateway to Platform 9 3/4, and then crashed it into the Whomping Willow that sits on the school grounds. Lucky for the both of them, Professor McGonagall didn't find it necessary to expel them!
Harry missed the Sorting in his third year because a Dementor crawled into the trio's compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and the very presence of the Dementor made Harry pass out. Harry was taken to the hospital wing once the train reached Hogwarts.
A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
In times of old when I was new
And Hogwarts barely started
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted:
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning,
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
"Together we will build and teach!"
The four good friends decided
And never did they dream that they
Might someday be divided,
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there and so can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name,"
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,
And treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light,
For each of the four founders had
A House in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him,
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew,
Thus the Houses and their founders
Retained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The Houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with dueling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend
And at last there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
Were whittled down to three
Have the Houses been united
And they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
Because that is what I'm for,
But this year I'll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfill my duty
And must quarter every year
Still I wonder whether sorting
May not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within.
I have told you, I have warned you…
Let the Sorting now begin.
After Harry's meeting with the Slug Club on the train to Hogwarts, Harry decided to follow Blaise Zabini as he entered into a Slytherin compartment containing Malfoy. However, when done "spying" on him, Malfoy cast the body-binding spell and Harry couldn't move a muscle, especially after Malfoy completely stomped all over his face. Tonks came to the train and healed Harry, but he arrived late and missed the Sorting Ceremony.
Harry does not attend Hogwarts in this book. Given the takeover of the school by Death Eaters, we are not even sure there was a house sorting.