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Help/About
Harry Potter and Lexicon FAQ
INDEX of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Also known as "Fantastic Answers and Where to Find Them"
About the Harry Potter Lexicon:
General facts and questions about the books:
Questions about the timelines:
Other Help Topics
The Harry Potter Lexicon
is a very thorough source of information about the Harry
Potter books. You can find the answers to just about any question you might
have somewhere in its hundreds of pages. If you're having trouble finding
what you are looking for, check out these suggestions:
Search for the answer using the
site search.
This is helpful if you're looking for something that has an
easily-identified keyword. For example, if you're looking for the answer
to the question of who is the head of Ravenclaw house, you can search using
the keyword "Ravenclaw." Trouble is, this will give you not only the page
with the correct answer, but also every single page that has the word Ravenclaw
on it - and there are a lot of them.
You can improve your search by using more than one keyword. In the example
above, you can give yourself a better shot at finding the answer you need
if you search using this: head Ravenclaw. Note that you don't have
to use the "of" in that phrase. The search will find pages that have both
words on them. This still won't narrow it down to the single spot on the
exact page, though.
Use your head. Once you have found a bunch of pages, think logically. Which
one is most likely to give you what you need? If you're looking for the
head of Ravenclaw house, it probably makes sense to choose the page that
specifically talks about that house. After all, if you choose the page
from the Wizard's List, you'll still have to search through quite a lot
of information to find the one you really wanted. There are ways to help
with searching large pages, though...check the next tip for more on that.
If you are faced with a long, long page of information--that page of witches
and wizards that start with the letters D through G, for example--you can
actually search the page itself. Under "edit" up on the menu bar, you'll
find a "search" or "find" option which allows you to search the page for
a particular word or phrase. In the case we're talking about, you wouldn't
want to search for "Ravenclaw," of course, since there may very well be
a number of people listed from that house. Instead, search for the word
"head."
Search using the menus. This is actually a pretty good way to find what
you need, assuming you can follow the logic of the menu system. That's
not always easy to do, even with the best of menus. If what you're looking
for is pretty straightforward, though, you can probably find it easily.
Let's go back to that "who is the head of Ravenclaw" example. If you think
about it, Ravenclaw house should be easy to find. Look at the menus
and you'll see "Wizarding World." That's going to cover things about Hogwarts,
so start there. Once you get there, you'll see a link to "Places." That's
pretty obvious too, since Hogwarts is a place in the Wizarding World. Sure
enough, you'll find Hogwarts listed there, and one click takes you to the
main Hogwarts page. You'll see the shields for each house on that page,
and clicking the one for Ravenclaw will take you to the Ravenclaw page
just as nicely as you please.
We get a lot of questions emailed to us every
day, and we do try to answer them as best we can. There are basically two
reasons why we don't answer an email sent to us. The first is if the answer
to the question being asked is in the Lexicon, either here in the FAQ or
elsewhere. We figure that you can just look that up yourself. We simply
don't have time to act as everyone's personal research staff. The other
reason that we don't answer is that you're writing to tell us your own
theories or ideas about the Harry Potter universe. We're not uninterested,
it's just that we don't have time to get into a hundred different discussions
about why Lupin didn't change into a werewolf until the moon came from
behind a cloud or where Hagrid might have met McGonagall during that missing
24 hours. There are great places to discuss those kinds of things online,
and we suggest that you go find a good discussion group or chat room and
have at it. So before you email us, check this this page to see if your
question is already answered here, then do some searching in the Lexicon
to see if the topic you're talking about is already included. If not, then
by all means write us. We can't guarantee an answer, but we do try. In
particular, we appreciate email from people who have spotted errors in
the Lexicon. More often than not, what they see as an error is simply a
different interpretation of the same facts or is already covered in one
place or another (like the "James is a Seeker!" email we get a lot of),
but sometimes people spot glaring goofs that slipped by us, and we keep
a file of errors that need correcting and get to them as quickly as we
can.
Okay, here are the questions that most people ask:
How do you know what year things happen in?
All the dates in the Lexicon are based on the date on Nearly-Headless
Nick's Deathday Party cake. He states that this is his 500th Deathday,
and the cake says that he was killed on October 31, 1492. That makes the
Halloween of the Deathday Party in CS October 31, 1992. All other dates
are figured from that one. There are no other specific dates mentioned
in the books, so the Lexicon uses this date as its point of reference.
This timeline was verified by Rowling and is included "officially" on the
Chamber of Secrets DVD.
Is that the only possible system for dating events in the Harry Potter
books? No, not at all. We've seen several other timelines which derive
their "correctness" from some other details, such as the
known
date of Nicolas Flamel's birth. And that's fine. However, no timeline
will ever match every detail, that's clear. No matter how you figure it,
the books cannot be pegged to a specific range of years.
But the most obvious and certain date given in the books is the one
on the cake, so we're sticking with that one, and since that's the time
frame Rowling okayed and verified, we're running with it. The important
thing to keep in mind when you consider the dates for things in the books
is that the whole point of the timeline is to put events in order in relation
to each other. Whether or not you like the dating system used by the Lexicon,
you will still be able to appreciate the overall scope of the events in
the Harrry Potter universe from the timeline as given here.
Still uneasy about those dates? Here's a few other places to go for
information:
Problems
with Time in the Harry Potter Books
How
can Dudley have a Playstation if GF took place in 1994-1995?
How do you know that Lily's maiden name was Evans?
I thought Hagrid was in Hufflepuff, but you say Gryffindor. Which
is correct?
How do
you know that McGonagall is about 70 and Dumbledore is about 150 years
old?
All of these
facts (and quite a few others) were revealed by JKR in various interviews.
Some of them, like Lily's last name, were verified in OP. You can read
the interviews for yourself by going to the Sources
of Lexicon Information page and following the links. If a fact is listed
in Lexicon, you can rest assured that it came directly from JKR herself.
To figure out where a specific fact turned up, check the source reference
(see the Sources of Lexicon Information page for details on those too).
Okay, now the film clearly shows that James was a Seeker,
but the Lexicon says that he was a Chaser. What's up with that?
Yes, the film indicates that James was a Seeker. Not only that, but
he also plays around with a "borrowed" Golden Snitch in the Pensieve scene
in OP. The film is not canon. It wasn't written by Rowling. OP never says
James was a Seeker, even though he did have a Snitch. And she did say in
an interview that he was a Chaser, so Chaser it is. If you're not clear
about the whole "canon" thing, there's a more detailed
discussion below.
What do those little abbreviations
mean, like "PS5" or "Sch2"?
A complete list of these sources and their abbreviations is found on the
Sources of Lexicon Information page.
Why aren't there games or fan fiction or coloring pages or
any other sorts of fun things on the Lexicon website?
The Lexicon
is a reference work. Frankly, it's the best reference work available in
any format about the Harry Potter books. It's not complete yet, but it's
already quite an incredible resource. Almost all of it is written and compiled
by one person, me. I just don't have time to add things to the site that
aren't related to what this site is all about. There are plenty of sites
around that focus on those types of activities.
Okay, but
why aren't there rumors? How can this be the
best source for information if it doesn't include rumors?
The encyclopedia
part of the Lexicon, like Professor Binns, deals strictly with facts--solid,
verifiable facts. If it's in that part of the Lexicon, it's "canon." So
if you want to find out what house Lily Potter was in and you find the
answer in the Lexicon, you know that it's correct. The essays, on the other
hand, tend to be more speculative. Any such speculation is rooted in canon,
of course, but things like the intricate workings of magic or potential
romantic relationships between characters are the opinions of the authors
of those essays. It is your job as reader to evaluate their assumptions
and opinions and make up your own mind.
Well then,
what ABOUT the films? Why don't you include movie
information? Or stuff about the various merchandise that's coming out?
Other sites
handle that information. The best source I know of is the Leaky Cauldron,
although I check MuggleNet on a regular basis too. The Lexicon covers only
information that is considered to be "canon." UPDATE: We have added pages
for each of the films listing a variety of information and giving links
to other sites. See About the
Films.
Canon? What
is considered "canon"? And where do you come off making
the decision about what's "canon" and what isn't?
There is a
difference between what's official and what's canon. Lots of things are
official, including the films. But the information from those sources didn't
come from J. K. Rowling herself, and that's really the crucial point. Only
information which comes directly from the author is considered canon. I
realize that she had a lot of input into the creation of the film, but
she didn't chose the names for every shop sign in Diagon Alley (so we can't
say that there's a Daily Prophet office there, even though the film shows
the sign) and she didn't approve every line of dialogue. Quite a bit of
information in the films contradicts what we know from the books, in fact.
Just for your information, here's the list of what's considered canon,
listed in order of "correctness":
the novels and the "school books" (Fantastic Beasts and Quidditch
Through the Ages)
the illustrations in the "school books" (which were drawn by Rowling herself)
but not the pictures in the novels
interviews with Rowling where her actual words are given
sections of the film/games/etc. which are known to be written by or okayed
by Rowling (so far the flashback sequence in
PS/f showing Lily's death
is the only information that fits this criteria that we know of)
Material and information which does not come from one of these sources
is not canon, which means it's not really part of the Harry Potter universe
as created by the author. Please don't misinterpret this to mean that I
disapprove of the movies. I love the films. But these things are NOT canon.
You mean that absolutely everything on the Lexicon website is straight
from Rowling herself? What about the maps? If she didn't draw them, they
can't be "canon," can they? You must be making some assumptions somewhere
along the line.
It would be impossible to create a website like this without making
a few assumptions here and there. Some of these assumptions are minor,
like calling Mr. Borgin the owner of Borgin and Burkes, along with an unseen
Mr. Burke. We really don't know that he's the owner--it doesn't actually
say so. Other assumptions are a bit more far reaching, like the whole timeline
question. We try our best to keep these kinds of assumptions to minimum,
and we change the wording on a page every so often when someone catches
something that isn't necessarily true. As for the maps, no, they aren't
completely canon. They are, shall we say, visual representations of the
information given in the books. You might say they're extremely well-researched
fan art. They do incorporate all known information as to the relationship
of various features to each other, but since the books don't tell everything,
some things have to be invented to fill in the gaps. So you can ignore
them if you like and just consider the lists of relevant facts which appear
under most of them.
Your spell lists and character biographies are incredible. I have
a web site of my own. May I copy your stuff and
put it on my site?
Thanks for the compliment. I compile and write this for my own enjoyment
and part of that enjoyment is knowing that others find it interesting and
enjoyable too. And I understand that you'd really love to have the kind
of quality work you find in the Lexicon for your own site. However, I don't
give permission for people to just copy my work for their own use. Not
only is that illegal, since everything in the Lexicon is copyrighted, it's
also just plain wrong. Hey, I did all the work, I put in all the time,
it's my skill and talent in this area which allowed the Lexicon to come
into being. No one else has the right to use my work. The Lexicon is the
only place on the web where Lexicon content may be displayed.
However, I do understand that a lot of folks simply don't have the time
or the ability to create something like this, and that they would love
to provide an encyclopedia of Harry Potter for users of their web sites.
If that's you, instead of copying, just use links. I don't mean that you
have to link just to the main page, I'm talking about "deep links." You
may link to anything, as long as it stays a separate and distinct entity
and the link is clearly labeled as taking the user off your site to the
Lexicon. For example, if you want to provide a spell encyclopedia for your
users, create a link directly to the spell encyclopedia's main page. In
this way you can provide a library of links to the content of the Lexicon
and your users can jump to my site when they need information.
Please don't frame my site, by the way. The only site I've given permission
to for framing is Ask Jeeves. If you're not them, don't frame my site,
simple as that. Framing someone else's site makes it look their site is
part of yours, and that's illegal copying. Also, don't use artwork or maps
from the Lexicon on your pages by linking to them directly, so they show
up on your site. That's also the same as copying them.
We do get occasional
emails from people who are irate that I don't allow copying. I guess they
figure that if it appears on the Internet, it's free for anyone to use.
That's simply not true. Look, I provide the Lexicon to be used free of
charge and don't even throw a bunch of inane advertising at you when you
use it. I allow you to link to whatever you want to link to. I think I'm
being more than fair. Please don't copy my stuff, okay?
Who are you anyway? Who created the Lexicon? How
many people are involved?
Steve
First of all, let me make one thing clear. I am not J. K. Rowling or
in any way associated with her or with Warner Bros. or Scholastic or anything
official like that. I'm just a fan.
The Lexicon was created and is edited, written, and maintained primarily
by one person, me. I'm a 47-year-old school librarian and an encyclopedia
fan from way back. I started writing reference encyclopedias in the late
1960s using the notes I always took about television shows and books that
I enjoyed. My first one was about Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, which
I used to watch in black and white reruns. I've written references like
the Lexicon for Star Trek and Star Trek the Next Generation, for Hogan's
Heroes, for Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars books, and others, but never before
have I had the chance to publish my work in a way that's accessable to
so many people. With the Harry Potter Lexicon, I have had the extreme pleasure
to create a reference that is actually used and enjoyed by thousands of
people all over the world via the Internet. This is my hobby, and it's
been a real thrill for my hobby to be appreciated and supported by so many
people.
I'm also a writer. I have written professionally for many years, including
stints at Compute magazine, where I was a columnist and reviewer, RUN Magazine,
and others. I have freelanced for travel magazines, kids magazines, and
professional publications for teachers and librarians. I lecture and teach
on a variety of subjects, besides creating and running the library, media,
and technology programs for a K-8 school in Michigan. I'm also a husband
and father, and my family is obviously my first priority. As you can imagine,
this all keeps me plenty busy, so if you don't see updates as quickly or
as often as you'd like, keep in mind that the Lexicon is just a hobby and
that I have plenty of other demands on my time.
I don't write everything, of course. I do have a number of contributors
who have written some excellent material for the Lexicon. I find some of
the best essays from the members of the Harry Potter for Grown Ups group
on Yahoo, and if you're an adult, I highly recommend that you join that
group. I also have a terrific group of fan artists who have given me permission
to use their work on my pages.
Michele, a.k.a. the assistant/junior editor
I, likewise, am not J. K. Rowling nor am I in any way associated with
her, Warner Bros., Scholastic, or anything official like that. I'm just
a fan.
I first stumbled across the Harry Potter Lexicon sometime in July of
2003, not long after
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix first
came out. I noticed various items in the Bestiary and Which Wizard that
hadn't been updated with new information from OP, and began sending feedback
to Steve with suggested updates, complete with citations to the relevant
chapters of OP to indicate where the information was coming from. I was
very flattered when Steve offered to bring me aboard as an assistant editor
of the Lexicon, and accepted with pleasure. On August 17th 2003, Steve
officially welcomed me to the Lexicon.
Like Steve, I'm doing this in my spare time because I enjoy it.
I have a livejournal over at livejournal.com, as
hp_lexicon_jr.
The primary restriction on it is that its message boards won't accept anonymous
postings, but since livejournal.com is free and logging in is easy once
a user has set up a livejournal, that doesn't seem too onerous a restriction.
See its first entry about how I'd like to run it in a fairly open mode
otherwise.
Can I write for the Lexicon? Can I send
you my artwork to use?
It's possible, but more than likely we won't use things sent to us
unsolicited. We don't mean to be rude, but we have pretty high standards.
The writers and artists we use have almost always been chosen by Steve
from things he saw online, and almost always they are adults. If you're
willing to accept rejection, you may send us stuff, but always write first
and ask if we're interested in what you have.
Yeah, whatever. Sounds really wonderful and all, but if you were a
Christian, you would see that all this Harry Potter
stuff is straight from the Devil. You shouldn't devote so much time and
effort to something which is so evil and diabolical.
The fact of the matter is that I am a Christian, and by that I don't
mean just someone who goes to church once in a while and owns a Bible.
I'm a very strong Christian for whom the Bible is the word of God and guide
for my life. Obviously, I don't agree with those who say that Harry Potter
is from the Devil. I am very familiar with that point of view, however,
and I've read extensively on both sides of the issue. What it all boils
down to is that people don't agree, even people who are devoted, concerned,
honest Christians. It's not required anywhere in the Bible that we do all
agree on things like this, but it is required that we deal with each other
in tolerance and Christian love. There's far too little tolerance and Christian
love in our world, which is very sad indeed, and it seems to me that if
Christians really seek to do God's will, they would spend their time building
each other up and spreading the love of God, not tearing each other apart
and spreading discord and hate. So please don't send me hate mail. Get
your priorities straight. Save your anger and your hate for those who practice
bigotry and intolerance and cause pain and suffering and injustice. Those
things are evil. An imaginative, enjoyable series of children's books is
not.
Questions about the Harry Potter universe:
Who were those people killed in the Riddle
House in the first chapter of GF?
The elderly couple were Voldemort's grandparents. Their grown son was
Voldemort's father. Tom Riddle Jr. (who became Voldemort) was the one who
killed them. He was the teen-aged boy that Frank Bryce had seen hanging
around.
How can Dudley have
a Playstation if GF took place in 1994-1995?
The Playstation wasn't released in Britain until after 1994, so there
is no way Dudley could have gotten one from a store. However, it was released
in Japan before that, and it's not such a stretch to imagine Dudley bullying
his father into picking one up for him, perhaps on a business trip to Japan.
He would have had to buy more than just the game, of course, since Japanese
electronics will not work with British television sets or power outlets.
Vernon would have done it, though, if Dudley screamed loud enough. No,
there is no such game as MegaMutilation 3.
See Dudley's
PlayStation.
Why did Voldemort want to kill Harry anyway,
and why didn't he seem to want to kill Lily?
Those are the big questions, some of the keys to the entire series.
Rowling addressed this, at least in part, in
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
If you haven't read that yet, please consider doing
so, then returning to the Lexicon.
Did you notice 1) the gleam in Dumbledore's
eye at the end of GF, 2) that Trelawney apparently made one other correct
prediction, 3) that the Arabella Figg mentioned at the end of GF has the
same last name as Mrs. Figg who babysat Harry when he was staying with
the Dursleys, etc. etc. etc.
Yes. By this time, we doubt that anyone will come up with anything
new from the existing books. Since the release of GF, fans have analyzed
and examined just about every word of every book and discussed them endlessly.
If you want to see some of those discussions, search the archives of Harry
Potter for Grown Ups over at Yahoo. Now that OP and HBP are out, some of
these mysteries are cleared up. True to form, however, Rowling has managed
to hand us a whole new set of mysteries to ponder and argue about until
book seven comes out.
Just for interest's sake, the realNicolas Flamel
was born about 1330. In the first book, his age is given as 666, which
would work out to Harry's first year at Hogwarts being about 1996. Of course,
there's no reason whatsoever that the Flamel in the book has to be the
same one from history. Rowling adjusts and changes lots of "facts" from
history and legend in her books.
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