Welcome to the Harry Potter Lexicon
The most compleat and amazing reference to the wonderful world of Harry Potter
est. 2000 A.D.
Phase of the Moon: Full Moon
5 GBP = 1 Galleon 
Ariana Dumbledore
Ariana Dumbledore was the younger sister of Albus and Aberforth – Albus’s junior by four years, Aberforth’s by one. At six years old, she was attacked by three muggle boys and was severely traumatized by the event. Her father, Percival, was imprisoned for seeking revenge on the boys. As a result of the attack, Ariana’s magic was too unstable to… Read More
Stooging is outlawed in Quidditch
The Department of Magical Games and Sports introduces a new rule that only one Chaser at a time may be within the scoring area. This new rule provokes a strong response from fans who loved seeing opposing Keepers roughed up. The Ministry representative announces the rule this way: “Instances of stooging have been on the increase. We feel that… Read More
Fred, George, and Ron rescue Harry from the Dursleys in the Ford Anglia
3 August 1992 — Ron, Fred, and George wake Harry up in the middle of the night to take him to the Burrow. They use Mr. Weasley’s flying car to pull the bars off the window, and then they help Harry get his belongings and load them into the car. They manage to do all this without waking the Dursleys,… Read More
Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley get in a fight at Flourish and Blotts
At Gilderoy Lockhart’s book signing at Flourish and Blotts, Lucius Malfoy insults Arthur Weasley for associating with Muggles (Mr. and Mrs. Granger) and Arthur lunges at Lucius. Bookshelves are disturbed in the commotion. An Encyclopedia of Toadstools hits Lucius in one eye, and Arthur sustains a cut to the lip. To no avail, Molly and the assistant manager of Flourish and… Read More
Aunt Marge comes to Dudley’s tenth birthday party
She brings Ripper, her favorite bulldog. Harry accidentally steps on Ripper’s tail and the dog “trees” him. Marge finally calls the dog off around midnight. Read More
Hagrid remains at Hogwarts and is trained as gamekeeper, thanks to Dumbledore
13 June 1943 — Hagrid had been expelled from the school based on a lie told by Tom Riddle. Believing Hagrid innocent, Dumbledore convinces Headmaster Dippet to let the boy stay . Read More
On this day in 1991...
The Dursleys and Harry spend the night in the Hut-on-the-Rock
Uncle Vernon rows the family out to the hut just off the coast. He brings… Read More
Potter was drawn with spectacles because, Ms Rowling said, she had worn thick glasses as a child and was frustrated that “speccies” were swots but never heroes. Read More
Latest from the Lexicon Blog
Draco’s Six
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So much has been made of how seven is “the most powerfully magical number” (HBP23) in Harry Potter, with it serving as something of a motif throughout the series… to the point where my podcast, The Three Broomsticks, has a recurring segment about the “seven ingredients of today’s… Read More
The Fallen Fathers of Goblet of Fire
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Jo’s portrayal of mothers in the HP books is fairly straight-forward: mother’s love is the be-all end-all of the series, so we can move right along. But her portrayal of fathers, on the other hand, is incredibly nuanced and intriguing. The turning point appears to be the middle book of… Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How "Order of the Phoenix" Predicts the Plot of "Deathly Hallows" - Part 2
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In Part I of this series, I delved into specific chapter-level comparisons between Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, and how the events in the former predict or foreshadow those in the latter. In this article, I will… Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How "Order of the Phoenix" Predicts the Plot of "Deathly Hallows" - Part 1
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The Harry Potter series is masterfully plotted, both as individual books and across the series as a whole. Within the fandom, there is a large focus on ring theory for understanding how the series is structured. In ring theory, each book has its… Read More
The Russian Philosopher’s Stone
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It’s a process familiar to most of us trying to brush up on a foreign language – get the Harry Potter books in one of the 85 languages they’ve been translated into, and read the story you know backwards and forwards in a language you may not. My first language… Read More
Mapping the Wizarding World
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Making the Calendar Fit
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I recently received two comments on two different entries in the Lexicon which brought up the same problem: the real world calendar doesn’t always agree with the days and dates in the books. I’m sure some of you are saying “Of course, we know that, this has been discussed in… Read More
The Secrets of Dumbledore ... still a secret?
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