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: First Quarter
5 GBP = 1 Galleon 
Dudley Dursley is born
Dudley is the only child of Vernon and Petunia Dursley of Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. He is about about a month older than his cousin Harry who comes to live with the Dursleys in November of the following year. Dudley grows up spoiled while Harry grows up neglected and downtrodden. Read More
Mr. Weasley is attacked by Nagini while guarding the Department of Mysteries
As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Mr. Weasley takes a turn standing guard at the Department of Mysteries. Harry sees the snake attack in a dream (OP21). Harry brings his vision to Dumbledore’s attention, and other members of the Order rush to save Mr. Weasley and get him to St. Mungo’s. Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and… Read More
Galatea Merrythought retires from Hogwarts
Merrythought has been the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for fifty years. Her impending retirement becomes known to Tom Riddle, who asks Headmaster Dippet for the position upon leaving school. Read More
Percy Weasley is born
22 August 1976 — A third son is born to Arthur and Molly Weasley, joining older brothers Bill and Charlie. He is named Percy Ignatius. Read More
The Fallen Fathers of Goblet of Fire
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 the series, Goblet of Fire, where we trade in… Read More
Draco’s Six
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 special.” But considering how much has been written about… Read More
On this day in 1884...
Stooging is outlawed in Quidditch
The Department of Magical Games and Sports introduces a new rule that only one… Read More
I sat in a hotel room after a row with my then boyfriend and invented [Quidditch]. Looking back, I can understand why I liked the idea of Bludgers. Read More
Latest from the Lexicon Blog
Draco’s Six
• Article
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
• Article
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?
• Article