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 
Order of the Phoenix 10-27 Canon Celebration
Between having to appear before the Ministry to explain his Patronus charm, many of his fellow students doubting Voldemort’s return, and butting heads with the new Ministry-sent DADA professor, Harry’s been on the defensive….and it’s taking a toll on him. Will Harry be believed at last? And the strange dreams he’s been having–will anyone help him figure out what they mean?… Read More
Floo Powder accident lands Harry in Knockturn Alley
Using Floo powder for the first time, Harry fails to follow all the instructions he’s given by the Weasleys and ends up one fireplace off. It happens to be the fireplace in Borgin and Burkes, a shop in Knockturn Alley selling all manner of dark magic items. He barely hides himself before Lucius and Draco Malfoy enter to conduct business. Read More
DH17: Bathilda’s Secret
Leaving the Godric’s Hollow cemetery, Harry and Hermione see the Potters’ old house, then encounter someone who appears to be Bathilda Bagshot, but she does not speak until she gets Harry alone. Too late, Harry discovers that they’ve been led into a trap, and that Bathilda’s corpse is being used as a disguise for… 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
Albus Dumbledore is born
Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of the modern era, is born to Kendra and Percival Dumbledore in the village of Mould-on-the-Wold (DH2, DH11). Read More
Albus Dumbledore sits his N.E.W.T.s
June 1899 — He is examined in Transfiguration and Charms by Griselda Marchbanks, who later says that he did things with a wand she’d never seen before. Read More
On this day in 1997...
Harry and Dumbledore set out to find a Horcrux
They leave Hogwarts on foot since it’s not possible to Apparate on Hogwarts grounds and… Read More
“I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather–just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should… 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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