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: New Moon
5 GBP = 1 Galleon 
Myrtle Warren, a Hogwarts student, dies in a second floor bathroom after seeing the Basilisk
Myrtle Warren is being teased by Olive Hornby and flees into a second floor bathroom to sulk. She hears a male voice — that of Tom Riddle opening the Chamber of Secrets — and steps out to tell him off for being in the girls’ bathroom. Instead she comes face to face with the Basilisk and dies. Her death almost… 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
Harry receives a toy broomstick for his first birthday
The toy broomstick is a gift from Sirius. Lily Potter wrote a letter to Sirius, in part to thank him for the present: Dear Padfoot, Thank you, thank you, for Harry’s birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself. I’m enclosing a picture… Read More
A dangerous encounter with Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot’s house
Harry and Hermione, in disguise as an elderly Muggle couple, encounter who they think is Bathilda Bagshot in Godric’s Hollow on Christmas Eve. They follow her to her house, where she is revealed to be Nagini. In the ensuing battle, Hermione’s quick thinking saves the day, but Harry’s wand is broken. Read More
Madam Malkin’s: Harry and Draco meet for the first time
Both boys get fitted for their Hogwarts robes at the same time. But Draco talks about Quidditch, being spoiled by his parents, his confidence in being sorted into Slytherin, unkind things he’s heard about Hagrid (who is waiting outside with ice cream), and his belief that Muggle-borns shouldn’t be allowed to attend Hogwarts. Harry doesn’t say much, for fear of… Read More
Harry gets his wand at Ollivander’s
After trying out a large number of wands, none of which seem quite right, Harry is handed a holly and phoenix feather wand: Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end… Read More
On this day in 1996...
O.W.L. results arrive at the Burrow
Harry and Ron each earned seven O.W.L.s while Hermione earned eleven – ten Outstandings and… Read More
“I know what that woman did to you … I know that you’ve suffered … You need to stop this now … Newt and I will protect you …”… 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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