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 
Is Harry a Horcrux?
After thinking carefully through the various factors involved, I cannot help but conclude that the most logical scenario, based on all the available evidence, is that Harry is a Horcrux. I will structure this essay in four sections. First, I will discuss the background. Second, I will discuss the evidence indicating that Harryis a Horcrux. Third, I will discuss and hopefully, rebut the evidence that… 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
Just after midnight, Hagrid arrives at the hut-on-the-rock
He brings Harry a birthday cake, tells him the truth about his parents, and invites him to Hogwarts (PS4). Read More
The Ford Anglia arrives at the Burrow early in the morning
4 August 1992 — Leaving Privet Drive in Surrey, Fred and George fly the Anglia west to Devon, toward the Burrow. The trip apparently takes several hours, since when they leave it’s nighttime and when they arrive the sun is coming up (which would be just before 6 am at that location and on that date). 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
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
There are about 320 students at Hogwarts. How do we know? In order to unravel this mystery, we need to step out of the stories themselves. We need to understand the way that Rowling thinks about the books. Read More
“Doctors?” said Ron, looking startled. “Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they’re Healers.”… 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
• Article
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
• Article
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
• Article
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
• Article
Making the Calendar Fit
• Article
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