• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Today, I’d like to talk about a cool fan theory from back in the day that still has not been conclusively proven or disproven. After the “I am Lord Voldemort” anagram twist in Chamber of Secrets, Potter fans were on high alert for any other relevant anagrams in the series. Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Book and chapter share the same title in Chapter 16 of Chamber of Secrets. There were a couple of things that stood out to me when reading this chapter. These moments were about Dumbledore and Ginny. Chapter 16 showed me how Dumbledore is a symbol of leadership, hope, and… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
I’m always amazed that every time I re read the Harry Potter books I find something new to wonder about. The story and the world are so rich that it gives the never ending potential for theories and the chance for discoveries of connections you’ve never realized, either because you… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Chapter 26 of Order of the Phoenix is completely packed. I mean it, this chapter is like a rich tapestry. I’ll just wander through the text, pointing out things here and there. It starts with Hermione’s delightful explanation for Harry of Cho’s behavior during their disastrous date, which includes… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
As a fan of the world JK Rowling created, I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering how it could happen in real life. Recently I was studying the adolescent brain, and was fascinated to find that when kids reach 11/12 their brains are essentially wiped to prepare for adult development. Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
I’ve been doing some thinking about Summoning Charms, which, given the option, I would perform at least a dozen times a day, because where are my car keys and is my phone in my purse or did I leave it in the car again? (For those two reasons alone,… Read More
• Article
Posted by in The Films / Website news
You might be here on the Lexicon looking for information about the characters, things, creatures, events, etc. from “Crimes of Grindelwald.” If so, you might have to have to wait a week or so for everything to appear. We have a spreadsheet of 143 entries which need to be added… Read More
• Article
Posted by in The Films
Here are some helpful resources you might need if you’re researching the new film. We’ll update this with other resources over time. Timelines: Integrating the Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort Timelines Timeline: The Rise of Grindelwald The Fantastic Beasts Saga Timeline Characters: Newt Scamander | timeline Gellert… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
On a couple of previous podcasts, I have talked about Ottery St. Catchpole and the Burrow. I’ve discussed why we identify the town with Ottery St. Mary in Devon, near Exeter. I talked about the relationship between the town and the Burrow, located, according to the books,… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Let me just start out by saying that I cry easily. Just ask my wife. I cry at sappy commercials with fathers sending their daughters off into the world while remembering every father-daughter dance and scraped knee. So you’d think that reading the Harry Potter books, especially the first time… Read More
• Article
Posted by in Website news
A few days ago, Entertainment Weekly posted “A definitive timeline of every Harry Potter Horcrux.” I sure wish they’d research these things better before publishing them. Because they’re a mainstream magazine and because they’ve clearly been given a certain level a special access to the Fantastic Beasts team, fans… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Percival is a suspiciously common name in the Harry Potter universe, and I’m inclined to read way into that. Probably the most well-known of these is Percy Weasley, who is not actually a confirmed “Percival.” As the Lexicon’s entry for Percy notes, “In Arthurian legend, Percival was a chivalrous knight… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
What little we do know about Argus Filch, we learn perhaps the most personal detail about this man in Chapter 8 of Chamber of Secrets, entitled “The Deathday Party.” Harry just couldn’t squash his curiosity and opened Mr Filch’s mail and found his Kwikspell courses, alerting us to… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
I love this chapter. Rowling is on top of her game here. I talked about her skill at writing conversations in a previous episode, and she’s at it again in this chapter. The nuances of the conversations, first between the Trio and Hagrid and then between Hagrid and Umbridge, are… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Canon discussion / Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
In Chapter 8 of Chamber of Secrets, titled “The Deathday Party,” we get an up close look at the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, Sir Nicholas de Mimsey Porpington, aka Nearly Headless Nick. When Harry comes across him in the halls after Quidditch practice, Nick is reading a transparent… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
So, if you’re like me, and I assume you are, you’ve got some questions about wizard plumbing. We know Hogwarts has bathrooms, and that those bathrooms have toilets, and that the halls of Hogwarts are lined with pipes. This is all spelled out for us in Chamber of Secrets,… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Did Moaning Myrtle ever find out that it was Hagrid that was accused of being responsible for her murder? I know she was intent on haunting Olive Hornby for a while after her death. But, it was 50 years before Hagrid’s name was cleared. Did Myrtle ever wonder how… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
So as you know, I’ve been reading through Order of the Phoenix for the, I don’t know, maybe fortieth time, and that doesn’t include the dozen times I’ve listened to the audio version. The sentences feel wonderfully familiar and honestly, it’s like spending time with a dear friend. I guess… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
In Chapter 33, “The Prince’s Tale,” of Deathly Hallows we see a previous conversation that Dumbledore and Snape had at the end of the Yule Ball. They are talking about the Dark Mark and discussing whether Snape will flee if summoned by Voldemort, as Karkaroff plans… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
We’ve been exploring chapters from the fifth book in the Harry Potter series, The Order of the Phoenix. In several of these podcasts, I’ve marveled at the way Rowling can really bring us into the magical places in her books. The creaky, dusty old house in Grimmauld Place is… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
In this chapter, things really start heading downhill. Umbridge is appointed to be Hogwarts High Inquisitor — a name reminiscent of the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition. She begins harassing and demeaning the rest of the teaching staff immediately. These scenes where she stalks the classrooms of various… Read More
• Podcast Episode
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
“They prefer the woman’s touch, unicorns,“ says professor Grubbly-Plank in chapter 24 of Goblet of Fire. Rowling uses existing myths in her wizarding world often. The unicorn is a great example of that. Unicorns have been noted as mythical creatures in both Eastern and Western mythology since antiquity. Read More