We are celebrating 20 Years of the Lexicon
with a 
Canon discussion
Page 2 of 11
🎙️ Canon Thoughts: Prisoner of Azkaban
• Podcast Episode
In my series called Canon Thoughts, I’ve given my comments about books one and two of the Harry Potter series as well as about some of the early interviews which Rowling gave back in 1999 and 2000. I’ve also given my take on Crimes of… Read More
🎙️ Horcrux Deaths
• Podcast Episode
Today we’re going to talk Horcruxes. Specifically, how they’re made. I started thinking about this subject when I read a particularly interesting passage from Half-Blood Prince. Here’s what caught my eye: Dumbledore says that Voldemort “seems to have reserved the… Read More
Harry's Dreams, Continued
• Essay
Since the original essay ‘Harry’s Dreams’ was written by Steve VanderArk in 2006, there have been quite a few new pieces of canon writing from J K Rowling. Two of these in particular contain further dreams of Harry Potter’s to examine. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows… Read More
Deleted Scenes - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Essay
Is “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay” really the Original Screenplay? Or is the widely available version actually “The Original Screenplay 2.0”? Every film has a screenplay or script. In Great Britain the norm is double-hole-punched A4 paper which is slightly taller and narrower than the North American… Read More
🎙️ Canon Thoughts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Podcast Episode
Like pretty much every Potter fan out there, I eagerly went to see “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” I was prepared to be disappointed. I’d read a number of reviews which decried the muddled storylines, the gratuitous easter eggs for fans, and the messed up timelines. So I saw… Read More
🎙️ OP27: Dull March into Squally April
• Podcast Episode
Today we’re jumping into chapter 27 of Order of the Phoenix, entitled “The Centaur and the Sneak.” As I re-read this chapter looking for a good topic for this Minute podcast, I found myself making a series of notes about a lot of disconnected tidbits. So as I’ve done… Read More
🎙️ CS15: Contrasting Viewpoints
• Podcast Episode
The opening paragraph of Chamber of Secrets chapter 15, entitled “Aragog,” is describing some very contrasting atmospheres. Outside on the grounds of Hogwarts, summer is approaching. The weather is perfect, but inside of the castle things for Harry have never been going more wrong. The students go fearfully… Read More
How is Professor McGonagall in Crimes of Grindelwald?
• Essay
Though it is a charming bit of plot candy to throw out to eager Potterphiles, the mention of Professor McGonagall in the latest film “Fantastic Beats: The Crimes of Grindelwald” has caused a tidal wave of reaction all out of proportion to the size of the scene. The question… Read More
The Fantastic Beasts Saga Timeline
• Article
The dates for each of these events is derived from a close read of canon sources, including the scripts for Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. 1881 Albus Dumbledore is born c. 1883 Gellert Grindelwald is born c. Read More
Discussing The 'Crimes of Grindelwald' Reveal (MAJOR SPOILER WARNING)
• Essay
UPDATE: I’ve now read the screenplay for the film and some interesting new details have been revealed. It undoes some of my theories in this post, but I’ve keep my original theories and put my updated ones below them in the “UPDATE” section. Anyway… MAJOR SPOILERS for… Read More
🎙️ CS11: Loyalty
• Podcast Episode
There is a lot that happens in Chapter 11 of Chamber of Secrets, entitled The Dueling Club. The final ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion are acquired. The dueling club meeting takes place, which leads to Harry finding out he is a Parselmouth. And Harry discovers… Read More
🎙️ OP22: In Essence Divided
• Podcast Episode
In chapter 22, we are introduced to St Mungo’s hospital. But we are also introduced to two other new ideas, one of which remained a mystery to fans even after the last book was published. One of these new ideas is the fact that the portraits of previous headmasters… Read More
🎙️ CS8: Ghosts
• Podcast Episode
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
🎙️ CS7: Mudbloods and Murmurs
• Podcast Episode
There are several standout moments for me in Chapter 7 of Chamber of Secrets, titled “Mudbloods and Murmurs.” First off, Harry is so kind to Colin Creevey. Colin is in this new world, and he is in the same house as the newest celebrity in recent wizarding history. Read More
🎙️ CS5: Or Worse, Expelled
• Podcast Episode
There’s that well known line of Hermione’s…”we could have been killed—or worse, expelled.” That’s from chapter 9, “The Midnight Duel,” in Sorcerer’s Stone. In Chapter 5, “The Whomping Willow,” of Chamber of Secrets Harry and Ron think they are going to be expelled when they got caught having… Read More
🎙️ The Number of Students at Hogwarts
• Podcast Episode
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. Rowling is very, very visual. She writes the kind of visual language… Read More
MuggleNet's "Ten Amazing Facts" and How To Find Them
• Article
Posted
by Steve VanderArk
in Canon discussion
MuggleNet just posted a really cool video calling out Ten Amazing Facts you can research on the Lexicon. If you’re looking for a quick way to find them, here’s our Ten Facts Guide: Galleon to Muggle Money converter You can find the exchange rate for Galleons to pretty… Read More
🎙️ The Weasleys and Ottery St Catchpole
• Podcast Episode
Did you ever stop to think about the strange relationship between the Weasleys and the town of Ottery St. Catchpole? Some of the folks in town must know about that odd house out there in the middle of the fields. It’s only about a… Read More
How A Man Treats His Inferiors
• Essay
After the Dark Mark appears in the sky on the night of the Quidditch World Cup, Barty Crouch releases Winky the house-elf from his service, and her unfair treatment draws Hermione’s sympathy and indignation. When she, Harry, and Ron visit Sirius in the cave above Hogsmeade to… Read More
🎙️ Who Enforces the Statute of Secrecy to the Muggles?
• Podcast Episode
Did you know that muggles are not held to the statute of secrecy? A muggle that knows about the wizarding world can share that information with other muggles. We find this out by the fact that Petunia at some point tells Vernon about her sister being… Read More