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 MoreHow is Professor McGonagall in Crimes of Grindelwald?• Article
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 MoreThe 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 MoreDiscussing The 'Crimes of Grindelwald' Reveal (MAJOR SPOILER WARNING)• Article
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• Article
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• Article
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• Article
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• Article
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• Article
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• Article
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 MoreMuggleNet's "Ten Amazing Facts" and How To Find Them• Article
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• Article
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 MoreHow A Man Treats His Inferiors• Article
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?• Article
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🎙️ Choosing the Deathly Hallows• Article
I’d like to discuss a passage in the Deathly Hallows that has always interested me. It’s after Harry, Ron and Hermione, hear the Tale of the Three Brothers: “It’s just a morality tale, it’s obvious which gift is the best, which one you’d choose–” The three of them… Read MoreImproper Use of Magic Office: Not the only office for improper use of magic?• Article
As any fan of the franchise worth their salt can tell you if asked, the biggest and most important responsibility of the fictional Ministry of Magic in J. K. Rowling’s universe is to make sure people like you and me (Muggles) remain blissfully ignorant of the continued existence… Read More🎙️ Evans• Article
In a recent Harry Potter Minute, we discussed instances in the books where two seemingly unrelated characters have the same last name. We’ve already covered two of the three instances, the Smiths and the Gudgeons. But a third set caused quite the fuss back in the day, and is the… Read MoreMore reasons to be excited about Hogwarts Mystery!• Article
Come April 25, we’ll all have a chance to play Hogwarts Mystery. Jam City, the developers, recently announced that a number of stars who played Hogwarts professors in the films would be returning to voice the characters in the game, including Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall, Michael Gambon as… Read MoreFears and Naïveté• Article
Professor Lupin‘s first class with the third-year Gryffindors covers boggarts, which shapeshift into a form that the person who encounters it will find the most frightening. As humans grow and age, they compile more experiences, which result in unique personalities, a deeper capacity for emotions, and more… Read More🎙️ Portraits• Article
How does the portrait world with in the Harry Potter books work? Here are some things that I wonder about: Are all of the paintings connected, just one painting blending seamlessly into the next? Or is there blank space, equal to the distance from painting… Read More