Introduction One of the most intriguing ideas in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is that Professor Dumbledore set up events so that Harry would try and stop the theft of the Philosopher’s Stone by Voldemort. Many events in Harry’s first year seem to indicate this: his dealings with Hagrid, being given his father’s Invisibility Cloak (twice), his discovery of the Mirror of Erised, and his detention in… Read MoreIn Search of . . . Grimmauld Place• Essay
Number twelve, Grimmauld Place is the location of much of the action in Chapters 4 to 10 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is Sirius Black’s ancestral home, and the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. This essay discusses its possible location, and also that of the Ministry of Magic. Read MoreMerlin, God, and You-Know-Who: Religion in the Wizarding World• Essay
The Harry Potter books have been the subject of much religious debate after fundamentalist Christians warned parents against the books, deeming them pro-witchcraft and consequently anti-Christian. Some Muslims, on the other hand, have banned the books for the entirely opposite reason, claiming they are poorly concealed Christian propaganda. Surprisingly however, the… Read MoreGinny Weasley: A Gryffindor and a Match for Harry• Essay
In her essay Ginny Weasley, Why? published on The Harry Potter Lexicon in October 2003, author Water Witch presented a surprisingly astute evaluation of the importance of Ginny Weasley—surprising because, although the article was written after the publication of Order of the Phoenix, it predated Half-Blood Prince. Even though Rowling… Read MoreShaken, Not Stirred: The Allegiance(s) of a Certain Potions Master and Spy Extraordinaire• Essay
Upon reading the line “Avada Kedavra!” on page 596 (HBP27), and after the ensuing shock eased, I asked my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Why? It was not until feverishly reading a few lines in the next chapter that my vindictive desire for Harry to slash the Half-Blood Prince to ribbons… Read MoreSnape's Change of Allegiance• Essay
Snape had no misgivings about working for Voldemort at the time he overheard the prophecy, yet a short time afterwards he changed sides and turned spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Betrayal of Voldemort is not a step that could be taken lightly. What caused this complete change of heart? It was only… Read MoreThe Marks of a Villain• Essay
Snape is not a good guy. His treachery has been written in black and white all through the Harry Potter books and especially in Half-Blood Prince. Even so, some Snape fans are looking for a reprieve. One person I work with actually said, “It’s no excuse, but he did have to kill Dumbledore or die himself.” And then… Read MoreIn Search of Little Whinging• Essay
Where is Little Whinging? What sort of place did Harry Potter grow up in? The books in the canon give us several clues, mostly in Books 1 and 5 (Philosopher’s Stone and Order of the Phoenix), but beware . . . there may be a red herring! In Book 1, the first letter from Hogwarts (and presumably the others), is addressed to Harry in “Little Whinging,… Read MoreThe Number Seven• Essay
Editor: Michele L. Worley I have stretched this list to include some instances of numbers containing the word “seven”. There will be seven books in the series. “All right, thirty-seven then,” said Dudley, going red in the face. [counting birthday presents, (PS2)] “Seven years there and he won’t know… Read MoreThe Number Six• Essay
Editor: Michele L. Worley I have stretched this list to include some instances of numbers containing the word “six”. “Thirty-six,” he said, looking up at his mother and father. “That’s two less than last year.” [counting birthday presents, (PS2)] …while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing… Read MoreFifty Years Ago, Annotated• Article
What happened fifty years ago? When the tombstone photo from Goblet of Fire appeared a few weeks ago with glaring canon errors, I started to wonder how sure we could be of the dates of events that happened, according to the books, “fifty years ago.” New information was included in Half-Blood… Read MoreThe 2004 Open Letter to Rowling• Article
The Open Letter to J.K. Rowling September 2004 FROM MUGGLENET AND THE HARRY POTTER LEXICON Dear Jo: Not surprisingly, we’re thrilled to know that you visit the Lexicon and MuggleNet on occasion. We are delighted that the work we’ve done is helpful and appreciated, not only to you but also… Read MoreThe Art of Unfinishing: HP Fanfiction and the Power of Storytelling• Essay
Many avid Potter fans readers want to be more than just that—readers. By inventing their own stories about Harry Potter and other characters from Rowling’s books and by adding new elements and structures to the Potter cosmos, they are assuming even the author’s role. They take on both Harry’s and… Read MoreHermione's Love for Ickle Ronniekins• Essay
Within Harry Potter (HP) fandom, ships—relationship theories—come in all shapes, sizes, and speeds. Some ships are small sailboats with elegant, white sails that can carry only a handful of fans as passengers. These ships, while not popular, are beautiful and fun nevertheless. Other ships are cruise liners: quick, massive, powerful,… Read More"My Dad Didn't Strut... and Neither do I!"• Essay
Often there is a fine line between arrogance and confidence, stubbornness and being willful. Snape, for one, accuses Harry of strutting around Hogwart, arrogant like his father. For the most part, I don’t believe Harry is arrogant at all. Arrogance is defined as follows: giving one’s self an undue degree of importance; having or showing feelings of… Read MoreThe "Wand Order Problem"• Essay
Sooner or later every fan stumbles across certain mysteries in the Harry Potter books. Some actually find them in the books, other stumbled across them in discussions online. Once discovered, any good fan will then ponder whether this intriguing new mystery is a clue, foreshadowing, foreboding, a misdirection (red herring),… Read More...and I Grew Up With Percy...• Essay
Okay, so we weren’t there as the Weasley children grew up, all seven of them in that wonderful magical house. But I think we can make some fairly shrewd guesses as to what it was like. After all, one thing is certainly true, and that’s the fact that siblings compete for their… Read MoreD'you Really Think They're Suited? Why Hermione is Not the Right Girl for Harry• Essay
This essay was written in October 2004, between the publications of Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. At that point in Potter fandom history, speculation was rampant about who would end up with whom. Friendships were actually broken over arguments of whether Harry would end up with Hermione or with… Read MoreParallels, Shipping, and Betrayal• Essay
I am primarily a trio shipper; by that I mean I enjoy reading and writing fics about various pairings of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. However, as far as reading goes, I will read pretty much any ship, even if I don’t ‘ship’ it—with two exceptions: Harry/Ginny and Draco/Hermione. I tried to sit down and think about… Read More
We are celebrating 20 Years of the Lexicon
with a 
Secrets of the Classlist
• Essay
Introduction It only took a second. J. K. Rowling had agreed to talk about her writing for the television documentary, Harry Potter and Me. She took random pages from her endless boxes of notes. She flashed up a page with a brief comment, “This is a list of all the students… Read More
In Search of Little Whinging
• Essay
Where is Little Whinging? What sort of place did Harry Potter grow up in? The books in the canon give us several clues, mostly in Books 1 and 5 (Philosopher’s Stone and Order of the Phoenix), but beware . . . there may be a red herring! In Book 1, the first letter from Hogwarts (and presumably the others), is addressed to Harry in “Little Whinging,… Read More
Fifty Years Ago, Annotated
• Article
What happened fifty years ago? When the tombstone photo from Goblet of Fire appeared a few weeks ago with glaring canon errors, I started to wonder how sure we could be of the dates of events that happened, according to the books, “fifty years ago.” New information was included in Half-Blood… Read More
The "Wand Order Problem"
• Essay
Sooner or later every fan stumbles across certain mysteries in the Harry Potter books. Some actually find them in the books, other stumbled across them in discussions online. Once discovered, any good fan will then ponder whether this intriguing new mystery is a clue, foreshadowing, foreboding, a misdirection (red herring),… Read More
D'you Really Think They're Suited? Why Hermione is Not the Right Girl for Harry
• Essay
This essay was written in October 2004, between the publications of Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. At that point in Potter fandom history, speculation was rampant about who would end up with whom. Friendships were actually broken over arguments of whether Harry would end up with Hermione or with… Read More