• Character Nerida Vulchanova was a powerful Bulgarian witch and the founder and first head of Durmstrang Institute. Her death was considered “mysterious” (Pm). Read More
• Character Flamel is a celebrated alchemist (DH2) who is famous for creating the only known Philosopher’s Stone in existence. As a result, Flamel and his wife Perenelle (b. circa 1333) lived for over 600 years (PS17, JKR). Dumbledore did some alchemical work with him in… Read More
• Article
Posted by in Canon discussion / Essays
We read from Dumbledore’s Chocolate Frog card that Dumbledore is “particularly famous for… his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel (PS6).” Later, Hermione reads from an enormous old book that Flamel is “the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone” (PS13). Harry and Ron continue reading “…The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life,… Read More
• Character Cantankerus Nott was a member of the pure-blood Nott family, and widely believed to be the author of the infamous ‘Pure-Blood Directory’ in the 1930s. Read More
• Character Günther the Violent was a Medieval German Stichstock player and a subject in the 1105 painting Günther der Gewalttätig ist der Gewinner (“Günther the Violent is the Winner”), which is the first recording of Stichstock (QA2). Read More
• Houses and addresses Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place is tucked away in northwestern London, a twenty minute walk from Kings Cross Station (OP10). Both Unplottable and hidden behind a Fidelius Charm, the house is invisible to all but a few (OP6). Though the neighboring Muggles don’t even know the house exists (DH12),… Read More
• Buildings Nurmengard is a towering, “jet-black” wizarding prison built by Gellert Grindelwald to hold his enemies, quite a forbidding place (DH18, DH23). Carved over the entrance is Grindelwald’s grim mantra: “For the Greater Good” (DH18). And when Grindelwald was defeated by Albus Dumbledore in 1945, he himself was placed… Read More
• Source “What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled” in Pegasus: Journal of the University of Exeter Department of Classics and Ancient History; Issue 41, 1998, pp 25-27… Read More