Welcome to the Harry Potter Lexicon
The most compleat and amazing reference to the wonderful world of Harry Potter
est. 2000 A.D.
Phase of the Moon: Waning Crescent
5 GBP = 1 Galleon 
Stooging is outlawed in Quidditch
The Department of Magical Games and Sports introduces a new rule that only one Chaser at a time may be within the scoring area. This new rule provokes a strong response from fans who loved seeing opposing Keepers roughed up. The Ministry representative announces the rule this way: “Instances of stooging have been on the increase. We feel that… Read More
A dangerous encounter with Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot’s house
Harry and Hermione, in disguise as an elderly Muggle couple, encounter who they think is Bathilda Bagshot in Godric’s Hollow on Christmas Eve. They follow her to her house, where she is revealed to be Nagini. In the ensuing battle, Hermione’s quick thinking saves the day, but Harry’s wand is broken. Read More
Myrtle Warren, a Hogwarts student, dies in a second floor bathroom after seeing the Basilisk
Myrtle Warren is being teased by Olive Hornby and flees into a second floor bathroom to sulk. She hears a male voice — that of Tom Riddle opening the Chamber of Secrets — and steps out to tell him off for being in the girls’ bathroom. Instead she comes face to face with the Basilisk and dies. Her death almost… Read More
Dobby tries to dissaude Harry from returning to Hogwarts
Dobby appears in Harry’s bedroom and tells Harry that his life will be in danger if he returns to Hogwarts for his second year. Between his excitement about meeting Harry, his sense of urgency in his mission to warn him, his astonishment at Harry’s kindness, and his guilt and fear of returning to Malfoy Manor, Dobby works himself into a… Read More
Just after midnight, Hagrid arrives at the hut-on-the-rock
He brings Harry a birthday cake, tells him the truth about his parents, and invites him to Hogwarts (PS4). Read More
Harry receives a toy broomstick for his first birthday
The toy broomstick is a gift from Sirius. Lily Potter wrote a letter to Sirius, in part to thank him for the present: Dear Padfoot, Thank you, thank you, for Harry’s birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself. I’m enclosing a picture… Read More
The Creevey boys seem less than bold. However, Dennis managed to sneak into Hogsmeade to join Dumbledore’s Army even though he was a Second Year. Colin sneaked back into the castle to join the Battle of Hogwarts even… Read More
“The disapproval of cowards is praise to the brave. Your name will be written in glory when wizards rule the world.” (CG57)… Read More
Latest from the Lexicon Blog
Draco’s Six
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So much has been made of how seven is “the most powerfully magical number” (HBP23) in Harry Potter, with it serving as something of a motif throughout the series… to the point where my podcast, The Three Broomsticks, has a recurring segment about the “seven ingredients of today’s… Read More
The Fallen Fathers of Goblet of Fire
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Jo’s portrayal of mothers in the HP books is fairly straight-forward: mother’s love is the be-all end-all of the series, so we can move right along. But her portrayal of fathers, on the other hand, is incredibly nuanced and intriguing. The turning point appears to be the middle book of… Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How "Order of the Phoenix" Predicts the Plot of "Deathly Hallows" - Part 2
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In Part I of this series, I delved into specific chapter-level comparisons between Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, and how the events in the former predict or foreshadow those in the latter. In this article, I will… Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How "Order of the Phoenix" Predicts the Plot of "Deathly Hallows" - Part 1
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The Harry Potter series is masterfully plotted, both as individual books and across the series as a whole. Within the fandom, there is a large focus on ring theory for understanding how the series is structured. In ring theory, each book has its… Read More
The Russian Philosopher’s Stone
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It’s a process familiar to most of us trying to brush up on a foreign language – get the Harry Potter books in one of the 85 languages they’ve been translated into, and read the story you know backwards and forwards in a language you may not. My first language… Read More
Mapping the Wizarding World
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Making the Calendar Fit
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I recently received two comments on two different entries in the Lexicon which brought up the same problem: the real world calendar doesn’t always agree with the days and dates in the books. I’m sure some of you are saying “Of course, we know that, this has been discussed in… Read More
The Secrets of Dumbledore ... still a secret?
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