1981-1990

Death Eater Severus Snape sent a message to Albus Dumbledore to meet him on a lonely windswept hilltop in late 1980 so he could warn him that Lily Evans Potter and her child were in danger of being attacked by Voldemort (DH33). When the Headmaster arrived he found a… Read More
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,… Read More
Ginny is the youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley, the first girl born in seven generations (JKR). Read More
Voldemort attempts to kill Harry Potter after murdering his parents, but the spell rebounds onto Voldemort. Harry is left alive with a scar on his forehead that hides an accidental Horcrux made of Voldemort’s shattered soul. Voldemort, nearly dead and without physical form, retreats into the forests of Albania where… Read More
Minerva McGonagall disguised as her cat Animagus arrives outside the home of the Dursley family on Privet Drive early in the morning of November 1, 1981. At half-past 8 a.m., Vernon Dursley leaves his driveway and notices a tabby cat reading a map on the corner near his house, which made… Read More
After the night James and Lily Potter are killed and Voldemort disappears, Peter Pettigrew fakes his own death in a busy Muggle street. All the Ministry can find of Pettigrew is one finger. To throw them off his trail, Pettigrew had cut off his right index finger before transfiguring into his… Read More
After Voldemort kills Lily and James Potter and is defeated by baby Harry, Hagrid retrieves Harry and they travel by Sirius’ flying motorbike from Godric’s Hollow to Little Whinging. Harry is asleep by the time they meet Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall outside of Number Four, Privet Drive, the home of… Read More
Gilderoy Lockhart wrote in one of his books about how he defeated a werewolf that was terrorizing the folks of Wagga Wagga in Australia. He didn’t actually accomplish this heroic feat, of course, but rather learned about some other wizard who had done so, modified their memory to… Read More
Bertha Jorkins comes to her boss’ house with papers for him to sign and overhears Winky speaking to the hidden Barty Crouch Jr. in the kitchen. She hears enough to figure out that Crouch Sr. is hiding his supposedly dead convict son in his home, and confronts the elder Crouch… Read More
At his trial, Bagman admits having passed information to Augustus Rookwood, but claims that he didn’t realize that Rookwood was working for Voldemort. Mad-Eye Moody, for one, has no trouble believing Bagman had been foolish rather than deliberately treacherous. Barty Crouch, Sr. thinks that Bagman should be sent to Azkaban, but the… Read More
The Quidditch World Cup 1982 tournament featured the Brazilian National Team in the final match (QWC). It is not clear whether the tournament winner that year was Brazil or their unnamed opponent. Read More
A group of Death Eaters — Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus, and Rodolphus’s brother Rabastan, along with Barty Crouch Jr. (although this is never explicitly confirmed) — torture Frank Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse in the belief that he knows the whereabouts of Voldemort after the… Read More
Her likeness is captured in a huge portrait which hangs in the entrance hall of her home at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The house is left vacant except for Kreacher. The house deteriorates dramatically (OP5). Read More
Oakby’s charity organization helped squibs function in the Wizarding world, a world of which they could never fully be a part (JKR). Read More
Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup the previous year (1984). During his first year, Harry says to himself that “The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years” (PS13). The 1983-84 school year is seven school years before that… Read More
They are charged with using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank and Alice Longbottom in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of Voldemort; all of the accused are convicted and sent to Azkaban. Frank and Alice Longbottom are committed to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, driven permanently insane… Read More
Nearly Headless Nick tells the new Gryffindors about the House Cup, saying that “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Having been pushed hard by Oliver Wood in Quidditch practice, Harry thinks “If they won their next… Read More
He dies still claiming that his record three and a half second capture of the Snitch was intentional, and not pure dumb luck. Read More
When Ron is seven years old, he is given an acid pop by Fred. The sweet burns a hole through Ron’s tongue. Molly punishes Fred by hitting him with her broomstick, according to Ron’s recollection (PA10). Read More
Nearly Headless Nick tells the new Gryffindors about the House Cup, saying that “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Having been pushed hard by Oliver Wood in Quidditch practice, Harry thinks “If they won their next… Read More
Harry Potter is told during his first year by Nearly Headless Nick that Slytherin House has won the House Cup for several years: “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Later he thinks: “If they won their… Read More
“Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” — Nearly Headless Nick to new Gryffindors (PS7) “If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven… Read More
Angelina Johnson also becomes a new Gryffindor, while Cedric Diggory also starts his first year and is sorted into Hufflepuff. Both Angelina and Cedric turn twelve shortly after the beginning of the school year (GF16). Read More
New Gryffindors are told about the House Cup by Nearly Headless Nick “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Harry speculates after a hard Quidditch practice session “If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would… Read More
The Quidditch World Cup 1990 final match saw the Canadian team beat the Scots in a very close game. Scottish Seeker Hector Lamont blamed his failure to catch the Snitch specifically on his genetics (QWC). Read More
Harry accompanies Dudley, Piers Polkiss, Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon to the zoo, where he unknowingly uses Parseltongue to speak with a boa constrictor. When Dudley notices and comes running, the glass of the snake’s enclosure mysteriously disappears and the snake escapes. Read More