Draft
March 4, 2002
MYSTERIES & INCONSISTENCIES
By Penny Linsenmayer
This group has spotted a number of mysteries and inconsistencies within the Harry Potter series. At least one member maintains that the books are written as entertainment (rather than as great literature to be analyzed) and that we should all just accept the inconsistencies and enjoy the entertainment value. Others have wondered whether Rowling's editors are missing crucial details, being rushed by unrealistic deadlines or being hindered by a veil of secrecy.
Characters
When Harry was in Dumbledore’s office, re-telling how Wormtail had pierced his arm to obtain blood to be used in Voldemort’s re-birth, he was interrupted by both Dumbledore and Black. After examining Harry's arm, Dumbledore returned to his desk and Harry thought that he saw something like a gleam of triumph in Dumbledore's eyes.
The meaning of this paragraph has been debated endlessly in this group. Most members believe that Dumbledore was triumphant because he realized Voldemort has made a fatal mistake (Lily's sacrifice will now make Voldemort vulnerable and able to be conquered; the blood cells acquired from Harry will die over a few months and be replaced by Voldemort's own blood cells, thereby destroying his "protection"; Voldemort is now indebted to Harry;
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If Dumbledore is 150 at the time of GoF (per Rowling in a chat in October 2000), then Nicholas Flamel was about 524 years old when Dumbledore was born. Wasn’t Flamel then already imbibing a little elixir of life in order to still be alive? If so, what was Dumbledore’s role in Flamel’s alchemy research?
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Why wouldn't Dumbledore have Apparated to the Ministry in London rather than flying via broomstick? Is it the "You can't Apparate or Disapparate from the Hogwarts grounds" rule that Hermione reminds us of so often?
Yahoogroups Messages: 16059, 16060, 16065, 16076
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It seems a bit odd that none of his grandparents or other aunts & uncles are alive. Are the Dursleys truly the only living family members Harry has? Did Lily and Petunia have any other siblings? Was Lily older or younger than Petunia? Were any of his family members victims of Lord Voldemort or the Death Eaters?
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In SS, Harry’s glasses are supposedly “taped” together in the middle because they’d been broken by Dudley so frequently. In CoS, Harry breaks his glasses (which appear to be whole) when he lands in Knockturn Alley. Were his glasses repaired at some point during SS?
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Yahoogroups Messages: 1806, 1812, 1991
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How would defeated Voldemort (barely alive) have transported his wand away from the ruins of the Potters' home? How did the wand end up being in Wormtail's possession?
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The first print runs of CoS (both UK and US editions) contained a reference to Voldemort being the last remaining “ancestor” of Salazar Slytherin. In later printings of the hardback versions of CoS, this language was changed to read that Voldemort was the last remaining “descendant” of Slytherin. In a chat in October 2000, J.K. Rowling indicated that this “error” had been corrected (implying that Voldemort is the last “descendant” of Slytherin, rather than ancestor). However, the paperback editions (both US & UK) have reverted back to the original language that Voldemort is the last remaining ancestor of Slytherin. Which is it? Why can’t the publishers get this right if it is just a simple error?
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Elves, Ghosts and Poltergeists
If the House Elves aren’t “paid,” for working, why wouldn’t the Weasleys have one? In other words, why would a House Elf not work for a family of more modest means?
Both Hermione (on numerous occasions) and Professor Snape have noted that it is impossible to apparate or disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds. So, how does Dobby (then the Malfoys’ house elf) visit Harry in the hospital wing after the Quidditch match?
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Why can Moaning Myrtle flood the bathroom? Ghosts are supposed to be able to pass through matter without disturbing it, and there are numerous references in the books to them doing so (Professor Binns enters the classroom through the blackboard for example). Therefore, the water shouldn’t move when Moaning Myrtle is inside the toilet.
Moaning Myrtle wears glasses so why didn't the basilisk merely petrify her (rather than killing her)?
Yahoo Club Messages: 2216, 2348 (perhaps she is a poltergeist)
Yahoogroups Message: 14058
Hogwarts Grounds
Arthur Weasley tells Molly that Harry and Ron have wandered off into the Forbidden Forest "twice now." But, only Harry has been there twice (on detention in SS with Hermione, Neville, Draco and Hagrid) and with Ron in CoS. Ron has only been once.
While looking for the Mirror of Erised, Harry comes across a suit of armor. He thinks to himself that there is a suit of armor near the kitchens but that he must be 5 floors above the kitchen. Yet, in GoF, they don’t apparently know where the kitchen is until Fred and George inform them.
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Was the prefect's bathroom used by Cedric and Harry a co-ed bathroom?
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Do the Hogwarts toilets really empty into the lake as Myrtle suggests? Don't the merpeople object to this?
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How large is the lake? Harry and Hermione supposedly walk around the lake three times on one of their strolls, but ….
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Hogwarts Houses
At the time he made this statement, everyone (including Hagrid presumably) believed that Sirius Black had gone over to the Dark Side (and Peter Pettigrew really had). So, does this statement confirm that Sirius Black was in Slytherin? If so, were the other Marauders in Slytherin as well? See “Mysteries: Overall Series” below.
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See "Hogwarts" FAQ
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Hogwarts Students and Academics
In a chat in October 2000, J.K. Rowling indicated that Hogwarts has about 1,000 students. This number is very inconsistent with much internal evidence from the books. Some members were elated to have Rowling confirm the figure that they had been touting. Many other members continue to insist that the number must be considerably lower (280-350) students to be consistent with the internal logic of the books. Still other members had placed the student population at a range somewhere between 250 – 1,000 students.
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See “Hogwarts” FAQ for a complete discussion of the debate over the student population.
The boys were awarded 10 points each for fighting a troll, but received 200 points each for fighting the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.
Is the Hogwarts points system out of whack?
Yahoogroups Messages: 600, 646
When the Gryffindors fight the Boggart in Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, there are 3 unidentified students tackling the Boggart. If there are only 5 Gryffindor boys, then these 3 unidentified students must be female (one of them must be Lavender Brown). It is specifically emphasized that Hermione didn't fight the Boggart in that class lesson. So, are there 5 Gryffindor girls after all? Why haven't we met the other 2 students?
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How do muggle-born students entering Hogwarts for the first time know how to get into Diagon Alley and on to Platform 9 ¾ ?
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See "Hogwarts" FAQ
A similar question: How do Hermione’s parents (and parents of other muggle-born witches & wizards) explain their child’s absence?
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See "Hogwarts" FAQ
If not, are they expected to be completely educated and literate in all “traditional” subjects prior to attending Hogwarts?
See "Hogwarts" FAQ
See "Hogwarts" FAQ
Do the students have regular flying lessons after that first lesson described in SS? How long would flying lessons continue (is it only a first-year activity)? Did Neville ever learn to fly a broomstick?
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Magical Creatures
As they exit the Shrieking Shack, the clouds part to expose the full moon. It is at this point that Lupin begins to transform. If he only transforms if he sees the moon, why would he not just stay inside in a room with no windows during the time of a full moon?
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Why doesn’t Lupin Transform until the moonlight strikes him?
Why would Lupin not transform when the boggart turns into the moon? If it's because it's not really the moon, then why does Harry hear his parents' dying moments and faint when the boggart turns into a dementor?
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Is there a cure for lycantrophy? Gilderoy Lockhart claims to have cured a werewolf in CoS?
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Yahoogroups Messages: 14279, 14284,
Sirius Black commented that Crookshanks was the most intelligent of “his kind” that he’d come across, but he didn’t specify what he meant by “his kind.” Is it possible that Crookshanks is not a true cat?
If Crookshanks were an animagus though, wouldn’t he be recognizable by his human name on the Marauder’s Map (as Sirius and Pettigrew are)?
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Is he instead part-Kneazle?
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Both the newscaster and Vernon Dursley notice or comment on the number of owls flying around in broad daylight on November 1, 1981. However, no one at Hogwarts seems to send owls only at night.
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Why couldn't the Ministry send an owl post to Sirius and track the owl's flight pattern to find out where he was?
Explanations found in fanfic include: Stealth owls (invisible in flight and the owl & its post only appear to sender & recipient) and Speed of Enchanted Owls (travel to fast to be followed or in another dimension).
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Why is Ron Weasley permitted to bring a rat (Scabbers) as a pet to Hogwarts when the Hogwarts acceptance letter specifies that students may bring a “cat or a toad or an owl”?
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Does Professor Snape suspect Harry is a parsel-tongue? Why else does he tell Malfoy to make a snake appear in his duel with Harry? Isn’t it a bit advanced for Draco Malfoy, a 2nd year student, to produce a snake out of thin air?
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Why doesn't Harry try to talk to the Basilisk as he did during the Duelling Club?
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Professor Lupin said he asked the staff to leave the boggart in the staff-room to practice on. The Gryffindor 3rd class then destroyed the boggart at the end of their lesson. What did the other 3rd year classes practice on?
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Are there any specific elements (i.e., physical appearance, strength of a witch or wizard, personality, etc.) that determine the animagus form of witch or wizard, or can they choose their animagus form?
What happens to an animagus' clothing and wand when he or she transforms?
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Will any of Harry, Ron or Hermione become an animagus while at Hogwarts?
Yahoogroups Message: 6228
See "Animal Characters" FAQ
Magical Devices
Do Harry and Hermione appear on the Marauder’s Map twice while they are time-traveling? Similarly, does Hermione appear twice while she is attending more than one class?
If so, why does no one (including Professors Lupin and Snape or Fred & George or Harry) ever notice this?
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Why doesn’t Peter Pettigrew show up on the Marauder’s Map prior to the events of 6 June [1993]? Why hadn’t Fred or George (or Harry) noticed that Peter Pettigrew always seemed to be with Ron? Do animagi show up as animals or humans?
It may be that Ron (and Pettigrew) are always “off” the Map (in Hogsmeade) when Harry looks at the Map. It seems probable that Fred & George were primarily using the Map to find ways out of the castle or off the grounds and not very concerned about the whereabouts of other students, particularly their siblings.
Another theory holds that perhaps the Marauders are only visible to each other. In other words, Pettigrew wasn't "seen" on the Map until fellow-Marauder Lupin studied it.
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How did the twins figure out to operate the Marauders' Map?
Experimentation?
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Is the Map “programmed” to write insults or is it a bridge to the past like Tom Riddle’s diary?
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Snape asks Lupin if it wasn't likely that Harry got the Marauder's Map "straight from the manufacturers." Is he accusing Lupin? Does he know the nicknames of Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew? What else could he have meant by this statement?
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Does Harry get the Marauder's Map back? Crouch-as-Moody borrowed it, and Dumbledore learned of it when Crouch confessed. Was it ever returned to Harry?
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In SS, Hagrid tells Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall that he must return the motorcycle to Sirius Black. But, in PoA, Hagrid tells the group at the Three Broomsticks that when Sirius gave him the bike, he (Sirius) had told him that he (Sirius) wouldn’t be needing it anymore.
How can Sirius Black apparently openly own his flying motorcycle and yet Mr. Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia is illegal?
What was the size of this motorcycle? It was described as a giant motorcycle at one point, but if so, how did Sirius ride it? If it wasn't giant-sized, how would Hagrid have ridden it?
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Wouldn’t an invisibility cloak be a useful thing to have around if an evil wizard were looking for you and your family?
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How long does a wand “last”? Would someone like Professor Dumbledore still have his original wand?
Under what circumstances might a wand need to be replaced? Ron has Charlie’s old wand for example. Mr. Ollivander also mentions Lily’s “first” wand.
See "Wands" FAQ
Why is it that no one notices that Des have the Dark Mark on their arms?
Magical Medicine and Injuries
When admitting she’d changed her teeth, she remarked that her parents wanted her to continue on with her braces. Yet, there’s been no mention of her braces prior to this time. Did she wear braces? If so, wouldn’t they have been rather comically destroyed in the Potions incident that sent her to Madame Pomfrey in the first place?
Yahoogroups: 8392
If Madam Pomfrey uses magic to re-grow the bones in Harry’s arm, why is Moody unable or unwilling to use magic to restore his leg?
What are the limits of medicine in the magical world? Why does Harry not use magic to cure his eye, and why does Riddle’s mother die in childbirth?
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Ministry of Magic and Money
Is the Minister of Magic elected? Is the Ministry a democracy, dictatorship or a Cabinet within the Muggle government?
See "Wizarding World -- Government" FAQ
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Is Cornelius Fudge a supporter of Lord Voldemort or just a caricature of Neville Chamberlain?
See "Wizarding World -- Government" FAQ
Hermione indicates on the Hogwarts Express that she has already tried a few simple spells for practice. Why didn’t she get a letter from the Ministry of Magic as Harry did in CoS? Why was Hermione breaking rules in the first place? Hermione would know about the Decree, wouldn’t she (she is Hermione after all)?
There are other references to wizarding-born students flying on brooms and performing other spells (Fred turned Ron’s teddy bear into a spider) while they were young, pre-Hogwarts even. Why doesn’t this run afoul of the Decree?
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Related Questions: Did Sirius not need to provide a key to open his vault? His vault number (711) is close in proximity presumably to the high-security vault that held the Philosopher's Stone (713). If Sirius' vault was in the high-security area and could be opened by a Gringotts goblin, why did he need such a high-security vault in the first place?
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Did Harry give Mrs. Weasley the key to his Gringotts vault when she went to Diagon Alley for him and the others? There's no mention of him giving her a key or her giving it back. Just an omitted detail?
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Related Questions: Does money in a Gringotts vault earn interest?
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See "Wizarding World -- Economy" FAQ
How did Hagrid obtain the key to the Potters’ Gringotts vault? Did he salvage it from the ruins of the Potters’ home and give it to Professor Dumbledore at some point? If it was taken from their home, why didn’t Voldemort take it in the first place?
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Plot Mysteries
Lord Voldemort killed the Potters sometime in the late evening hours of Halloween or early morning hours of November 1st. The wizarding community was celebrating by the next morning as Vernon Dursley commuted to his office. Yet, Hagrid did not deliver baby Harry to the Dursleys until the evening of November 1st-2nd. What were Hagrid and Harry doing all this time? Where were they?
Were they in Godric’s Hollow this entire day? Hagrid says they flew over Bristol to get to the Dursleys’ home in Surrey. Therefore, did they originate (either in Godric’s Hollow or elsewhere) west/northwest of Bristol (Wales or Ireland)? See “Geography” FAQ.
What exactly destroyed the Potters' home in Godric's Hollow? Avada Kedavra kills human beings but doesn't apparently damage things in the process. And, if the house was in fact destroyed, why was Harry's only injury the scar left by Voldemort's attempted curse? How did the wizarding community find out about these events?
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See also the essay on this topic on the Harry Potter Lexicon site:
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/timeline_potters.html
Related Question: Why couldn't the Potters act defensively to prevent Voldemort's attack (couldn't they at least Apparate away)? Could they have Apparated with infant Harry though?
Yahoogroups Message: 14121
Why was it necessary to have Harry win the Triwizard Tournament in order to have him touch a portkey? Couldn’t Barty Crouch, Jr. (posing as Professor Moody) have turned any ordinary object into a portkey and thrown it into Harry’s path? Why couldn’t Crouch have even hit Harry with a spell and transported him to Voldemort?
Did Crouch change the Triwizard Cup with no portkey properties into a portkey, or was it already a portkey designed to bring the winner to the front of the maze and Crouch merely added an extra stop?
Since the Cup was apparently designed to return to Hogwarts, was it the plan that Voldemort would himself use it to go to Hogwarts or did he merely intend to send Harry's dead body back via the Triwizard Cup?
Related Questions:
Why would the portkey not operate on a "timer" as the portkeys for the Quidditch World Cup did?
Why wasn't it blocked from returning to Hogwarts?
Even if it wasn't blocked, wouldn't Hogwarts have wards in place to prevent unwanted visitors from using portkeys to get onto the Hogwarts grounds (one can't apparate or disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds for example)? Hasn't Dumbledore (or some predecessor) enchanted Hogwarts against transportation magic?
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Barty Crouch, Jr. was a youth when he was sent to Azkaban, and was kept under the Imperius Curse after his father smuggled him out of Azkaban. When did he change from the crying youth that Harry saw in Dumbledore's pensieve into an accomplished wizard capable of hoodwinking a powerful magical object and successfully fooling Albus Dumbledore for an entire school year?
Why would he continue to put Harry under the Imperius Curse until he could throw it off, and once he'd done this, why didn't he alert Voldemort that Harry could resist it?
How did he fool Albus Dumbledore so effectively that school year?
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Could the judges and spectators see the Triwizard Champions in the Maze? If so, couldn't they see that Harry and Cedric went missing? If not, why were they watching (there would be nothing to see)? Similarly, wouldn't the 2nd Task have been rather boring for the spectators (watching the still surface of the Lake for an hour)?
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In Chapter 1, Voldemort tells Wormtail that they must only kill one more person and then the path to Harry Potter is clear. Who is this "other murder"? Was it Barty Crouch, Sr.? Why did Voldemort change his mind and keep him alive and under the Imperius Curse instead?
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In the original versions of GoF, the shape/ghost of James Potter emerged from Voldemort's wand prior to the shape/ghost of Lily Potter. Readers later learn that the shapes/ghosts emerge from the wand in reverse order. Since the previous 3 books had consistently indicated that James Potter was killed before Lily Potter, readers speculated about this latest twist.
Both Bloomsbury and Scholastic quietly corrected later printings of GoF without alerting the media. The rewrite is controversial to some members (lacking the emotional depth and resonance of the original scene). Yahoogroups Messages:
25,814, 25,824, 25,838, 25,854, 25,864, 25,909. Both publishers continue to maintain that it was just an error and that JK Rowling has authorized the changed version. Some members claim that they have found some later versions that were not corrected (even though some printings prior to the one in question had been changed). It leaves us all wondering whether the publishes reverted back to original text on purpose at some point, but are now proclaiming it was an error that has been corrected?
Remaining Questions: The spells that killed James and Lily Potter must have been performed after the one that dispatched Voldemort (the curse on Harry that rebounded on Voldemort). The rebounded curse was not one of the 9 curses that came out of Voldemort's wand. So, is the real question: Who killed the Potters using Voldemort's wand?
Wormtail obviously used Voldemort's wand to curse Cedric. Why would there not have been some shadow/image of the curse that Voldemort placed on Harry that then rebounded on him? For an analysis of the shadows/images that come out of Voldemort's wand once Priori Incantatum began and a correlation to spells Voldemort cast (or is thought to have cast), see Yahoogroups Message 15297, 25,745.
Where has Voldemort's wand been all this time?
How was the Potters' home destroyed?
"Pre-Correction" Theories as to why James emerged before Lily:
Voldemort arrived with the intent to kill Harry, brushes past James in the front room. Lily is trying to shield Harry and won't get out of the way so Voldemort kills her. Then, James steps in & tries to shield his son. Voldemort kills him.
Problems: This doesn't explain why the deaths of both parents didn't provide Harry with a level of protection against Voldemort's touch (rather than just his mother's sacrifice).
Harry desperately wanted to see his father that night in GoF, and he magically caused the images within the wand to reverse order so that his father would emerge first.
James deflected Voldemort's original curse, but the deflected curse rebounded on the house (causing something to fall on him and kill him).
James wasn't killed by Voldemort. Lily was killed and then Voldemort cursed Harry. The rebounded curse left Voldemort powerless, but a Death Eater at the house used Voldemort's wand to kill James.
James gave Harry polyjuice potion so that he would look like James. James drank potion to take on Harry's appearance.
See also "Potter Family" FAQ.
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Spells and Potions
If only the Secret-Keeper knows the whereabouts of the hidden subjects, how did Sirius know where to go to the Potters? Or, could the hidden subjects inform others of their whereabouts? Sirius, Dumbledore and Hagrid all seem to know where to go to find the Potters' ruined home and baby Harry.
What is the nature of the "ancient magic" that Dumbledore invoked to protect Harry while he is in "his relations' care"? Is it the Fidelius Charm? Does it protect him when he is technically outside the physical presence of one of the Dursleys (at school if Dudley is absent, at Mrs. Figg's house, at the Weasleys for a few weeks in the summer before 2nd year, at the Leaky Cauldron for a few weeks prior to third year and again at the Burrow for a time before the fourth year)?
Yahoogroups Messages: 10995
When Voldemort put Harry under the Imperius Curse at the graveyard in Little Hangleton, Harry thinks that this is the 3rd time he's experienced the effects of this curse. He had been put under the Imperius Curse by Professor Moody (no less than 4 times during one class period so apparently counted as a single time). When was the other time that Harry was under the Imperius Curse?
Yahoogroups Messages: 2683, 5886, 8302
Why wouldn't Harry use a summoning charm (just as he had just used in the First Task) to summon the Marauder's Map when he dropped it while stuck in the trick stair?
Why do some summoning charms require that the object to be summoned by named, but Harry was able to just yell "Accio" and summon the Triwizard Cup to portkey him back to Hogwarts?
Yahoogroups Message: 6188
[Why don’t the Triwizard contestants simply summon the egg?]
Is the color green significant given that Lily had green eyes and Harry has inherited them? It is emphasized that Harry has “his mother’s eyes.” What significance is there to this emphasis?
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Yahoogroups Messsages: 2402, 2424
Why hasn't this potion been used in trials before (couldn't it have cleared Sirius Black and validated testimony against certain Death Eaters)? Couldn't it have been used to validate the accounts of Harry and Dumbledore at the end of GoF?
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Timeline Mysteries
In SS, Nearly Headless Nick informs the new Gryffindors that he hasn’t eaten anything in “nearly 400 years.” Yet, in CoS, Nick celebrates his 500th Death-Day. Has he been dead 400 years or 500 years?
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Yahoogroups Messages: 1400, 1409, 1463
See "Timeline & Chronology" FAQ
The students presumably cannot remain at Hogwarts over the summer holiday, so why are some of the due dates listed at the beginning of QTTA in the summertime?
Yahoogroups Messages: 15483, 15484, 15487, 15519, 15523,
Nearly Headless Nick was celebrating his 500th Death Day in CoS, and it is said that he died 31 October 1492. That would make CoS the 1992-1993 school year. Harry had just turned 12 the previous July 31st; therefore, most of us have gleaned that Harry's birthdate was 31 July 1980.
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See also "Harry Potter" FAQ and "Potter Family" FAQ
See also “Weasley Family” FAQ.
Related Questions How old are Arthur and Molly Weasley? When did they attend Hogwarts? How much older are they than the Marauders?
Wizarding Lifestyle Mysteries
Is it alcoholic?
If it's available in bottles, why was Lupin so surprised and suspicious when Harry says Ron and Hermione brought him some back (explaining why he'd tasted it before)? Fred & George also procure bottles of it from time to time. Yet, Ron and Hermione proclaim after their first visit that they "wished" they could have brought him some. So, why can the twins and Lupin procure bottles of it but Ron and Hermione are unable to do so?
How is the quaffle handled? Is it caught and thrown or hit like in volleyball?
Why don’t the students ever play “pick-up” Quidditch games while at school as the boys do while Harry is visiting the Weasleys?
Will the remaining books be devoid of Quidditch (will Harry be too busy with the anti-Voldemort forces to worry with sports)?
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See "Quidditch" FAQ
Is it realistic that Harry (whose passion is Quidditch) would not play it at all during the entire 4th year? The excuse that the professors would be “too busy” with Triwizard Tournament events seems lame to many members.
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Did Madame Rosmerta, Stan Shunpike and the other witches and wizards in lower-paying jobs in the wizarding world in the UK receive a Hogwarts education? If not, did they attend a less prestigious wizarding school?
See "Hogwarts" FAQ
How large is the wizarding world in Britain?
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Miscellaneous
How does Hagrid "fly" to the Hut on the Sea? On a broomstick? If so, where is it the next morning? Superman style?
Hagrid and Harry take the boat that the Dursleys used to get to the Hut on the Sea in Chapter 3 of SS. How then do the Dursleys get to land?
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Why would the sign at the first Quidditch match (drawn by Dean Thomas & enchanted by Hermione) say "Potter for President," even in the UK versions?
Yahoogroups Messages: 7356, 7384, 7428
In Chapter 30, Harry “sees” Dumbledore’s memory that Florence (surname unknown) was found kissing someone at Hogwarts. Is there any significance to this?
Yahoogroups Message: 3688
Why was Draco Malfoy alone in the woods after the Quidditch World Cup? Was he hoping to meet up with Harry, Ron and Hermione? Was he trying to be helpful when he told Hermione to keep "her bushy head down"?
Yahoogroups Message: 6228
Harry is said to be surprised by Bill Weasley's "cool" appearance in GoF. Yet, he'd seen a photo of Bill Weasley in Egypt the previous summer. Why didn't he remember what Bill looked like from that photo?
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What's up with the socks? Dumbledore sees himself receiving socks when he looks in the Mirror of Erised (or so he tells Harry). Dobby has a fixation with socks. Harry uses a sock to squelch the sneak-o-scope that Ron gave him for his birthday.
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