| Question | Answer | Notes |
| In Goblet of Fire, did anyone notice that look of triumph in Dumbledore’s eye? What did it mean? | Yes, we all saw that. As for the meaning, you can read various opinions on this in the group archives, particularly around the time GoF was released. | In lieu of a Dumbledore FAQ (which is in progress), see the summary and message numbers in the Mysteries & Inconsistencies FAQ, under Section 3 of Mysteries: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. |
| Where is the school motto ‘Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus’ mentioned in the books? What does it mean? | The school motto - meaning ‘Never tickle a sleeping dragon’ - is only found on the front-papers of the UK (and related) editions of the books. The motto is shown under a sketch of the school's coat-of-arms, which combines the coats-of-arms of each of the four school Houses. | |
| Has anyone calculated the number of students in Harry’s year and in Hogwarts in total? | This is one of the most discussed topics on the list. There are various theories on this figure, most of which JKR trashed with an interview comment that there are “about a thousand” students at Hogwarts (Scholastic.com chat interview, 16 October 2000). Logic would suggest a smaller population. | See our Hogwarts
FAQ for more information. Scholastic chat |
| Has anyone wondered whether Snape is vampire? | Er, yes - this has been discussed extensively on the list, if you type
in "vampire" and forge through the archives. The consensus is that JKR
employed bat-like metaphors to create a feel for the
character. Recent threads have drifted into a half-dead, half-Dementor theme. |
A Snape FAQ is in progress. In the meantime, take a look at the canon evidence for Snape as a vampire, as assembled by Pippin. |
| In Goblet of Fire, during the fight between Harry and Voldemort, James Potter appears from Voldemort’s wand before Lily Potter. Surely Lily should have appeared first if she was killed after James? | This was an error. The scene was rewritten for later editions of the
book. Both Bloomsbury (UK publisher) and Scholastic (US publisher) have
confirmed this. The exposure and implications of this error were discussed in an article by Kera Bolonik on Salon.com, which featured interviews with some HPfGU members (see right). |
View image of altered US text here
View image of original US text here and original UK text here See also Mysteries and Inconsistencies FAQ, under Section 2 of Mysteries: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, for a summary of the discussions on this, and the Salon.com article, here. |
| What is the meaning of the inscription on the Mirror of Erised? | Oh, come along… Read it backwards and you’ll have the answer. Wonku oyneh wysa esti! | "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." |
| I was wondering about the fact that all the Hogwarts teaching staff appear to be single and childless. | This observation has come up quite a few times. The lead messages to a couple of typical threads are linked on the right. | thread one; thread two |
| In Chamber of Secrets Dumbledore says Voldemort is the last surviving ancestor of Salazar Slytherin. How can this be true? | There are later editions in which the word “ancestor” has been changed to “descendent” and others that have not been changed. This was an error, but there is mixed views on how this will be handled by the author. | |
| Has anyone noticed that Arabella Figg of the “old crowd” is the same Mrs Figg who sometimes looks after Harry? | Yes, this has been spotted, and JKR has confirmed in an interview that they are the same person. This was the oft-quoted chat at Scholastic.com (16 October 2000). JKR was asked: "Is the Mrs. Figg with all the cats in the Dursleys' neighborhood the same Arabella Figg that Dumbledore mentioned at the end of book 4?", to which she replied: "Well spotted!" | Scholastic chat |
| In the opening chapter of Goblet of Fire, two Riddles and their son are found murdered. Surely the son is Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort? | No. The murdered parents were Voldemort’s grandparents, and the murdered son was Voldemort’s father. | |
| What does this phrase mean: "Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any us." [Dumbledore, GoF, Chap 36] | It's a typo, should be "if" not "unless". | |
| Why could Quirrell touch Harry in the Leaky Cauldron? | Because Voldemort only invaded him after the failed robbery of Gringotts: "When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me...." [Chap 17, PS/SS] | |
| Instead of using the Triwizard Cup, why didn't Moody/Crouch turn just any old thing into a portkey? | You can read various theories on this apparent plothole in our Magical Devices/Objects FAQ. | Magical Devices FAQ - Portkeys |
| Where does it say that Lily Potter's maiden name is Evans? What Hogwarts House was Lily in? | We were all very excited to learn that Lily's maiden name was Evans (yeah, we *should* get out more). It came from an online chat between JKR and children, recorded on the Scholastic website on 16 October 2000. In the same chat, JKR confirmed that Lily was in Gryffindor. | Scholastic chat |
| In which year was Hermione born? | JKR revealed in an October 2000 chat that Hermione's birthday is 19 September. Members have debated whether Hermione is 10 months older or 2 months younger than Harry (born 31 July 1980). | See the Hermione
Granger FAQ for a brief note on this topic. The Hogwarts
FAQ addresses the issue of whether children must already be 11 to
receive a Hogwarts letter. See also, these recent threads: thread one; thread two; thread three |
| Question | Answer | Notes |
| When will Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix be published? | The book's UK publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing plc, reports on its website that the
book will be published on 21st June, 2003 in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia.
JKR announced the title of the book in interview on the Today Show, when she said it would "probably" be called Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix. She confirmed the title in an interview with CBBC's Newsround [see CBBC interview, to the right]. | Today Show
transcript Bloomsbury's Harry Potter pages CBBC interview |
| Are there differences between the US and UK editions of the books? | Scholastic changed some British terms to American equivalents for the sake of understanding (e.g. “fringe” to “bangs”), but our members have also spotted some significant differences in the text. | See comparison phrase lists on the Harry Potter Lexicon (about halfway down the page). |
| I’ve seen a reference to ‘adult’ versions of the books in the UK and elsewhere. Is the content different to that of the regular books? | Apart from the covers, the books are exactly the same as the 'regular' editions, in each case. In the UK, Bloomsbury released all the books with photoreal black and white covers, aimed at adult readers and ran a poster campaign that proclaimed: "It's not just for kids!". Some other countries, such as Germany, have also used different covers in an attempt to attract adult readers. | |
| Who are the characters on the front of the US edition of Goblet of Fire? | It’s the Four Champions in the Triwizard Tournament. | |
| What is that small insect-like creature on the back of the US edition of Goblet of Fire? | It’s supposed to be a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but doesn’t look much like one. No, it’s not Rita Skeeter. | |
| I’ve heard that JKR has revealed a list of the
students in Harry’s year with information on their magical
prowess. Let me see! let me see! |
During a BBC television documentary, "Harry Potter and Me," JKR showed her notebooks to the camera, revealing details of the students, their houses and their magical abilities. There are various thoughts on what the symbols might mean. HPFGU member Muridae kindly posted some screen grabs to our Photos section (see link, right). | Screen grabs from "Harry Potter and Me" |
| Where can I find information on the Harry Potter movie(s)? | Harry Potter and the Philosophers’/Sorcerer’s Stone was released on 16 November 2001 in the UK/US, but later in other countries, staggered right through to May 2002. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets made its UK/US premiere on 15 November 2002. | Join our sister list HPfGU-Movie for
discussion of the Harry Potter films. See the latest news on the IGN Filmforce website or check out the Warner Brothers' website We also recommend The Harry Potter Galleries [site down 28 Apr 2002] for HP movie information, including a comprehensive list of release dates, worldwide. Its affiliated site, The Leaky Cauldron provides excellent newsfeed on everything in the Potterverse. |
| I’m interested in finding out more about Harry
Potter fanfiction. Where can I find the best stories? I've written some fanfic and want to know where I can post it. I need a beta reader for my fanfic story. |
FictionAlley.org is a major website housing some of the best HP
fanfiction available, with a writers' support system and message boards.
Schnoogle.org is the location for novel-length fics, and there are three
other sections: AstronomyTower.org (romances), TheDarkArts.org
(action/adventure and mystery fics) and Riddikulus.org
(humour). For other sources of good HP fanfic writing, please refer to the recommendations in our Portkey. |
Check out FictionAlley Authors looking for a piece of the action should check the details here View the Portkey |
| Question | Answer | Notes |
| I’m confused by all the sister clubs associated with HPforGrownups. | That’s understandable - we’re often confused and we created them.
The details and scope of all our YahooGroups lists are included in the Humongous Bigfile and you can find a list of links to all of them at The Portkey. If you're still unsure where to post something, please contact your List Elf, if you have one, or the team of Moderators, Elves and Geists (MEG Team). |
The Portkey - links to all the
lists Contact the Moderators, Elves and Geists |
| I’m not sure what’s allowed and what’s not allowed
when posting to HPforGrownups or the related lists. I'm not sure which list is appropriate for my message. |
Don't panic! Take another look at the netiquette guidelines and general list policy in the Humongous Bigfile. If in doubt, contact your List Elf or the Moderator Team. | Humongous
Bigfile - Section 2 Contact the Moderators |
| What are the prefixes (FF:, TBAY:, SHIP:) I've seen on the titles of some messages and when should I use these? | The Humongous Bigfile explains the prefixes currently in use. | HBFile note on prefixing |
| Are any discussion topics completely banned? | Yes. We've tried to avoid declaring an outright ban on anything, but a few topics have caused problems on the list in the past and we feel it's best to avoid them. See the Humongous Bigfile for further information. | HBFile note on banned topics |
| I’ve seen mention of substantive FAQ essays on various HP characters and topics, but I can’t find them. What are they and where are they? | In mid-2000 a group of us began analysing all the messages posted to the club and sorting them into topical categories, such as “Hermione Granger,” “Charms & Spells,” “Wizarding World: Geography” and “Recommended Reading”. A smaller group of us then began work on in-depth FAQs or essays based on the messages. Several of these essays are now available to view. Check out the link on the right. | Apparate to the FAQ essays (a.k.a. "Fantastic Posts and Where To Find Them") |
| I have something on my mind, but I’m not sure if it’s been discussed before. How can I find out? | Very Frequently Asked Questions Some of the most frequently-asked questions are included in this file. Please see the table at the top of this file. Fantastic Posts and Where To Find Them Your next port of call should be the FAQ-based essays mentioned above. Yahoo’s ‘Not Very Good’ Search Facility Another option you have is to run a search of the messages on the main list and in the Archive of messages from the original Yahoo club. Once you have logged in and selected ‘Messages’, look for the ‘Search Archive’ box at the top of the message board. This feature has its limitations (e.g., you need to search the list in chunks by hitting 'next'; you won't get all the matches on the first pass), but it is useful for checking that something hasn’t been discussed just before you joined the list. |
Read the club's
FAQ-based essays Search messages in the main HPfGU list Search messages archived from our old Yahoo club (Sep 1999 - Aug 2000) |
| I need to check some factual information from the
books. Is there anywhere I can look for it without actually leafing
through the pages? |
The Harry Potter Lexicon is an incredible resource of Harry Potter information, which has earned the right to call itself "The Ultimate Harry Potter Reference". Steve, the webmaster, is careful to include only information from the Harry Potter books (including the Schoolbooks) and from JKR's own lips. It's a very comprehensive site and useful beyond measure. | Harry Potter Lexicon |
| I heard that JKR said ____________ in an
interview. Is there anywhere I can check that? |
JKR has let slip very few juicy facts in the many interviews she's done, but it's still worth checking out her responses in less guarded moment. We recommend an excellent database of JKR interviews and chats created by member Aberforth's Goat. | JK Rowling's Interviews - A Search Engine |
| Why is there a delay before my messages appear on
the list? Why did I get a message saying my post was rejected? |
All new members of the list are placed on moderated status. Although
we have a large admin team, there will be times when pending messages
cannot be reviewed right away. If your message is rejected, we will
usually give you advice on what needs changing and you can resubmit the
message when that’s been addressed. Another occasional cause of temporary delays is Yahoo itself, in which case the situation may be out of the control of the list administrators. |
|
| BTW, OTOH, IIRC, LOL, I keep seeing shorthand terms like these in people’s posts. What do they mean? |
We’ve prepared a list of all these terms, which includes general internet acronyms and buzzwords, and terms relating to Harry Potter, HP fanfiction, Shipping (romance pairings) and other topics. See link to the file on the right. | Shorthand Terms |
| Okay, what's all this Theory Bay stuff?
L.O.L.L.I.P.O.P.S.? Big Bang? G.I.A.N.T. C.U.S.H.I.O.N.? Fourth Man? Are
you are all completely mad? |
Hmmm. Let's pass on the madness question. Theory Bay is concept for
naming theories about Harry Potter canon. Some of them have names and some
of them have acronyms, but they all relate to speculation on characters
and situations in the books. If you want to know more, make your way to
Hypothetic Alley for a full glossary and wildly entertaining history
prepared by some of the leading Theory Bayers. In addition to Hypothetic Alley, there is also a database of all the acronyms proposed on the list: check out Inish Alley for that. The titles of all Theory Bay posts should be prefixed TBAY: |
For Hypothetic Alley, click on the fish: <"((><
Also, see this admin message. Inish Alley |
| What’s all this I’ve heard about a Harry Potter symposium? | Nimbus 2003, the first major symposium for Potter fans, will take place in
Orlando, Florida in July 2003. The event involves HP for Grownups, Fiction Alley
and The Leaky Cauldron. For further information, please view the website here.
There is also a message board for discussion, which all are welcome to join (see right). |
HPFGU-Convention |
| I would like to meet up with other HP fans in my area. | Please check the Regional Groups bookmarks on the main list. If there
isn’t a group local to you, you might want to consider setting one up. If
you do that, please drop us a line to let us know and add a link to the
bookmarks. You can also check out the Regional database to see if there are any individual members living in your area. |
Regional
Groups bookmarks Regional database (individual members) Contact the Moderators |
| Is there a regular chat session associated with HPforGrownups? Where can I find the chatroom? | The HPforGrownups chat room can be found in the East Wing, just behind the
statue of the boggle-eyed hag. Alternatively, you can follow the instructions on
the right. Come along on Sundays from roughly 2pm US Eastern (7pm GMT, 11am Left Coast) and join a throng of people from HPFGU and across the Harry Potter fandom. There's no set topic - it's usually off-topic, in fact - so why not drop by and say hello! If the room looks empty, stick around for a little while. Sometimes, people arrive fashionably late. |
To get to the party, go to any Yahoo Chat Room (for example
the one on our main list),
then type "/join hp:1" (without the quotation marks). You can also use CheetaChat (for PCs) or miChat (for Macs). Upgrades for these programs can be found here. If you have any problems, please feel free to contact the Mods at mods@hpfgu.org.uk |
| I want change my delivery options. I'm getting far too many individual emails. Is there an alternative way of viewing the messages? |
Please go to the list home page at YahooGroups, check the link marked Delivery Options, and make your choice. You can read about the different option in the Humongous Bigfile (see right). | HPfGU
Homepage Humongous Bigfile note on delivery options |
| I want to unsubscribe from the
list(s). |
Please send a blank email to HPforGrownups-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com to unsub from the main list. Use the same convention for other lists (adding '-unsubscribe' to the posting address). If in doubt, visit the online homepage and the information is shown right at the bottom of the page. | HPfGU Homepage |
