I started reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in first grade, and the rest of the books quickly followed. I still remember going to midnight release parties for the books with my mom. When I finished the series, I just couldn't get enough, so I reread the books... then I reread them again and again and again. This, coupled with the impeccable depictions that are the movies, created a lifelong obsession—no, dedication.
There are a lot of lists of "things you might not know about Harry Potter," but many of them are pretty run-of-the-mill. So many of them are just lists of facts that you can find by actually reading the books, or are the same few "rare facts" that everyone talks about.
So, I've compiled a list of my absolute favorite Harry Potter facts for the superfans like myself. Here ya go!
1. Every name has a specific meaning, be it mythological, foreign, or symbolic.
Voldemort translates in French to "flight from death." Sirius is the name of the dog star. Dumbledore means "bumblebee" in old English. Even Harry Potter's name refers to a "potter's field," which is a field in which poor and/or unknown bodies are buried in.
For a comprehensive list containing every character you could possibly imagine, check out this link.
2. The Weasley twins once threw snow in Voldemort's face.
They sure did! In "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone": "The Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban."
I should also probably mention that the twins were apart only twice: once when George lost his ear, and again when Fred died.
3. I don't care what anyone says—Hermione and Ron are everything.
Ron's Patronus is a Jack Russell terrier, known for chasing otters. Hermione's Patronus? An otter. The otter is part of the weasel family.
When Hermione smells the Amortentia potion, the third smell is Ron's hair.
4. An unauthorized sequel was sold in China.
It consisted of the text of "The Hobbit," but with Harry Potter character names instead.
5. Both Sirius and Fred died laughing.
As two generations of Hogwarts pranksters, this seems the only fitting way to go.
6. Colors are used symbolically.
Red represents goodness and bravery: it is Gryffindor's primary color, the Weasleys all have red hair and a red roof.
Green represents evil: Avada Kedavara is followed by a green flash of light, and a green spell made Ron vomit.
7. Numbers are also symbolic, especially the number seven.
Seven years at Hogwarts, seven Horcruxes, seven Weasley children, when Sirius was captured in "Prisoner of Azkaban," he was kept on the seventh floor of Hogwarts and even the name Weasley has seven letters. If you ever need a killer English paper or just get bored, reread one of the books and see how many times the number seven is referred to.
8. Lily and James were true soulmates.
His Patronus was a stag, and hers was a doe: the perfect fit.
Harry's Patronus would also become a stag, like his father's, and Snape's would change to a doe after Lily's death because he was so in love with her.
Needless to say, Patronuses (Patroni?) are incredibly symbolic.
9. Natalie McDonald, who appears on page 159 of Goblet of Fire, was a real person.
She was a little girl in Toronto who was dying of leukemia. She wrote to JK Rowling asking what would happen in the next book and if she would live long enough to read it.
10. The defeat of Grindelwald parallels Muggle history.
Grindelwald was defeated in 1945, the same year as Hitler. This means the wizarding world and muggle world were fighting wars at the same time.
Also, this would not be a Harry Potter fact list if I didn't mention that Rowling has confirmed that Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald.
So, there you have it! I hope you learned something new! For now... accio warm weather!
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