1. The shape of Harry’s scar

Before I read the books, I knew that Harry had a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt; it's one of his most famous features in the books and reality. When I started reading the series, I was expecting to find an explanation as to why it appeared in that shape specifically. The lightning bolt shape has no significance to Voldemort at all. Since this scar was caused by Voldemort trying to kill Harry, why didn't it appear in the shape of something more significant, like the Dark Mark or a snake?

2. Harry as the first person to overcome the death curse

As Dumbledore explains to Harry, Voldemort was unable to kill Harry when he was a baby because Lily died protecting Harry out of her all-encompassing love for him. It is not this concept that I have a problem with – I can understand how sacrifice extends itself to protect others. In the wizarding world, Harry is famous for being the only person ever to have survived Avada Kedavra. Many fans find it hard to believe that Lily Potter was the first person in the history of wizardry to sacrifice herself.

3. How a person becomes a wizard or witch

One of the biggest banners of Voldemort's terrifying regime is that purebloods (those who have a wizard and witch as parents) and half-bloods (one wizard or witch parent and one Muggle parent) are superior to Muggle-born (two Muggle parents) and squibs (non-magical offspring of a wizard and witch) that somehow have no magic abilities at all. I always wondered how the concept of becoming a wizard or a witch worked in the first place. For example, Lily Potter was a Muggle-born witch, but her sister Petunia was not. Draco prides himself in being a pureblood and is always quick to point out Hermione as a “mudblood." Voldemort, Snape, and Harry share the common identity of being half-bloods. Is magic a genetic trait that some people just don't get, or is it something else?

4. The entire concept of the Remembrall

In "The Sorcerer's Stone," Neville gets a Remembrall from his grandma since he is very forgetful. The smoke inside turns red when the owner has forgotten something. Because it's Neville, the smoke turns red and he says, “the problem is, I can't remember what I've forgotten." What is the point of having an item that tells you when you forgot something if it won't even help you in remembering the forgotten thing? It seems like it would be more useful if the smoke showed the person what they forgot.

5. The safety of the students in The Chamber of Secrets

In the second book, the students' safety is threatened when several students turn up petrified in the corridors. Even though this happens time and time again, Dumbledore never sends the students home, instead of placing new rules such as that students have to be accompanied to class by a staff member. It seems completely ridiculous that the parents of the students would be okay with this, or that Dumbledore would be so willing to keep everyone in harm's way.

6. The entire time-turning situation in "Prisoner of Azkaban"

In the third book, it is revealed that Hermione's busy schedule is made possible using a time-turner, allowing her to go back in time to attend lessons and do homework. It comes in handy when Hermione and Harry use it to save Buckbeak and free Sirius. Apart from the fact that the concept of traveling in time is so confusing it hurts my brain, it seems far-fetched that Dumbledore would allow two third-years to go back in time and make all of his happen. Why didn't Dumbledore just do it himself?

7. The purpose of "The Prisoner of Azkaban"

When I started reading the novels, many people told me that "The Prisoner of Azkaban" was easily the worst novel in the series; it was also the least-grossing movie. When I got to this novel, I agreed. The whole novel seems like fluff. The biggest takeaways are that:

A) Sirius is Harry's godfather and is a good person, and

B) Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, not Sirius.

Also, for this entire novel, Voldemort literally does nothing. It surprised me that for such a good series, Rowling would basically waste an entire novel explaining events that could've happened in a few chapters.

8. The fears the boggarts turn into

"The Prisoner of Azkaban" introduces the boggart, a shape-shifting creature that, when seen by a person, takes the shape of whatever that person fears the most. When the Defense Against the Dark Arts class practices defeating it, it turns into Professor Snape, a spider, a snake, and a dementor. What if a person's biggest fear is not a tangible object, such as death or failure? What would the boggart look like then? Or is it only for tangible fears? Furthermore, when Neville saw Professor Snape, for example, did the entire class also see Snape because he is Neville's fear? Why would a student not see their own fear all the time, no matter who is battling it?

9. The Marauder’s Map

In the third book, the Weasley twins gift Harry the Marauder's Map, which allows the user to see where everyone is within Hogwarts at that time. It becomes significant later when Lupin realizes that Ron's rat is actually Peter Pettigrew in Animagus form. Why did the Weasley twins never notice that Ron was always hanging out with a guy they didn't know? It seems like they should've made the connection that the rat is an Animagus long before Lupin did.

10. The Triwizard Tournament is pretty boring for the spectators

When I watched the movies, I realized that the spectators of the last two events must've been pretty bored. The first trial where the contenders have to defeat the dragon was entertaining since it took place in an open arena that everyone could see. For the second and third tasks, however, the spectators couldn't see anything. It's hard to believe that in the wizarding world, it wasn't possible to use a camera, set up a screen, or do something that allowed everyone to see the action.

11. The faux Mad Eye Moody’s involvement in the Triwizard Tournament

The fake Mad Eye was, of course, incredibly involved in Harry's success in the Triwizard Tournament, from telling him to summon his broom to dropping the hint about the gillyweed. This makes sense since he was under Voldemort's orders to make him succeed. What didn't make sense to me, though, was that Mad Eye was completely in charge of the final task. Even Dumbledore admitted that Mad Eye was the only one that knew the layout of the maze. Why didn't Dumbledore make the maze himself? He seemed way too trusting of Mad Eye, and this was an obvious aide in getting Harry to Voldemort.

12. The entire plan of getting Harry to Little Hangleton

Something that bothered me at the end of the fourth book was the complexity of getting Harry to Little Hangleton. Yes, it definitely worked, but couldn't there have been an easier way? For example, the fake Mad Eye could've turned one of Harry's possessions into a port key to go to the graveyard, or he could've broken into Gryffindor Tower and kidnapped Harry and physically taken him there.

13. Harry’s invisibility cloak

The entire concept of the invisibility cloak is really cool, and I found myself jealous that Harry could simply slip this cloak on and roam around Hogwarts without detection. In "The Prisoner of Azkaban," Harry is sneaking around and sees Mad Eye Moody who, with the help of his mechanical eyeball, can see through Harry's cloak. Later in "The Deathly Hallows," it's revealed that Death himself made the cloak and is unable to see anyone who wears it, thus hiding the person from Death forever. It's ridiculous that Death himself is unable to see through this cloak, but Mad Eye's mechanical eyeball can. I have a hard time believing that an eyeball is more powerful than Death.

14. Dumbledore and invisibility cloaks

On other occasions when Harry was wearing the invisibility cloak, he is in the presence of Dumbledore. In one particular instance in "The Chamber of Secrets," Harry and his friends are hiding under the cloak in Hagrid's cabin while Dumbledore and some others are there. Rowling includes the detail that Dumbledore stared at the corner Harry and his friends were for a few seconds before looking away. This leads me to wonder if this means that

A) Dumbledore is a powerful enough wizard to be able to see past invisibility cloaks,

B) Dumbledore assumes Harry and his friends are there since they are friends with Hagrid and assumes Harry and his friends are hiding in that particular spot, or

C) it's just a coincidence.

It's pretty cool to think that Dumbledore is more powerful than an invisibility cloak, but if that's true, it again diminishes the integrity of the cloak, like the point I made in #13.

15. What you learn and don’t learn at Hogwarts

Another popular point mentioned by fans is that Hogwarts doesn't prepare students for practical life skills. For example, Harry knows math, reading, and writing because he attended a Muggle school, but what about pureblood children like the Weasleys? They must learn these things somewhere since Hogwarts doesn't teach it, but it is never specifically mentioned.

16. The living paintings

Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and other locations in the wizarding world have paintings with people inside of them that can move, talk, and have feelings. They can move within their own painting as well as visit others, they can talk to people in other paintings as well as real people, and can hold responsibilities, such as the Fat Lady guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Does this mean that they are alive? There are other questions I have about the paintings too, such as how the person in the painting becomes alive. In some instances, it seems to be like a second life thing, such as when Dumbledore can communicate in his painting after his death. It's quite an interesting concept to consider.

17. How spells come into existence

Hogwarts students spend seven years learning spells and charms that can perform a wide variety of tasks, but it's never mentioned how those spells came to be. It's apparently possible to invent new spells; in "The Half-Blood Prince," Snape tells Harry that he invented sectumsempra, which cuts the target. How did Snape invent this spell? How did other spells come into existence?

18. The Muggles never see anything

Though the wizarding world and Muggle world stay largely apart, there are certainly some crossovers. Many children, like Harry and Hermione, grow up in the Muggle world before joining the wizarding world. Due to this, it's surprising that Muggles don't know that the wizard kind exists. There are several things that happen in the books that made me wonder how Muggles didn't notice. For example, Ron and Harry fly to Hogwarts in a car in "The Chamber of Secrets," and before this, the twins and Ron hover the car under Harry's window to allow him to escape the Dursley's. Across all the novels, people always run at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10 to reach Platform 9 ¾. In "The Sorcerer's Stone," the glass wall at the zoo simply disappeared, allowing the snake to escape, and Harry and his friends flew thestrals across the sky to get to the Ministry of Magic in "The Order of the Phoenix." How did Muggles never notice any of this?