Harry Potter Fanatic

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Top Interesting 22 Minute Details from Harry Potter that could surprise you

1. Why Snape's first ever classroom conversation with Harry was so significant

Snape

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Just another tough question for a first year potions student right? Wrong.
Asphodel is a type of lily (yes, Harry's mummy) and this particularly lily means "My regrets follow you to the grave," according to the Victorian Language of Flowers. Meanwhile, wormwood means 'absence' and is said to symbolise sorrow.
That might seem VERY odd to someone who hadn't read all the novels, but the moment we discover Snape is in love with Lily in book seven, it all makes so much sense.

2. Why Harry was so suspicious that Snape could read minds

Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Philosopher's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could – yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone

By the time he starts teaching Harry Legilimency and Occlumency in Order of the Phoenix (Book 5), we know Snape actually can read minds.

3. Why Bane was so angry with Firenze in The Forbidden Forest

"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone

Bane, the centaur, was seriously unhappy with his pal Firenze for intervening when Harry was in trouble in the Forbidden Forest. But why?
“He was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."
Couldn't have put it better ourselves, Harry. We discover that it's true in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

4.Why Dumbledore really decided to give Gryffindor an extra few points

It may have seemed as though he simply disliked Slytherin, but Albus Dumbledore had a far more important reason for awarding extra points to Neville Longbottom.
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends," said Dumbledore. Having faced off against his own pal, Gellert Grindelwald, he knew exactly how tough it was.

5. Why Grindelwald's defeat was so important

Of course he was evil and had to be stopped, but Dumbledore's defeat of Gellert Grindelwald in 1945 (which Harry first learns of via a chocolate frog card) was far more significant than we thought.
It's only in the final book that we discover it's how Dumbledore won ownership of the Elder Wand, which then passed to Malfoy, and finally to Harry.

6. Why Professor Trelawney's terrible predictions hadn't gotten her fired

By the time we reach the end of book seven, we realise she was right more often than she was wrong.
She correctly predicted Harry and Voldemort's final showdown; her fatal theory about the first person rising when 13 sit was also spot on (Sirius, Dumbledore and Lupin were all the first to rise from a table of 13); she predicted Peter Pettigrew's return to his master and could even sense Voldemort's soul in Harry.
That's why she kept accidentally predicting he was born in mid-winter – aka Voldemort's birthday, 31st December.

7. Why Dumbledore's bathroom habits merited discussion

Remember reading about that room full of toilets, which Dumbledore just so happened to discover back in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire?
“Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots," Harry overheard him saying. "When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished.”
Memories of the Hogwarts headmaster's toilet habits came, err, flushing back when Harry discovered the Room of Requirement, just in time to start work with Dumbledore's Army.

8. Why it mattered that Fred and George bungled Montague into a mysterious cabinet

Tiny details about a mysterious cabinet dotted throughout the books finally came together when Malfoy used it to bring Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
Back in Chamber of Secrets, Nearly Headless Nick concocted a plan to get Harry out of trouble by convincing Peeves to break a vanishing cabinet.
A few years later, in Order of The Phoenix, Fred and George shoved a Slytherin lad by the name of Montague into an odd cabinet headfirst. Montague apparated to escape and ended up in the U-bend of a Hogwarts toilet, but that didn't stop him revealing the cabinet's potential to one Draco Malfoy.
And we all know what Draco did with it, using the entrance to help Death Eaters in to the school from Borgin and Burkes' antique shop ready for the assassination of Dumbledore.
What you might not have spotted, however, was the debut of the cabinet's Borgin and Burkes twin. When Harry mispronounced Diagon Alley while travelling by Floo Powder in Chamber of Secrets and found himself in the sinister Knockturn Alley shop, he hid in a strangely large cabinet to avoid Draco Malfoy.
He never closed the door fully, though, so it couldn't possibly have sent him to Hogwarts.

9. Why the Weasleys' neighbours were well worth mentioning

“Must be nearly time,” said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. “Do you know whether we’re waiting for any more, Amos?” “No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn’t get tickets,” said Mr. Diggory. “There aren’t any more of us in this area, are there?”
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

We first heard mention of the Lovegoods in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, when the gang are en route to the Quidditch World Cup.
Just one book later we meet Luna Lovegood, who turns out to be rather important indeed.

10. Why the scent of the Hog's Head was so significant

The first time we hear about Aberforth Dumbledore is when his brother, Albus, mentions him in passing to Harry. He doesn't say much about him, other than that he got in a spot of bother for practising inappropriate magic with goats.
In Order of The Phoenix, when Dumbledore's Army needs somewhere safe to meet, the trio opt to set up shop in The Hog's Head Inn and note that it smells strangely of goat. But, most importantly, Harry notices something about its landlord.
"He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long gray hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry."
Of course, we later discover that he is in fact Aberforth Dumbledore. And the magical circle of life is complete.

11. Why it was so important that Harry knew where to find a Bezoar

Now here's one that's a little bit more intricate and – if it really was a plot device – incredibly clever.
In Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, The Boy Who Lived helps good pal Ron survive a poisoning by running to nab a bezoar from Professor Slughorn's stock.
He knows it'll do the trick because his very cleverly annotated potions book told him so.
Back in The Goblet of Fire, he was sure he’d failed a potions test because he forgot to pop a bezoar in the cauldron.
And in his very first potions class, all the way back in Philosopher's Stone, what does Half Blood Prince Severus Snape ask him?
"Let's try again, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Minds all over the Muggle world blown.

12. Why on earth we needed to know which brooms the Irish Quidditch team had

We were told they’d all ordered Firebolts in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, and just one book later they went on to win the Quidditch World Cup on them.

13. Why it really DOES matter where you hide your potentially evil potions book

We've already established that the vanishing cabinet has roots throughout the book series, but remember when Harry decided to hide his rather dangerous old potions book – the one Snape annotated – in it?
And he came across a rather odd-looking tiara?
Cue another massive Deathly Hallows jaw drop when every single fan who'd read the novels just KNEW it had to be Helena Ravenclaw's diadem and one of the last remaining horcruxes keeping Voldemort invincible.

14. Why it mattered that the basilisk emerged from Salazar Slytherin’s mouth

Harry spotted the “dirty great snake” slithering out of the stone statue's gob when Tom Riddle summoned it, mimicking the dark mark – a serpent, emerging from the mouth of a skull – he used to summon his Death Eaters.

15. Why Bellatrix Lestrange was SO important to Lord Voldemort

During an argument at Spinner’s End in Half Blood Prince, Bellatrix reveals she’s been entrusted with something special. And it transpires she wasn’t kidding around.
In Deathy Hallows we learn she’s got a horcrux (Hufflepuff’s cup) sitting pretty among her gold galleons.

16. Who Petunia Dursley really meant when referring to that "awful boy"

“I heard – that awful boy – telling her about them – years ago,” she said jerkily. “If you mean my mum and dad, why don’t you use their names?” said Harry loudly, but Aunt Petunia ignored him. She seemed horribly flustered.”
Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix

Harry was QUITE annoyed that Aunt Petunia would refer to his father in such terms, but by the end of book seven we all knew it wasn’t his dad she was talking about at all. It was Lily’s first pal from the wizarding world – none other than Severus Snape.

17. Why it was important that Petunia and Albus Dumbledore had “corresponded”

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you."
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

Both we the readers and Harry thought it was via Howler, but as it transpired Petunia had actually written to Dumbledore, begging to go to Hogwarts like her sister.

18. Why the world was so obsessed with Lily Potter’s eyes

Back in the days when we only had Potter books to pore over we all wondered why on earth Lily Potter’s big green (the movies messed up on that one) eyes could be so important.
Did they give her extra magical powers? Could they hold the key to the mystery of her murder? Or were they just very very very nice eyes?
Well, the answer we sought finally came to us in Deathly Hallows. They were oh-so-important because they were the last eyes Severus Snape would look upon as he passed away, both a crushing and comforting reminder of the woman he’d always loved
.

19. What on earth that gleam of triumph in Dumbledore’s eyes was all about

"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my – my mother left in me – he'd have it too. And he was right – he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."
For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second, Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

Why was Dumbledore delighted? Well, as he explains in Deathly Hallows, it's because by taking Harry's blood, Voldemort keeps him alive, even in death, giving The Boy Who Lived the opportunity to decide whether he wants to keep on living.

20. Why Hagrid’s arrival to Privet Drive would prove so poignant

When first we heard of a man by the name of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, he was just some bloke who loaned Hagrid a motorbike to bring Harry to the Dursleys safely.
Little did we know that just two books later we'd discover he was one of the most important characters in the boy wizard's life.
And when Harry got to Grimmauld Place, feeling as though he'd entered the home of a "dying man", we should have twigged it was Rowling laying the foundations for her heartbreaking Order of The Phoenix plot.

21. Why a dusty old locket was worth noting amid a massive clear-out

Quite possibly the most famous and beloved plot point Rowling ever dropped first pops up in Order of The Phoenix.
While cleaning the house, Harry, Ron and Hermione come across a heavy old locket that nobody can open and decide to cast it aside because they can't be bothered to deal with it.
Cue a billion Potterhead jaws dropping when Regulus Arcturus Black made his revelation at the end of Half Blood Prince. We all knew it had to be the missing horcrux.
Bravo, Ms Rowling. Bravo.

22. And why Fred and George really pelted Professor Quirrell’s turban with snowballs

Who wouldn’t want to have a go at He Who Must Not Be Named?

Bravo, Ms Rowling. Bravo.

One sentence sums up why Harry Potter's Ron Weasley is a billion times better in the books

Fans of Harry Potter are no strangers to the books v films debate, but there is one thing almost everybody agrees on: Ronald Weasley fared so much better in the BOOKS COMPARED

to the movies.

Case in point, this post on Reddit manages to sum the whole argument up with a single line of dialogue, taken from a scene in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Does this one sentence sum up everything that's wrong with movie Ron?

Difference between book Ron and movie Ron summed up in one sentence

Book

“That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger,” said Snape coolly. “Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all.”

Hermione went very red, put down her hand, and stared at the floor with her eyes full of tears. It was a mark of how much the class loathed Snape that they were all glaring at him, because every one of them had called Hermione a know-it-all at least once, and Ron, who told Hermione she was a know-it-all at least twice a week, said loudly, “You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don’t want to be told?”

and now the same scene in the movie

Professor Snape: That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Tell me, are you incapable of restraining yourself, or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?

Ron: He's got a point, you know.

This post inspired a host of replies adding to the theory that Ron's character is very different on the big screen compared to the page. Like the scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone when Harry, Ron and Hermione struggle with Devil's Snare: in the film, he is a quivering mess; in the books, he's the one to remind Hermione that she could use her magic to conjure fire.

Fans also pointed out that some of Ron's best lines and key scenes were given to other characters. For instance, in Chamber of Secrets it's Ron, not Hermione, who explains the concept of a Mudblood.

We don’t know about you, but we certainly feel as though it’s a case of mischief managed.

And don’t worry Rupert Grint. We still love you

Source - Radiotimes

Friday, 22 April 2016

11 Unanswered Questions We Have About The ‘Harry Potter’ Series

If you’ve spent the last 16+ years involved in the Harry Potter fandom, you’ve probably had some of the magical years of your life, but you’ve also had some confusing moments. J.K. Rowling created an in-depth world of witches and wizards that quenches our thirst for magic, and yet, she managed to somehow leave quite a few questions unanswered.

1. What happened to Mr. & Mrs. Potter?

We get that it’s stressed that the Durselys are Harry’s only remaining family. But why? James Potter’s parents don’t even get first names in this series, they’re just Mr. & Mrs. Potter. They were apparently amazing, older parents who doted on James and let his best friend Sirius live with them when he ran away at 16, and yet no names? No story behind their deaths?

2. Were there other international wizards?

We know about Beauxbatons (southern France) and Durmstrang (Sweden or Norway), but what about the rest of the world? What about us American witches? Where were we supposed to go to school? Why was this Salem Witches Institute never mentioned in the films or books.

3. Why does Harry still wear glasses?

Maybe we’re being vain here, but c’mon yer a wizard Harry. We find it hard to believe that after all this time of witches and wizards, someone didn’t come up with a quick and easy process to fix your eyes.

4. What do wizards have against computers?

And the rest of technology? Granted, we get that the Second Wizarding War ended in 1998, before Facebook was even an idea, but that whole “no tech in the castle thing” is kind of ridiculous.

5. Why did Fred and George Weasley never ask Ron who Peter Pettigrew was?

They apparently found the Marauder’s Map when they were first years, meaning they had it the entire time Ron attended Hogwarts. You’re telling me, not once, did they see or question their brother about who this Peter Pettigrew he was clearly hanging out with was?

6. Why were dementors still allowed at Azkaban after the 1995 “mass breakout”?

Fudge was doing his best to try and deny that Voldemort was back, but by the end ofOrder of the Phoenix, it was obvious that he was back. So, after Fudge got canned, why didn’t the dementors also get let go? Once itwas acknowledged that Voldemort is alive and trying to reclaim power, didn’t it become obvious that the dementors were the ones who helped break Bellatrix Lestrange and the other high-profile convicts out?

7. Why did Professor Flitwick’s appearance change so drastically?

We know that Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuaron got a little liberally creative while filming, but that still doesn’t explain why absolutely no one acknowledges this huge change in appearance.

8. Why did Voldemort hug Draco?

This moment was apparently not scripted, so we guess the only real person who knows why Voldemort did this is Voldemort himself, Ralph Fiennes. We imagine it was mean to be menacing, and yet, as viewers it’s one of the few moments we were able to laugh through our tears during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

9. Is there really no cure for Frank and Alice Longbottom?

It makes for a very tragic plot and back story for Neville Longbottom to have both of his parents stuck in St. Mungos Hospital for Magic Maladies, but we never got much information on what was done for them post-torturing. With a firm grasp on all the amazing things that the Wizarding world has to offer, we can’t imagine that in Neville’s lifespan, a breakthrough in his parents’ treatment wasn’t made.

10. How often did people get trapped on the stairs?

Maybe it’s not something very pertinent to worry about, but still we’re curious. How many people got stuck every day? Could their professors really get mad if they were late to class, since it was the school’s fault in the first place?

11. Why isn’t Ravenclaw’s symbol a raven?

The Ravenclaw family crest is an eagle, AKA that is why it is the symbol for the house at Hogwarts, yet we’re still confused. Which Ravenclaw ancestor managed to mess that up?

12 Things That Still Bother Me About Harry Potter

Through the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling gave us one of the richest, most wonderful worlds ever. And, because it is so significant and treasured, I'm going to nitpick the hell out of it.

1. How come they didn't use any muggle inventions to inform their magic inventions?

The series is set between 1991 and 1998, so it makes sense that wizards wouldn't know that much about the internet and other technological advancements like that, but, by 1994, web search engines were starting to work well enough that some wizard should have heard about it and thought, "Hm, maybe we should come up with a magic way of sorting through the information in all these musty old books?" And let's not even get started on the inefficiency of wizards not having any kind of portable communication device. Sirius Black would probably have survived the series if he'd just had a god damn cell phone.

2. Why wouldn't everyone get a magic portrait of themselves and essentially live forever?

According to the magic specifics behind the enchantments that make it so portraits can talk and move and stuff, a magic painter needs to make the portrait, and only the portraits of the headmasters have the wisdom and knowledge of the portrait subject because the portrait is painted early and the headmaster then imbues the portrait version of himself with all that information. Ok. It's a lot more complicated than it seems at first glance, but still. Everyone should get a magic portrait and spend their lives teaching it to be them, so that when, I don't know, they're murdered and leave behind a confused orphan baby, they could still exist in some form to talk to him.

3. Why would J.K. Rowling even include the time-turner?

It's such a clusterfuck of a plot device. There is no person who read The Prison of Azkaban who didn't think, "Huh. If they can go back in time to save Sirius, why couldn't Dumbledore have gone back to save Lily and James Potter?" The internet is full of some gobbledigook "rules" that J.K. Rowling published after-the-fact, but, come on, just avoid time travel plots, lady. You've already got regular magic.

4. So, was Hagrid's dad just a pervert or what?

Rubeus Hagrid is half human and half giant. His father, the human, had sex with his mother, the giant. If all giants are like Grawp--enormous, stupid beasts--that is one fucked up situation. Just sit quietly and think about it for a little while. Yep. Hagrid's dad went into the woods and boned a monster. Cool.

5. If Fred and George had the Marauder's Map during the events of the Chamber of Secrets, why didn't they use it to help figure out who was opening the chamber?

The chamber doesn't appear on the Marauder's Map, but the bathroom that houses the entrance does. After the first student was petrified, wouldn't you think Fred and George would spend some time scouring the map and notice their little sister a) being conspicuously present for all the subsequent attacks, and b) spending a lot of time in a bathroom that most people find creepy because of the annoying ghost?

6. Why would Hogwarts have students ride to the castle on animals they could only see if they'd seen death?

What is the point of singling out all of the children who have seen dead people and making them feel weird and confused? It's such a horribly morbid way to start off the year.

7. Why does Malfoy try to befriend Harry when they first meet?

At their first meeting, Malfoy tries to persuade Harry not to be friends with people like Ron, and, instead, to be friends with Malfoy and his cronies. I get that Malfoy would likely want to be friends with the celebrity student, but his father was a supporter of the person who tried to kill Harry, so it's a pretty weird stretch to think this relationship will go well. Even if the elder Malfoys think Voldemort is dead and don't still have a vendetta against Harry, there's going to be some bad blood, so I don't understand Draco's endgame.

8. Why aren't they more careful what they teach Slytherin kids?

A lot of people might suggest scrapping the Slytherin house all together, but that seems excessive. After all, not every Slytherin kid becomes evil, BUT, apparently, every evil wizard was in Slytherin. So, obviously, Hogwarts should be doubling down on ethics lessons for these kids. Maybe, instead of teaching them so much about fighting, try to prevent the obviously evil children from becoming more evil.

9. Why would Harry think he could get away with opening a letter in front of the Dursleys?

It's presumably the first letter he's ever gotten and he just goes ahead and opens it in front of his awful family? Idiot.

Now for some complaints that are just about the movies:

10. Why was Moaning Myrtle played by a 37 year-old?

Moaning Myrtle is played by Shirley Henderson in the movies, and, if the name "Shirley Henderson" didn't tip you off, this woman was way too old to play a teenager in 2002. Granted, Shirley Henderson is a very good actress and has a great, horrifying voice, but it's still really weird they cast such an old person to play a dead teenager. If the casting director can explain this choice to me, I'll strike it from the list, but until then, it stays.

11. The Ron/Hermione kiss was the lamest kiss ever.

The entire series--even starting when they're 11 years-old--builds the romantic tension between Ron and Hermione. We wait the whole series for them to get together, and then, at last, in the final battle, when people have died and more lives are at risk, our two star-crossed lovers unite and we get to see the back of Rupert Grint's wet head. Be still my heart.

12. And, finally, the most bothersome thing in the entire movie series: the actress they get to play the young version of Harry's mom doesn't have eyes that look anything like his.

So, let's work through this. It's the final installment of a multi-billion dollar movie franchise based on a multi-billion dollar book franchise. Throughout the series, characters are constantly talking about how Harry Potter has the same eyes as his mother. This one fact is the thing that makes Snape turn his back on the Death Eaters and try to protect the child of his one true love. Lily Potter and Harry Potter having the same eyes is a huge fucking deal. So, when the filmmakers needed to cast an actress to play young Lily Potter, a role that required no actual acting skill, and really JUST existed to show her resemblance to Harry, who do they cast? A girl with brown eyes that look nothing like Harry Potters. Good work, everyone.

Source: CollegeHumor