Welcome to the Harry Potter Lexicon
The most compleat and amazing reference to the wonderful world of Harry Potter
est. 2000 A.D.
Phase of the Moon: Waning Gibbous
5 GBP = 1 Galleon 
The Ford Anglia arrives at the Burrow early in the morning
4 August 1992 — Leaving Privet Drive in Surrey, Fred and George fly the Anglia west to Devon, toward the Burrow. The trip apparently takes several hours, since when they leave it’s nighttime and when they arrive the sun is coming up (which would be just before 6 am at that location and on that date). Read More
Ariana Dumbledore
Ariana Dumbledore was the younger sister of Albus and Aberforth – Albus’s junior by four years, Aberforth’s by one. At six years old, she was attacked by three muggle boys and was severely traumatized by the event. Her father, Percival, was imprisoned for seeking revenge on the boys. As a result of the attack, Ariana’s magic was too unstable to… Read More
OP21: The Eye of the Snake
Hagrid’s class is observed by Umbridge, Ginny Weasley replaces Harry as Gryffindor’s Seeker, Dumbledore’s Army meets again, and Harry and Cho kiss. In a dream, Harry witnesses Arthur Weasley being bitten by a huge snake. Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How “Order of the Phoenix” Predicts the Plot of “Deathly Hallows” – Part 2
In Part I of this series, I delved into specific chapter-level comparisons between Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, and how the events in the former predict or foreshadow those in the latter. In this article, I will be looking at broader themes and plot points that are… Read More
Ginny Weasley is born
Ginny is the youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley, the first girl born in seven generations (JKR). Read More
A barrage of letters drives the Dursleys from their home
29 July 1991 — When thirty or forty letters come pouring out of the kitchen chimney at number four, Privet Drive, Uncle Vernon has had enough. He packs everyone into the car and drives around for hours. The family ends up in Cokeworth and stay the night in the Railview Hotel. Read More
On this day in 1994...
Sirius Black sneaks into Gryffindor Tower in search of Pettigrew
Ron’s screams drive him out, and Ron becomes an instant celebrity. Neville, meanwhile, is completely… Read More
How to distract Scorpius from difficult emotional issues. Take him to a library. Read More
Latest from the Lexicon Blog
Draco’s Six
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So much has been made of how seven is “the most powerfully magical number” (HBP23) in Harry Potter, with it serving as something of a motif throughout the series… to the point where my podcast, The Three Broomsticks, has a recurring segment about the “seven ingredients of today’s… Read More
The Fallen Fathers of Goblet of Fire
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Jo’s portrayal of mothers in the HP books is fairly straight-forward: mother’s love is the be-all end-all of the series, so we can move right along. But her portrayal of fathers, on the other hand, is incredibly nuanced and intriguing. The turning point appears to be the middle book of… Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How "Order of the Phoenix" Predicts the Plot of "Deathly Hallows" - Part 2
• Article
In Part I of this series, I delved into specific chapter-level comparisons between Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, and how the events in the former predict or foreshadow those in the latter. In this article, I will… Read More
The Book of Prophecies: How "Order of the Phoenix" Predicts the Plot of "Deathly Hallows" - Part 1
• Article
The Harry Potter series is masterfully plotted, both as individual books and across the series as a whole. Within the fandom, there is a large focus on ring theory for understanding how the series is structured. In ring theory, each book has its… Read More
The Russian Philosopher’s Stone
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It’s a process familiar to most of us trying to brush up on a foreign language – get the Harry Potter books in one of the 85 languages they’ve been translated into, and read the story you know backwards and forwards in a language you may not. My first language… Read More
Mapping the Wizarding World
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Making the Calendar Fit
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I recently received two comments on two different entries in the Lexicon which brought up the same problem: the real world calendar doesn’t always agree with the days and dates in the books. I’m sure some of you are saying “Of course, we know that, this has been discussed in… Read More
The Secrets of Dumbledore ... still a secret?
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