"Oh, yes, you'll be needing..."
One casual wave of his wand ... and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.
"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore, closing the door behind him. (PA9)
After the hustle and bustle of September, October sees life settle down quite a bit for students at Hogwarts. The most exciting part of the month is undoubtedly Hallowe’en, the very last day of the month. And in fact, most of the October events in the Harry Potter canon are about Hallowe’en.
In 1991, the castle is invaded by a huge mountain troll on Hallowe’en. In 1992, the holiday marks Nearly-Headless Nick’s 500th Deathday, which he celebrates with a memorable party down in the dungeons. Sirius Black attacks the Fat Lady in 1993, an event which precipitates one of the more unexpected and charming incidents in the books: a slumber party in the Great Hall. In the days leading up to Hallowe’en in 1994, groups of students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive at Hogwarts and at the Hallowe’en feast, the names of the Triwizard Champions come out of the Goblet of Fire.
Hallowe’en isn’t mentioned in the tales of 1995 and 1996, interestingly enough. Possibly Umbridge outlawed that kind of frivolity and fun. In 1997, Harry and his companions are not even at Hogwarts. The holiday again passes without mention.
Of course, the most important historical even tied to October is the attack on the Potters in Godric’s Hollow back in 1981. This event starts out the series in book one, is described in more detail in the seventh book, and is visited in a time-travel incident in Cursed Child.
Here’s the full list of events, characters, artwork, and other Lexicon entries I’ve chosen for the home page scroller for October. As always, feel free to suggest additions in the comments.
October birthdays
- October 4 – Minerva McGonagall
- October 17 – Filius Flitwick
- October 30 – Molly Weasley