Canon discussion
Page 10 of 12
"We haven't won since Charlie left..."
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“How old are Bill and Charlie?” someone asked Jo. Very simple question. Her response to that simple question was just as simple. Charlie is two years older than Percy, and Bill is two years older than Charlie. Simple. So what’s the big deal? Unfortunately, this answer just doesn’t work. The… Read More
Quirrell's Leave of Absence
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When exactly did Professor Quirrell’s year-long trip around the world take place? The popular fan assumption is that it immediately preceded the year of Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone. I do not think this is correct. In PS5, after Harry meets Quirrell while buying his school supplies and asks if he is always that… Read More
Posted
by Steve VanderArk
in Canon discussion
I’ve received a few emails over the last week asking whether I would be including things like the Dean Thomas backstory on the Lexicon. This is a bit of a problem, one which I’ve been strugging with ever since Rowling’s website went live. Here’s the puzzle for me: Is… Read More
The Age of the Weasleys
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Introduction No, I don’t intend to predict the identities of the next several Ministers for Magic, but rather to present and discuss the various evidence available in Harry Potter canon on the relative ages of the seven Weasley siblings. Since the original version of this discussion, Rowling has, on her website, www.jkrowling.com, presented us… Read More
The Battle of the Department of Mysteries: An Analysis of the Chase and Battle, June 1996
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At turns exciting, suspenseful, horrific, unexpectedly funny, and in the end, tragic, OP35 (“Beyond the Veil”) brilliantly captures the chaos and confusion of battle. Harry doesn’t have time to fully comprehend everything going on around him, but we the readers have the luxury of going back and re-reading this chapter for new insights… Read More
Those Unpredictable Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors
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Introduction: An Explanation And A Bit Of History Defence Against the Dark Arts professors are really something, aren’t they? None of them are what you’d call “typical” teachers, and there’s a fascinating element in the way nobody can hold onto the job for more than a single school year. I,… Read More
The Tragedy of Petunia Dursley
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I’ve just finished my third reading of OP. The Dursleys interest me in a way that I can’t fathom, but I feel the need to explain Petunia Dursley. OP opens our minds and Harry’s to the idea that Petunia had had more contact with, and understanding of, the wizarding world then she had hitherto pretended. From the small glimpse we… Read More
Timeline Facts and Questions
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One of the more interesting mysteries about the Harry Potter universe is when the stories in the books take place. There have been a lot of discussions and debates about this subject and some fans have done amazingly detailed research trying to determine the years involved. This page presents some… Read More
How Do Duels Work?
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This is no moot point. Quite contrary to what many a reader may think, duels such as those in the Harry Potter books are not frequent in fantasy literature. That is so because it’s very difficult to convey to the audience or to the readers the precise impression of a… Read More
Vanishing Magic
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Various types of spells and items make things vanish, but in different ways. Vanishing The basic form of Vanishing is the Vanishing Spell. Taught in fifth year Transfiguration (OP13), this spell is usually cast using the incantation Evanesco which is Latin for “vanish.” McGonagall starts students out with Vanishing invertebrates—snails—and then works them up to mice… Read More
History of the Ministry
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The Wizards’ Council The Wizards’ Council was the predecessor to the Ministry of Magic (FBx). Barberus Bragge was the Chief of the Council in 1269. Burdock Muldoon was Chief of the Wizards’ Council in the fourteenth century (FB, QA). He was followed in office by Elfrida Clagg, who is generally regarded as being more enlightened than her predecessors… Read More