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 MoreDid Albus Dumbledore Set Up Events So That Harry Potter Would Go After the Philosopher’s Stone?• Article
Introduction One of the most intriguing ideas in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is that Professor Dumbledore set up events so that Harry would try and stop the theft of the Philosopher’s Stone by Voldemort. Many events in Harry’s first year seem to indicate this: his dealings with Hagrid, being given his father’s Invisibility Cloak (twice), his discovery of the Mirror of Erised, and his detention in… Read MoreAn Almanac of Quidditch at Hogwarts• Article
The State of Play at Hogwarts Quidditch is the principal wizard sport and the school sport of Hogwarts, so given the outstanding natural abilities of J.K. Rowling’s main protagonist, it unsurprisingly forms a major recurring element in the series, including an eventful visit to the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet of Fire. The four houses… Read MoreAncient Magic: Magic from Before the Dawn of Time?• Article
A comparison is inevitable between the Old Magic of the Harry Potter universe and the Magic From Before the Dawn of Time from C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books. Clearly there are similarities between the two, although they are not identical. Both the Harry Potter and the Narnia versions serve as a stronger, more intrinsic form… Read MoreArthur Weasley’s Relationship to Sirius Black: First Forays into the Black Family Tree• Article
The newly released Black family tree, now revealed in its full glory, is the topic of considerable discussion and is a source of considerable information on the relatedness of the various pure-blood wizard lines. Many familiar names show up on that tree, including Weasley (blasted off, of course). Sirius Black comments in Order of the Phoenix, “Molly and I are… Read MoreThe Art of Unfinishing: HP Fanfiction and the Power of Storytelling• Article
Many avid Potter fans readers want to be more than just that—readers. By inventing their own stories about Harry Potter and other characters from Rowling’s books and by adding new elements and structures to the Potter cosmos, they are assuming even the author’s role. They take on both Harry’s and… Read MoreAstronomy class
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Hogwarts academics
Astronomy is a compulsory subject for the first five years at Hogwarts. The Astonomy professor is Aurora Sinistra. The class meets at midnight at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Essays for the theory portion involve learning a lot of facts — Ron and Harry’s fifth year essay on Jupiter’s moons, for example… Read MoreAstronomy essay update• Article
Greetings! Check out Mike Weinstein’s essay, Astronomy in the Harry Potter Series—it’s been updated with analyses of a couple of astronomical references in Deathly Hallows. Read MoreAstronomy in the Harry Potter Series• Article
Within the Harry Potter stories are many scenes that can be analyzed astronomically. As both an astronomer and a teacher, these interest me, and so I will present such analysis here. My goal is not to criticize Rowling when she is inaccurate in her astronomy (or, for that matter, to praise her when she… Read MoreHow do they do it? An Attempt at a Model for the Physics of Magic• Article
Contents Introduction Defining Magic First Attempt at a Definition of Magic Second Attempt at a Definition of Magic A Closer Look at Spell work Third Attempt at a Definition of Magic Elements of Performing Magic and Their Function Examples of Magic Accio: Summoning Charm Avada Kedravra: The Killing Curse… Read More
Essays
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
Astronomy class
•
Hogwarts academics
Astronomy is a compulsory subject for the first five years at Hogwarts. The Astonomy professor is Aurora Sinistra. The class meets at midnight at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Essays for the theory portion involve learning a lot of facts — Ron and Harry’s fifth year essay on Jupiter’s moons, for example… Read More