History

Bathilda Bagshot • Character Bathilda Bagshot was a famous magical historian and author of one of Hogwarts’ standard textbooks, A History of Magic. Her book is one of the books Hermione chose to store in her small pouch with the magically enlarged interior, in case it might prove useful during the quest to… Read More

Baltimore • Place Baltimore is an American coastal city located in the state of Maryland on the shores of Chesapeake Bay. Read More

Bartholomew Barebone • Character Bartholomew Barebone was a No-Maj whose discovery of the American wizarding community (thanks to Dorcus Twelvetrees giving him vital information) led to the instatement of Rappaport’s Law in the United States, completely segregating the magical and non-magical communities. Barebone was the descendant of Scourers, convinced to the reality of magic… Read More

🎙️ Barebone Names • Article

Posted February 10, 2018 by Bridget Bartlett in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute

Chastity, Credence, and Modesty may have seemed like strange names to viewers of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but they are rooted in the Barebone family’s Puritan past. Not only is the Barebones’s church named for Salem, Massachusetts, but also the family… Read More

Bartholomew Barebone dupes Dorcus Twelvetrees and exposes the American Wizarding World • Event Barebone was a descendant of Scourers who believed that all witches and wizards should be killed. He befriends a gullible young witch named Dorcus Twelvetrees, plies her with seemingly innocent questions, then steals her wand and publishes the locations of both Ilvermorny and MACUSA headquarters. Dorcus serves a year in… Read More

Basil Flack become minister for magic • Event Basil takes the position in the midst of a goblin rebellion which had been poorly handled by his predecessor. Flack doesn’t fare much better (Pm). Read More

Basil Flack resigns as Minister for Magic • Event When werewolves join the ongoing Goblin rebellion, Flack, like his predecessor, gives up the post. His successor is a tough, battle-ready Auror, Hesphaestus Gore (Pm). Read More

Basilisk • Creature A wizard-bred Dark creature of enormous power, this extremely poisonous giant serpent (up to 50 feet in length) is brilliant green in color with long thin saber-like fangs and bulbous yellow eyes. The first basilisk was created by Herpo the Foul thousands of years ago (FW). A basilisk… Read More

Bathilda Bagshot house • Houses and addresses Now filled with the “odor of old age, of dust, of unwashed clothes and stale food,” the Bagshot house has been home to Bathilda Bagshot for many years. The house is located in Godric’s Hollow, in between the town square and the Potter cottage (DH17). It was here that… Read More

Battle of Hastings; the Norman Conquest of Britain • Event This famous battle actually took place near the town of Hastings on Selnac Hill. The defeat of Harold II by William the Conqueror marked the last time that England was conquered by foreign forces. Read More

Battles • Timelines and calendars During the Second War, battles were fought between Death Eaters and allies of the Ministry, including Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. Some of these battles were single combats, but others were pitched battles between small groups of combatants. In the end, the final defeat of Voldemort… Read More

Beedle the Bard writes fairy tales • Event Beedle, born in Yorkshire, is famous for his book of wizarding fairy tales collected as The Tales of Beedle the Bard (TBB, DH7, DH21). Read More

The beginnings of Quidditch • Event Gertie Keddle, living near Queerditch Marsh, writes about some local witches and wizards playing a new game on broomsticks; over the next few centuries this game evolves into Quidditch (QA3). Read More

Berthilde Roche • Character Berthilde Roche was one of MACUSA’s original twelve aurors (Pm). Read More

Big Foot's Last Stand • Books and Literature Big Foot’s Last Stand was a book by Ortiz O’Flaherty detailing the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892, which caused the Magical Congress of the United States (MACUSA) to relocate for the fifth time (Pm). Read More

Professor Binns • Character Binns is the History of Magic teacher and the only professor at Hogwarts who is a ghost. Binns enters the classroom through the blackboard. He is ancient and shriveled in appearance, semi-transparent and a pearly-white color. After living to a great age, Binns died after falling asleep in front of… Read More

Black family tree tapestry • Magical artifacts The Black Family Tree tapestry is a large tapestry which hangs at number twelve Grimmauld Place. It has, according to Kreacher, been in the Black family for seven centuries (OP6). On it the family’s births, marriages and deaths are embroidered with gold thread; family members who have been disowned… Read More

Blooder • Quidditch Blooder is an early Quidditch term for the “ball” that evolved into the modern Bludger. They were likely to have been flying rocks (QA3, QA6). The term was first used in Goodwin Kneen‘s twelfth century letter to his cousin Olaf in Norway to describe the object that… Read More

Blood Status • Wizarding culture One of the underlying problems in the wizarding world is intolerance and prejudice based on the “purity” of a person’s wizarding blood. Wizards distinguish between purebloods (no Muggle ancestry), half-blood (at least one wizarding parent but at least one Muggle parent or grandparent) and Muggle-borns (both parents were Muggles). Read More

The Bloody Baron murders Helena Ravenclaw and commits suicide • Event Rowena Ravenclaw’s daughter Helena stole her diadem and fled with it to Albania. A man who was in love with her was sent on a mission to find her, but she refused to return to Hogwarts, and in a fit of anger he killed both her and himself. Helena Ravenclaw… Read More

Blunderbuss • Glossary An old-fashioned muzzle-loading gun. Read More

Bob Ogden returns to the Gaunt home with reinforcements, Marvolo and Morfin are arrested • Event Fifteen minutes after fleeing from Morfin Gaunt’s attack on him (for physically restraining Morfin from attacking Merope) and apparating back to the Ministry of Magic, Bob Ogden returns to the Gaunt cottage – this time with reinforcements who succeeded in overpowering the Gaunt men, although several are injured by Marvolo. Read More

Bonfire Night • Glossary On 5th November every year, Britain commemorates the Gunpowder Plot, in which Guy (Guido) Fawkes and other extremist Catholics plotted (but failed) to blow up James I and his Parliament. People have firework parties or attend organized displays, and effigies of Guy Fawkes (known as “the guy”) are burned on… Read More

Albert Boot • Character Albert Boot was the fifth Minister for Magic, in office 1747-1752. He couldn’t handle a goblin rebellion and resigned (Pm). Read More

Chadwick Boot • Character Chadwick Boot, spellbook author and one of the founders of Ilvermorney wizarding school, was the elder son of wizard parents who foolishly wandered into the wilds of 17th century America and were killed by a Hidebehind. He and his younger brother Webster were rescued by Isolt Sayre, who taught them… Read More

BoP: Book of Potions (game) • Source Augmented reality game for the PlayStation. The book gives detailed instructions for brewing a number of potions. List of potions in the book: Beautification Potion Cure for Boils Doxycide Felix Felicis Laughing Potion Potion of All Potential Shrinking Solution Sleeping Potion… Read More

BoS: Book of Spells • Source The Book of Spells is an augmented reality video game product which can only be played on the PlayStation using the Move Controllers. The material for the game was written by Rowling (which makes the content canon). The Book of Spells is a 200-year-old primer used in… Read More

BR: Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump • Source “Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump” is a wizarding world fairy tale, part of the collection The Tales of Beedle the Bard. In the story, a foolish king decided to claim all magic for himself. He banished all true witches and wizards and hired a charlatan to teach him… Read More

Cormac O’Brien • Character Cormac O’Brien was one of MACUSA’s original twelve aurors (Pm). Read More

The British and Irish Quidditch League is formed • Event The thirteen best Quidditch teams are asked to join the League; all other teams are asked to disband. This caused plenty of anger and frustration among Quidditch fans of those teams that weren’t invited to join (QA7). Read More

Broom race between bitter rivals from Aberdeen to Rome ends in the destruction of the Colosseum • Event 1754 – Many spectators gathered at the finish line to watch Torquil McTavish of Scotland and Silvio Astolfi Italy race from Aberdeen to the Colosseum in Rome. It is not known who won, but, by the time explosions damaging the Colosseum awoke the Muggles of Rome, Astolfi had been transfigured… Read More

Zygmunt Budge • Character Zygmunt Budge is considered to be one of the most accomplished Potioneers the world has ever known (according to him). He is the author of The Book of Potions.  Budge was a student at Hogwarts in the 1500s and excelled at potion making. He was rather boastful and proud, and… Read More

Burdock Muldoon • Character Burdock Muldoon was Chief of Wizards’ Council in the mid-14th century. Muldoon tried to define the difference between a “being” and a “beast.” He decreed that any creature that had two legs was a “being,” and therefore deserving of better representation and treatment. When he called a summit meeting to discuss… Read More