• Broomsticks The Oakshaft was a broom created by Elias Grimstone in 1879. The broom-maker, who hailed from Portsmouth, crafted this heavy, reliable broom specifically for long-distance flights, where any high or volatile wind conditions could make it dangerous for a rider on a lighter, less stable broomstick (QA9). In spite of its thick handle,… Read More
• Businesses, merchants, and shops “Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C,” Ollivander’s is a narrow and shabby little shop with a window display consisting of a single wand resting on a faded purple cushion. Inside the walls are lined floor to ceiling with thousands of narrow boxes, which Mr. Ollivander chooses from when trying… Read More
• Character The Ollivanders are a famous wizarding family of wandmakers whose wands have been sold since Roman times. They are one of the so-called ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’ families listed in the Pure-Blood Directory of the early 1930s. Notable Members of this family include: Gervaise Ollivander Geraint Ollivander Gerbold Octavius Ollivander… Read More
• Character Garrick Ollivander is an old wandmaker – “the best” according to British witches and wizards – who runs Ollivander’s on Diagon Alley (HBP6). He has eerie, moon-like eyes and makes Harry a bit uncomfortable, as he seems just as fascinated by the power of wands used for… Read More
• Character Geraint Ollivander was a great medieval wandmaker (Pm). According to his descendent Garrick Ollivander, he wrote that if someone was chosen by a cypress wand, he knew they would die a heroic death (Pm). Read More
• Character Gervaise Ollivander was a wandmaker and the father of Garrick Ollivander (Pm). According to his son, “You will never fool the cedar carrier” was a phrase he often used to describe owners of cedar wands (Pm). Read More
• Event According to Garrick Ollivander, the current wandmaker, “his earliest forebears in this country arrived with the Romans, and set up stall (subsequently shop) to sell to ancient British wizards whose wands were crude of construction and unreliable in performance” (Pm). Read More
• Magical objects Omnioculars look like brass binoculars, except that they are covered in all sorts of weird knobs and dials. Description They are occasionally sold at Quidditch matches, such as the Quidditch World Cup. They can be set to replay action, zoom, slow down play, and overlay magical words that… Read More
• Source Harry again dreams of the windowless corridor with the door at the end, Dobby tells Harry about the Room of Requirement, and Dumbledore’s Army meets for the first time. Read More
• Source Gryffindor’s Quidditch Team defeats Slytherin, but Harry, Fred and George are given a lifetime ban from playing Quidditch by Professor Umbridge for fighting with Draco Malfoy. Read More
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Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
I love this chapter. Rowling is on top of her game here. I talked about her skill at writing conversations in a previous episode, and she’s at it again in this chapter. The nuances of the conversations, first between the Trio and Hagrid and then between Hagrid and Umbridge, are… Read More
• Source Harry and the Weasley children return to Hogwarts after the holidays and Harry begins Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape, during which Harry sees the dark corridor in the Department of Mysteries that he often dreams about. Read More
• Source Harry pursues Bellatrix and learns he is incapable of an Unforgivable Curse; Voldemort shows up; Dumbledore saves Harry from the Killing Curse; Fudge and other Ministry members witness Voldemort’s return; and Dumbledore reinstates himself as Headmaster. Read More
• Place American city in the state of Louisiana, located at the delta of the Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico. Read More
• Character Ottaline Gambol was Minister for Magic from 1827 to 1835. She was more appreciative of Muggles and their technology than many wizards of the time, and thus introduced the Hogwarts Express as the method of transport to Hogwarts (Pm). Read More
• Event Logistical difficulties plague efforts to get students to and from Hogwarts while adhering to the Statute of Secrecy. Minister for Magic Ottaline Gambol, who appreciates Muggle innovation, comes up with the idea of using a steam engine. The exact origin of the Hogwarts Express is uncertain, but it is rumoured… Read More
• Event Arthur Weasley participates in six overnight raids, in his capacity as head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, but members of the Committee on Experimental Charms discovered some “extremely odd ferrets” which had been owned by a wizard named Mortlake (CS3). Read More