47
By leaving the room when the actual crime occurs (and encouraging Harry/Hermione to remain out of sight during the heist), Dumbledore has created a state of plausible deniability for himself. If he's asked, he can say with absolute truth that he didn't see anything untoward.
When Harry starts to spell it out for him, he stops him dead in his tracks. Note the ...
36
Genies receive a brief mention in an article on Pottermore, but they don't appear to be the wish-granting kind.
The ceremony started in gentle style, with river Genies from the Ivory
Coast dancing in formation over the surface of the lake. It was only
when the Fijian and Norwegian mascots were released that disaster
struck.
Pottermore - DISASTROUS OPENING ...
24
Invisibility Cloaks do not seem to become invisible if hung up on a clothing hook.
Kreacher takes Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and hangs it up on a hook near other clothes hung up similarly. The Cloak, or the hook it is hung on, are not said to turn invisible.
“Shoes off, if you please, Master Harry, and hands washed before dinner,’ croaked Kreacher, seizing ...
7
Rowling based the education system within the Potterverse on the British education system. OWLs are the equivalent of the GCSE/O-Level qualifications you leave mandatory education with. No job is overly concerned about what particular topics you took at that level just that you achieved this basic level of education. They are more to show that you have basic ...
6
Yes, turning objects into animals is possible.
It is indeed possible to turn an inanimate object into an animal. It is not a uniquely difficult branch of magic, as turning a teapot into a tortoise is covered in Hogwarts’s third year Transfiguration class.
“The third-years emerged from Transfiguration at lunch-time on Monday limp and ashen-faced, comparing ...
6
Werewolves in Harry Potter can be either gender.
While there are no named female werewolves in Harry Potter, they do exist. Fenrir Greyback’s plans to create as many werewolves as possible to use them against wizards. His goal is creating werewolves, not simply killing. Voldemort threatens to unleash him on people’s sons and daughters, implying that the ...
6
A text search for "genie" in each of the seven books turns up no results, so it is presumably not part of the main storyline (unless under a different name or different spelling). I can't promise that it doesn't appear in any supplementary materials, though.
4
Presumably, Lupin locked himself up securely.
Since 1637, the Ministry of Magic protocol for a werewolf to avoid harming humans was to have them lock themselves up securely every month.
The Ministry of Magic’s policies on werewolves have always been muddled and inefficient. A Werewolf Code of Conduct was developed in 1637, which werewolves were supposed to ...
4
Because Hermione flopped the practical
Earlier in the chapter, Hermione is listing various things she messed up during the exams and she says the DADA practical "was no good at all".
‘I know I messed up Ancient Runes,’ muttered Hermione feverishly, ‘I definitely made at least one serious mistranslation. And the Defence Against the Dark Arts ...
3
Filch likely hoped it would make him become magic.
Filch presumably wanted Kwikspell to try to become magical through using it. However, J.K. Rowling stated on her website that it never worked.
Squibs would not be able to attend Hogwarts as students. They are often doomed to a rather sad kind of half-life (yes, you should be feeling sorry for Filch), as ...
2
Voldemort’s new body held his ‘old’ soul piece.
The main part of Voldemort’s soul was not actually killed at Godric’s Hollow. It was ripped from his body, rendering him incorporeal, but it was never killed.
“Voldemort laughed softly in his ear, then took the finger away, and continued addressing the Death Eaters. ‘I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My ...
1
They are much more common than Squibs.
While there is no known percentage of how much of the wizarding population is comprised of Muggle-born wizards, they are known to be much more common than another group - Squibs, which are said to be very rare. In the footnotes for “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”, JKR explains what a Squib is, and states that Muggle-...
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