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Copyright © 2007 by Tere Stouffer

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Contents at a Glance

Part 1: Wizards, Monsters, and Creatures of All Sorts 1

Chapter 1 Wizards, Witches, and Warlocks 3

Need to get up to speed on your wizard terminology and history? This chapter

quickly sums up the terminology and famous wizards with which you need to be

acquainted.

Chapter 2 Creatures of All Shapes and Sizes 19

From an acromantula to the yeti, this chapter explores the background,

mythology, and literary connections of nearly fifty creatures in the wizarding world.

Part 2: Where and How the Wizards Are 43

Chapter 3 The Wizard’s Wardrobe and Toolbox 45

Robes, hats, wands, quills, and ink—what does it all mean? This chapter fills you

in on the contents of the wizard’s toolbox.

Chapter 4 How Wizards Spend Their Days 61

The wizarding world is a whole new place, with its own money, mail system,

entertainment, and food. This chapter gives you a tour of how typical wizards spend their days.

Chapter 5 Getting Around: Modes of Transportation 75

Whether traveling by broomstick or using a network of fireplaces, wizards travel

by the simplest, cheapest methods in the world.

Chapter 6 The Sporting Life: Quidditch, Chess, and Other Games 85

This chapter gives you an inside look at wizard sports and games, many of which

have a rich history: Quidditch; wizard-style chess; dueling, Gobstones, and card games.

Part 3: Magical Places 95

Chapter 7 Where the Witches Go in London 97

Isn’t it time you paid a visit to Diagon Alley and its dozen or more wizard stores?

This chapter also introduces you to a few other London hotspots, including the wizard

hospital.

Chapter 8 Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade 109

No reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught at Hogwarts School, but

similarities to British boarding schools abound. In this chapter, you also pay a visit to Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard town in England.

Chapter 9 International Wizarding Schools 125

Well hidden from the prying eyes of Muggles, wizarding schools flourish all over

the world. In this chapter, we visit two of these international academies.

Part 4: Spells, Potions, and Other Ways of Performing Magic 131

Chapter 10 Herbology 101 133

Before you can start to make potions, you have to know your herbs. This chapter

gives you the botanical, literary, and mythological background on two dozen herbs used

in the wizard world.

Chapter 11 Round About the Cauldron Go: Draughts and Potions 145

From love potions to truth serum, this chapter reviews the nomenclature and

background of 25 potions used in the wizard world.

Chapter 12 Watch What You Say: Spells, Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, and Curses

163

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Want to know more about wizard spells? This chapter shares dozens of charms,

hexes, jinxes, spells, and curses, including the Latin, Greek, French, and Italian sources for many of their incantations.

Chapter 13 Advanced Wizardry 179

Eight advanced wizarding skills are discussed in detail here, from understanding

prophecies to deciphering runes.

Part 5: Regulating Magic and the Wizards Who Perform It 191

Chapter 14 The Ministry of Magic 193

Like any good civilization, the wizarding world has a governing body that helps

keep the peace. This chapter introduces you to the Ministry of Magic, pointing out both

the similarities to and differences between it and the British government.

Chapter 15 Crime and Punishment 203

Some wizards do go bad, and the wizarding world has an effective way to deal

with them. This chapter discusses how Aurors help keep the peace, and what happens to

wizards guilty of serious crimes.

Chapter 16 The Final Word 213

The final novel wraps up the series and gives us additional spells and other

delights. This chapter ties up loose ends and brings you up to speed, with the latest

Potterisms and the language and history behind them.

Appendixes

A Glossary of British Terms 225

B Cool Wizarding Websites 233

Index 239

Introduction

The book you hold in your hands gives you an in-depth look at the world of Harry

Potter in only 16 chapters. In these pages, you won’t find character sketches, plot

summaries, or details about who said what on which page of which novel. Instead, you

get to explore J.K. Rowling’s genius even more deeply, discovering the background of

terminology, characters, places, and ideas throughout her novels.

Every detail created by Rowling has been researched to determine how she may

have chosen that particular setting, that incantation for a spell, or that age-old symbol that has appeared in fantasy literature for centuries. Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythological

similarities are explored. Latin, Greek, French, and Italian phrases are translated. Literary and Biblical characters are reintroduced, as are folk- and fairytale patterns. And

comparisons to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea, and other fantasy classics are made.

Along the way, you’ll recall details of the wizarding world that you may have

forgotten, or, if you’ve never read the Harry Potter novels, you’ll have a chance to read them with informed eyes.

How to Use This Book

This book can be read cover to cover, or it can be used as a resource, reading only

the chapters or sections on which you want to learn more about the wizarding world. If

you want to get a complete education, sit down at Chapter 1 and read straight through. By

the end of the book, you’ll not only have an excellent understanding of the origins and

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background of Rowling’s work but also a greater appreciation of the genius of her

creativity. Few of the hundreds of names, incantations, and places in her novels were

selected without a reason.

To use this book as a quick, get-in-get-out resource, flip to the Table of Contents

or Index and start with your most pressing questions. From there, read only the chapters

and sections that appeal to you. You’ll find that each chapter and section is self-contained and does not rely on your having read the section or chapters before.

This book is divided into five parts:

Part 1, “Wizards, Monsters, and Creatures of All Sorts,” teaches you a little

wizarding lingo, introduces the most famous wizards and witches, and gives you the

scoop on creatures of all shapes and sizes.

Part 2, “Where and How the Wizards Are,” gets you acquainted with the way

wizards live their everyday lives, from how they dress to what they eat to how they travel

around town.

Part 3, “Magical Places,” takes you on a tour of the wizarding hotspots in both

London and Hogsmeade and gives you the lowdown on Hogwarts School and other

wizard schools around the globe.

Part 4, “Spells, Potions, and Other Ways of Performing Magic,” reveals the

botanical, linguistic, literary, and mythological background on hundreds of herbs,

potions, and spells. You also get the goods on advanced wizardry that’s reserved for the

talented few.

Part 5, “Regulating Magic and the Wizards Who Perform It,” introduces you

to Ministry of Magic officials, shares information about their departments, and lets you

see how crimes are punished in the magical world. This part also offers a final chapter

that gives you the lowdown on Rowling’s seventh novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows, describing wizarding phenomena that don’t exist in the other six novels.

Extras

Throughout this book you’ll find three types of boxes that will make

understanding the wizarding world even easier:

KING’S ENGLISH Can’t make heads or tales of all those British terms sprinkled

throughout the Harry Potter novels? This box contains quick translations of British terms and customs that may be unfamiliar to you, and defines wizard terminology as well.

TOURIST TIP One of the best ways to enjoy the wizarding world is to get out and see

the sights around the world. This box tells you where you can travel (real or imagined) to

bring you that much closer to where the wizards are. MAGIC TALE Want additional

literary and mythological background for the wizarding world? This box brings you up to

speed on how Rowling’s work ties in with mythology, folklore, Biblical tales, and other

fantasy literature. It also includes some related information to enhance your

understanding of the text.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Marilyn Allen, who took this idea to Alpha Books. To Michele Wells,

who liked the idea enough to champion it, despite many unexpected roadblocks and

interruptions. And to Lynn Northrup, Megan Douglass, and Emily Garner, who made the

text 100 percent better and made the writing process as easy as possible for me.

Thanks also to illustrator Carl Feryok, the Legal Department at Penguin Group

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(USA) Inc, and the entire production department at Alpha Books.

Finally, my most special thanks to the following friends and colleagues, who

supported the idea, celebrated with me when Penguin decided to publish this book, and

offered a shoulder to lean on when the process got bogged down from time to time:

Amanda Cockrell, Kimberly Dmytro, Dr. Janet Dunn, Renee Englot, Joseph Goetz,

Natasha Graf, Loribeth Huck, Cathy Koon, Brian Kramer, Elizabeth Kuball, Marcia

Larkin, Dave Milner, Dr. Julie Pfeiffer, Taylor Poling, Lara Saguisag, Laura Seybold,

Brie Shannon, Paige York Sibold, Jenny Snodgrass, Anne and Richard Stouffer, Judy and

Mike Stouffer, Dr. C.W. Sullivan, Sheila White, and Frank Wood.

Special Thanks to the Technical Reviewer

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the World of Harry Potter was reviewed by an

expert who double-checked the accuracy of what you’ll learn here, to help us ensure that

this book gives you everything you need to know about the world of Harry Potter. Special

thanks are extended to Nicole Notowitz.

Nicole Notowitz has been a Harry Potter fan since before the series gained

popularity. She is originally from New York and currently resides in North Carolina,

where she teaches second grade and shares her love of reading with her students.

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being

trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a

term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or

service mark.

Part 1

Wizards, Monsters, and Creatures of All Sorts

Welcome to Wizarding 101. In this part, you acquaint yourself with basic

wizarding terminology—words like Muggle and Dark Wizard. You also get to know some of the most famous wizards of all time, both from Rowling’s novels and from rich

folkloric history. And, best of all, you get to meet nearly 50 creatures and discover their

mythological, historical, and literary histories.

Chapter 1

Wizards, Witches, and Warlocks

In This Chapter

•

Discovering basic magic terminology •

Getting the lowdown on the most

important characters of the wizarding world •

Exploring the history of some famous

wizards •

Reviewing Rowling’s biggest influences

Before we can wade knee-

deep into the specifics of Harry Potter’s magical world, we need a common vocabulary,

both for wizarding terms and for a few key wizards. This chapter gives you both,

detailing terminology you’ll read throughout this book and giving you brief descriptions

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of the wizards mentioned most often in Rowling’s novels, plus a few famous real-life

wizards who have a place in literature and mythic tales.

What’s What in the Wizarding World: Basic Terminology

Let’s begin at the very beginning, with some basic definitions:

•

Wizard: This term has long been used throughout history, folklore, and written

literature; it is synonymous with sorcerer, magician, and conjurer. The word can be

applied to both males and females in the wizarding world, but it tends to be used to refer

to a male magician. Derived from the word wise, in the Muggle world it also applies to any wise person or someone who is exceptionally skilled (as in, “he’s a computer

wizard!”). •

Warlock: Another name for a wizard; the two terms can be used

interchangeably when discussing a male. (But not a female; a warlock is always male.) In the TV series Bewitched, males with magical power were always referred to as warlocks, not wizards. In the wizarding world, warlock is hardly ever used. The word is derived

from the Middle English warloghe, meaning “traitor” or “liar”—apparently warlocks

didn’t have the best reputations! •

Witch: A female wizard, also historically called a

sorceress. (A male possessing magical abilities is never, ever called a witch.) The word

derives from the same source as Wicca (see the following bullet). Witches have long

been stereotyped as being ugly, ill-tempered old women, even if they have transformed

themselves to be beautiful to the observer. Witches have also reportedly (in folktales)

made deals with the devil to obtain their skills. Witches in the wizarding world are simply

female versions of wizards, and they do not bear any resemblance to those two

stereotypes, unless you count Dark Witches. •

Wicca: A religion characterized by

nature worship and the practice of witchcraft. The term originates from the Old English

wicce, meaning sorcerer. Although Wicca is never mentioned in Harry Potter’s magical world, those who attempt to ban the novels from schools often say they base their actions

on the fear of their children turning to Wicca. •

Pureblood: In the wizarding world,

this term refers to a wizard born of two wizarding parents, who themselves were born of

two wizarding parents, and so on. Only a few wizarding families are pureblood, meaning

generation upon generation of wizards have never married a Muggle or anyone with a

Muggle anywhere in the family. (At least, not that they admit to.) The term originates

from purebred, which refers to a type of plant or animal (most commonly, a dog—for

example, a Labrador retriever) that belongs to a single breed (also called a bloodline), generation after generation, without mixing with other breeds or with mixed breeds. Each

breed shows specific characteristics; for example, Labradors are athletic, playful, loyal

dogs who love to eat. •

Half-blood: In the wizarding world, this is a wizard with one

wizard parent and one Muggle parent, or anyone who has even one drop of nonmagical

blood in his or her lineage. Most wizards are considered half-blood, a phrase commonly used to denote a relationship through a single parent—in other words, although you are

fully related to your siblings, you are related to your cousins on your mom’s side only

through half-blood (that is, only through your mother). The term is antiquated today. A

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similar—and terribly pejorative—term is half-breed, which refers to children of parents of different ethnicities, especially when one parent is Native American and the other is of

European descent. •

Squib: A Squib is a child born into a wizarding family who just

doesn’t have it—no magical powers at all. By definition, a squib is a witty essay or lampoon, which is likely where the word originated: Squibs are considered a bit of a joke

in the wizarding world. •

Muggle: Someone without magical powers. The word’s

origin likely comes from the British slang mug, which means a victim or dupe. Several years ago, Nancy Stouffer (no relation to the author of this book!), author of The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, sued J.K. Rowling over the term Muggle. The case was

eventually dismissed. •

Mudblood: A pejorative term for a Muggle-born wizard (that

is, with two Muggle parents); it comes from the equally pejorative dirty blood, which is the opposite of pureblood. •

Magic: What wizards do; using potions or spells to

manipulate a situation, control an outcome, and/or overcome the laws of nature. Often

spelled magick in folktales and literature. The word originates from the Greek magikos, or “of the Magi”; the Magi were wise religious men, three of whom were said to have

visited the baby Jesus upon his birth. MAGIC TALE According to Rowling, magic

leaves "traces,” which means that the potion or spell of a wizard will have the mark of that wizard. This means that if the rest of the wizarding world is paying attention, no one

can get away with using a potion or casting a spell without others knowing from whom it

originated.

• Potion: In the Muggle world, a potion is a drink or medicine of some

sort, although it tends to have magical overtones. Derived from the Latin potio, meaning

“to drink,” in the wizarding world, this is something a wizard mixes together, usually in a

cauldron. The components of a potion include herbs, stones, and parts of creatures (eyes,

tails, hearts, feathers, and so on). See Chapter 10 for information on herbs and Chapter 11

for more on potions. •

Spell: In the wizarding world, spell, charm, jinx, hex, curse

all mean virtually the same thing: something said by a wizard, with the help of a wand,

that results in magic being done to an object, creature, or other person. Chapter 12 defines the most common spells and discusses the etymology of all of these wizarding terms. •

Dark Side: Just like the Dark Side in the Star Wars movies, this is the bad side; the side you don’t want to be on; and the side you don’t want to run into when alone in an

alley. Also called the Dark Force and the Dark Order. The term “sorcery” in literature

and folklore has often implied the use of Dark Magic, although that is not the case in

Harry Potter’s wizarding world. •

Dark Wizards: In the wizarding world, these are

wizards who are on the Dark Side. •

Dark Magic: In the wizarding world, the type of

magic practiced by Dark Wizards, including the Unforgivable Curses (see Chapter 12).

Dark Magic is deeper than simple magic that can annoy or even defraud someone;

instead, it has evil intentions that start with a desire to frighten people, manipulate them, or even control them, and eventually involves desires for absolute power, world

domination, and immortality. Dark Wizards, like evil people in any world, possess a

general distain for human life. Dark Magic and black magic (a term not used in

Rowling’s novels) are one and the same. •

Death Eaters: Dark Wizards who have

committed their lives to the cause of Lord Voldemort (see the following section).

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Because they believe they can achieve immortality, these wizards are trying to “eat

death.” •

The Order of the Phoenix: Lest you believe that only Dark Wizards are

organized, a group of good wizards and Aurors (see Chapter 15) has twice convened to

form The Order of the Phoenix. This group’s mission is to stop Death Eaters and Lord

Voldemort from gaining control of the wizarding world. See Chapter 2 for more on the

legendary phoenix and its presence in both the wizarding world and Muggle folktales.

Who Who’s in the Wizarding World

Although this book is not intended to offer plot summaries or character sketches

from the Harry Potter novels, you’ll need to be familiar with some key characters, and

along the way, you’ll discover a bit about their backgrounds, name origins, and the like.

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore is a very famous wizard in Harry

Potter’s magical world, eclipsed only by Harry himself and Lord Voldemort. However,

even if others are a tad more famous, Dumbledore is recognized as the most powerful

wizard of his time.

Professor Dumbledore is a deeply complex character; he delights in candy,

games, and jokes, but takes on the most evil wizard of all time.

As Headmaster of Hogwarts, he grows to love Harry, but he keeps valuable

information from him, the lack of which causes Harry great pain.

Rowling is said to have used the last name Dumbledore because it is an Old

English word meaning bumblebee, and she envisioned the aging headmaster buzzing and

humming around Hogwarts Castle. His first names are interesting as well:

•

Albus is Latin for “white,” which is the opposite of “black” or “dark.” From the

get-go, Dumbledore is identified as one of the good guys. •

Wulfric was the name of

a twelfth century saint who, upon meeting a homeless man in the street, gave up his

career and fortune, took up the life of a hermit, and became a deeply holy man.

•

Percival was a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table; son of King Pellinore and

companion to Galahad on the quest for the Holy Grail. Some have suggested that this

name also may allude to “pierce the veil” (veil meaning death), possibly alluding to an

ability to return from the dead. •

Plain-sounding Brian is a Celtic name meaning

strong, fitting for the most powerful wizard of his age. KING’S ENGLISH One of

Dumbledore’s titles is Supreme Mugwump, which is ironic, because "mugwump” is a

decidedly North American, not British, term. To the Algonquian Native American, it

meant "great chief,” and that term likely applies to Dumbledore’s resumé. But in 1884,

the term was used derisively in the United States to denote Republicans who supported

the Democratic presidential candidate. Throughout the rest of that century in American

politics, the term came to describe a traitor or turncoat, a politician who waffled on an

issue, and someone who’s minor position of authority caused him to become obnoxiously

self-important. Dumbledore fits none of the latter descriptions.

Tom Riddle/Lord

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Voldemort

Tom Riddle, although a handsome, exceptional wizard many years ago at

Hogwarts, tended to frighten, rather than befriend, most people. As he got older, Riddle

set out to create a world of pureblood wizards (which is interesting, given that he himself

was not of pure blood … he is, indeed, a riddle!). As he gained power, Tom created the

name Lord Voldemort for himself, a name that represents three French words: vol (theft), de (of), and mort (death)—“theft of death”—which is another way to say “immortal.” In the second Harry Potter novel, Rowling also shows us that “I am Lord Voldemort” is an anagram of “Tom Marvolo Riddle,” his full name.

In an attempt to gain immortality, Voldemort created horcruxes (see Chapter 13),

in which he stored pieces of his soul. The idea was that even if his physical body were

killed, he could still live. This is why, although he was nearly killed when his curse

against Harry Potter bounced back at him, he was able to survive. Through the use of

magic, he slowly regained human form, first by cohabitating the body of another person,

and later by taking on his own human form, although he appears much more snakelike

than human throughout this process. (See Chapter 16 for the final word on Lord

Voldemort and what his intentions are.)

Because of his great power—and the fear his power instills—Lord Voldemort is

often referred to as “You-Know-Who” and “He-Who-Must -Not-Be-Named.” Even evil

wizards who work for Voldemort abstain from using his name, calling him the Dark

Lord.

MAGIC TALE When Lord Voldemort inhabits another human being, that person has

two faces, with Voldemort’s looking out the back of the head. The Roman god Janus (for

whom the month of January is named) had similar features—two faces, with one in the

front of the head (the usual position), and one in back. In fact, it’s from Janus that we get the term two-faced, meaning one who lies or tells contradictory information to two

different people (that is, each "face” tells a different story). Voldemort is, in essence, the leader of the Dark Wizards. Like Hitler’s campaign to put Aryan Germans in charge and

eradicate those of Jewish descent, Voldemort is a demagogue, appealing to the emotions

of pureblood wizards, touting the idea of purifying the wizarding community by putting

purebloods in charge and somehow getting rid of those born to Muggle parents.

Pureblood wizards, who fear changes in their world, tap into that emotion and are

persuaded to do evil.

Harry Potter

What better name for a common, ordinary boy than “Harry Potter”? A “potter’s

field” is, in fact, a cemetery in which people of unknown identity or the very poor are

buried. Although a hero in the wizarding world, Harry is as common as dust in the

Muggle world; Harry is overshadowed by his spoiled bully of a cousin, Dudley Dursley,

who, like his parents, wants nothing more than to be ordinary.

Harry’s story is a tantalizing one to young readers, who are at an age when it is

normal to wish for and hope to be reunited with a powerful, wealthy blood relative living

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in a distant land. Centuries of folk and fairy tales tell the tale of a child ripped from the arms of a loving and powerful king or queen (or other respected person), “adopted” by

ordinary people (used for slave labor is more like it—the orphan is usually treated badly),

and eventually reunited with his or her true family (or loved by someone of similar rank).

Cinderella, anyone? Harry’s story contains many elements of this typical folk and fairy

tale.

Harry, someone who is utterly invisible in his world, is, in another world, a hero,

a sports star, and a savior. He simply needs to find his place, as do most children and

middle-grade readers.

MAGIC TALE Harry’s story, although utterly unique in its details of the wizarding

world, follows typical heroes’ journeys in mythology and folklore, in which heroes are

destined to save something (the country, the princess, civilization as we know it) and

must overcome great odds (not the least of which is their own lack of skills, abilities, and confidence) to achieve that end. In the process, the heroes are themselves changed, from

a boy into a man. They then return home a hero, as every Harry Potter reader hopes he

will. Hermione Granger

Every hero has a sidekick, and Harry has two of them: Hermione Granger and

Ron Weasley (see the following section). Hermione is Muggle-born (her parents are,

believe it or not, dentists), and she is an only child. That the name Hermione (her-MY-

oh-nee) is from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (many believe Shakespeare’s

inspiration for the name was from Helen of Troy’s daughter in Greek mythology; the

name stems from the name of the Greek god Hermes) says more about her parents and

their desire to impress people with their daughter’s literary name than it does about

Hermione as a character. Hermione, too, is extremely intelligent; Harry ranks her as one

of the best wizards to ever study at Hogwarts.

The Weasleys

The Weasley family is a pureblood family that lives simply, in a house they call

The Burrow. Unlike other pureblood families, they do not use their influence or magical

abilities to manipulate others, enhance their wealth, or gain power. The Weasleys are all

exceptional wizards and students; all have red hair, fair skin, and freckles; and all are

loyal to Professor Dumbledore and against Lord Voldemort.

The word “weaselly” means to avoid commitment or responsibility, which

doesn’t fit the family per se, but that definition would match the opinion of many other

pureblood families, who find the Weasleys’ friendships with both Muggle-borns and half-

blood wizards to be a betrayal.

Rubeus Hagrid

Part wizard and part giant, Rubeus Hagrid is a large, yet gentle man, standing

head and shoulders above his peers, but often seen knitting or tending to orphaned

magical creatures. He is Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, has taught Care of

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Magical Creatures, and was the first person at Hogwarts with whom Harry had contact.

They remain good friends.

Rubeus is Latin for something produced from a bramble or thicket, which fits

Rowling’s description of Hagrid as “wild.” Hagrid may come from the term “haggard”

(or “hagard”), which also means wild, untamed, and unruly.

Cedric Diggory

The only student to have died in Rowling’s novels, Cedric Diggory is portrayed as

an exceptional student, wizard, and person. He died because he arrived unexpectedly

during one of Lord Voldemort’s plots to get to Harry Potter.

Pronounced SED-rick, Cedric is a common Welsh name that appears in both Sir

Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Little Lord Fauntleroy (although Cedric was a bit of a sissy in the latter novel).

But the last name has an interesting heritage: the professor in The Lion, the Witch

and the Wardrobe is Digory Kirke. When Digory was a young boy, he traveled with his

friend Polly to Narnia, where he picked an apple that he brought back to save his dying

mother. The seeds from that apple grew a tree from which the wardrobe was made.

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

It was likely not without intention that Rowling used the name “Black” for this

wizard family, obsessed with their pure blood and turning to the Dark Side to protect the

wizarding world from the effects of Muggles intermarrying wizards. “Black” and “Dark”

go hand in hand. Here are the key players in the Black family:

•

Sirius Black: Best friends with James Potter while at Hogwarts and godfather to

Harry, Sirius had a rather tragic life. Sirius is the name of a prominent star, the Dog Star, which is fitting, given that Sirius has the ability to shapeshift into a black dog. Sirius is the brightest star in our sky.

•

Regulus Black: Sirius’s younger brother, who turned to the Dark Side and was

killed by Voldemort, possibly while trying to do something heroic. Like his brother,

Regulus’s name is also that of a star—the Lion Star or Lion’s Heart, the twenty-first

brightest star in the sky. The star Regulus is known as the guardian (regulator) of the

skies.

•

Narcissa Black Malfoy: Sirius’s cousin; sister to Bellatrix and Andromeda; married

to Lucius Malfoy. She is not so much evil as afraid. Her name comes from the Greek

mythological figure, Narcissus, who becomes obsessed with his own reflection; this is

where we get the word narcissist, a person who is obsessed with him- or herself.

•

Bellatrix Black Lestrange: Sirius’s cousin; sister to Narcissa and Andromeda;

married to Rodolphus Lestrange. She is definitely evil. Bellatrix is Latin for female

warrior—and warrior she is, having killed many people. Lestrange is le (French for

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“the”) + strange (foreign, uncommon, or bizarre).

•

Andromeda Black Tonks: Sirius’s cousin; sister to Narcissa and Bellatrix; married

to a Muggle, Ted Tonks; mother of Nymphadora Tonks, an Auror (see Chapter 15 for

more on Aurors). She is not evil in the least. Like Sirius and Regulus, Andromeda is an

astronomical term: a constellation (or group of stars) between Cassiopeia and Pisces. It is

named for a princess from Greek mythology.

The Malfoys

Like the Blacks, the Malfoys are a powerful wizarding family obsessed with their

pureblood heritage. Malfoy is French for “bad faith” ( mal is bad; foy is faith).

•

Draco Malfoy: Draco (DRAY-koh) was the name of a seventh century B.C.E.

Athenian politician—the over-the-top harsh code of laws attributed to him is where we

get the word Draconian. Because dragons were monsters with many characteristics of

serpents, the word dragon is derived from that Latin word for snake or serpent ( draco) , and the Latin has now also come to take on the meaning of “dragon . ” But Draco’s name is not, per se, derived from the word “dragon”; instead, Draco Malfoy comes from a long

line of wizards who were trained in Slytherin house, the symbol of which is the snake. •

Note that Draco Malfoy is a doppelganger (a German term translated as double-goer) for Dudley Dursley, Harry’s Muggle cousin. Both are children without siblings who are

spoiled by their parents and who, in turn, routinely mistreat others. But one character

(Draco) exists wholly in the wizarding world; the other (Dudley) exists wholly in the

Muggle world. Thus when readers first meet Draco, they have already been set up for

such a selfish, insensitive person through reading about Dudley.

•

Lucius Malfoy: Draco’s father, Lucius (LOO-see-us), is one of the most evil of all

wizards; he is one of Voldemort’s most loyal servants. Lucius in not an uncommon name

in Great Britain; it is derived from the Latin lux, meaning “light” or “shining.” Lucius Malfoy, slick, handsome, wealthy, and powerful, does indeed shine. Two early Roman

Etruscan kings bore this first name, as did three popes and the famous Roman

philosopher Seneca.

Severus Snape

Professor Severus Snape, who taught both Potions and Defense Against the Dark

Arts at Hogwarts, is notable because he was a former Death Eater who joined The Order

of the Phoenix and became a double (or possibly triple) agent. The word severus is Latin for grave, strict, austere, stern, severe, and forbidding, which fits Snape’s character

perfectly. In addition, Imperial Roman Emperor Severus was known to be a cruel and

calculating leader. In an interview, Rowling said Snape’s surname comes from a village

in Suffolk County.

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Famous Wizards Through the Ages

Although the preceding wizards are the inventions of J.K. Rowling, the wizards in

this section either really did exist or were so entrenched in folktales and literature that we feel as though they existed. All of the following wizards are represented on the cards that

are found within a package of Chocolate Frogs in Harry Potter’s world.

TOURIST TIP Albus Dumbledore is said to have defeated a Dark Wizard named

Grindelwald in 1945, but no further information is given about this wizard. But you don’t

have to be a wizard to know about Grindelwald, which is a picturesque skiing, hiking,

and mountain-climbing resort in Switzerland. Visit for details.

Agrippa

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a sixteenth-century German

alchemist, physician, theologian, and legal scholar. He wrote a manifesto on the occult, De occulta philosophia libri tres. Like Sirius Black’s transfigured form (see Chapter 13

for more on transfiguration), Agrippa was said to have taken the form of a black dog

upon his death.

KING’S ENGLISH An alchemist was a person who studied an early form of chemistry,

which was really part philosophy, part magic, part environmentalism. The goals of

alchemy were twofold: 1) to try to find the philosopher’s stone, which would have the

ability to turn inexpensive metals into gold, and 2) to find the elixir of life, which would lead to perpetual youth and immortality. Rowling combined the two goals into one

product in her first novel: a philosopher’s stone (or, in the Americanized version, a

sorcerer’s stone) that produced the elixir of life.

Circe

Greek daughter of the sun god (Helios) and mother of the sun goddess (Aega),

Circe (pronounced SIR-cee) was a sorceress who could turn people into animals with a

single flick of her wand. She lived on the island Aeaea, where Odysseus and his men

landed during their journey, and Circe promptly turned the crew into pigs. Fortunately,

Odysseus had taken an herb given to him by Hermes, so he alone retained his human

form. When Circe saw that he had resisted her spell, she lifted the pig spell from the rest

of the men. A bit later, the child Telegonus was born to Circe and Odysseus, and as the

crew was about to set off to finish their journey, it was Circe who warned them of the

sirens who would try to lure the men to their death on the rocky coast with their beautiful

singing.

Cliodna

Cliodna (CLEEV-nah), the daughter of the last druid of Ireland (an order of holy

priests), was the Celtic goddess of the sea, the afterlife, and beauty. She was also said to be a shapeshifter who sometimes turned into a bird.

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Nicolas Flamel

Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, figure prominently in Harry Potter’s first

novel. Incidentally, Nicolas is also mentioned in The Da Vinci Code. A noted fourteenth-century French alchemist, Flamel was first a bookseller and scribe who bought a unique

manuscript from a man in need of cash. The book, which discussed alchemy, led to his

subsequent interest in all things alchemical.

The story of Flamel has taken on mythological proportions, however; he is

reputed to have both lived an exceedingly long life and died very wealthy (much

wealthier than a bookseller would have been), leading to rumors that he succeeded in

both alchemy goals: the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life.

In Harry Potter’s world, Flamel was also an opera lover and good friend to Albus

Dumbledore.

Hengist of Woodcroft

Hengist of Woodcroft is perhaps best known as the man who founded the County

of Kent. He was a king just before King Arthur’s time, which is his likely link to

wizardry. Otherwise, he was just a regional king who helped other kings in their battles.

Merlin

Entire books have been written about Merlin, the wizard famous for his role in the

King Arthur stories. In T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, Merlin tutors Wart

(young Arthur) and helps him fulfill his destiny as king. Many believe Merlin was the

basis for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf, both being wise and noble wizards. Note that this

wizard’s name is frequently spelled Merlyn.

Morgana

Nearly as famous as Merlin, Morgana, the famous witch, was also an important

figure in the King Arthur stories. Wart encounters Morgana (also called Morgan le Fay)

in a castle. He later learns that they are half-brother and sister: Arthur’s father (Uther

Pendragon) seduced Morgana’s mother, Igraine. Although both Morgana and Merlin are

powerful, Morgana is angry and bitter, and she often uses her powers for evil.

MAGIC TALE One of the wizards on the Chocolate Frog cards is Alberic Grunion,

who is said to have lived from 1803 to 1882 and was the inventor of the dung-bomb (the

purpose of which you can probably make out for yourself: dung + bomb). However, no

such person appears to have existed in history. Several priests and saints named Alberic

have been documented, but none in the nineteenth century.

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Paracelsus

Auroleus Phillipus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, whose nickname

was Paracelsus (pair-a-SELL-sus), was a noted fifteenth-century physician and alchemist.

He was one of the few alchemists who sought the powers of chemicals not for riches or

immortality but to improve the abilities of physicians to heal. He contributed much to the

medical field, including the idea that wounds can heal on their own, if free from

infection. He also named the element zinc. Hogwarts Castle has a bust of Paracelsus.

Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemy (TOE-lehm-mee) was a second-century geographer and

astronomer who first proposed the idea that the sun circles the earth. His ideas became

known as the Ptolemaic system. He was wrong, of course, but his ideas prevailed for over

1,000 years and gave Copernicus and Galileo something to work with and, later,

disprove.

Witch of Endor

The Witch of Endor is mentioned in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 28: 4-25) when

she conjures up the spirit of Samuel at the request of King Saul. Samuel’s ghost then

predicted Saul’s losing his kingdom.

Where Rowling Found Her Muse

All literature influences the novels, poems, and plays that come after it, and

fantasy literature is no different. As mentioned throughout this book, Rowling was deeply

inf luenced by fantasy greats C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as by Greek, Roman,

and Celtic mythology; British folklore; and nonfantasy literature, from Shakespeare to

Jane Austen.

In addition, there’s no denying that the Harry Potter series owes a great debt to

British fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones, who started writing novels in the early 1970s

(when J.K. Rowling was a young girl) and continues to publish today. Jones is considered

one of the great fantasy authors of the twentieth century; as an undergrad, she even

attended lectures at Oxford taught by Lewis and Tolkien (lucky girl!). Some fans fiercely

believe Jones is a far more imaginative writer than Rowling, but on the flip side, the

popularity of the Harry Potter novels has recently put many of Jones’s earliest novels back into print after a long hiatus. Both authors create fantasy worlds that, because they

are so painstakingly detailed, become utterly believable. Yet both also relish silliness and absurdity in their stories.

Regardless of who’s the better writer, Jones invented magical fantasy worlds that

likely made a deep impression on Rowling. In Jones’s novels, wizards and witches

practice magic through spells; wear robes and cloaks; attend schools that train wizards;

work as seers and healers; invite guests into a Great Hall for meals; stretch the insides of 17

their houses to accommodate more people; plant annoying (attacking) flowers; drink

from goblets; and live in a world with dragons, griffons, flying horses, serpents, owls,

and other magical creatures. You’ll even find a Dark Lord in Dark Lord of Derkholm

(HarperCollins, 1998). Do all those features sound familiar? If not, read on!

Chapter 2

Creatures of All Shapes and Sizes

In This Chapter

•

Looking at creatures who are mainstays of Celtic and Old English folklore

•

Defining the classic creatures with Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman

roots

•

Reviewing creatures from other mythologies and folktales around the world

•

Inspecting creatures that came straight from the mind of J.K. Rowling

Creatures abound in the wizarding world, and most of them are not the least bit

friendly. In this chapter, you not only sort through which creatures to avoid in a dark

alley, but also discover the mythological, Biblical, and literary traditions of these

creatures. Although this chapter discusses nearly 50 creatures, it is not an exhaustive list.

Other creatures are lurking in the wizarding world, but they are not substantial enough to

warrant entire sections in this chapter.

Creatures with Celtic and Old English Roots

The Harry Potter novels are British in origin and J.K. Rowling is Scottish, so it

isn’t any wonder that the novels draw heavily on Celtic and Old English folklore. The

creatures in this section were all thought—by Celtic and Old English peoples—to exist,

but sightings were surely rare!

Augurey

The Augurey, also known as the Irish Phoenix, is a small, dark-colored bird that,

like a banshee, has a cry that predicts the death of the hearer. As with the banshee, people have died from a heart attack upon hearing the cry, panicked as they were. The Latin

augur means soothsayer or fortuneteller.

Banshee

The banshee, also called the Irish Death Messenger, originated as a spirit or ghost

who appeared to members of five select Irish families, foretelling them of their death by

singing (or, in some versions, screaming) a lament. Akin to fairies, elves, pixies, and

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mermaids, singing banshees are always women and are usually fair, tall, and waifish,

with long white or golden hair. Screaming banshees, however (as opposed to those

singing a lament), tend to be more haglike than fair, and instead of being a messenger

who gives a welcome forewarning—thus offering the about-to-be-dead a little extra time

to put his or her affairs in order—are a messenger of death whose presence sometimes

actually frightens a person to death. Banshee comes from the Irish bean sidhe, meaning

“woman of the fairy mound.”

Wizards, especially Irish wizards, believe in banshees as much as the next person,

and these predictors of death in the wizarding world are not pretty: they are thin,

greenish, dark-haired women whose shriek is unbearable.

MAGIC TALE Ghosts have a long literary history, beginning with Apuleius’s The

Golden Ass, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Perhaps literature’s most famous ghosts are Banquo, the ghost in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and the ghosts who torment Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Gothic novels, at their

height, also furthered the cause of ghosts in literature and led to the popularity of the

ghost story, which continues even today.

Boggart

Long a part of British folktales, the boggart is a vexing but admittedly

lighthearted creature that annoys people in small ways—moving objects around, touching

or poking people, making noises, and so on. A similar creature is the Scottish bogill (also

spelled bogle), a creature reputed to enjoy driving people crazy in little, annoying ways.

In the wizarding world, a boggart is a shapeshifter that appears to be whatever the

nearest observer fears most; it lives in small, dark spaces like dresser drawers and

wardrobes. A boggart is not so much dangerous as frightening, like its folkloric

counterparts. A boggart can be eradicated with the Riddikulus! incantation.

Elf

From the Old English ælf, elves have historically been portrayed as tiny, lithe

creatures, and may be either fair or dark in their skin and hair coloring. Also called

fairies, pixies, sprites, and brownies, these mischievous— sometimes, downright evil—

creatures are known to steal healthy human babies and replace them with sickly elvin

children (called changelings), a story depicted movingly in Maurice Sendak’s Outside

Over There (although, in that story, the baby is kidnapped by goblins, not elves).

J.R.R. Tolkien’s elves in The Lord of the Rings were unique to literature, because

for the first time in literary history, they were no longer tiny, devious, and impish but

rather, tall, elegant, commanding guardians of the earth and woods. No longer kidnappers

or players of practical jokes, Tolkien’s elves are among the wisest and most noble of all

creatures, as well as phenomenally long-lived. Michael Paolini, in Eragon and Eldest,

continues Tolkien’s literary interpretation of the elven people.

Elves in the wizarding world are nothing like any elves in literature— neither

impish little pixies nor elegant woods-dwellers. Rowling’s house-elves are, instead, a

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form of slave labor to aristocratic wizards, who use them as free housekeepers, servants,

and cooks. Elves are not allowed to own clothing, so they wear sacks or pillowcases and

little else; if an elf’s master gives him or her an article of clothing, the elf is free to leave that service and find paying work elsewhere, but most elves consider such freedom

shameful. Most elves are lifelong servants (bound to one master for life) who despise,

rather than wish for, freedom from their conditions. They know no other life than serving

a master.

TOURIST TIP Beware bad dreams in Germany! Germans call nightmares akpdrücken,

which translates to "elf-pressure,” based on the notion that elves sit on the chest of a sleeping person, feeding terrible dreams into his or her brain.

Wizard elves are quite

similar to wizards, albeit with quite a different look: large ears; large bulging eyes;

skinny arms and legs; and short bodies. They think and act like wizards and are full of

magical powers that they can employ without the use of a wand. Still, because of their

low status, they are not supposed to use their magic and are banned from owning or using

wands.

Fairy

Fairies have historically been thought of as tiny, gauzy, magical, female creatures

who often fly, like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. Unlike sweet Tink, however, most folktale fairies are devious, even dangerous creatures, especially because of their desire to kidnap

human children (see the “Elf” section).

Fairies are not only a part of Celtic folklore, but are also present in the tales of

such diverse cultures as ancient Greece and some Native American tribes.

Fairy godmothers, which are popular in Disney movies, bear little resemblance to

fairies, except that they could be described as fairly gauzy-looking, and they are, indeed,

magical. They tend to be grand-motherly types: older; plump; wise; and kind. Fairy

godmothers are an integral component of fairy tales, which originated in the seventeenth

century.

The wizarding-world fairy continues the pre-Disney, nongrandmotherly,

nonsweet folkloric tradition, so fairies in the wizard world are tiny, wing-bearing, woods-

dwelling, and mean. Fairies are hatched from eggs and cannot speak, thus bearing

absolutely no resemblance to Tinkerbell or fairy godmothers.

Grindylow

Grindylows have long been part of British folklore, utilized as a concept by

parents to keep their children from getting too close to ponds and lakes while playing.

Grindylows are said to use their long, green fingers to grab children who come close to

the water’s edge.

Similarly, in the wizarding world, Grindylows are small water demons who use

their sharp horns and long, green fingers to attack whatever comes in the water with

them. Grindylows live peacefully with merpeople but attack just about anything else they

find in the water.

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Goblin

Goblins (also called hobgoblins or orcs) have a long tradition in English folklore.

Because of their almost universal association with money, goblins are discussed in

further detail in Chapter 4, in the section on wizard banking.

Kelpie

A kelpie (or kelpy) is a legendary horse-shape Celtic water sprite that dwells in

lakes and seas with the hopes of drowning unsuspecting travelers; the same description

holds true in the wizarding world. See the “Sea Serpent” section later in this chapter for

additional information.

Leprechaun

An Irish folkloric creature, a leprechaun is part fairy, part dwarf: a diminutive old

cobbler, usually bearded, who can lead a person who closely follows him to his pot of

gold. In the wizarding world, leprechaun gold vanishes in a few hours, making it

worthless.

MAGIC TALE In Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl fantasy novels, LEPrecon stands for

"Lower Elements Police (LEP) reconnaissance,” a fairy version of the FBI or CIA.

Pixie

Similar to elves and fairies, Celtic pixies are said to dance in the moonlight,

sometimes on the roofs of houses. Wizarding pixies, on the other hand, are tiny—less

than a foot high—are bright blue, and have shrill voices. As far as we know, they do no

moonlit rooftop dancing, but they do love practical jokes, especially those that involve

hurling people high into the air.

Red Cap

A Red Cap is so named in Scottish folklore because this creature, who looks like

an old man, wears a bloody cap. He is incredibly fast and strong, but he can be overcome

by a victim’s religious zeal. In the wizarding world, Red Caps are creatures that look like

goblins and hang out wherever they can sense bloodshed (dungeons, battlefields, and the

like).

Sea Serpent

The Old Testament gives accounts of several battles between God and a sea

serpent called Leviathan or Hahab. In the Biblical book of Ezekiel, a sea serpent makes

its home in the Nile, where God catches and kills it. Leviathan is still the word used today to describe a sea monster.

21

The best-known sea serpent (also called a kelpie) is in Rowling’s own country:

Scotland’s Loch Ness monster, who is sometimes affectionately called “Nessie.” Since

the late 1800s, tourists and residents alike have spotted a two- or three-humped creature

with a long neck who appeared, turned over boats, and caused both interest and panic.

Photographs and videorecordings offer proof of Nessie’s existence, although most people

still consider the sightings either outright hoaxes or cases of mistaken identity.

Werewolf

From the Old English wer (man) and wulf (wolf), werewolves have long existed in folklore: people who shapeshift into wolves at night (whether the moon was full or

not), attack or even eat people, and turn back into human form by day. Usually, one has

to be bitten by a werewolf (and survive) to become one, although some werewolves are

born with the power. Legend has it that scars obtained in battle while in wolf form carry

over into human form, which led, at some points in history, to the panicked execution of

people who had unusual scars.

Historians who have begun to look carefully at supposed werewolf (and, for that

matter, vampire) killings see striking similarities to modern serial killings; werewolf and

vampire legends may have been created to explain what was otherwise inexplicable.

In many literary cases, as is true in the wizarding world, werewolves are reluctant

participants, who feel they are cursed to possess their shapeshifting powers. Wizards who

are bitten by a werewolf will spend the rest of their lives changing into wolf form at each

full moon, although drinking Wolfsbane Potion (see Chapter 11) does keep part of the

man-into-wolf change from occurring—the body still changes into that of a wolf, but the

mind does not. Fenrir Greyback is considered the most dangerous werewolf in the

wizarding world, because he specializes in biting children, hoping for an all-werewolf

society.

MAGIC TALE Norse mythology holds that Fenris (also called Fenrir) is a great wolf

who can be controlled only by magic ropes bound by gods. The Norse also give us the

word berserker (from which we get the English "berserk”), a brutal warrior who wears animal skins in battle and is the likely origin of the werewolf legend.

Wolves,

although not necessarily werewolves, figure prominently in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and

The Lord of the Rings and in Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Werewolves have also been routinely celebrated in Hollywood, including 1985’s Teen Wolf (in which the

werewolf character is played by Michael J. Fox), 1994’s Wolf (starring Jack Nicholson in the werewolf role), and three werewolf movies in 1981: The Howling; Wolfen; and An American Werewolf in London.

Winged Horse

Wizards view winged horses as a transportation boon, as they can guide flying

carriages and, for long trips, even be ridden bareback. As with Hippogriffs, winged

horses must be concealed through regular applications of a Disillusionment Charm,

which allows them to blend into their environment.

22

Many breeds of winged horses exist in the wizarding world, but two stand out:

•

Thestral: In the wizarding world, Thestrals are great black horses with leathery

wings and only skeletal bodies, who feast on dead cows and can be seen only by people

who have seen death. A Thestral is also a term from sixteenth-century British mythology

for horses that were believed by some to be demonic and by others to be quite practical.

One tale links the Thestral to the winged horse Pegasus, from Greek mythology, as a

brother.

•

Abraxan: These golden giant palominos can, in groups of a dozen horses, pull a

carriage the size of a house. The horses have enormous heads and large red eyes, and they

drink only single-malt whiskey.

Creatures from Mesopotamian, Egyptian,

Greek, and Roman Traditions

The creatures in this section have a classical pedigree: they all emanate from the

mythologies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, ancient Greece, or ancient Rome. A few creatures

simultaneously originated in other areas of the world as well, but they’re listed in this

section because their influence on classical mythology was significant.

Basilisk

According to legend (from which Rowling clearly drew inspiration), a basilisk is

a frightening snakelike creature; the name comes from the Greek word basilískos,

meaning “little king,” because a white spot on this creature’s head looked like a small

crown. One breath or look from this mythical reptile (born, oddly enough, from a cock’s

egg) means instant death. A basilisk is very similar in description to a mythical

cockatrice, which can be killed only by the sound of a crowing cock.

The wizarding world’s Basilisk has a few variations from its Greek counterpart in

that it is born from a chicken’s egg, and that egg must be kept under a toad until it

hatches. It, too, has a deadly look that leads to instant death and it, too, can be killed by a rooster’s crow, although it will live for hundreds of years if it doesn’t hear that sound.

(Clearly, Basilisks are city dwellers.) The wizard version of a Basilisk also has poisonous

fangs, which seem unnecessary, given that one look instantly kills an approaching enemy.

Centaur

Creatures dating back to Greek mythology, centaurs have the upper bodies of men

and the lower bodies of horses, and were thought to be wild, hard-drinking, and cruel.

MAGIC TALE Chiron is perhaps the most well known centaur; a skilled physician and

wise counselor to Greek mythological heroes— Achilles, Asclepius, and Heracles,

among them. He was thought to be the son of Cronus, a god, and Philyra, a sea nymph.

Conversely, in the wizarding world, centaurs are wise fortunetellers who

understand the art of divination much better than most humans do. They are, however,

aggressive and fiercely protective of their freedom, a result of having watched humans

23

domesticate horses and fearing the same will be in store for them. Like horses, they vary

greatly in size, color, and markings.

Chimaera

From the Greek chímaira, meaning young female goat, in Greek mythology, a

creature named Chimaera is part lion (her front parts), part goat (her middle), and part

fire-breathing dragon (her hindquarters, plus her fire-breathing ability). Wizards do not

dispute this mythological tradition.

Giant

In the wizarding world, a giant looks vaguely human, but is built in gigantic

proportions (20- to 25-feet high) with a very small head, no neck, thick skin, ugly

features, and little ability to think, communicate, or get along with others. Arguments

amongst themselves, in fact, are quickly leading to their extinction. This may be positive,

in a sense, because, if influenced by Dark Wizards, giants could pose an enormous threat

to both wizards and Muggles. But because they are so taken with their own internal

bickering, they cannot be ruled by others. Giants live far from humans, usually in

mountainous areas (where they frequently cause avalanches), because they were banished

to those places by wizards. Like chickens in a pen, however, they now live in quarters too

close to be comfortable—when giants live farther apart, they argue (and, therefore, kill

each other) far less frequently.

Mythologically, giants are considered enormous, savage brutes, born of Gaea. In

Greek tradition, giants were involved in a series of clashes (known as the Gigantomachy)

with many gods, who eventually succeeded in ridding the world of giants. In more recent

tradition, Gog and Magog were two giants who were captured by the founder of Britain.

Literature’s most famous giant, in Jack and the Beanstalk, fits the folkloric pattern of a dimwitted, brutish creature.

Although Biblical references to giants are rare, giants are represented much

differently in the Bible than in the wizarding world and in mythology. In the Old

Testament books of Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, ancient giants are

depicted as god-like men who were highly skilled warriors. That their size diminished

their intelligence or reasoning skills is not part of these Biblical depictions.

Griffin

The griffin (or, more commonly, gryphon, from the Latin grypus and the Grek

gryps) is hugely popular in mythology. Part eagle (upper body, wings, and head) and part lion (the rest of its body and tail), the griffin is revered and thought of as a protector of people, doing battle with one-eyed giants or men on Apollo’s behalf. Although little else

is known of the cultural importance of griffins, drawings and carvings of the creature

abound in ancient caves and other dwelling places. In the wizarding world, griffins are

sometimes used as guards.

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Hippocampus

From the Greek hippos (meaning horse) and kampos (meaning sea monster), this ancient mythological creature has the body of a horse and the tail of a fish or dolphin and

is mentioned only briefly in the wizarding world.

Hippogriff

A Hippogriff has the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, but it has the head,

wings, and front legs of a giant eagle, thus enabling it to fly. In the wizarding world,

Hippogriffs are difficult to tame and ride, but if you approach them with respect, bowing

and maintaining eye contact, the animal will bow back and allow you to come close, pet

it, and even fasten a rope over its eagle neck to use as reins. They eat dead rats by the

packful.

Hippogriffs originated in Greek mythology, but were first named by Ludovico

Ariosto in Orlando furioso. Ariosto had long heard legends of a griffin—a mythological creature with the body, legs, and tail of a lion, and the head, wings, and claws of an

eagle—being crossed with a horse. The word is Greek in origin ( hippos means horse;

griff is from the Greek grypos, or “hooked one”). A Hippogriff, therefore, takes the eagle portion of a griffon and crosses it with a horse.

Manticore

From the Greek mantichoras, which was derived from an Iranian word for man-

eater ( martiya + xvar), this demonic mythological creature has the head of a man, albeit with horns, the body of a lion, and the tail of a dragon. Ouch.

In the wizarding world, the manticore adds insult to injury by singing a little song

as it eats its human prey.

Merpeople

From the French mer, meaning “the sea,” Rowling uses the politically correct

“merpeople” over the more common “mermaid” and the lesser-known “merman” (found

in Tennyson’s “The Merman”). Wizard merpeople are not especially attractive, as they

are quite fish-like, with green hair, yellow eyes and teeth, and silvery-gray skin.

Mermaids, on the other hand, which date back to Mesopotamian legend, are

fairies/elves of the sea, with magical powers that include, according to some legends, the

sirenlike power to call men to their deaths underwater. (See also the “Veela” section for

more on sirenlike creatures.)

Sirens were mythological sea nymphs—part bird, part woman—who sang

seductive songs in order to lure sailors toward rocky areas, where the sailors would then

crash and die. Hmmm. Sounds like a good excuse for some sub-par sailing!

Fairy tales abound of men who fell in love with mermaids, some of whom gave

25

up their fish halves and became fully human; others who remained in the sea without

their human loves.

TOURIST TIP London’s Mermaid Tavern may be the most famous literary gathering

place in the world, counting Sir Walter Raleigh, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben

Jonson, John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont, Robert Herrick, and John Selden among its

early-seventeenth-century patrons. Although it burned in the Great Fire of London in

1666, it once stood just east of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Owl

Owls and wizards have a long association. Because owls are nocturnal, they are

associated with death, as was the case as far back as in ancient Aztec culture. Like the cry of an Augurey or banshee, an owl’s hoot was said to foretell death among the Aztecs, as

well as in Roman times. In Roman folklore, just seeing an owl in daylight was said to

cause bad luck. Owls were also included in the lists of unclean birds in the Old Testament

books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

Owls have also been messengers to and companions of mythological gods and

goddesses, which is where they get their reputation for wisdom. Athena, the goddess of

wisdom, had a companion owl, and this fact help elevate the status of owls from that

point forward.

Wizarding owls function as messengers, although they are kept as pets and

companions as well. See Chapter 4 for a brief look at how owls transport messages

throughout the wizarding world.

Perhaps the most famous wizard owl is Merlin’s Archimedes, who teaches young

Arthur how to view the world from an owl’s perspective in T.H. White’s The Once and

Future King. In C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair (the fourth book in The Chronicles of Narnia), an owl, Glimfeather, hosts a parliament of owls to decide whether to allow the children to search for Prince Rilian. Finally, Patrice Kindl’s powerful novel Owl in Love gives insight into the life of a girl who shapeshifts into an owl at night.

Phoenix

The phoenix is steeped in legend, which usually suggests that only one phoenix

lives at a time, for an unusually long life. When its life is ending, the phoenix sets itself on fire and, from the ashes, a new phoenix emerges. Alterations of this legend have the

same bird renewing itself again and again, as is the case in the wizarding world. Either

way, the phoenix is a bird of immortality that has its place among Egyptian, Chinese,

Christian, and Islamic traditions.

Wizarding phoenixes are, like the phoenix of legend, brilliantly beautiful,

immortal, and powerfully magical. But they can also carry heavy loads, and their tears

can cure even a deep wound—two characteristics that end up being helpful plot devices

for Rowling.

MAGIC TALE "Phoenix” is the name of two Greek mythological characters. One, the brother of Europa, goes to look for his sister when she is abducted by Zeus, until—get

this!—he gets tired of looking for her and simply settles down to live out the rest of his

26

life in a nearby city. Nice brother! The other Phoenix is a good friend to Achilles but

suffers with blindness until Chiron, the centaur, cures him. Salamander

Salamanders—small four-footed reptiles—are useful as ingredients in potions;

otherwise, there is little magical about them, except that they look like tiny dragons.

Well, that and salamanders in Greek mythology live in fire, but only until the fire dies

out—then they die as well.

Sphinx

This mythological creature, widely considered a symbol of wisdom, is said to

have the body of a lion and the head of a woman. In order to pass by her and enter the

town of Thebes, she demands an answer to a riddle; legend has it the riddle was answered

correctly only by Oedipus.

MAGIC TALE Here’s the sphinx’s riddle: What is it that has one voice, and is four-

footed in the morning, two-footed at midday, and three-footed in the evening? The

answer: a man, who crawls as a baby, walks as a man, and uses a cane in old age.

Unicorn

From the Latin unus (one) and cornu (horn), this legendary animal may actually be based on sightings of a rhinoceros in about 400 B.C.E. However, unlike the rhino, the

unicorn is a svelte creature, has the body and head of a horse, and may also have the tail

of a lion and the hind legs of a stag. Always, however, a unicorn has a single, sharp,

cone-shaped horn growing from its forehead.

The unicorn also has acquired a special place in the hearts of young girls, and it

decorates pillows, notebooks, lunchboxes, and the like. This version of the unicorn is a

silvery white horse with a horn. It’s oh-so-pretty and is the horse of choice for budding

princesses. Unicorns, in nearly every culture, are extraordinary creatures to behold.

Likewise, wizarding unicorns are highly prized for their beauty and magical

power. Although some parts of the unicorn are used in special magical potions (chiefly

the horn and tail), unicorn blood is verboten: drinking the silvery blood will curse you for the rest of your life, although it will save you from death even if you’re seconds away.

Wizard unicorns are fully grown at about seven years old; until that time, unicorn foals

are gold in color.

Creatures from Other Folkloric and Mythological Traditions

The creatures in this section spring from a variety of other folkloric and

mythological traditions, from Japan to Poland to the Middle East.

Boomslang

A boomslang (prounounced boo-um-slung in Africa; boom-slang everywhere

27

else) is a large, fast-moving, highly poisonous African snake that’s also called the tree

snake. Boomslang is a relatively unknown snake that came to prominence in Agatha

Christie’s Death in the Clouds (1935), in which a passenger is killed on a plane trip with a dart poisoned with boomslang venom. The shredded skin is an ingredient in Polyjuice

Potion (see Chapter 11).

Cat

Cats and magic have been linked for hundreds of years, in a variety of ways:

•

Cats and witches were nearly constant companions; cats were the pet of choice for

single women (and, often, still are today), but a cat living with a single, older woman

often led to a suspicion of witchcraft. •

Cats were believed to have nine lives, allowing them to repeatedly escape death.

•

Cats were believed to be shapeshifters that attacked children in the night.

•

Cats were believed to be able to store disease; thus, a witch could transfer disease

from a person to a cat, and vice-versa.

•

Cats were believed to have an effect on crops, either assuring a bounty or causing

ruin.

•

Black cats were (and still are by some) believed to be bad luck, or even a

representation of the Devil. In the wizarding world, cats are not exceedingly dangerous

or even interesting. They are simply common pets. Two pet cats, however, are worth

noting in the wizarding world:

•

Mrs. Norris, the cat that belongs to the Hogwarts caretaker, was named for a

character in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, a character who was a snob of the highest order.

•

Crookshanks ( shanks meaning “legs;” therefore, “crooked legs”) is the pet of

Hermione Granger. Bow-legged, highly intelligent, and a beautiful gingery-orange color,

Crookshanks is part cat, part Kneazle, thereby accounting for its intelligence and

discernment. Note that, although dogs and wizards are hardly ever mentioned together,

dogs do exist in the wizarding world. From a slobbering pet boarhound to a three-headed

dog to the Grim (a black dog that predicts death), dogs have their place in the wizarding

world.

Dragon

In both Western and Eastern tradition, the dragon is a gigantic, winged, fire-

breathing, sharp-eyed, reptilian creature whose love of shiny objects leads it to plunder

treasure, especially brilliant jewels and gold.

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In German mythology, the dragon is known as the “firedrake,” and in classic

dragon form, it breathes fire, hordes treasure, and kidnaps fair maidens.

In Ancient China, in particular, but also to some extent in other cultures, the

dragon is revered, not feared. In Asian traditions, however, dragons generally do not fly,

and they also have the power to change size, even becoming so small as to disappear

altogether.

In the Bible, dragons—often interchangeable with snakes—are linked to the

Devil, an enemy of God (as noted in Psalms, Job, Isaiah, and Revelations), and this belief

prevailed throughout the Middle East. Perhaps the most well-known dragon is in Chapter

14 of Daniel (a chapter that doesn’t exist in many Bibles; when it does, it’s often subtitled

“Bel and the Dragon”), which tells the story of a dragon who is worshipped as a God.

Daniel kills this dragon and feeds it to lions.

The wizarding world abounds with dragons, which are key to the banking

industry, as they are particularly useful in protecting valuables. Dragons cannot be

Stunned by a single wizard, so they are difficult to get past. Dragon blood is also full of

magical qualities, as are other parts of dragons, which are used in potions. Dragon eggs

are sometimes sold (illegally; the practice was outlawed in 1709) to wizards who want to

try to raise dragons; the fire-breathing baby dragons are soon, however, too much to

manage.

Several dragon species have been identified throughout the wizarding world,

including the following:

•

Chinese Fireball: Also called Liondragon, this red dragon originated in the East

and does (as its name suggests) produce a ball of fire from its snout.

•

Common Welsh Green: This native of the British Isles blends with the lush, green

countryside and is happy living on sheep, not humans.

•

Hebridean Black: Another British dragon, the Hebridean Black is more dangerous

than the Common Welsh Green.

•

Hungarian Horntail: This exceedingly dangerous dragon can breathe fire up to 50

feet in distance.

•

Norwegian Ridgeback: Like the Hebridean Black, the Norwegian Ridgeback has a

line of sharp ridges down its spine.

•

Swedish Short-Snout: This blue-gray dragon, less aggressive than most, is the

source of most dragon-related equipment (gloves, especially) that are needed to protect

wizards from intense heat. Dragon skin (used in boots, gloves, and coats) is also just cool.

Four others—Antipodean Opaleye (with opal-like eyes), Peruvian Vipertooth

(with exceedingly poisonous teeth), Romanian Longhorn (with, as you might expect, long

horns), and Ukrainian Ironbelly (the largest and heaviest dragon in the world)—are

known to exist in the wizarding world, but are not integral to any storylines.

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Ghoul

Ghouls originate in Arabic folklore (called ghuls), where they are demonic

shapeshifters who can always be identified by their cloven hooves. Ghouls even have

cannibalistic tendencies. In more recent folktales, ghouls have retained both their abilities to change forms and their taste for humans as they change themselves into dogs or other

animals, rob graves, and feast on dead bodies.

In the wizarding world, ghouls may live in wizard attics, but they’re not

cannibals—they eat spiders and moths and tend to be thought of as family pets.

Otherwise, we know little about them and how they may differ from the ghouls of lore.

Gnome

In folkloric tradition, gnomes are old, often bearded creatures about the size of

children but never youthful in their appearance. They are much like dwarves, and

dwarves are, perhaps, the only mythical or folkloric creature not to have a place in the

wizarding world—no dwarves are ever mentioned in Rowling’s novels. (Dwarves, of

course, have a rich literary status, from Snow White’s seven dwarves to Tolkien’s band

of 12 dwarf travelers in The Hobbit and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings. )

Instead, the wizarding world is plagued by a common household pest known as

the garden gnome. Not to be confused with the ceramic lawn gnomes that were popular in

the 1970s in North America, garden gnomes dig around in gardens, wreaking havoc, and

must be plucked out by a wizard, swung around until dizzy, and then heaved into a

neighbor’s yard. Garden gnomes, like house elves, score high on the list of Rowling’s

most unique and original interpretations of mythological, folkloric, and literary traditions.

Kappa

A Kappa is a water sprite from Japanese mythology, and like most sprites, it is a

mischievous—even murderous—creature. Japanese Kappas in legends (and in some

supposed “sightings”) are thought to look like monkeys, but with scales and webbed

hands and feet that allow them to inhabit small bodies of water. Kappas also are thought

to have a depression atop their heads, which fills with water. However, if the water spills, the Kappa loses its strength, thus Japanese children were told to always bow to everyone

they met, in case they met a Kappa, who would return the gesture and spill the water

from its head. Oh, the stories we tell to get children to behave!

Fittingly, wizard Kappas are scaly, web-appendaged, monkeylike creatures who

strangle anyone going into their body of water. As in Japanese culture, bowing to a

Kappa tricks it into draining its strength.

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Rat

Rats are the gerbils and hamsters of the wizarding world: rodents that are kept as

pets. The fact that cats are also a common wizard pet does make for some awkward

moments; a rat owner and a cat owner would probably not, for example, start dating. Rat

pieces also sometimes make their way into potions (see Chapter 11).

Other wizard pets are what you might expect: rabbits; toads; snails; ravens; and

owls. All have long associations with magic, witches, or wizards!

Re’em

Wizard Re’em are huge, golden oxen whose blood—like that of the unicorn—

gives the drinker great strength. However, unlike unicorn blood, Re’em blood will not

curse one who drinks it.

The Old Testament refers to the Hebrew re’em, which translates to “wild ox,”

although it has also been translated as “unicorn” and “rhinoceros.” Either way, this is an

animal with a large horn in the center of its forehead.

Troll

Sometimes synonymous with “giant,” the troll originated in Scandinavian folklore

as a creature who lives in a castle and terrorizes people. In later versions, trolls hang out in (or under) mountains and kidnap young maidens. Later, they camp out under bridges.

In the wizarding world, trolls are reported to live near Poland, and they are

somewhat different from giants—shorter, for one, at just twelve feet high—although they

do look rather similar. With exceedingly long arms that drag on the floor, wizarding trolls

carry clubs that they swing around viciously.

Trolls—especially those that live under bridges—have been lurking in literature

for ages. And take a close look at the trolls in both the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie. Same troll?

Brothers? Cousins? It’s eerie.

Vampire

A vampire, or revenant, is a legendary shapeshifter (usually taking the form of a

bat) that lives off the blood of humans and, after biting, turns them into vampires as well.

According to legend, a vampire can be killed only when a wooden stake is driven into its

heart. Long given attention in Gothic tales, the most famous vampire is Bram Stoker’s

Dracula, which was turned into a movie in 1931. Anne Rice’s more recent novels, along with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie and TV series, have kept both the legend of and interest in vampires alive.

Although not often mentioned in the wizarding world, vampires do hang out in

pubs and associate freely with the wizarding community. They’re not well liked, but

31

they’re not attacked with Holy Water, crosses, and stakes, either.

Veela

Wila (also spelled Wili, Willi, and Vila, but always pronounced VEEL-uh) are

Slavic and Polish mythological nymphs or water fairies who are stunningly beautiful,

with entrancing voices. Their greatest danger is that they seduce men with their beauty,

such that men forget to eat, drink, and sleep. Although they appear human, they are not,

and they can turn vicious in a moment.

Beautiful women who cause men to forget themselves, and then turn vicious.

Hmmm. These tales smack of sour grapes on the part of men who have loved beautiful

women and been rebuffed, but the presence of these fairies persists in legend and

folklore.

Wizarding veelas are strikingly similar; they dance and sing as a means of

entrancing men, but can turn hideous when provoked.

Yeti

The yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman, is a twentieth-century legend

of a Tibetan creature that appears to be part man, part beast and leaves large footprints in the snow. Yeti sightings were common in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. The creature is

described as being covered with white hair and standing twice as tall as most humans.

Pictures of this creature nearly always show him running, and such pictures have graced

many a tabloid cover.

Wizards believe that the yeti is actually a troll, or at least is a close relative to the

common troll.

Wizard-Only Creatures

The creatures in this section spring from the creative genius of J.K. Rowling.

Although similar creatures may exist in literature, these creatures do not exist in this form and with these names in any other writings or traditions. Where appropriate, however, the

possible origins of the names are discussed.

Acromantula

Acromantulas are enormous spiders, nearly identical in description to Tolkien’s

Shelob the Great (in The Two Towers), a giant spider who drinks the blood of men and other creatures to keep her huge body fed. In the wizarding world, not just one but an

entire population of such spiders exists in colonies, including in the Forbidden Forest.

Their venom is valuable, but Acromantulas are difficult to kill and usually eat their dead,

so the venom is nearly impossible to procure.

The origins of this word are debatable. The prefix acro (from the Greek akros,

meaning point or top) means highest, thus alluding to the size of these spiders. Mantula, 32

however, is not a known word, although many have postulated that it is derived from

tarantula. However, just as likely, the name originated with a British sports car company, Marcos, which made, among other models, both the Mantula and the Spider. Both models

were popular about the time Rowling was coming of age in Great Britain.

Bowtruckle

Bowtruckles are creatures who live in wizard wand-trees (see Chapter 3) and

guard them fiercely, poking out the eyes of anyone who tries to take the wood from their

trees without permission. They, therefore, protect the trees, a role of historical importance in Celtic mythology, when trees were considered sacred. Bowtruckles are the

environmental activists of the wizarding world, the equivalent of someone building and

living in a tree house for a few years to keep a development company from bulldozing a

wooded or forested area.

Bow likely comes from the Old English bur, meaning dwelling place and from

which the word bough is derived. (A bower is an enclosure made of boughs or vines.) Truckle is from the Middle English trocle, which has come to have a meaning of servility or submission. Hence, “servant of the boughs.”

Dementor

Dementors are unique to the wizarding world: they are the prison guards at

Azkaban who quite literally suck the happiness right out of people just by their mere

presence. And their Kiss is even worse: most people, devoid of hope and peace, die soon

after such a Kiss. See Chapter 15 for more on dementors and Azkaban prison.

Dementors are described very much like the Grim Reaper: a cloaked and hooded

skeletal figure that seems to almost glide along. With such a description, they also call to mind Tolkien’s ringwraiths, who are skeletal ghosts of men, too tormented to die, but still

able to kill others and hunt down the One Ring that holds their power. The roles of the

ringwraiths and dementors are quite different, however, as the ringwraiths live with the

hope of returning to glory via the recapture of the Ring; dementors have no such goal and

guard Azkaban because it gives them fresh resources (happiness, hope, and peace) to

suck out and live on.

Diricawl

The Diricawl, although a minor wizarding creature, bears mention in this chapter

because of its unique explanation of what Muggles call “extinction.” The Diricawl is, in

fact, the same creature as the dodo bird, which Muggles believe no longer exists, hunted

as it was in its prime. What Muggles fail to realize is that the dodo/Diricawl is actually a magical bird that can disappear at will. It isn’t extinct, but rather, hiding undercover for a while.

Doxy

33

Doxies (also called Biting Fairies) have fairylike little bodies and wings, with an

extra pair of arms, but there’s nothing cute about them: they’re fuzzy, with thick, dark

hair and they lash out with poisonous bites. They hide out in curtains and must be

disposed of with Doxycide (see Chapter 11).

Inferius

From the Latin inferi, meaning “the dead,” Inferi (the plural of Inferius) are

corpses that Dark Wizards have placed under a spell and used as part of an army. These

are not creatures who have been brought back to life or given the ability to think or

choose, but instead are used as a shield and a means of frightening the bejesus out of

wizards. Inferi are somewhat similar to the bodies in the Dead Marshes in Tolkien’s The

Two Towers, who look to be dead people with their eyes open, but humans who are alive are strangely drawn to them and can join them, if they’re not careful.

Inferi is, along with Hades, the name given to the underworld in Roman

mythology. The gods of the underworld were known as Inferi Dii.

Jobberknoll

The Jobberknoll is a small, unusual bird that is barely noticed throughout its life

but, upon its death, regurgitates, in backward order, every sound it has ever heard, in a

high-pitched scream. The name may be literal, in that a “jobber” is a middle man, and, in

a sense, this bird acts as a middleman for all that it hears in its life, taking in all the

sounds and letting them all out again later. (A “knoll” is a small hill.) On the other hand, the name may simply be a tribute to Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwock, the monster of his

poem “Jabberwocky.”

Kneazle

The Kneazle is a magical creature much like a cat, but with the tail of a lion.

Kneazles are fiercely independent and intelligent, with the bonus of having a natural

radar for devious behavior in wizards. Because they can be dangerous, wizard owners

must be licensed to own a Kneazle.

Lethifold

The Lethifold (or Living Shroud) is a deadly magical creature resembling a black

cloak that floats along the ground. No, really—it’s one of the scariest things ever

invented! As if a wizard, vampire, or other such creature wearing a black cloak wouldn’t be scary enough, a Lethifold is just the cloak, but it’s deadly. It surrounds you, suffocates you, and then feasts on you. It’s repelled by a Patronus Charm, but you have to be alert

enough to use it before you’re suffocated. Thankfully, this creature is rumored to exist

only near the Equator.

The word Lethifold likely derives from lethal (meaning deadly) and fold (that

34

thing you do when you put your clothes in a drawer). Lethe is also the river of

forgetfulness that flowed through Hades—if you drink this water, you lose your memory.

Part 2

Where and How the Wizards Are

Everything you ever wanted to know about the everyday lives of wizards is in this

part. Here, you get the lowdown on basic wizard tools: wands, robes, quills, and other

magical gadgetry. You also find out how wizards spend their days—from cooking and

gardening to sending mail, getting around town, and playing games and sports, including

Quidditch, wizard chess, and Gobstones. And don’t forget to read a bit about wizard and

British cuisine!

Chapter 3

The Wizard’s Wardrobe and Toolbox

In This Chapter

•

Locating the seat of a wizard’s power: the wand

•

Looking smart in robes, cloaks, and hats

•

Writing the old-fashioned way: quills and parchment

•

Digging deeper into a variety of magical gadgets

A wizard’s basic tools are

simple: a wand; a robe (and, if it’s chilly, a cloak); and perhaps a pointed hat. All are

discussed in this chapter. In addition, various optional equipment is available to wizards:

writing materials; Dark Detectors; and other cool gadgets. You get the lowdown here.

A Wizard’s Most Important Tool: The Wand

A wizard without a wand simply isn’t a wizard, because he’ll have a tough time

whipping up potions (discussed in Chapter 11) or conjuring spells, charms, hexes, or

curses (all in Chapter 12). However, a wand acts only as a channeler of magic from the

wizard; the lesser the wizard, the lesser the power of whatever comes from his or her

wand. This is why, if provoked, a wandless wizard can make “funny” things happen

(funny strange, not funny ha-ha). But for the most part, a wizard without a wand is a

wizard without magical powers, because the wand focuses all a wizard’s magical power

into a small, but potent, space.

35

MAGIC TALE Historically, nearly all wizards have employed a magical wand of some

sort—whether a short rod or long staff—to cook up potions and weave spells. Circe (in

Homer’s The Odyssey) uses a wand to bewitch Odysseus’s men; Gandalf and Saruman

(in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings) both carry staffs; the White Witch (in C.S.

Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) carries a long golden wand; and Merlyn (in T.H. White’s The Once and Future King) carries a wand made from lignum vitae (reportedly the hardest wood in the world; the name is Latin for "long life”).

A

wand or staff not only acts to channel a wizard’s power, but also serves as a symbol of

authority, drawing from its origins as a shepherd’s staff. As a shepherd has authority over

his flock, so do wizards carry authority over nonmagic folk. In the same way, gods and

kings have power over their people, thus the ancient tradition of kings carrying a scepter

(a highly ornamental rod or staff). Likewise, a caduceus (a staff with wings at the top and

two snakes coiled around the rod; the caduceus is now the worldwide symbol of

physicians) established the authority of Greek god Hermes/Roman god Mercury/Celtic

god Lugus, who aided, acted as messenger for, and rescued many gods and goddesses.

Ancient priests carried short rods; carrying on the tradition, Catholic bishops, cardinals,

and the pope still carry scepters as a symbol of their wisdom and authority. Leaders of

musical groups, whether a conductor or a drum major, carry batons, which can be small

rods (as in the case of a conductor) or a large staff (as with a drum major).

One wizard can use another’s wand in a pinch (or, for that matter, any nonhuman

creature can “borrow” a wizard’s wand, although that is expressly forbidden by the

Ministry), but that wand will not perform as well as the wizard’s own. Ultimately, there is

one wand that’s exactly right for each wizard. As the story goes, the wand chooses the

wizard, not the other way around.

Wood Species and Sizes

Wands range in size from 7 inches to 16 inches, but could, technically, be any

length. Wands are crafted from any of the following species, and based on the

propensities of that species, may range from rigid to downright springy:

•

Ash: Ash is from the genus Fraxinus and is a member of the olive family. The wood is hard and springy, which is why it’s also used to make broomsticks (see Chapter

5). Greek mythological nymphs (young, beautiful nature goddesses) of the ash trees,

called meliae, were born when the god Uranus was castrated by his son, and the blood

spilled onto the ground. In Norse mythology, an ash tree called Yggdrasil is considered

the axis of the universe, not only providing protection and nourishment for all the

creatures in the world but also bearing the wounds of the damage done by its inhabitants.

Life literally could not have existed without this great ash tree. Also according to Norse

mythology, the first man and woman were formed from trees, and the man, named Ask,

came from an ash tree.

•

Beech (or beechwood): Beech trees, tall and gray-barked, tend to grow near lakes

and oceans, because of their propensity for sandy soil. From the genus Fagus, this

hardwood is light yellow in color. Beech is relatively inexpensive, and woodworkers find

it easy to work with; thus, it’s an economical choice for wand-making.

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•

Cherry: This is, of course, the tree from which cherry fruit comes; cherry wood is

a golden hardwood (from the genus Prunus) that darkens to a deep red over time and is highly valued. Magically, it has been thought of as an excellent wood for divination (see

also “Willow”). Long associated with earthiness and environmentalism, cherry is the

subject of Chekhov’s play The Cherry Orchard, which tells of the demise of a beautiful cherry orchard, cut down to make way for a housing development.

•

Ebony: A tropical hardwood (from the genus Diospyros) that is especially heavy and usually almost black in color, which may explain its reputation as the most magical

of all woods. It is related to the persimmon.

•

Holly: Holly wood (from the genus Ilex) is a white hardwood that comes from tall trees, a variety related to the small evergreen shrubs used to celebrate Christmas (the

name comes from the word “holy”). Long used in Celtic regions, holly is known to have

the magical powers of protection, purity, and strength, making it a good fit for Harry

Potter’s wand, which was made from holly.

•

Hornbeam: From the genus Carpinus of the birch family, hornbeam is a very hard, almost white wood that is often used when strength is a necessity as with the handles of

fine tools. In fact, hornbeam is so hard that it’s difficult to work with, so crafting a wand of hornbeam is no easy task.

•

Mahogany: Mahogany is a tropical tree of the genus Swietenia that is

characterized by its dark, reddish-brown color. It is an expensive wood that is used when

durability is called for, such as in furniture and boat-making. The wand of James Potter,

Harry’s father, was made of mahogany.

•

Maple: A tree from the genus Acer, this light-colored hardwood has distinctive leaves that can vary from golden to deep red in autumn; the sap is used to make maple

syrup. Although most people think of maple wood as a blond—sometimes almost

peach—color, maple woods can be plain and light or wildly marked and darker golden. •

Oak: Oak trees, which bear acorns, are from the genus Quercus and produce a

hardwood that yields a dark, golden wood. Mythological stories associate the oak tree

with strength (oak trees were sacred to Zeus); it is no wonder that the half-giant Hagrid

used a wand made of oak. The Celts revered oak trees and considered oak groves to be

sacred places; in fact, the word druid, which refers to the poets, priests, fortunetellers, divinators, and other magicians of the Celtic world, literally means “oak-wise.” Folktales

from Wales also feature oak trees, which are considered extremely magical.

•

Rosewood: Rosewood (from the genus Dalbergia) is a tropical hardwood that

sometimes smells just like a rose; its dark reddish-black wood can be almost purple.

Pianos are often made of rosewood, which has a feminine quality that’s often associated

with beauty.

•

Vine wood: Hermione Granger’s wand is made of vine wood, which is listed in old

37

Celtic tree calendars as the wood associated with either August or September

(Hermione’s birthday month). However, vine wood does not exist in today’s world, at

least not any longer, so it was never placed in a particular genus. TOURIST TIP To

experience an outstanding variety of tree species (including several of the best wand

trees) in one place, visit the University of British Columbia Botanical Gardens in

Vancouver. This spectacular tourist attraction—a must-see if you’re ever in British

Columbia, Canada—is organized into separate gardens and forests that specialize in

plants from around the world, most of which thrive in Vancouver’s mild climate.

Information is available at .

•

Willow: Willow trees are from the genus Salix and generally have narrow leaves and flexible branches. One variety, the weeping willow, has branches so flexible that they

bend all the way back down to the ground. Biblically, the willow is a symbol of sorrow

associated with the Jews’ exile in Babylon. Such trees have long been thought of as

enchanted—when one ventures under the canopy of a weeping willow, interesting events

are sure to happen. Northern European peoples associated willow rods with magical

powers, and it is likely that the words “witch” and “wicked” are derived from “willow.”

Willow, like cherry, is known to be an excellent wood to use for divination. Harry’s

mother, Lily, had a wand made from willow, as does Harry’s best friend, Ron.

•

Yew: An evergreen from the genus Taxus with red cones, yew is commonly used

to make archer’s bows because of its elasticity. Yew trees may live to be several thousand

years old; thus, it makes sense that Lord Voldemort’s wand is made of yew.

A Wand’s Special Ingredients

Although the hair or feather of nearly any magical creature can act as the core of a

wand, the three used most commonly by expert wand-maker Mr. Ollivander (see Chapter

7) are unicorn hair, phoenix feather, and dragon heartstring.

•

Unicorn hair: A unicorn is a one-horned animal (the Latin unicornus literally means “one horn”) that otherwise resembles a horse. The horn of the unicorn was thought

by the Greeks and Romans to have the power to heal deadly poisons; the hairs of this

animal often go into the wands of wizards.

•

Phoenix tail feather: The phoenix is a large, magnificent, long-lived bird that, as

it is dying, bursts into flames and is reborn from the ashes. For this reason, Egyptians

(and many subsequent peoples) associated the phoenix with immortality. Fawkes, a

phoenix kept by Hogwarts’ Headmaster Dumbledore, donated two tail feathers to two

wands—one went into the wand of Lord Voldemort, who believed he could achieve

immortality, and the other to Harry Potter. For this reason, their two wands—and,

therefore, their two persons—are inextricably linked.

38

•

Dragon heartstring: Dragons, large serpents whose name is derived from the

Latin for snake ( draco), are well represented throughout both mythology and literature.

Chinese mythology (and later, Japanese culture) recognized dragons as gods of nature;

the Greeks and Romans saw both potential for evil and potential for good. Early

Christians saw dragons as inherently evil, however, and their reputation has remained as

such today. Dragons also figure prominently in fairy tales and folk tales (with young men

fighting them to save the subjugated princess) and more recent literature, particularly

fantasy literature. Perhaps the two best known stories are Tolkien’s The Hobbit, in which Smaug, the dragon, is the nemesis of the dwarves; and Michael Paolini’s Eragon, in

which dragon riders and their counterparts are the most powerful and revered of all

nobility. Heartstrings, by the way, are the tendons and nerves that protect the heart.

Dressing the Part: Robes, Cloaks, and Hats

Most wizards dress in long, flowing, plain robes, similar to what U.S. judges still

wear today, and rather like the robes of priests or monks, but not cinched at the waist.

Robes, made from a variety of materials, come in all colors, and can match the

wearer’s tastes, personality, or color preferences, or can show a particular affiliation, such as a school, house (a subdivision within a school), or team.

In school, at work, and even around the house, wizards wear their everyday robes

(called work robes), often black and always floor-length (unless the wizard in question

has had a growth spurt and hasn’t yet purchased new robes). For ceremonies,

celebrations, balls, and other special events, wizards wear dress robes in a variety of

colors.

As has been true throughout history, in the wizarding world, the materials used in

robes are drawn from geographic markers. Mediterranean wizards wear silk robes;

wizards from cold climates wear fur, wool, and other warmth-retaining fabrics. In colder

weather, wizards also wear long cloaks (that is, a long coat that wraps around the body

and fastens near the neck but may not have actual sleeves) that either match or

complement their robes. At Hogwarts, cloaks must be black with silver fastenings.

Hats—generally black (although they can match one’s robes) and pointed—may be worn

during formal occasions, but rarely at any other time.

One other type of cloak—and one that’s a rare find among wizards—is an

invisibility cloak. When worn, others cannot see any part of your body under the cloak,

so if you pull the cloak over your head and your feet are still covered, you’ll be

completely invisible. And you can even bring your friends along for the ride, as long as

they, too, fit entirely under the cloak. An invisibility cloak has strikingly similar abilities as the One Ring in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but the Ring is, at least in the short term, easier to use than an invisibility cloak, because your entire body

becomes invisible the moment you put the ring on—no worrying about your feet being

seen, the cloak coming off your shoulders, and whatnot. But the Ring has the downside of

drawing you ever closer to a major source of evil in the world, so there’s that tiny issue of losing your soul and forever altering the world’s balance of power between good and

evil. Details, details. Either way, though, no matter how you make yourself invisible,

39

someone can still bump into you and feel your corporeal being, and you still leave

footsteps in snow, dirt, or ash.

As in nearly all cultures, personal wealth determines the style, fit, and quality of

fabric used to make robes. Styles change ever-so-slightly from year to year, but wealthier

wizards keep up with those trends, as well as using fine, beautiful, flowing fabrics for

their robes. Wizards with less money to spend on their wardrobes will tend to be seen in

ill-fitting, out-of-style robes made with courser fabrics and in less distinct colors.

Wizards throughout literature have always worn long robes and/or cloaks.

Although Tolkien called what Gandalf wore a grey (and later white) “cloak,” the

garment’s description appears to be more robelike than cloaklike. Gandalf also nearly

always sported a tall, pointed blue hat—but he also traveled nearly constantly, and

travelers have long worn hats wherever they go.

Sure, the long robe and pointy hat are dead giveaways for any wizard, but

underneath, those in the wizarding world are the same as anyone else. Literally, they

dress just the same—many wizards, especially young wizards, wear jeans, sweatshirts,

and trainers (tennis shoes) under those robes.

KING’S ENGLISH Bowler hats , also called derbies , are very British, and although not as common in the wizarding world as a pointed hat, bowler hats are sometimes worn by

Ministry officials. If you’ve ever seen a picture of Winston Churchill out in public in

winter, you probably saw him in a bowler hat. A bowler hat comes exclusively in black

and has a narrow brim. Another British type of hat, a balaclava , is a ski mask commonly used by bank robbers. In the cold winter months in Hogsmeade, a balaclava is a must.

Quills, Ink, and Parchment

Wizards are not early adoptors when it comes to technology, so you don’t see any

ATM cards, cellphones, MP3 players, or laptops among the wizarding set. But really,

when you can use magic, do you really need high technology?

Two modern conveniences that would likely come in handy among wizards

writing papers, taking notes, writing out shopping lists, and the like are the lowly, low-

tech pen and paper. Not only do wizards not take notes on laptops, they don’t even take notes with a ballpoint pen and pad of paper! Instead, wizards use a quill, dipped in ink, to write on parchment paper.

•

A quill is a feather of a bird that, when dipped in ink, is used for writing. Unlike

modern pens, quills tend to be quite long and beautiful, especially one from a large,

attractive bird, like that of an eagle. Imaginative wizards have come up with all manner

of high-tech quills, including those that ink themselves, magically check spelling, correct

any errors, and even derive the correct answer on exams. Smart-Answer, Auto-Answer,

and Self-Correcting quills are, of course, banned during examinations. A Quick-Quotes

Quill, used during a lecture or conversation, takes notes automatically, leaving the wizard

to concentrate on the discussion at hand.

40

•

Black ink comes in bottles, into which a quill is dipped before writing on a

parchment. This process can be rather messy, with ink bottles spilling, wet ink getting on

one’s hands or clothes, and ink bottles smashing when a book bag is accidentally

dropped.

•

Parchment replaced Egyptian/Greek/Roman papyrus, which had been made by

soaking the papyrus plant and drying it in thin sheets. When papyrus became inefficient

as a tableau, parchment, made from the skin of an animal (usually sheep or goat), came

into favor. Paper, which is used the world over by nonwizards, is made from wood pulp.

Whereas paper comes in set sizes (generally 8½ by 11 inches) parchment comes in long

rolls that are a bit difficult to manage—the parchment tends to roll up on you as you’re

writing, which can smear the ink. Unlike flat pieces of paper that stack and file neatly,

rolls of parchment are also difficult to store.

Other Magical Gadgets

Although wizards don’t embrace Muggle technology, they are not immune to the

lure of gadgets. However, magical gadgets tend to be less about convenience and time-

savings—as are most Muggle gadgets—and more about digging a little deeper into the

depths of a wizard’s magical powers. In this section, you discover just a few of the many

magical gadgets available in the wizarding world.

Harmless (or Practically Harmless) Gadgets and Inventions

Some wizard gadgets are practically kidstuff—fun inventions that make life a

little simpler or more exciting. And although a few of the gadgets listed here could,

conceivably, be used for evil, in the wizarding world, they tend to be thought of as

harmless. (For gags and inventions that are related to food, see Chapter 7.) Note than

none of these clever gadgets has been given an especially creative name; these inventions

are likely meant to appeal to younger children.

•

Lunascope: We don’t know many details about this gadget, except that it’s a silver

instrument responsible for a revolutionary advance in astronomy by replacing moon

charts (what we can assume are moon phase charts).

•

Omnioculars: A cross between binoculars and TiVo, Omnioculars look a lot like

binoculars, but they can also slow down action, replay it, do a play-by-play, and so on.

Ocular relates to the eyes, and omni means “all” or “everywhere.”

•

Put-Outer: A Put-Outer, although not the most creatively named object in the

wizarding world, has an important function, especially if you have nefarious purposes. A

Put-Outer looks like a cigarette lighter, but when aimed at a streetlight (and, possibly,

other lights as well), it steals the light and stores it. The streetlight thus goes out until the light is restored by the Put-Outer.

41

•

Revealer: An eraser that reveals secret ink written on what appears to be a blank

page. This is the equivalent to the old homemade invisible-ink trick of revealing lemon-

juice-based words by exposing them to a heat source.

•

Remembrall: The equivalent of a Muggle tying string around one finger, a

Remembrall (remember-ball) reminds you of something you’ve forgotten. This smoky

glass ball is roughly the size of a marble shooter; if you forget something important, the

smoke inside the ball turns bright red.

•

Spellotape: From the British product Sellotape (the UK’s equivalent to Scotch

tape), Spellotape is a tape wizards use to mend books, wands, and the like. It’s used so

often that it’s the wizarding equivalent of duct tape.

•

Vanishing Cabinet: Although the name may lead you to believe that the cabinet

itself vanishes (if, for example, a classmate you didn’t like was coming over to borrow

your best sweater, you could temporarily make your cabinet of clothes disappear), that’s

not what a Vanishing Cabinet is at all. Instead, anything that’s put into a Vanishing Cabinet— whether your best sweater or a person— disappears. The object (or person) is

not made invisible; instead, it is transported elsewhere, often for days or weeks. KING’S

ENGLISH If you met a Muggle who claimed he was in possession of a Dark Detector,

you might think he was a little crazy, right Well, if you lived in Great Britain, you

wouldn’t say he was "crazy,” you’d say he was mental. He hadn’t "gone round the bend”; he had gone round the twist. had gone round the twist.

•

Wizard penknife: The Swiss Army knife of the wizarding world, this penknife can

unlock any locked door and undo even the most tangled of knots. The first is a little

scary, what with the power that comes with undoing any lock; the second is quite

convenient, especially if you’ve ever had your iPod’s earbuds all in a wad. MAGIC

TALE If you grew up playing "magic,” you probably imagined bewitching a small rug to create a flying carpet. Just a little abracadabra, and you hoped to be flying around the room on your bathmat. Unfortunately, you’ll find no magic carpets in Harry Potter’s

magical world. Wizards there are said to remember fondly the Axminster model, a flying

carpet that could seat twelve comfortably and was considered a lifesaver on family

vacations. ( Axminster is a type of carpet originally handmade in Axminster, England.) But in the wizarding world, carpets have been defined as a Muggle Artifact by the

Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects (a publication from the Misuse of Muggle

Artifacts office of the Ministry of Magic). Thus, flying carpets are relics of the past.

Mirrors and Glasses

Mirrors and glasses have great power in the wizarding world:

•

Foe-Glass: This mirror reveals when enemies are nearby. A Foe-Glass (a glass

that allows you to see your foes) shows figures moving about, all rather skulky and

shadowy. When an enemy comes clearly into focus, he is close indeed.

42

•

Mirror of Erised: This massive mirror—perhaps only one of which exists in the

wizarding world—shows you exactly what you desire (“Erised” is “desire” spelled

backward). In fact, the inscription on the mirror, Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi, proclaims “I show not your face but your heart’s desire” when spelled backward.

It does not show the future, but rather what you wish the present to be and/or what you

hope the future will be.

•

Talking mirrors: As in Snow White, some mirrors in the wizarding world talk to the people who look into them. • Two-way mirrors: Like cell phones with a live video feed, two-way mirrors allow two wizards to talk to and see each other. Each must possess

one of the mirrors, and both must be alive—two-way mirrors do not extend beyond death.

Objects That Give Advice

When Mr. Weasley’s daughter, Ginny, narrowly escapes death in her first year at

Hogwarts, he quips sound advice: “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you

can’t see where it keeps its brain.” Wise words.

The objects in this section appear to be thinking for themselves—or, at least,

dispensing advice—yet we can’t see where they keep their brains. Still, the greater

wizarding community does heed the words of these two objects.

•

The Goblet of Fire: This cup is reminiscent of the Holy Grail: large; carved from

wood; and humble in its design. The Holy Grail, reportedly the cup from which Jesus

drank during the Last Supper, has been the subject of countless stories, books, and

movies, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to The Da Vinci Code. Although precious, it is not known to dispense advice of any kind.

The Goblet of Fire, on the other hand, is filled with flames, out of which pop the names

of three wizards who will join in the Triwizard Tournament (although, in one year, the

goblet was tricked into issuing a fourth name). The wizards chosen by the Goblet are

bound to complete the tournament—no changes of heart are allowed after the names are

announced.

•

The Sorting Hat: The Sorting Hat isn’t much to look at, but oh, what it can do!

Old, torn, and not-so-clean, the Sorting Hat is pulled out for the Sorting Ceremony at the

beginning of each school year at Hogwarts. After singing a song, the hat is placed on the

head of each new student, deciding in which house each student will live. Sometimes the

Sorting Hat makes decisions quickly; other times, it mulls the choice carefully. When the

Sorting Hat is unsure of where to place the student, the Hat can even confer with the

student in question.

Journeying Through Time

If you’re going to be a wizard, for gosh sakes, you have to do a bit of time travel!

It’s what every Muggle wishes for, although a number of movies— from Somewhere in

Time to Back to the Future to Frequency—have shown us the perils of interfering with 43

the natural flow of time. Of the two gadgets wizards have for traveling in time, the first

allows one to be an observer only, without interrupting the events of that time, and the

other gives one an opportunity to redo events of the past.

•

Pensieve: A Pensieve is a stone basin (to picture this, think of a stone birdbath)

into which one’s thoughts can be placed for safekeeping. Yep—that’s right: thoughts (in

the form of silvery wisps) can, by using a wand, be taken from the brain and placed in the

Pensieve. If you have too much on your mind or want to protect yourself against

Legilimency (see Chapter 13), a Pensieve is the way to go. Unfortunately, anyone who

ventures near the Pensieve can, by dipping his face into the thoughts swirling in the

basin, relive those thoughts as a firsthand observer. In this way, someone else can

experience your innermost (and, perhaps, most embarrassing) memories. This object is

aptly named: to be pensive is to think deeply and seriously, often tinged with sadness or

melancholy. This word is from the French penser, which means “to think.” And a sieve is an object used to sift and separate.

•

Time-Turner: A time-turner can be nearly any size, but it always looks like an

hourglass. Each complete twist of the hourglass turns back time one hour. However, if,

back in time, the time-traveling you runs into the original you, the consequences could be

terrifying, so it’s important that the original you never see the time-traveling you. The

exception, of course, is if you are using a Time-Turner regularly, in which case time-

traveling you could probably wave to original you, and both would find it amusing. To

cut down on all this confusion, the use of Time-Turners is regulated by the Ministry. All

Time-Turners had been kept in the Time Room in the Department of Mysteries at the

Ministry of Magic, but they were all destroyed in a particularly messy encounter between

Dark Wizards and good.

Protection Against the Dark Arts

Dark Wizards do exist, and if one’s wizarding skills aren’t top-notch, gadgets can

help. Whether escaping from a dicey situation, shielding yourself from hexes and charms,

or trying to detect the presence of evil or lies, these gadgets do the trick. Just beware:

Dark Detectors, the purpose of which is to alert you to the presence of a Dark Wizard,

can be fooled by a powerful wizard.

•

Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder: This powder, when thrown, makes everything

go pitch black, thus allowing good wizards to escape from bad, but also bad wizards to

escape from good. That it is Peruvian is a play on Paddington Bear’s origins in “deepest,

darkest Peru.” You can also use a Decoy Detonator to make a fast getaway—this ugly,

loud gadget makes a noise in one direction (in other words, works as a decoy) while you

escape in the other.

•

Shield Hats, Shield Cloaks, Shield Gloves: Although unable to shield against the

Unforgivable Curses (see Chapter 12), these gadgets allow lesser charms, hexes, and

jinxes to bounce off the wizard wearing them, and sometimes even bounce back to the

44

hexing wizard! Sold at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes (see Chapter 7).

•

Secrecy Sensor: A Secrecy Sensor looks like a squiggly TV antennae (called a

television aerial among the Brits); it begins vibrating when it senses secrecy (telling a lie, evading the truth, or concealing an important piece of information). Used properly, a

Secrecy Sensor can also tell you when a jinx, curse, or charm has been put on a person or

object.

•

Sneakoscope: One of the coolest inventions in the wizarding world, a Sneakoscope

(and its smaller cousin, a Pocket Sneakoscope) whistles or lights up whenever it

encounters someone untrustworthy. (It is a type of Secrecy Sensor.) Think of how handy

this would be anytime you buy a used car, go on a date, or try to find out who stole your

baseball mitt.

Chapter 4

How Wizards Spend Their Days

In This Chapter

•

Doing housework the wizarding way

•

Spending and saving money

•

Getting the mail

•

Listening to tunes

•

Investing in artwork

•

Dining and dancing

Are you plagued with gnomes in the garden? Can’t tell a

Knut from a Galleon? Wondering why the eyes in that picture appear to be following

you? Pondering whether to say “yes” to an offer of Cauldron Cakes and pumpkin juice?

You’ve come to the right place. This chapter helps you sort out all the ways in which

wizards spend their days.

Cooking, Housework, and Gardening

To the uninitiated, wizard housework might seem oxymoronic. After all, if you’re

a wizard, for goodness sake, you’re not going to spend time cooking, cleaning, and

gardening, are you? Of course not! You’re going to use magic to do all of that, the same

way Mary Poppins helped the children “clean” up their room by snapping her fingers,

and then singing about a spoonful of sugar.

45

But, alas, we see no such logic in the wizarding world. True, there are

improvements, such as self-peeling sprouts, but tangerines, for some reason, still need to

be peeled. Dishes can be charmed to clean themselves, but housekeeping is still

considered a full-time job. Even Mrs. Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover

(that’s Mrs. “Scour” to you) doesn’t relieve wizards of the drudgery of household chores.

Creatures must be cleaned out of the most inconvenient places (see Chapter 2 for more on

these nuisances), dinner must be made (or house elves must be employed to cook), and

the plates must be cleared away.

KING’S ENGLISH After a long day of household chores, you may want to take a kip;

that is, a nap. And perhaps the biggest challenge faced by a domesticated wizard is the

havoc wreaked by garden gnomes. No, not the garden gnome statues that graced

American lawns for most of the 1970s and ’80s, but a brilliant takeoff: tiny, live gnomes

(old-looking, and with very large, bald heads) that burrow in lawns (thus ruining them)

and have to be caught and tossed—literally, tossed into the air as far away as possible.

De-gnoming the garden is, for wizard kids, the equivalent to mowing the yard or digging dandelions out from between the bricks. (See Chapter 2 for more on gnomes.)

Managing Money

Although you might think that wizards can simply conjure money out of thin air,

it doesn’t work that way. Like Muggles, some wizards are rich and some are poor, but

most are staunchly in the middle class, working full-time jobs. Moneyed families tend to

stay that way, but capitalism is alive and well, which means that any wizard can create a

successful business.

The similarities stop there, however, because wizard money and banking are

rather different from their counterparts in the Muggle world.

Spending the Cash

Wizards tend to use cash exclusively, which must be extremely inefficient, given

that wizard money exists only in heavy coin form. Never has a wizard whipped out a

credit or debit card.

Three coins make up the entire monetary system:

•

Galleon: This gold coin is the most valuable in the lot. A galleon was a large

sailing ship, used for trading, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

•

Sickle: Seventeen of these silver coins equal one Galleon. A sickle is a crescent-

shaped blade that’s used to cut down weeds. The sickle also appeared on the crest of the

former Soviet Union.

•

Knut: Twenty-nine of these bronze coins equal one Sickle. Knut (also called

Canute the Great) was king of Denmark and Norway, and was the first Danish king of

England.

So what does this mean? Wizards use tall ships, rounded blades, and

46

Danish kings to purchase items? No, but the names all do relate to commerce, politics,

and power in some way—a large and impressive trading ship, a farm implement

important to a huge agrarian nation, and an influential king whose power spanned several

nations.

Banking on Wizards

Most wizards store their money in Gringotts Wizarding Bank, which is run by

goblins. However, unlike in Muggle banks, the money doesn’t appear to be invested or

used to finance buildings or other projects; instead, the coins simply sit in vaults until

they’re needed. Vaults (at least the important ones) are protected not only by high-level

charms but also by dragons, and because the vaults are located 100 miles beneath the

streets of London, break-ins are rare.

TOURIST TIP Although not by any means the largest bank in London, C. Hoare & Co.

is the oldest surviving private bank in the city, located at 37 Fleet Street. Founded in

1672, the bank is still run by members of the Hoare family. It is said that literary figures Lord Byron and Jane Austen both banked at Hoare’s. For information, visit .

Literature has a long association with goblins, dragons, and money. In J.R.R.

Tolkien’s The Hobbit, goblins (called Orcs in The Lord of the Rings) and Wargs (wolves) were said to have fought the dwarves, elves, and humans in the Battle of the Five Armies.

Why? Because the goblins wanted the dwarves’ treasure. And it was Smaug, a dragon,

who stole the dwarf treasure and used it as his bed—never spending it, but enjoying the

shininess of the coins and jewels.

Just like Smaug, when Eustace turns into a dragon in C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of

the Dawn Treader, he finds himself sleeping on a bed of treasure—money, jewels, and gold. In Ursula Le Guin’s The Wizard of Earthsea, dragons sometimes attack people

when searching for treasure. The literary link between dragons, goblins, and treasure is

deep indeed.

Hobgoblins, another name for goblins, also appear far back in British folklore as

short, hairy, ugly creatures who can be friendly and helpful, but can quickly turn mean

and nasty. That folkloric tradition fits the wizarding world’s goblins to a “T.” Goblins

and hobgoblins also appear in the Spider-Man comics, the Dungeons & Dragons game, and even in Shakespeare (Puck, in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, is a hobgoblin).

Receiving Mail

Technology is irrelevant to wizards—why use overnight delivery services, text-

messaging, and e-mail when you can use magic? So a wizard’s first choice for contacting

other wizards is not through high-tech means but through the mail service, which travels

via owl.

The Role of Owls

Owls, not carrier pigeons or hawks, are the bird of choice for wizards. In fact, a

47

local post office is little more than an owlery.

The rationale behind using owls is a little murky, but a connection between owls

and magic is well established. Magic tends to be practiced under the cover of darkness;

owls are nocturnal creatures. The consistent hooting of an owl has long been associated,

right or wrong, with impending death, especially the death of a child. The Greeks and

Romans believed that witches could turn themselves into owls, and then feast on babies.

In fact, in many cultures, owls have been believed to act as messengers for wizards and

witches, just as they do in the magical world of Harry Potter. And in T.H. White’s The

Once and Future King, Merlin has an owl named Archimedes.

The advantage to using owls is that they work seven days a week, they can deliver

messages just about anywhere in the world, and they can find the addressee even if no

one is supposed to know where he or she is. The downside is that owls must be cared for,

fed, and given treats, and they can be temperamental. In addition, cats, another highly

magical creature, don’t tend to get on well with owls.

Howlers

One particular type of mail is a Howler. A Howler looks like it could be a letter in

a red envelope, but when you open the envelope you get Howled at by the sender.

Ignoring it only makes the screaming worse. When all the screaming is over, the

envelope erupts in flames and burns. Howlers are sent mostly by parents to rebuke their

children.

The Wizarding Wireless Network (WWN)

Nothing like the World Wide Web (WWW), the WWN is basically a wizarding

radio station, playing mostly music. A wireless in the wizarding world is not a cell phone,

Palm, or Blackberry, but a radio, as in the term used to denote radios in the early 1900s.

“Wireless” was short for wireless telegraphy—the beauty of radio was that, unlike the

telegraph, it was completely wireless, operating on radio frequency instead of using wires

that crisscrossed the nation, as the telegraph did.

Wizard musicians aren’t any different from nonwizard musicians, except that the

lyrics of songs relate to issues wizards can understand (“A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong

Love” or “You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me”). Celestina Warbeck (from celestial,

meaning “heavenly,” and warbler, a bird known for its sweet songs) is one such wizard singer.

Perhaps the most famous wizard group is The Weird Sisters, a rock ’n’ roll band

that sport long hair and torn black robes and might be loosely named after Twisted Sister,

a heavy metal band popular in the 1980s. Just as likely is that they are a reference to the

three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Although The Weird Sisters’ instruments

include the usual drums and guitars, band members also play the lute, the cello, and the

bagpipes, which are all traditional Celtic instruments.

48

Photos and Artwork

That the subjects in photographs and paintings change in the wizard world—that

is, that they are not static—may not come as a huge surprise. After all, many horror

stories are predicated on the notion that the “eyes” of paintings are watching you and

following your every move. Egyptians painted images in tombs in the hopes that the

images would come alive and assist and guide the soul of the deceased. F. Scott

Fitzgerald used the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg in The Great Gatsby, up on a huge

billboard, as a metaphor for God watching us. And perhaps the best-known changing

picture is the one in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The picture ages and displays the scars of a man who has lived a cruel life, while the subject of the painting,

Dorian Gray himself, never ages a day.

But wizard paintings don’t just change subtly; they move about, sleep, talk, and

even leave their paintings to visit other ones! They can, in fact, be most annoying. The

characters in paintings are much like their original subjects—they have the same

opinions, tendencies, and characteristics as they did while alive. The Fat Lady, the

subject of a painting that guards the entrance to one of the Hogwarts houses, regularly

gossips, takes naps while on duty, and is terrified when her painting is slashed. Photos, on the other hand, are like silent movies that replay every few seconds; photo subjects also

tend not to talk or leave their frames, but they do wave and smile.

And in what is, perhaps, literature’s best imitation of Monty Python and the Holy

Grail, one Sir Cadogan, formerly of a hanging picture, leaves his painting to go on a quest, yelling insults like “Stand and fight, you yellow-bellied mongrels!” A real Sir

Alexander Cadogan was Great Britain’s representative to the United Nations just after

World War II.

We see plenty of the opposite in literature and culture; that is, people stepping

into paintings. C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader begins with the children falling into a painting. And much more recently, in the movie What Dreams May Come,

Robin Williams goes into one of his wife’s oil paintings.

Eating and Drinking

British wizards eat and party like any Brit without wizard abilities, with some

exceptions:

•

Butterbeer is an entirely wizardly invention, and like any good magical

concoction, it has powers beyond simply tasting good— it’s a nonalcoholic (except to

house elves) soft drink that makes the drinker feel all warm and toasty inside. It’s

butterscotchy, with a nice froth on top like root beer. So, it’s a butterscotch root beer

(hence, “butterbeer”). The bottle caps can be strung together in a necklace, but none of

the cool kids would do that.

•

Pumpkin juice would be easy enough to make in the Muggle world, but only

wizards have a taste for it. If you strained pumpkins, the juice would be incredibly thick,

49

but watered down and with some added sugar, the juice would make a tasty—and

healthy—beverage. The juice is usually served cold in a flagon, which is a container that

has a handle, spout, and, sometimes, a lid. Pumpkins are prominent in the wizarding

world, but that’s not surprising, given the prominence of pumpkins in Halloween

celebrations.

MAGIC TALE Do the British celebrate Halloween? Yeah—they invented it! Held

every October 31, the tradition started as Samhain (pronounced SOW-an) Eve, the

traditional end of summer for the Celts. It was believed that the dead, joined by other

supernatural beings, came back to mess with the minds of the living for one night. The

Catholic Church renamed the holiday All Saints’ Eve (the night before All Saints’ Day),

or All Hallows’ Eve, which is how the current name, Halloween, originated. Sometimes

called Mischief Night (a night of pranks and other mischief for which children weren’t

punished), today’s British celebration looks just like the American version, including

door-to-door trick-or-treating.

•

Dandelion juice doesn’t sound nearly as appetizing as pumpkin juice, but the idea

is the same: strain the juice from dandelion stems or flowers, add a bit of sugar, and

create a tasty beverage. Dandelion, which means “lion’s tooth,” goes by many other

names, including wild endive, swine snout, and cankerwort. Dandelion has traditionally

been used to treat digestive complaints.

•

Firewhiskey is, presumably, a whiskey with an extra kick. Although school

children don’t usually partake, Chocolate Cauldrons, a popular treat, are chocolate

confections with a touch of firewhiskey inside them. Whiskey was, of course, invented in

the British Isles. MAGIC TALE Perhaps it’s too much of a stretch, but Ogdens Old

Firewhiskey may have been named for Ogden, Utah. When most people think of Utah,

they think of Mormons and temperance, not of whiskey. But Ogden, one of the only non-

Mormon cities in Utah, was once a classic Old West town, with saloons, brothels, dance

halls, and opium dens along the length of its famous 25th Street.

•

Cauldron Cakes are pancakes, presumably cooked, somehow, in a cauldron.

•

Ginger Newts are cookies, probably a cross between a ginger snap and a Fig

Newton.

Simple Meals

Most wizard meals are the same as any Brit would eat on a given day; although

Muggles wouldn’t have their food appear out of thin air (as it does at any feast), nor

would it be made by house elves (as it is at Hogwarts). But in general, if you know

British food, you know wizard food. Problem is, our friends on the other side of the pond

have an entire language for food that’s almost indecipherable to Americans. Here’s a

sampling of the British food and drink routinely eaten by Hogwarts’ students:

50

KING’S ENGLISH Students at Hogwarts often queue for dinner, which simply means

that they get in line. Ask any American over 50 what "queue” means, and they’ll know;

an entire generation of Americans learned the word "queue” from the rock band The Who

in the 1970s: "Every morning I get in the queue, to get on the bus that takes me to you.”

If they had said "get in the line,” it would have been a tougher rhyme—and it wouldn’t

have sounded nearly as hip and British.

•

Biscuit: A cookie, usually bought and served in a tin (a round metal box with a lid).

Biscuit can also mean a cracker, a bit like an American saltine, but denser and often

served with cheese. Either way, British biscuits are nothing like American biscuits, which

are flaky, unsweetened pastries often covered in gravy.

•

Chipolatas: Small pork sausages usually served at breakfast; what Americans

might call “breakfast sausage” or even “cocktail sausage. ” Not to be confused with

bangers, which are large sausages served as part of an afternoon or evening meal, usually

with mashed potatoes (in a dish called bangers and mash).

•

Crumpet: Unsweetened cake that’s cooked like a pancake, but taller and not as

large in diameter as pancakes are. In truth, a crumpet tastes a bit like a moist American

English muffin.

•

Cuppa: Cup of tea; British tea tastes very much like heated-up iced tea—very

lemony and not very strong. Brits add cream and/or lemon to a cup of tea. And tea mugs

tend to be small and proper, not the giant versions served at some American coffee

houses. Don’t confuse cuppa with the word tea , a term that is generally used to mean a small meal.

•

Kippers: Salt-cured (often smoked) dried fish; usually made from herring, which is

a thick, oily fish with a mild, sweet flavor. Tastes somewhat like smoked salmon, but

oilier.

•

Mead: A sweet wine made from honey and sometimes aged in oak barrels.

Elderflower wine , another type of wine, is just as obscure, but it does exist in both England and the United States.

•

Mince: Another word for ground beef or other meat chopped up into tiny bits. See

also mince pie in the following section.

•

Pasty (PAST-ee): Think of a pasty as a Hot Pocket meeting a pot pie; that is, a

flaky crust that fully surrounds a rather dry filling of beef or chicken, potatoes, onions,

and other ingredients. You either love ’em or hate ’em, and if you hate ’em, it’s because

they’re too dry and plain. At Hogwarts, they serve a sweet pumpkin variety unheard of in

the Muggle world.

TOURIST TIP If you’re traveling to London and want to eat cheaply, load up on

pasties. You won’t find Pumpkin Pasties, but the beef, chicken, and other main-dish

varieties are huge, super-filling, and only about $4 each. Dessert varieties are smaller and 51

cheaper. Eating pasties every day wouldn’t be the healthiest choice you could make, but

in a city as expensive as London, it’s a filling and inexpensive food choice. The British-

based West Cornwall Pasty Company has kiosks located throughout Underground and

train stations in London and sells over six million pasties each year.

•

Porridge: Crushed oats or oatmeal (and, occasionally, other grains) boiled in

water and/or milk and usually served with sugar and cream. When made with oats,

porridge is said to look and taste exactly like American oatmeal, although many

Americans would beg to differ.

•

Tripe: Stomach of a cow or ox; not everyone has the courage to try this one, but

Hogwarts’ students seem to think it’s a treat. The term is synonymous with codswollop,

although no one uses that term to mean the food; codswollop , which is used extensively among Hogwarts’ students and staff, means “hogwash”; you can probably think of other,

less-printable synonyms.

•

Yorkshire pudding: A hearty dish that’s like an American popover— a small,

puffy muffin filled with sausage, roast beef, beans, and just about anything else. May be

served with horseradish sauce and/or gravy.

Snacks and Sweets

Like any meal anywhere in the world, it’s not complete until dessert is served.

And the British are no different; in fact, the Brits are wild about their desserts and tend to ladle creams and custards on almost all of them.

Keep in mind, however, that England does not have a reputation for its food. At

least, it doesn’t have a good reputation for its food. If you want great food, you go to New York or Paris or even Tokyo—you don’t go to London. That said, they do have

interesting—and possibly even enticing—desserts and other treats. The ones that follow

are routinely served in the wizarding world:

•

Chocolate gateau: Gateau is “cake” in French, but in England, it’s more than

cake … it’s a super-rich cake. Hence chocolate gateau is a rich chocolate cake, served in

slices with fresh cream. Marie Antoinette is reported to have said “Qu’ils mangent du

gateau,” which translates literally to “Let them eat cake,” but she meant “Let them eat

rich, dense, creamy cake.” It’s a subtle difference (regular old cake versus a buttery, rich cake) but one important to cake connoisseurs.

•

Christmas pudding: A plum cake or plum pudding served with a rich sauce. Often,

there’s a coin baked in it for luck. You either love this or you hate it, and most American

kids hate it, because plum pudding isn’t super-sweet.

•

Meringue: Meringue is simply egg whites and sugar, but the dessert called

“meringue” usually begins with a meringue crust (like a pie crust but made of meringue)

that’s topped with fruit or other sweet fillings. Meringue cookies are becoming popular in

52

the United States because they are fat-free, yet very sweet, treats.

•

Mince: A pie made of mincemeat filling—apples, raisins, suet (beef fat), and

sometimes (although not usually these days) chopped meat. It’s actually quite spicy and

delicious and may be served cold with custard or clotted cream (in other words, any

sweet, thick dairy product) or heated up and served with brandy butter.

•

Peppermint humbugs: Hard candy flavored with peppermint oil. Like a candy

cane in the United States, but striped black and white instead of red and white.

•

Pudding: Pudding simply means “dessert.” Don’t think of American pudding,

which is more like custard in England.

•

Spotted dick: No, really. I’m not making this up. This confection sounds terrible,

but it’s not bad. You start with suet, which is beef fat, rub that into flour and make it into a pudding, and then add dried fruit (usually currants, which is where the “spots” come

from). Like most British desserts, it’s served with custard.

•

Toast and marmalade: Toast and jam, except that marmalade is usually made with

oranges. The Beatles made marmalade famous when they sang about “marmalade skies.”

•

Tart: Like an individual pie; a crust is topped with fresh fruit, jam, cream, and/or custard, but if you top it with treacle (which is like maple syrup), it’s treacle tart.

•

Treacle: Treacle is a syrupy topping, with a consistency something like corn syrup

but usually made with molasses. Treacle fudge, then, is fudge made with treacle. Treacle

pudding is a steamed pudding made with the syrupy topping. Treacle tart is a tart with treacle drizzled on it.

MAGIC TALE In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White

Queen entices Edmund to betray his siblings with Turkish Delight (a British dessert that

is never eaten in the wizarding world). In the story, Edmund goes through an entire box

of Turkish Delight in no time flat. But if you try this confection, you may wonder why in

the world Edmund would betray his siblings for that particular dessert. To understand

what Turkish Delight is like, start with a sort of dense, chewy, not-so-sweet

marshmallow, sort of like taffy. Now, top that with sprinkles, like the ones you might put

on a cake: orange, chocolate, lemon, or a dozen other flavors. That’s Turkish Delight. For

my money, you’d need a lot more than that to turn your back on your brother and sisters.

•

Trifle: A many-layered confection that begins with sponge cake (sometimes

soaked in rum or other liqueur), then fruit, then cream, and so on. If you really want to be decadent, you forego the fruit layers. Rather like our strawberry shortcake, but the cake is much spongier and mushier.

53

Going Out: Grand Feasts and Balls

Wizards are big on feasts, and to a lesser extent, on balls (that is, dances), too.

Welcoming feasts are common at British boarding schools, but they’re not referred to as

“feasts,” nor are they major celebrations. Instead, at British boarding schools, they serve

you dinner the first night, and that qualifies as the “welcoming feast.”

But in the wizarding world, every opportunity for a celebration turns into a feast:

the welcome at the beginning of the year; the celebration at the end of the year; and just

about every holiday in between. You’ve got to imagine that it costs a lot of Galleons to

keep Hogwarts flush with all those feasts!

Hogwarts opens each school year with a Welcoming Feast, where new students

are sorted into their houses, and a Leaving Feast, where the Inter-House Championship is

awarded to one of the four houses. See Chapter 8 for more on Hogwarts’ houses.

Whenever possible, the Great Hall is decorated splendidly, but in decidedly magical

ways—in fact, the ceiling of the Great Hall can be charmed to reflect the outdoor sky, or

any other color scheme, for that matter. Although the castle is old and dark, the staff

always find ways to make the students feel at home.

During the winter holidays, to the delight of the headmaster, feasts usually include

wizard crackers. A regular cracker is a British holiday tradition: a combination toy and

gift, when you pull the cracker apart (it’s roughly the size of a paper towel tube, or even a little smaller), it makes a loud “bang!” and then out spill small treats or even small,

inexpensive gifts. (It is not uncommon, however, for British men proposing to their

girlfriends near the holidays to put an engagement ring in a cracker.) Crackers are sort of

the same idea as a piñata, but much smaller and with the added fun of noise.

Wizard crackers, on the other hand, don’t make a charming “bang!” but go off

like a cannon blast that ends with an explosion of blue smoke, filled with small treats or

gifts. Those unaware of the difference between British and wizard crackers have been

quite thoroughly frightened.

Wizard balls are celebrations of the senses. Bands perform, wizards put on their

best dress robes (see Chapter 3), and everyone dances. As with American proms and

balls, food isn’t the focus; although food is served, no one thinks less of a ball if the meal isn’t the tastiest they’ve ever had. But hire the wrong band, and the entire ball is ruined.

Balls have a long tradition in Europe, one that has continued in American culture.

Dances, proms, cotillions, and balls are a requirement of teenage and young adult life,

and nothing gets a young girl more in a ball frame of mind than the Cinderella fairy tale.

It’s an age-old sentiment: dress up any girl in the right clothes and shoes, with care given to her hair and makeup, and give her a well-furbished vehicle in which to ride, and she’ll

be transformed—so much so that she’ll win herself a prince.

54

Chapter 5

Getting Around: Modes of Transportation

In This Chapter

•

Getting to Hogwarts and back

•

Balancing on a broomstick

•

Traveling through fire

•

Apparating and Disapparating

•

Using a Portkey for special events

•

Knowing what to do in an emergency

Traveling through the wizarding world offers no fewer options than traveling in any other

world. Wizards can journey by air, by train, by bus, and even by car on occasion. But in

the wizarding world, air travel will be aboard a broomstick, train travel is on a secret train that can be accessed only by crashing headlong into a brick wall, bus travel is a hair-raising experience, and car travel is either in deceptively expansive vehicles or in the

illegal flying variety. In addition, wizards travel through a network of fireplaces, by

learning to appear and disappear at will, and even by touching just one finger to an object

of trash before being whisked off to a prearranged destination.

Riding the Hogwarts Express

Train travel is far more common in Great Britain than it is in the United States, so

no one there would be surprised to discover that the chief method of traveling to

Hogwarts School is by train. What might surprise them is that the Hogwarts Express is an

old-fashioned steam train, not the streamlined, modern trains found across Europe, Japan,

and the United States today.

As with Muggle trains, passengers board a train on a platform—a waiting area in

a train station. What’s unusual about the Hogwarts Express, however, is that the platform

is not visible to Muggles—instead, partway between Platforms 9 and 10 (which Muggles

can see and use), wizard school children run into the brick wall and emerge—

magically!—onto Platform 93?4 on the other side. Only wizards are able to accomplish

this feat.

TOURIST TIP Kings Cross Station— admittedly, a rather dodgy area of London—is

easily accessible from all of greater London via the Underground (the name for the

subway). If you go there and follow the signs to Platforms 8, 9, and 10, a sign will

eventually indicate that Platform 9 (a & b) goes to the right, and Platform 10 (a & b) goes to the left. At that intersection, the place wizards crash headlong into the brick wall—

55

some enterprising person has posted a wooden sign that says "Platform 9¾.”

Traveling by train can be a fantastic experience, especially if you’re staying the

night and have your own private sleeping berth. You can buy meals and snacks on the

train (or, as with the Hogwarts Express, train personnel come around with a food cart

from which you can buy snacks). The food on a train generally isn’t great, the bathrooms

and sleeping berths are tiny, and you may experience a lot of rocking, jerking, and

whistle-blowing—all of which can keep you awake at night. But you’re also able to take

in the scenery without having to concentrate on driving, you have much more room to

stretch out and more opportunities to walk around than in a bus or plane, and strangers

tend to mingle while in the dining car or even in their seats, which gives you a chance to

meet a variety of people. For information on train travel in North America, visit (United

States) or (Canada).

KING’S ENGLISH British trains have their own language: a train car, in England, is

called a carriage . A food cart is called a trolley . And if you travel at all by train or subway in England, you’ll hear train personnel reminding you to "mind the gap.” That’s

the British equivalent to "watch your step”; the gap being that narrow strip of distance between the edge of the carriage and the platform. Tried and True: Riding a Broom

Brooms in the wizarding world look much like brooms in the Muggle world—not

like today’s modern brooms made of vinyl and other plastics, but like the brooms of old,

which were made with a nobby but polished solid-wood handle and a head of straw or

similar material. The only difference is that the wizard variety have the key addition of a

Flying Charm and, sometimes, a Braking Charm.

The wizard task of riding a broom is very much like riding a bicycle is for

Muggles—children love to do it because of the freedom it affords them, and some

continue the activity well into adulthood (using it as a means of transportation and/or

exercise), while others drop it in favor of less demanding traveling methods. While

perhaps not as physically exertive as riding a bike can be, broom riding is definitely a

form of exercise, one at which some wizards excel.

Brooms are also a bit like Muggle horses, in that wizards have invented a hugely

popular sport to play while on broomstick, much like polo is played on horseback. You’ll

learn more about Quidditch and other wizard games in Chapter 6.

Brooms are reliable, safe, fun, and relatively inexpensive, especially if bought

used. Wizards arrive at their destinations a bit windblown, but not nearly as dirty as when

they travel the Floo Network (described in the following section). Plus, broomstick-riding

doesn’t require the great skill that Apparition does, as you’ll see later in this chapter. In fact, many witches and wizards choose to never become proficient at Apparating, and opt

instead for traveling by broomstick and the Floo Network.

Models of brooms run the gamut; the most common models include the

following, and several slower, less-glamorous brooms are not even worth mentioning.

Keep in mind that, as with any technology, better and faster brooms are always being

released.

•

The Firebolt: The pinnacle of broomsticks, both in terms of speed and precision;

56

it’s like riding a “bolt of fire.”

•

The Nimbus series: This series of brooms takes its name from the Latin word

nimbus, meaning “cloud” or “rain storm.” This is why the dark gray clouds that promise a drenching rain are called “nimbus clouds.” The term may also have links to Dragon Ball,

a Japanese cartoon from the mid-1980s, in which the Flying Nimbus is a flying cloud that

characters use for transportation. In that series, “Only the pure of heart can fly the

Nimbus Cloud.” This is certainly not the case with Nimbus broomsticks, because Draco

Malfoy, a student at Hogwarts who is decidedly impure of heart, successfully rides a

Nimbus Two-Thousand and One. The latest models include the Nimbus Two-Thousand

and the Nimbus Two-Thousand and One.

MAGIC TALE Detailed information about the history of brooms— especially racing

brooms—is available in the minibook Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling

(writing as Kennilworthy Whisp).

•

The Cleansweep series: As the name implies, these are functional, non-fancy

brooms that one might even be persuaded to use for (gasp!) cleaning.

Disadvantages

to broom travel are many:

•

Temperature: Rides can be exceedingly cold, even in summertime, because

wizards have to ride high enough in the atmosphere to limit the risk of being seen by

Muggles.

•

Exhaustion over the long haul: Because it takes a good deal of balance (to stay on)

and strength (to hang on), broom travel can be exhausting during long trips. Even on

short trips, wizards arrive looking windblown and harried.

•

Speed: Because you have to physically travel the distance from place to place,

traveling by broom is slower than Apparating, using the Floo Network, or traveling by

Portkey (described later in this chapter), but on a Firebolt, at least, broom travel is pretty darned fast.

•

Risk of being seen: Wizards must take anti-Muggle precautions when traveling by

broom, because they are easily seen. A witch or wizard riding a broom against a full

moon is a surefire way to be seen by Muggles.

•

Risk of bodily harm: Getting knocked off the broom is always a risk: one simple

Hurling Hex, and the poor wizard will be spinning through the air without a broomstick.

Traveling the Floo Network

Using Floo powder to travel from place to place is an inexpensive, fast mode of

travel. You must, however, have a fireplace through which to travel. In fact, a flue (for

which Floo is named) is a shaft built into a chimney that allows smoke, exhaust, and air to escape. It is also the name of a pipe that moves dangerous exhaust gases from an

indoor fireplace or furnace to the outdoors.

57

Here’s how traveling by the Floo Network happens for wizards:

1. You take a tiny bit of Floo powder and throw it into the fire in the fireplace. 2. The

fire turns green and the flames extend quite high. 3. Keeping your elbows tucked in,

shutting your eyes, and staying as still as possible, you step into the fire and clearly shout the name of your destination. 4. You’re spun toward your destination amidst a loud roar

and a blur of the fireplaces you’re passing. 5. You’re deposited, rather dirty, to the

fireplace at your destination. Every wizard fireplace is on the Floo Network, which is

policed by the Floo Regulation Panel, part of the Floo Network Office in the Department

of Magical Transportation (see Chapter 14). Muggle fireplaces can also be accessed, but

they are not usually connected to the Floo Network. And, these days, wizards have to be

especially careful about boarded-up fireplaces, which cause obvious problems akin to

what Santa goes through when fireplaces no longer allow for travel.

The major disadvantage of the Floo Network is that travelers are usually covered

in soot by the time they reach their destinations. The experience is far from pleasant,

because Floo travelers usually swallow some of the ashy powder and feel queasy during

the ride. In addition, unless the wizard succinctly and correctly pronounces the name of

the place he’s headed, he could wind up in a dark and dangerous place, such as

Knockturn Alley, which is not far from Diagon Alley, but is a world apart (see Chapter

7). Wizards also must find a container in which to store their Floo powder, such as a

flowerpot.

A distinct disadvantage is also that the network is watched carefully. For a wizard

trying to avoid detection, travel by the Floo Network is a dangerous route. As you’re

spinning through the fire, anyone can reach into a fireplace and grab you—a decided

disadvantage if you’re trying to stay under the radar.

TOURIST TIP Tudor architecture (1500-1575) ushered in the age of fireplaces in

English homes. Although indoor fires had been used before this era, most indoor

"fireplaces” were dangerous open fires, with the smoke escaping through a small hole in the roof. Tudor-style homes featured brick or stone fireplaces and chimneys, which

dramatically decreased the risk of indoor fires. To see some of the best Tudor architecture

in England, including dozens of magnificent fireplaces, visit Hampton Court Palace

(outside of London; /HamptonCourtPalace) and Knole House (near Sevenoaks, Kent;

/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-knole). Mastering the Art of Apparition

Apparition involves both Apparating (appearing out of thin air) and Disapparating

(disappearing into thin air). The skill is a difficult one to attain, which is why the

Department of Magical Transportation requires practitioners to apply for a license and

pass a test. (And even very proficient wizards don’t always pass the test the first time

around.) Difficulty in learning to Apparate is also why many witches and wizards choose

to travel by other methods, chiefly broom and Floo powder.

In the English language, apparition refers to unexpected or extraordinary

appearances or to the act of appearing. Specifically, an apparition refers to the appearance of a strange, ghostly figure. Anyone who watches wizards Apparate and Disapparate

would surely think they were seeing ghosts, so the name makes sense!

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The primary advantages to Apparition are that it’s free, clean, and instantaneous:

wizards arrive at their destinations the second after they Disapparate. They also don’t

have to suffer the cold winds of broom travel or the discomfort of traveling the Floo

Network. However, those under 17 years old are not allowed to Apparate on their own

(similar to obtaining a driver’s license in the United States). However, side-along

Apparition is possible—that is, a person unable to Apparate can travel alongside one who

can, just like a side-car on a motorcycle—but this is usually used only in emergencies.

Disadvantages to Apparition are threefold:

•

Avoiding Hogwarts: Wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate within the grounds

of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry because of tight security surrounding the

school.

•

Startling others: Apparition tends to startle others who are nearby as wizards

Disapparate and Apparate. One’s appearance (or disappearance) is accompanied by a

loud crack, but the crack is just as startling as the wizard’s sudden appearance (or

disappearance). Unexpectedly appearing or disappearing next to someone is considered

bad form.

•

Splinching: Witches and wizards who are not proficient in Apparition may splinch

themselves; that is, they leave part of themselves behind. Not only is the wizard unable to

move either way (back to where he came or where he was headed), but Muggles usually

see any body parts left behind. The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad must usually be

called in to rectify the situation; wizards who splinch themselves are heavily fined.

Finding a Portkey

Portkeys ( keys to trans port ing) are objects that, when touched, transport witches and wizards from one predetermined location to another. Portkeys are overlooked objects

that appear to be trash: examples include a boot or shoe, a discarded newspaper, empty

cans or bottles (although wizards have to be careful about using those in areas that

strongly encourage recycling), and an old punctured football (that would be a soccer ball

to Americans).

Portkeys are always set up by the Ministry of Magic; unauthorized Portkeys are

nearly impossible to arrange, although powerful wizards have certainly been successful at

doing so.

The process works like this:

1. A group of wizards meets at a predetermined site, at a predetermined time. 2. As the

time approaches, all those present lay at least one finger on the Portkey. 3. At the

appointed time, the wizards are pulled, along with the Portkey, toward another

predetermined site in a twirling, stomach-jerking motion. 4. Used Portkeys are then

collected at the destination site.

Experienced wizards can remain standing when

they arrive at the destination, but the uninitiated often tumble to the ground. All who

travel this way find themselves looking quite windblown.

Traveling via Portkey is a once-in-a-while experience for witches and wizards,

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because Portkeys are arranged only for significant events, such as the Quidditch World

Cup (see Chapter 6), in which massive numbers of wizards, including children who are

too young to Apparate, are traveling to a single location.

Summoning the Knight Bus

The Knight Bus is an emergency mode of transportation for a wizard who finds

herself stranded and unable to travel in any other way. She simply extends her wand, and

the triple-decker purple bus appears in a blinding light and with a loud bang. Triple-

decker buses don’t exist in England (although double-decker ones do!), nor do any

British buses offer featherbeds to passengers, as the Knight Bus does. The windows are

curtained to give privacy, so many passengers wear pajamas and slippers during the ride.

One advantage of the Knight Bus is that it travels quite fast. One disadvantage is

that it, well, travels quite fast! Drinks spill, the beds move about, and travelers may find themselves rather carsick. The bus appears to be about to collide with objects (trees,

lampposts, other vehicles) at a high rate of speed, but just in the nick of time, the objects move out of the way until the bus passes. At each stop, the driver slams on the brakes.

Aside from the obvious discomfort, another disadvantage is that the Knight Bus

cannot be summoned unless someone is absolutely stranded. Like the knights in King

Arthur’s time, this bus should be one’s last option, but it is one to be counted on, if

needed. After all, given all that questing the knights did, they couldn’t be spending all

their time rescuing damsels in distress. But when a damsel has used up all her other

options, the knight will certainly take time out of his questing schedule to do a bit of

rescuing. In the wizarding world, both males and females can call on the Knight Bus.

Chapter 6

The Sporting Life: Quidditch, Chess, and Other Games

In This Chapter

•

Discovering the greatest wizard sport

•

Playing the game of kings with ornery pieces

•

Dueling the new-fashioned way

•

Joining a Gobstone club

•

Playing Exploding Snap

•

Trading cards, wizard-style

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Wizards like a good game as much as anyone, but if you had the ability to fly on a

broomstick or get advice from your chess pieces, would you settle for ordinary soccer or

regular chess? Balderdash! You’d use your magical powers to devise sports and games

that match—and challenge— your abilities. This chapter explores the best wizarding

games, including the greatest wizarding sport on earth: Quidditch.

Quidditch

Quidditch has been played in the magical world for over 800 years and is wildly

popular, both to play as a pick-up sport in the backyard and to watch. Like the Fédération

Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) that governs British football (soccer), the

International Association of Quidditch governs the sport and sponsors a World Cup

match roughly every two years.

KING’S ENGLISH In Great Britain, a pitch is an area of land used as a grassy playing field. In addition, soccer is called football in England. Put it all together, and what

Americans would call a soccer field is what Brits would call a football pitch.

According to Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling (writing as

Kennilworthy Whisp) , the term Quidditch comes from the field in which the first game was played— Queerditch Marsh—in the eleventh century. However, others have

postulated that the name comes from a combination of the names of the three balls used

in the game: Quaffle, Bludger, and Golden Snitch.

Balls and Players

Quidditch has been called a combination of polo, basketball, and British football

(soccer). Like basketball, a ball is thrown back and forth among players as they aim,

ultimately, to put the ball through a hoop, and points are earned by getting the ball

through a hoop. However, three such hoops exist on each end of the field, and they’re

fifty feet in the air. Like polo, players ride on something instead of running with their

own feet, but in Quidditch, that “something” is a broom.

But Quidditch is most like British football. Like soccer, Quidditch is played on a

grassy pitch. A bright-red ball the size of a soccer ball (called a Quaffle) is passed among players called Chasers, and is eventually thrown through a goalpost (also called a hoop)

for 10 points. (In soccer, the ball goes through the goal posts for 1 point.) Each team has

three Chasers, and their only job is to control the Quaffle and score with it. (Note that, by definition, a chaser is a person who hunts or pursues, just as Chasers pursue control of the Quaffle.)

Also like soccer, each team has one Keeper, who is nearly identical to a

goaltender. (Note that the definition of keeper is a guardian or protector; in Quidditch, the Keeper protects the goal so that the opposing team cannot score.) Finally, like soccer’s

quadrennial World Cup, Quidditch national teams gather every few years for World Cup

competition.

Unique aspects of Quidditch that are unlike soccer (and unlike any other Muggle

sport) are as follows:

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•

The Golden Snitch: The Golden Snitch is a bright-gold ball, roughly the size of a

walnut, that flies with fluttering silver wings. Catching the Golden Snitch, which is

terribly difficult given its size and speed, earns a team 150 points and automatically ends

the game. Snitch, by definition, means to steal something small; the Seeker must steal the Golden Snitch in order to win the game. Note that, in early forms of the game, a Golden

Snidget, a tiny bird, was used in the game until the practice was outlawed. The name of

this ball is thus based on the bird’s name.

•

Seeker: One Seeker per team spends the entire game seeking out (that is, searching

for) the Golden Snitch. Seekers are the smallest, fastest players on the team.

•

Bludgers: Bludgers are small, black, heavy balls, a little smaller than the Quaffle, that aim themselves at players and try to knock them off their brooms. (Beaters can also

aim Bludgers at certain players.) A similar word, bludgeon, refers to a short club with a thick, heavy or loaded end; Bludgers in Quidditch are thick, heavy, loaded balls that are

batted away with thick, heavy, wooden bats.

•

Beaters: Two Beaters per team carry heavy bats and try to protect the other players

on the team by batting away Bludgers when they come near (or, more accurately, trying

to bat Bludgers away from their own players and toward opposing players). In hunting terminology, a beater is a person who drives game out from under cover. And the flat bats Beaters use are reminiscent of bats used in cricket, a British game much like

American baseball. Perhaps one of the greatest differences between soccer and

Quidditch is that, in Quidditch, boys and girls play together on teams. Girls, in fact, often make excellent seekers, given their smaller size.

Cheering for Your Favorite Team

Quidditch fans can cheer for national squads, such as Irish International, during

the World Cup, and can support house teams at Hogwarts, where each house is trying to

win the annual Inter-House Quidditch Cup.

Players who excel at Hogwarts or on the national squad can join the professional

ranks after finishing their studies at Hogwarts. Three professional Quidditch teams have

ties to popular football (that is, soccer) teams and to British Muggle towns:

•

Chudley Cannons: The town of Chudleigh is located near Devon, England. In

Australia, the Oakleigh Cannons is a perennial powerhouse football (soccer) team.

•

Wimbourne Wasps: A town called Wimborne is in Dorset County, as are

Wimborne Minster and Wimborne St. Giles. The London Wasps is a popular rugby team

(a game similar to American football, but with a larger ball and without helmets and all

the padding).

•

Puddlemere United: Puddletown also lies in Dorset County, about twenty miles

from the town of Mere. The team likely gets its name from a merging of these two towns.

In addition, Britain’s most popular football (soccer) team is Manchester United. West

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Ham United Football Club also garners fierce loyalty, both in the Muggle world and the

wizarding world. Surprised that wizards cheer for Muggle soccer players? Keep in mind

that many Hogwarts students lived as and among Muggles for their first eleven years,

before being invited to Hogwarts.

Chess, Wizard-Style

Wizard chess follows the same rules as everyday chess, and every piece has the

same name and guidelines about moving around the board. In both Muggle and wizard

versions, putting the king into checkmate wins the game.

However, as with many seemingly static objects, in the wizarding world, wizard

chess pieces talk, move, and have their own personalities.

Chess sets likely do a brisk business in the wizarding world, because the most

unusual hallmark of wizard chess is that the pieces beat up on each other when they take

another piece. Instead of the player removing the taken piece (as happens in Muggle

chess), the prevailing chess piece whacks the piece that was taken. But the pieces do

mend back together. So chess sets take quite a beating, but a well-worn set offers the

benefit of pieces being on friendly terms with the owner of the set.

In addition, the chess pieces offer advice, give opinions on what they believe to be

bad moves, and try to talk their way out of being sacrificed for the good of the game. It’s

like having a bunch of loud-mouthed cowards shouting out their advice on the game.

Dueling with Wands

Dueling with wands is not much like dueling with swords or pistols. It involves

standing face to face with another wizard, wands out, and seeing who can bark out the

fastest, most effective, most disarming (and, if necessary, most pain-inducing) spell,

charm, hex, or curse. (See Chapter 12 for a list of blistering curses that will have your

opponent crying “uncle” in no time.)

Wizards would no more parry with wands as nonwizards would fence with plastic

spoons, because a wand’s strength is in its ability to deliver spells, not in the actual

strength of the wood. Wands can and do break, a condition that either renders the wand

useless or causes spells to backfire. So you’ll hear no clinking of wands during a wizard

duel, just lots of spells being yelled among younger wizards (older wizards who have

mastered nonverbal spells will utter no sounds at all), with the one who strikes first—and

hardest—winning the battle.

MAGIC TALE In Eragon and Eldest, the first two books in the Inheritance fantasy series by Christopher Paolini, dueling practice plays a large role both in the lives of

dragon riders (who are much like Hogwarts students in that they must learn all the rules

of the use of magic) and among elves (themselves very magical). Both riders and elves

practice swordplay by applying a spell to the sword blade that blunts and dulls it. In this

way, two swordsmen can practice as if in a real battle, but without causing any harm to

the opponent.can practice as if in a real battle, but without causing any harm to the

opponent.

But wizard duels do share some similarities with the more traditional

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forms of dueling. Like medieval duels and those conducted regularly between roughly

1500 to the mid-1900s, wizard duels may begin with a formal bow by both contestants,

who must pay careful attention, during the duel, to their techniques in gripping and using

their wands. Likewise, in both fencing and shooting practice, much time is spent

perfecting technique.

But rarely is dueling about niceties. Although dueling with wands is a sport, it can

also be a personal war, just as with sword and pistol duels. In this way, although young

wizards compete in a Dueling Club at Hogwarts (started by Professor Gilderoy

Lockhart), if the two wizards in the duel have a personal grudge, the match will soon turn

ugly. Compare a fencing match, which is played with blunt-ended rapiers, to a true sword

duel, such as those in The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, and you see few niceties or emphasis on technique—just Lord Aragorn or High King Peter slicing off

an opponent’s head.

The difference between dueling for sport and dueling for real is as striking as the

difference between a professional boxing match and a street brawl: people often get

killed in the latter. Think of the quick-draw pistol duels in the Old West, where the idea

was to kill the other shooter with the first shot, not to rack up points so that your team

wins the dueling match.

In this way, true wizard duels—that is, those played not for sport but those that

are a fight for life and death—are intense battles. Dark Wizards strike fast and hard,

giving their opponents little time to duck and cover, deflect the curse, or yell a

countercurse. And Dark Wizards in a duel do not hesitate to use the Unforgivable Curses

(see Chapter 12), which lead to torture, death, or complete control by the Dark Wizard so

that his opponent must do his bidding.

MAGIC TALE The Ministry of Magic is intensely anti-dueling, as have been most

government agencies through the ages. Governments ban dueling because the practice

flouts the law by searching for justice in a duel rather than in a court of law. Historically, Muggle duels nearly always began with an offense, whether real or perceived. The

offender was then not channeled through the legal system but instead challenged to a duel

by the offended, who chose the rules: fight to first blood; fight to serious wounding; or

fight to death. West Side Story depicts a modern-day duel, as Bernardo and Riff fight each other, ostensibly to serious wounding, over perceived offenses. Unfortunately, they

end up fighting to the death. Like duels with swords, wizard duels require the

assignment of a second, a trusted representative assigned by each dueler, who assures that

the contest is a fair fight.

Gobstones

Gobstones is a game played often by wizard children that’s similar to marbles.

However, because few people are expert in marble-playing anymore, here’s the lowdown

on the nonwizard version:

1. You first draw a small-ish circle on the ground, as well as a larger circle a few feet

outside the first. 2. All players agree on how many 5?8-inch marbles to put in the circle

and, standing behind the larger circle, players throw that number of marbles into the

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smaller circle. 3. Taking turns, each player throws, tosses, rolls, or barely flicks a 3?4-

inch shooter (also called a taw or boss; a large marble) into the circle, with the goal of

hitting the smaller marbles that are in the circle hard enough to knock them out of the

circle. 4. As with chess, if you knock a marble out of the circle, you get to keep it. If

you’re playing “keepsies,” you get to keep the marble indefinitely. If you’re playing

“fair,” you give back all captured marbles at the end of the game. 5. If your shooter stays

in the small circle, your turn is over. If the shooter comes out of the small circle, you get to take another turn. KING’S ENGLISH In Britain, gob means to spit; thus, gobstones

are spitting stones. The word is borrowed from a Scottish Gaelic word that means beak or

mouth (the area from which spit originates). Shut your gob is the British version of shut

up, and gobsmacked or gobstruck refers to being astonished. 1. The player with the most

marbles at the end of the game wins. If you’ve ever played bocce, the two games are

almost identical, except that bocce is like marbles on steroids; the balls used are much

larger.

Gobstones, then, is a wizard version of marbles, in which the player whose marble

is knocked out of the circle not only loses the marble, but also gets shot with a nasty

liquid by the marbles that remain in the circle.

Exploding Snap

Snap is a common children’s card game, played by two or more players. The

entire deck of cards is dealt, but players do not look at their cards; instead, each player

turns a card face up on a pile in the center of the table. When a player turns up a card of

the same color and value (such as two red fives or two black kings), the first player to

yell “snap” gets all the cards in the pile. The first player to hold all the cards in the deck wins the game.

Turning this simple children’s game on its ear, wizards play Exploding Snap.

Admittedly, the wizard version is initially easier to play than regular Snap, because the

dealer doesn’t have to shuffle; wizards use self-shuffling cards. But after the cards are

dealt, Exploding Snap has an entirely different personality than Snap, because the cards

might explode at any moment. Naturally, the possibility of exploding cards creates a

more strategic game than regular Snap.

Another use for exploding cards is to build a house of cards, which, what with the

occasional destruction wrought by explosion, is akin to building a house of cards on an

active fault line or during a category-five hurricane.

Trading Cards

More of a collectible than a game, trading cards with moving pictures of famous

wizards come in packages with Chocolate Frogs. Wizard kids collect and trade the

famous wizard cards, either among friends or through common-room notice boards, in

the same way that Muggle children collect an Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter baseball

cards. The most popular cards include:

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Chapter 1 shares the accomplishments of these famous wizards, witches,

sorceresses, Druids, alchemists, and astronomers.

Chocolate Frogs are both challenging (they tend to jump away) and healthy

(staving off the effects of dementors—see Chapter 15); they are considered excellent

holiday and get-well gifts.

As with sports stars, the wizards on trading cards tend to value the tribute to them.

When Albus Dumbledore faces losing his many titles and privileges within the wizarding

community, as well as facing the possibility of a jail sentence in Azkaban, he jokes that

they can take away anything, but not his place on Chocolate Frog cards!

Part 3

Magical Places

This part gives you details on London’s wizard gathering spot—Diagon Alley—

including the background on stores, bars, the hospital, and other locations. Then, you

travel to Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade, England’s only all-wizard town, and sample

what the headmaster and shop owners offer there. Finally, you take a quick flight around

the globe to visit two additional wizarding schools.

Chapter 7

Where the Witches Go in London

In This Chapter

•

Visiting Diagon Alley: wizard central

•

Avoiding Knockturn Alley and its Dark Wizards

66

•

Finding the Ministry of Magic in London

•

Making a trip to the wizard hospital

London is a city of nearly 8 million Muggles, but it’s also the place for wizards to

mingle, shop, take care of Ministry business, and cure what ails them. Although carefully

hidden, the magical sections of London are, indeed, wizard hotspots. Come on in, and

enjoy the wizarding sights and sounds of London!

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley, deep in the heart of London, has to be one of the most creative

destinations ever invented. Located off Charing Cross Road— which is, arguably, the

best street for bookstores (both new and used) in the entire world, the alley is accessible

only to wizards and to Muggles who are there with their wizard children. The alley

travels “diagonally” from Charing Cross (hence, the name), and can be reached on foot,

by vehicle, or through any of the wizard means of transportation (see Chapter 5). If

arriving on foot, visitors must first enter the Leaky Cauldron, and proceed through that

pub to the alley.

Gateway to the Alley: The Leaky Cauldron

It is not surprising that J.K. Rowling would use a pub as a gateway to the magical

world within London. After all, Great Britain is teeming with pubs—in fact, Edinburgh,

Scotland, has more pubs per square mile than any other city in Europe. And Limerick,

Ireland, boasts a place called the Cauldron Pub.

The Leaky Cauldron, unlike its Muggle counterparts throughout Great Britain, is

a wizard-only gathering place (it’s both a pub and an inn; the inn faces Charing Cross

Road). It isn’t much to look at—small and shabby—but it’s the entrance to one of the

coolest wizard shopping centers on the planet, if you know how to get through the brick

wall behind the pub. Tap the bricks with your wand and they slide back, revealing a street

of shops and window-shopping wizards.

KING’S ENGLISH English pubs (which are short for "public houses”) can be the

equivalent of American bars, or they can also be inns, offering both a bar and hotellike

rooms for the night. Rooms at pubs may have individual baths (as do most hotels in the

United States) or may share a bath with one or even several other guests. An inn may or

may not have a bar that serves alcoholic beverages, but it always offers meals. A hotel or

private hotel generally will not have a bar on the premises, although it will usually serve breakfast. And, finally, a brewpub is a pub in which beer is brewed onsite.

Cauldron Shop

Just inside the entrance to Diagon Alley, the first store is a cauldron shop that

sells—you guessed it—cauldrons of all sizes and materials. Some even have magical

spells put on them to make the stirring process easier. Cauldrons, which are bulbous pots,

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usually with a collapsible handle, are used to brew potions by boiling herbs, pieces of

magical animals, and other objects.

Cauldrons have been used since the dawn of time. The witches in Macbeth are,

perhaps, the most well-known witch-users of cauldrons, but cauldrons have been in

existence for millennia as simple cookpots. From the Latin caldarium, for “hot bath,”

cauldrons were staples of kitchens. The Celts may have been the first to use cauldrons to

makes stews and soups, hammering them from silver. Later, cast copper and bronze were

used, and finally, cast iron was introduced. Rowling names all but cast iron as materials,

and she also mentions pewter (required at Hogwarts) and gold, which were, perhaps, used

in some areas of the world, where those metals were prolific.

Cauldrons are also used in each Olympic Games; the Olympic torch, which is

often carried throughout the country in the weeks or months before the games begin,

lights the Olympic Cauldron and, thus, marks the beginning of the games.

The cauldron shop on Diagon Alley remains nameless in the novels, but Warner

Brothers found it necessary to name this shop in the DVD tour given in the Harry Potter

and the Chamber of Secrets movie. In that tour, it is called Pottager’s Cauldron Shop. A pottager is a small garden, arranged in a grid pattern, that incorporates flowers, herbs, and vegetables, all items that would be used in stews and soups made in cauldrons.

Apothecary

Like apothecaries in Muggle history, this store is the equivalent of a modern

pharmacy. Today, pharmacies sell “potions” that have already been brewed, but

apothecaries of the past sold the ingredients only; it was up to the purchasers to brew the

medicines themselves. (This is kind of like buying the ingredients for dinner at the

grocery store, versus getting take-out that’s already made for you.) The wizard

Apothecary sells herbs, roots, and powders (see Chapter 10 for more on uses of specific

herbs), as well as other wizard tools of the trade, like the feathers, eyes, horns, claws,

livers, spleens, and dung of various animals.

Although this store is called only “the Apothecary” throughout the Harry Potter

novels, in The Sorcerer’s Stone movie, it is referred to as Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. A slug is both a unit of mass (equal to 32.2 pounds) and another name for a shot (as in, “a

slug of whiskey”), while a jigger is both a unit of volume (equal to 1.5 fluid ounces) and

a quantity of alcohol (as in, “a jigger of whiskey”). Such precise measures fit perfectly

with the apothecary business.

Eeylops Owl Emporium

Because owls are both pets and an important communication link in the wizarding

world, nearly every wizard household has an owl. And with that many owls in that many

wizarding homes, owl-specific stores are bound to pop up. Eeylops Owl Emporium sells

all sorts of owls (tawny, screech, barn, brown, and snowy), as well as owl treats and nuts.

Eeylops is a tougher word to translate than one might imagine. However, ops is

the Greek word for “eye” (think Cyclops, which is ops combined with the Greek kyklos, 68

meaning “circle or wheel”). So, in this case, eeyl likely means big, wide, or night, relating to the qualities of owls. I say “likely” because modern Greek does not show such a word.

Ancient Greek, however, included the word ey, which meant “well,” and that translation (well-eyed) makes sense: owls have particularly good vision; in fact, being called “owl-eyed” refers to one’s exceptional eyesight.

Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor

One of the favorite hangouts of wizard kids, this ice cream shop used to serve ice

cream of all varieties and flavors to wizards sitting at small tables placed on the sidewalk.

As Chapter 4 points out, food is one of the few areas of crossover between Muggles and

wizards—with the exception of some candies and other magical treats, food choices

among the two groups are surprisingly similar, and ice cream is no exception.

The parlor owner’s first name, Florean, is reminiscent of fluorine, the chemical

element commonly called fluoride that’s added to water to counteract the effects of

sugary ice cream and keep teeth from decaying. With no dentists in the wizarding world,

perhaps Mr. Florean Fortescue’s ice cream contains a product that’s similar to cavity-

fighting fluorine. Fortescue is a common last name in both the wizard and Muggle

worlds. A Mr. Fortescue was a headmaster at Hogwarts, and Sir John Fortescue wrote the

history of the British Army; Father Adrian Fortescue was a notable writer, and Fortescue

Arms is a bed & breakfast in South Devon.

Mr. Fortescue, the parlor owner, was, by the look of things, “dragged off” in

Harry’s sixth year. The general assumption is that he was, in some way, connected with

the Dark Arts, and was kidnapped or killed (but check out Chapter 16 for the final word).

This doesn’t mean he was a Dark Wizard, but that he had some connection, and that

connection went south. Think of Dark Wizards like the Mob; you cross them, and they’ll

break your thumbs, capice?

Flourish and Blotts

Flourish and Blotts, the wizard bookstore, is aptly named: a “flourish” is writing

in an ornamental style, while a “blot” is a spot or stain from spilled ink.

Like any good Muggle bookstore, Flourish and Blotts is full of shelves of books

stacked nearly to the ceiling and offers periodic book signings by favorite authors. The

difference between a Muggle bookstore and Flourish and Blotts is in the books

themselves: they may be leather-bound or covered in silk; book sizes range from so tiny

you can barely see them to so huge you can barely lift them; the books may be written in

strange languages or with runes (see Chapter 13) or may even be blank; the books may

bite, snap at, or even fight you; and the titles are all appropriate to the wizarding world

alone, with topics ranging from Hogwarts textbooks to books for the wizard general

public, including self-help, how-to, autobiographies, histories, and sports books.

Compare this to the usual offerings at Muggle bookstores: hardcopy or paperback; all

virtually the same size; in the (rather mundane) categories of fiction, children’s, self-help, cooking, travel, business, and so on. If visiting a Muggle bookstore is a delightful

experience (as it is to most book lovers), just imagine what walking through such a store

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must be like!

Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop

Until the appearance of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes (discussed later in this

chapter), Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop used to be the only place to buy

irreverent, fun, jokey items in Diagon Alley (although Zonko’s Joke Shop in the city of

Hogsmeade also sells such items). In spite of recent competition, however, from

Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, discussed later in this chapter, Gambol and Japes is still the

best place to find Dr. Filibuster’s Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. What are

they? Fireworks, of course, but with a twist. You can start them when wet, and they can’t

burn you. What could be better?

This shop’s name couldn’t be more appropriate: to “gambol” means to frolic,

jump about, and skip, while to “jape” means to jest, joke, or play tricks. And that’s

exactly what you’ll find at this shop—items that are excellent for joking and playing

tricks, as well as items that encourage jumping about and skipping.

MAGIC TALE To take a tour of Diagon Alley, check out the companion DVD to the

movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Although getting into the video

production of the alley takes a bit of (potentially frustrating) work, because you have to

click the bricks in the proper order (just remember, "three up … two across”), once

inside, you get to virtually visit several shops.

Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions

Madam Malkin’s is the place to go for wizard clothing of all sorts. Whether

you’re a witch looking for everyday robes or a wizard shopping for dress robes, you’ll

find them all here. As Chapter 3 points out, most wizards wear black for every day;

Hogwarts uniform robes are also black. But when dressing up (or for the wizard who

doesn’t mind spending a little more for everyday wear), robes appear in whatever color

you can imagine.

As at any high-quality clothing store, Malkin’s robes are fitted and altered, as

needed, by Madam Malkin herself. The owner’s name is a bit of a mystery, however;

“malkin” means “a sloppy, slovenly (and even slutty!) woman.” The proprietor of this

clothing store would hardly be described as “slovenly.” Secondary meanings are a mop, a

scarecrow, a rabbit, and a cat, none of which makes any more sense than the first

meaning. If Madam Malkin were at all unkind or unpleasant, her name could be seen to

mean “bad folk,” from the French mal (bad) and the English kin (family; relatives; kinfolk). But aside from being rather nervous, the shopkeeper has displayed only a happy,

pleasant demeanor. On the other hand, Malkin is a common surname in England; perhaps

that is the only meaning we can glean from the name.

Twilfitt and Tatting’s is the alternate store to Madam Malkin’s, selling the same

sorts of goods, and perhaps even a higher quality of robes and cloaks. It may or may not

be located on Diagon Alley. “Twill” is a way of weaving cloth; “fit” refers to how

clothing drapes on a body; and “tatting” is a fine lace. Thus, Twilfitt and Tatting’s name

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certainly reflects its contents.

Like Muggle resale shops and Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, another place

to shop for robes and cloaks is in a second-hand shop. Owners of robes resell them as

they outgrow them, which makes for great bargains. In Rowling’s novels, shopping at

second-hand stores is a matter of deep embarrassment; among American teenagers in the

Muggle world, not so much, given the current popularity of Salvation Army and

Goodwill Stores as a means of expanding one’s wardrobe.

Ollivanders

Ollivanders may be the most intriguing store in Diagon Alley. Makers of fine

wands since 382 B.C.E., the small, dusty store has nothing but boxes upon boxes of

wands, stacked one on top of the other. Some wands, without a doubt, have been sitting

there, gathering dust, for 2,300 years!

Mr. Ollivander, the proprietor of the store and, we assume, something like the

ninety-fifth generation of Ollivander to work there, has an incredible memory for wands.

He remembers every wand he ever sold: the wood used; the length; the flexibility of it;

and the magical core of it.

Mr. Ollivander is a tough nut to crack. Is he evil, or is he good? Did he join the

Dark Side when Voldemort publicly returned in Harry’s sixth year, or was he kidnapped

or otherwise dragged off, causing his store to close? Harry certainly gets a strange vibe

from Mr. Ollivander when the man talks about Voldemort. And Harry Potter fans have

pointed out that “Ollivander” is an anagram for “an evil lord.” On the other hand, ander is German for “other,” and oliv is German for “olive,” so the man’s name could mean

“other olive.” Of course, that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. Check out Chapter 16

for the last word on Mr. Ollivander.

Other Shops

Two other shops are named in the DVD tour of Diagon Alley (on the companion

DVD to The Chamber of Secrets movie) that are not named in the book:

•

Wiseacres Wizard Supplies: From the vague name, this store could sell nearly

anything, but it likely sells the telescopes, globes, and other instruments Harry sees in a

shop window his first time in Diagon Alley. A “wiseacre,” which is derived from the

word “wise,” refers to a person who claims to be knowledgeable about everything (but

isn’t).

•

Scribulous Writing Instruments: This would likely be a shop quite similar to

Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop (see Chapter 8), selling quills, ink, and parchment.

“Scribulous” is from the word “scribe,” referring to a clerk or secretary; the word

“scribe” derives from the Latin scribo, which means to write or compose. This shop is also called Scribulous Everchanging Inks in The Sorcerer’s Stone movie.

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Knockturn Alley

Knockturn Alley, likely a play on the word “nocturnal” (dark; nighttime), is a side

street off Diagon Alley that sells only objects related to the Dark Arts. The name may

also draw on the idea of being knocked around (mistreated) and living a life of hard-

knocks (difficulties). The largest store in Knockturn Alley is Borgin and Burkes, named

for the two shopkeepers.

•

Caractacus Burke is reportedly named after Irishman William Burke, a bizarre

serial killer who, with help from a partner, murdered dozens of people in Edinburgh in

the late 1820s, selling the bodies as fresh cadavers to a local medical school. (Caractacus, too, was a real person, a British hero who tried to fend off Roman invaders; it was also

the first name of the character played by Dick Van Dyke in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang

Bang).

•

Mr. Borgin’s etymology is not clear; records show a ship named the Borgin was

shipwrecked near Greenland in the mid-1900s, although why that particular ship would

have been relevant is not clear.

Having trouble distinguishing “traditional” wizard

supplies from “Dark” wizard products? No one would blame you, as a “unicorn horn” or

“beetle eye” could, to the uninitiated, sound like something only bad wizards would use,

but they’re both sold at the above-board, not-Dark Apothecary. The distinction seems to

be that, in Knockturn Alley, animal products are alive (that is, you’ll find live spiders in Knockturn Alley versus the spleen of a dead animal in Diagon Alley proper). In addition,

products that are dead, come from—or, at least, are made to look like they come from—

humans, such as human fingernails or a human hand that grabs you and won’t let go. This

distinction does make some sense, because, even in the Muggle world, torturing live

animals is illegal, and cooking up human livers will get you either thrown in jail or sent

to a mental institution, but using the meat from an animal in your stew is perfectly

acceptable. It’s a fine line between good and evil, but it’s one that exists in both the

Muggle and wizarding worlds.

A few other items are also sold in these stores:

•

Masks are all the rage in Knockturn Alley. Similar to the Ku Klux Klan in

generations past, Dark Wizards prefer to hide their identities when they set off for a night of evildoing.

•

Instruments of torture also make their appearance in Knockturn Alley stores. And

given how many wizards mysteriously disappear by Harry’s sixth year, chances are, those

instruments are being put to use in hideous ways.

•

Poisons and cursed items (often jewelry of some kind) are sold here, presumably to

slip to Muggles or to your sworn wizard enemies. Most of the items sold in Knockturn

stores appear, according to Ministry law, to be legal to sell but illegal to possess.

KING’S ENGLISH If ever there were an area to earn the term dodgy, Knockturn Alley

is it. Dodgy is a favorite word among Brits, and wizards are no exception; Hagrid

specifically refers to Knockturn Alley as dodgy. The word means rundown, unreliable,

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and risky, as in "The walk from the Tube to the hotel was through a dodgy area” or "I should have checked the expiration date on this milk … it’s a bit dodgy.” If you’re

hoping to sound especially British, throw "dodgy” into your everyday vocab.

The Ministry of Magic

Hidden deep under London, the Ministry of Magic is where wizarding rules are

made and punishment is meted out. It is the governing body for all British wizards.

Chapter 14 discusses the Ministry in detail, so this section won’t get into those

particulars, but just know that it’s located in central London, hidden well underground.

The entrance from the Muggle world is in an old-fashioned, bright-red telephone booth,

which are classic London landmarks—even with the abundance of cell phones (or

mobiles, as the Brits call them), those old-style telephone booths still abound throughout

the city.

St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

St. Mungo’s is the place to go if magic has harmed a wizard in any way. Healers

attempt to reverse the damage done, although some are more successful in the healing

arts than others.

Rowling’s creative genius is in the details, and her description of St. Mungo’s is

no different, specifically in the floor guide of the hospital in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

TOURIST TIP The Church of Saint Mungo in Glasgow, Scotland, was founded in

1850, but it was built on the site of a wooden church St. Mungo built in the early 600s. If

you venture to Glasgow, you can visit the church, hear mass, and see a statue of St.

Mungo. Even better, without even leaving your home, you can hear podcasts from the

church by visiting and clicking on "Podcasts.”

But where does the name originate?

Does “mungo,” in this case, refer to its dictionary definition: scraps left over from

making milled wool? Nah. Believe it or not, Rowling did not make up “St. Mungo.”

That’s a real person—the patron saint of Glasgow, no less!—but “Mungo” was a

nickname that meant “dear one.” (His real name was Kentigern.) Various supernatural

events and healing are credited to St. Mungo, most of which show a close connection to

animals and the natural world. His selection as the namesake for a hospital is, therefore,

quite appropriate!

Getting In: Purge and Dowse Ltd.

To get to St. Mungo’s, wizards travel to a department store called Purge and

Dowse Ltd. For years, a sign in the store has read, “Closed for Refurbishment,” and one

suspects that will always be the case, because the location is so convenient for wizards.

Leaning in close to the glass, wizards simply tell the dummy in the window who they’re

planning to visit or what their medical condition is, and they tumble through. Voila! They

are in St. Mungo’s. And Muggles don’t even notice the disappearing wizards.

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Purge and Dowse Ltd. couldn’t be more aptly named: to “purge” is to cleanse or

get rid of impurities (and this applies to any hospital worth its salt); to “dowse” (an

alternate spelling of “douse”) is to immerse in or drench with liquid, as you would do

with soapy water on a nasty wound.

Wizard Healers and Nurses

Wizard healers wear lime-green robes with an emblem of a crossed wand and

bone on their chests. They’re not surgeons (wizards don’t cut on each other), but they are

exceptional wizards who have the skills to undo spells, cure illness, and repair the effects of accidents, poisons, and bites. There are, of course, some maladies for which there are

no cures (the effects of the Unforgivable Curses, discussed in Chapter 12, and werewolf

bites, discussed in Chapter 2, are examples). But wizards distrust Muggle surgery and try

to avoid it.

In the lobby of St. Mungo’s is a portrait of Dilys Derwent, who was both a healer

at the hospital and headmistress of Hogwarts. Dilys is a Welsh name, meaning “genuine.”

Dilys is also the name of a prestigious award (the Dilys Award) given by the Independent

Mystery Booksellers Association to the book(s) members most enjoyed selling

throughout the year. The award is named for Dilys Winn, who founded the first mystery

bookstore.

Derwent is actually a first name for boys, derived from the Old English name

Derwin, which means “dear friend” or “gifted friend.” That would make Dilys Derwent a

genuine, gifted friend; quite appropriate for a reputable healer. The Derwent River exists

in both North Yorkshire, England, and Tasmania, Australia (the Tasmanian river is

named for the British one). And the Derwent Hospital in Tasmania, Australia, was the

oldest mental hospital in Australia when it closed in 2001.

Chapter 8

Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade

In This Chapter

•

Getting the lowdown on Hogwarts School

•

Comparing the wizard school to British boarding schools

•

Understanding the houses within boarding schools

•

Reviewing common boarding-school curricula

•

Discussing forbidden forests

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•

Visiting Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard city Pigs (or hogs) and witches go way

back. During the 1600s and 1700s, when witch hysteria peaked in the United States, the

general public accepted without hesitation that witches flew through the air on the backs

of rams or pigs; that witches were harming the pigs, cows, and crops of innocent

neighbors; that a witch would steal a plump pig for a midday meal if she were passing by

your farm; and that witches themselves had cloven hooves (a hoof split into two toes).

Witches were thought to have made a pact with the devil; it is not surprising, then,

that pigs, goats, and rams (any animal with a cloven hoof) were thought to be Satanic. In

the New Testament , Jesus sent demons into a herd of pigs, which then leapt to their deaths in a frenzy.

Hence we’re given the names of two prominent places in the wizarding world:

Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard town in England. “Hogwarts” is

especially inventive because it also uses the imagery of warts, which is how we

historically picture witches, with prominent warts on their chins or noses.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Each year, the staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry selects a new

class of potential students, drawing children from established wizarding families and

Muggle children who show a penchant for wizardry. How the staff is aware of the talents

of these children is unknown, but they just know, starting from the day children with wizard abilities are born .

Invited students are sent letters the summer after Level 6 in the British education

system, which is the equivalent to fifth grade in the United States. Letters tell candidates that they have been admitted (no one applies to Hogwarts; you’re either invited or you’re not), and students have to appear on September 1, bringing with them the required robes

(plus a cloak and a hat), equipment (such as a cauldron, telescope, scale, and phials),

work gloves, books, and a wand. Students are also allowed to bring a pet, but the only

allowable pets are owls, cats, toads, and rats.

Other than the unique class offerings, ghosts, magical creatures, secret rooms,

talking portraits, moving staircases, and a variety of other oddities discussed in this

chapter, Hogwarts is strikingly similar to British exclusive prep schools. Some such

schools are boarding schools just like Hogwarts, where students and teachers live on the

grounds for the school year; others are day schools, in which students return home each

evening. The top-tier schools, however, are boarding schools.

Like Hogwarts, many British boarding schools divide into houses, which compete

for annual inter-house prizes as Best House by earning points in athletic events, debate,

artistic endeavors, and/or academic competitions; by good behavior; and by raising

money for or spending time working with charitable organizations. Houses allow students

of various ages to interact and feel camaraderie; something that happens in most U.S.

schools only through athletic or artistic extracurriculars. Select professors serve as Head

of House or Housemaster.

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KING’S ENGLISH British boarding schools are, oddly enough, called public schools in

Great Britain. This terminology comes from the idea private schools accept all students

from the general public who were willing to pay to attend, not just students from a small

geographic area. The top four British public schools are Eton College, Harrow School,

Charterhouse School, and Worksop College. Andover and Exeter are American

equivalents. British public schools often start students as young as age 3, working on

rudimentary reading and writing. They enter Level 1 at around age 5 or 6, which is

equivalent to the U.S. kindergarten. Although students are generally grouped into classes

with other students who are the same age, they are sometimes allowed to progress at their

own pace, regardless of age or class. Within classrooms, students are usually subgrouped

by ability, with a specialized curriculum aimed at each group. The best girls’ boarding

schools admit students after Level 6 (or fifth grade); this is how Hogwarts admits

students, but they admit both boys and girls at this age. Boys’ schools generally begin

later, after Level 8 (seventh grade).

As with British schools, Hogwarts has a headmaster or headmistress (sometimes

called just a “Head” in British schools) who acts like a U.S. principal, but because most

British public schools are boarding schools, Heads discipline 24/7 and know the students

far better than do most principals.

British boarding schools usually assign the best and brightest students to act as

Prefects, House Captains, and Head of School. The term prefect (a term used at

Hogwarts) comes from the Latin praefectus, which means director, chief, or governor ( prae means “put in front” or “put in charge”). In Hogwarts and other British boarding schools, prefects have great authority over other students, controlling and (sometimes)

punishing students so that teachers can focus on their work. When a prefect is put in

charge of an entire house, he or she may be called House Captain, a term not used at

Hogwarts. The senior prefect is called the Head of School, or Head Boy/Head Girl, the

latter of which is also used at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts students wear uniforms (in their case, black robes), as do all British

boarding school students. The uniform varies, of course, but British students usually wear

a blazer, pants or a skirt, a white shirt, and tie.

Hogwarts also has a prominent coat of arms, as do most British boarding schools:

•

Hogwarts: A lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake (the four symbols of the four

houses), surrounding an “H”

•

Eton: The French fleur de lys, three lilies, and a lion

•

Harrow: A lion and crossed arrows

•

Worksop: A silver cross with four lions

•

Charterhouse: A dog and several lilies surrounding the crest, which consists of

three circles and three semi-circles Getting into the top British boarding schools is a bit different than the magical “knowing” approach that the Hogwarts staff employs. Instead,

young Brits take the Common Entrance Examinations (CEE), usually at age 11 for girls

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and age 13 for boys. Each school has it own requirements for CEE scores, which test

English, math, science, geography, history, religion, and languages. Results of this exam

may also determine which classes students take for their first two or three years at the

school.

Hogwarts Four: The Houses

Grouping students into houses is a long tradition at the best British boarding

schools. Houses have names (often, as is the case with Hogwarts, houses are named for

founders, but also for headmasters and significant alumni), and the names are usually

shortened to the first letter of the name, like “G” or "P.” British houses, like those at Hogwarts, may have colors assigned to them, and students dress (in their ties or scarves)

per their house colors.

The top British boarding schools all have numerous houses, which can either be

actual “houses” (that is, separate structures on the school grounds) or may signify wings

of the school in which students live (as is the case at Hogwarts).

•

Eton College educates over 1,200 boys, but the houses are small: 25 houses each

consist of about 50 boys. Although it is not the most expensive school by any means,

Eton is considered the best of the best. MAGIC TALE If you’ve heard of Eton College, perhaps that’s because all of England’s royal boys have been educated there. (And

remember, Eton College is a high school, not a university.) Given how many young

British girls hope to meet the princes of their generation, sending young princes to an all-

boys school— away from all those girls—makes sense!

•

Worksop College, the smallest and newest of the elite British boarding schools

(founded in 1890, when it was called St. Cuthbert’s), has just under 500 students, ages 13

to 18. The school is split into seven houses. In addition to excellent test scores, Worksop

is well-known for sports, especially field hockey (which the Brits call just “hockey”) and

cricket (something like American baseball, but played with a flat bat).

•

Harrow School is more than 400 years old and educates approximately 800 boys at

any given time, split into 11 houses. Harrow is one of the most expensive boarding

schools in Britain.

•

Charterhouse School is England’s most expensive public school, and has 11

houses—seven new that, in the 1970s, joined the original four from the school’s opening

in 1611. Charterhouse admits only boys (about 400 of them) until Level 12 (the

equivalent of eleventh grade; called the Sixth Form at many boarding schools), when

girls (about 100 of them) are admitted, along with another 250 boys.

Of the top four

British boarding schools, two are for boys only; Worksop alone is coeducational, and

Charterhouse admits girls for only the last two years. Although Great Britain boasts many

girls’ boarding schools, not one all-girls school is considered even close to being in the

same league as the top all-boys schools.

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At Hogwarts, students are grouped into four houses, and they compete for the

House Championship, which is awarded as a House Cup. The Hogwarts House

Championship is earned, as at other boarding schools, through athletic competition,

prowess in the classroom, and good behavior.

The Hogwarts houses (called the Hogwarts Four) are each named for the four

founders of the school.

MAGIC TALE Talking hats in literature are not common, but hats do have an important

place in children’s make-believe—think of what a child can do with a pirate’s hat,

magician’s hat, cowboy hat, or firefighter’s helmet. Several fairy tales are based on

hats—invisible hats, magical hats, and multiplying hats. And don’t forget that Dr. Seuss

made his reputation on hats ( The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and The Cat in the Hat). Students are sorted into houses with the help of the Sorting Hat (see Chapter 3).

During the Sorting Ceremony, first-year students pull on the large hat (which usually

dwarfs their small heads) while sitting on a stool in front of the student body. The hat

then reads the mind of (and sometimes speaks to) the student, trying to discern the

personality, gifts, and ambitions of each student.

Two noticeable differences exist between Hogwarts houses and the top British

boarding schools. First, as a general rule, British boarding schools allow students to

choose their own houses (which is why some houses are bigger than others). Students

must be accepted by the House Master, and everyone understands that the House Master

may not be the House Master the entire time that student is at the school. However, the

House Master is the gatekeeper—the Sorting Hat of the Muggle world—taking

applications from incoming students who would like to live in that particular house.

Second, houses in British schools do not have personalities; at least, the schools

do not officially acknowledge that one house is more intelligent, while another is more

athletic, for example. Houses at British boarding schools are supposed to be diverse

groups that reflect the makeup of the student body at large. Hogwarts’ houses, on the

other hand, have distinct personalities that reflect those of the founders.

The Great Hall, Towers, Dungeons, and Other Common Areas

Hogwarts School is set in a castle, complete with towers, turrets, dungeons, on the

banks of a lake. Like most castles (both those in real life and those in literature), it can be dark and cold, although eager house elves (see Chapter 2) keep the fires burning in

common areas. Each house has its own section of the castle, and classrooms are either on

the main floors, in dungeons, or in towers. There is also a library, overseen by Madam

Irma Pince (from the French pince-nez, small glasses that pinched the nose instead of gaining stability by wrapping around the ears), which has both a Restricted Section (for

which students must have special permission from professors) and an Invisibility Section,

which, one presumes, is rather difficult to locate!

The Hogwarts Great Hall is patterned after the enormous halls in both British

castles and castles throughout literature (think of the many great halls mentioned in

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings alone). The Great Hall has a bewitched ceiling that reflects the weather outside the castle. At the High Table sits the Hogwarts faculty;

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students sit at long tables—one for each house. The hall is usually decorated to match the

season or other occasion; for some occasions, thousands of candles float magically above

the tables.

TOURIST TIP A visit to Christ Church, one of the colleges at Oxford University, is an absolute must for Harry Potter fans. (Oxford, England, is a short day trip from London.)

Christ Church’s Great Hall, a grand area used for college functions, was used as the

model for the Great Hall set in the Harry Potter movies, and various other college

locations were used as well, including a staircase built in the 1500s. Visiting hours are

from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. daily. For more information, visit , click on Visitor

Information, and click on Harry Potter.

Students at Hogwarts are admitted to certain

areas (house common rooms, the headmaster’s office) by means of a portrait, painting, or

statue, which demands a password from students, rather like the electronic passkeys used

at many schools. Passwords at Hogwarts are changed every few weeks and, of course,

some students have trouble remembering them. (These are the same students who can

never remember their locker combinations in the Muggle world.) In addition, the

numerous staircases at Hogwarts move periodically, which befuddles most first-year

students. The way you came up (to a classroom, for example) may not be the way you go

back down.

Although not widely discussed or even known about, a Marauder’s Map of

Hogwarts shows the location of every person in the school, allowing the student(s) in

possession of the map to wander the school undetected by avoiding all teachers and staff.

On the other hand, if a teacher is in possession of the map, students cannot wander the

halls without getting caught. The Marauder’s Map sees even a wizard who is wearing an

invisibility cloak (see Chapter 3). A “marauder” is one who roves about in search of

plunder, from the French maraud, meaning “vagabond” and “tomcat,” both wandering

beings, so this is a map for those seeking to roam around and probably up to no good!

Classes: From Arithmancy to Transfiguration

Where Hogwarts does differ radically from its British boarding school

counterparts is in the curriculum. To illustrate just how different they are, consider that

the National Curriculum of the UK includes the following topics:

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The list may be a bit more rigorous than most American public schools, but the

curriculum is similar nonetheless to what American students study. Hogwarts even has a

few classes that look like they could almost fit in:

•

Ancient Runes: In this class, students learn to understand the significance of runes, a 24-character alphabet that’s further described in Chapter 13.

•

Arthimancy: Arithmancy comes from the Latin arithmetica (arithmatic) and the Greek- and Latin-derived suffix -mancy (divination) . This field is better known in the Muggle world by its other name, “numerology,” or deriving meaning from numbers. It is

positioned as an incredibly difficult class, taught by Professor Vector (“vector” has

multiple meanings in mathematics, all relating to a line denoting distance and

magnitude). Professor Vector is also the name of one of the two professors in the

Gryomite video game from the mid-1980s; a game J.K. Rowling could, conceivably,

have played as a teenager or young adult.

•

Astronomy: Astronomy is, perhaps, the only Hogwarts class that is also taught at

Muggle schools. It is taught by Professor Sinistra; “Sinistra” is, appropriately enough, a

star in Ophiuchus, a large, faint constellation in the northern sky.

•

Care of Magical Creatures: This is the equivalent of a 4-H class teaching kids how

to care for cows, goats, and horses. But instead, young wizards learn how to care for

many of the creatures described in Chapter 2. Most Hogwarts students will never

encounter such creatures; in fact, many of the creatures discussed in class are completely

foreign to Hogwarts students.

Clearly, while British schools and Hogwarts differ

in curriculum, a few similarities exist. At both Hogwarts and the top British boarding

schools, students sometimes double classes; that is, the same class is taken back to back,

in order to give students longer class periods in which to learn material. Many U.S.

private schools also take this approach, as do some U.S. public schools that are utilizing

block scheduling.

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In addition, students at both Hogwarts and all the British boarding schools take

exams partway through their schooling and again near the end. The first exam is called

the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in the Muggle world; Ordinary

Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.s) in the wizarding world.

The GCSEs are usually taken after Level 11, which is the equivalent to tenth

grade in the U.S. system, or roughly at 16 years of age. Some schools have students take

the tests a year or two earlier, but regardless, the year in which exams are taken is usually called the Remove year. Following the Remove Year is either a year called the Fifth

Form (if exams are taken earlier than Level 11) or the Sixth Form (if exams are taken at

Level 11). The last year in school is usually called the Upper Sixth. Grades in the exams

run from A* (A-star; the best) to B, C, D, E, F, and G (the worst). Failing completely

means a grade of U (for unclassified).

Students who receive five or more A* to C grades are allowed to take A-LEVEL

classes during the Sixth Form. A grade below C in English or math can result in retaking

the exam or in leaving school to join the work-force, although that is extremely rare at the best boarding schools.

Likewise, O.W.L.s are given by the Wizarding Examinations Authority at the end

of the fifth year (like the GCSE, usually at about age 16). O.W.L.s are spread out over

two weeks; theory exams are given in the morning, while practice exams are in the

afternoon. The exception is Astronomy, which is tested at night.

Grades are as follows:

•

O = Outstanding

•

E = Exceeds Expectations

•

A = Acceptable

•

P = Poor

•

D = Dreadful

•

T = Troll

As you may have guessed, a “T” is really, really bad, as if you

have the intellect of a troll. Ouch. Like the GCSE, O.W.L. results guide students’ last two

years of coursework. Failure to achieve a passing grade in an area usually means that

classes in that area are no longer available to students. At British boarding schools, after the GCSE, students begin to specialize, moving from O (ordinary) subject levels to A

(advanced) levels.

Another similarity between O.W.L.s and the GCSE is that students can try crazy

stunts—cramming and cheating in the Muggle world; eating the remains or other

substances of magical creatures in the wizarding world. And wizard professors have a

slightly easier task than their Muggle counterparts because they can employ anti-cheating

charms. Both Muggle and wizard students receive their scores during the summer.

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At the end of their education, both Muggle and wizard students take another

exam: the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the N.E.W.T.s, respectively. For the IB,

students are tested in six subjects (language, second language, individuals and societies,

experimental sciences, mathematics, and arts) and write what’s called an extended essay

(4,000 words) in one subject, based on individual research that’s guided by a mentor.

N.E.W.T.s, on the other hand, are Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests taken in

the seventh (final) year at Hogwarts. Passing N.E.W.T.s is not necessary in order to

graduate from Hogwarts, but good N.E.W.T. scores are required before graduates can

enter certain fields. For example, to become a healer requires an “E” in N.E.W.T.s in

Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. And

that makes sense, given that healers have to reverse the effects of potions, charms, curses, and the like. Other careers include Muggle relations, curse-breaking, professional

Quidditch, retail sales, publishing, and public relations, and each has its own exam

requirements.

TOURIST TIP Next time you’re near a pretty, expensive boarding school, on either

side of the pond, stop in and ask its motto. Chances are, it’s in Latin and it waxes

philosophical about the grandeur of the school and/or the students. Case in point, Eton’s

Floreat Etona ("Let Eton flourish”) and Charterhouse’s Deo Dante Dedi ("Because God has given, I give”). Hogwarts motto, on the other hand, oozes practicality: Draco

Dormiens Nunquan Titillandus ("Never tickle a sleeping dragon”).

Hagrid’s Hut and the Forbidden Forest

Rebeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, as well as Care of

Magical Creatures professor, does not live in Hogwarts castle, as do the other professors.

Instead, Hagrid lives in a small hut at the edge of the grounds, near the forbidden forest,

where he often ventures, in spite of the centaurs, unicorns, and giant man-eating spiders

that lurk there (see Chapter 2 for more on these creatures). In the Muggle world it is not

uncommon for a school’s groundskeeper to live in a small building separate from—but

still on the grounds of—the campus.

Just at the edge of the forbidden forest is the Whomping Willow, a tree that, when

provoked (which is generally when any students are nearby), starts thrashing its long,

willowy branches, breaking everything in sight. Press a knot on the tree trunk, however,

and the tree ceases all movement. Fans of The Princess Bride movie will immediately

recall the knot on the tree in that movie that reveals a secret torture chamber below.

The forest is off-limits to all students, unless they are with Hagrid or another

teacher. And what would a fantasy tale be without a tempting forbidden forest? Hansel

and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and myriad other fairy tale characters have

lost themselves in dense forests that were supposed to be off-limits. In addition, the best-

known fantasy literature is teeming with dark, frightening forests: Robin Hood’s

Sherwood Forest; the dense forests of Lewis’s Narnia; the Forest Sauvage in T.H.

White’s The Once and Future King; and the many forests in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (the Old Forest, Lothlorien, and Fanghorn Forest).

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TOURIST TIP If you’re traveling to the Netherlands, put Efteling, an amusement park

in the town of Kaatsheuvel, on your list for its Disney-like Fairy Tale Forest, which is

comprised of authentically designed buildings nestled in a pine forest, representing

scenes from ten different well-known fairy tales. Visit for details.

Hogsmeade

Hogsmeade, a village near Hogwarts, has the distinction of being the only entirely

wizarding city in Great Britain. This means that, unlike Diagon Alley (see Chapter 7),

which is situated in the middle of Muggle-laden London, Hogsmeade doesn’t have any

nonwizards nearby. Hogsmeade is a city that doesn’t exist on Muggle maps, and, like

Hogwarts School, it’s Unplottable, so nonwizards never wander into it.

Like the school, Hogsmeade derives its name from a long connection of pigs and

magic. “Mead” means both an alcoholic drink (a beverage that flows in the village pubs)

and “meadow,” the image of which the quaint village elicits.

And Hogsmeade is nothing if not quaint. The entire town is made up of thatched

cottages and shops, just like a seventeenth-century British country town (many of which

remain in the same charming state today— if you drive or take the train through the

British countryside, you’ll see many such quaint villages). The main street is called High

Street, a name as common to British towns as “Main Street” is to small-town USA.

Hogsmeade boasts an eclectic mix of eateries and shops that rivals Diagon Alley

in London. They are discussed in the remaining sections of this chapter.

Dervish and Banges

If you knew that a dervish is a whirling, chanting, frenzied person (as a part of

some Muslim religious practices, not unlike the quaking and shaking that took over some

Protestant groups early in U.S. history), and if you thought of the word “bang” as

meaning “a loud noise,” what would you think Dervish and Banges sells? If you guessed

something loud and frenzied, you guessed right: Dervish and Banges sells magical

wizarding instruments—which, almost by definition, because they are magical, would be

unpredictable and, potentially, combustible. The actual objects sold in this store,

however, are not well-documented in Rowling’s novels.

Hog’s Head

The Hog’s Head is a pub in Hogsmeade that’s not on the main road. It is, in fact,

rather dark, dirty, and smelly; it’s considered a far second to the Three Broomsticks

(described later in this chapter), and students rarely frequent this pub. The name may be

drawn from The Boar’s Head in Shakespeare’s Falstaff.

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Honeydukes

A favorite of kids and adults alike, Honeydukes is a shop that sells the latest in

wizard sweets, along with sweets that Muggles love, too: toffee, chocolate, and nougat (a

chewy candy made from egg whites, honey, and chopped nuts).

The name likely derives from honeydew, the sweet melon, but also evokes

another sweet (honey) and all things British (dukes and duchesses). There was also a

Duke’s Candy Store on Hoe Avenue in the Bronx in the 1960s, when J.K. Rowling was a

child, but it isn’t likely she ever knew it existed.

Muggles can also enjoy wizard candies without leaving the comfort of their

homes. Jelly Belly sells Bertie Bott’s Beans, and several online candy companies have

taken to manufacturing and selling everything from Chocolate Frogs to Cockroach

Clusters. See Appendix B for a few wizard candy websites.

MAGIC TALE Chocolate frogs and cockroaches were first introduced to England in the

1970s in a Monty Python skit (now available on DVD) about the Whizzo Chocolate

Company, which was being investigated by Inspector Praline (played by John Cleese) for

using actual frogs in its Crunchy Frogs candy and real cockroaches in its Cockroach

Clusters. Other candies from the skit include Ram’s Bladder Cup and Anthrax Ripple.

Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop

“Pud” is a British abbreviation for pudding, which is a creamy, mushy, often-

sweet food. And creamy, mushy, and sweet is the ideal description for Madam

Puddifoot’s Tea Shop (which also serves coffee). Decorated with bows, lace, and other

frills, the tea shop is frequented by Hogwarts couples, so there’s a lot of hand-holding

and smooching going on here.

Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop

Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop chose the ideal spot for a retail business that sells

parchment, quills, and inks. Students burn through these supplies like water—it’s the

equivalent to having an Apple computer store on a college campus. Quills are not only

utilitarian but also beautiful—for example, students might splurge on a long pheasant-

feather quill the same way Muggle students might opt for a hot-pink iPod.

The store is aptly named: a “scrivener” is a scribe, clerk, or secretary; a “shaft” is

a handle, such as that on a quill.

Three Broomsticks

The Three Broomsticks is the place for hot butterbeer, along with stronger

beverages, such as mulled mead and red currant rum. The proprietor, Madam Rosmerta,

is attractive, outgoing, and well-liked; all important attributes in a female barkeep. In

Celtic mythology, Rosmerta was the goddess of abundance and good harvest.

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The Three Broomsticks could also be the “inn” Hermione Granger refers to as the

headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and that would give the inn a rich, interesting

history.

Descriptions of the Three Broomsticks evoke a strong sense of the Shire’s the

Green Dragon in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Both are described as crowded,

inviting, cheerful, and smoke-filled. Of course, nearly any good bar could be described

that way—and that is the point: the Three Broomsticks is a place you’d want to hang out.

MAGIC TALE The magical world of Harry Potter features three pubs: the Leaky

Cauldron; the Hog’s Head; and the Three Broomsticks. In including pubs in her novels,

Rowling follows a long tradition that began with Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which the travelers began their journey at the Tabard pub. Dickens’ novels and Shakespeare’s

plays contain a large number of pubs (and at least in Dickens’ case, he borrowed the

names of real pubs); Tolkien described the Prancing Pony and the Green Dragon in The

Lord of the Rings; and Treasure Island gave us the famed Admiral Benbow.

Like

any thriving city, shops in Hogsmeade go out of business and/or change ownership from

time to time, but the city remains a haven for wizards.

Chapter 9

International Wizarding Schools

In This Chapter

•

Finding the world’s wizarding schools

•

Learning about Beauxbatons

•

Knowing more about dark Durmstrang

•

Understanding the Triwizard Tournament

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and

Wizardry isn’t the only game in town; at least two other large wizarding schools exist in

Europe: Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study.

And there are smaller schools at which you can hone your wizarding skills; but like the

three largest schools, they are nearly impossible to locate without insider information,

because each school guards itself and its secrets zealously.

Locating Wizarding Schools Around the World

To those who have no business being there (that is, nonmagical folks and even

uninvited wizards), a wizarding school appears to be a dangerous, abandoned wreck of a

building, one that would be marked “Condemned” in the Muggle world. In addition,

every wizarding school is protected by spells that make it Unplottable and, thus, keep

away unsuspecting Muggles and devious wizards.

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KING’S ENGLISH To plot is to mark the location of a building, street, or piece of land on a map. So, by definition, to unplot would be to remove the location of a building on a

map. Unplottable objects take this one step further, however: they are not only removed

from maps but are also removed in actual appearance. To the unaware observer, the

building simply appears not to be there. Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, the secret

location of the Order of the Phoenix, is such an Unplottable building. Passersby would

see Number Eleven and Number Thirteen; Number Twelve is visible only to those who

have business there. Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is located in a warm, breezy palace in the

Mediterranean, where students wear lightweight, luxurious silk robes. These students find

Hogwarts Castle, by comparison, to be cold and damp—which, let’s face it, it probably

is, given the climate in Great Britain! The Beauxbatons student body is co-ed (although

the girls, with their dizzying beauty, tend to take center stage), and they speak both

French and thickly accented English, so we can presume the school is located in the south

of France.

The coat of arms (which is more formally called a heraldic device) for the school

is two crossed golden wands, each with three stars emanating from it. A wand in the

magical world is akin to a sword in medieval times, and the combination of swords and

stars has historically been common in heraldic devices. Finland’s provinces, in particular,

combine swords with stars, but so do the coats of other nations and regions. Having three

stars, in particular, is common on heraldic devices of countries, states, and religious

groups. In the United States, three stars on a flag or coat of arms usually refers to the

three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial); in other parts of the

world, it may relate to three provinces coming together to form a nation or to the

importance of the Blessed Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) in that faith. Note

that, in medieval times, stars were referred to as mullets, which carried a far different

meaning than that of the popular haircut of the 1980s.

Where the Name Comes From

Beaux bâtons is French for beautiful sticks, which likely refers to beautiful wands.

But the girls of Beauxbatons (and their wands) are just as intelligent as they are beautiful; when they arrive at Hogwarts for a tournament, they sit at the Ravenclaw table, indicating

that they are as brilliant and clever as the wizards in that Hogwarts house, which is

famous for its intelligence.

TOURIST TIP When the Beauxbatons students visit Hogwarts, a few French foods are

offered for all students to try. When visiting France or the Quebec province in Canada,

you can also taste the two French foods served in the Great Hall: bouillabaisse (French

fish stew) and blancmange (a pink or white dessert that is rather like a thin pudding).

Both have somewhat rich literary pasts: in Roman mythology, Venus used bouillabaisse

to put Vulcan into a deep sleep, so that she could spend time with her other boyfriend,

Mars. Blancmange has a mention in Chaucer’s prologue to the Canterbury Tales, and is the center of one of Monty Python’s more disturbing skits, in which blancmanges eat

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people, rather than the other way around.

A Few Key Wizards at Beauxbatons

The headmistress of Beauxbatons is Madame Olympe Maxime, who has a tanned,

pleasing face but is indescribably large—clearly she has an ancestor who was a giant.

However, Madame Maxime refuses to discuss this detail of her patronage because of

rampant racism against wizards with giant blood somewhere in their ancestry. Hagrid, the

Hogwarts groundskeeper who had a giantess mother, is smitten with Madame Maxime.

Although Madame Maxime’s name could be construed to relate to her size,

French for maximum is maxima, not maxime. Therefore, her name may, instead, refer to Hagrid’s vision of her: Olympe is translated to heaven (after the God Olympus), and

maxime is French for maxim, which is a statement of general truth; thus, “true heaven.”

Fleur Delacour is Beauxbatons’ most revered student; she is chosen from her

school to represent Beauxbatons in the Triwizard Tournament (which is discussed later in

this chapter). Fleur, like her peers, is beautiful and well-skilled in wizarding arts, but she can be less than tactful and often scorns and criticizes Hogwarts. Her first name, Fleur, is French for flower; apropos for her beauty. Her last name can be translated in a variety of

ways; the most logical is beyond ( dela) the princely court ( cour), indicating that she is out of reach, or out of the league of, the boys at Hogwarts. She is one-quarter veela—

magical creatures who seduce men with their beauty (see Chapter 2).

Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study

Whereas Beauxbatons students are beautiful, if a bit aloof, students and staff at

Durmstrang are described as both unapproachable and unattractive. Although a co-ed

school, boys dominate at Durmstrang, which gives every indication of being located in a

cold, mountainous nation, given that students at Durmstrang wear fur capes and speak

with thick Slavic accents.

The most chilling aspect of Durmstrang’s curriculum is that professors teach the

use of the Dark Arts, not just the defense against them, as is the practice at the other wizarding schools. Appropriately, when at Hogwarts, Durmstrang students sit at the table

with Slytherin house, which has produced more Dark Wizards than any other Hogwarts

house. Durmstrang’s approach is roughly the equivalent to teaching students in local high

schools how to make bombs: what are the odds that all students will use that information

for the good of humanity? Continuing this analogy, at Hogwarts, students would learn

how to diffuse bombs and how to take charge during a bomb threat!

Where the Name Comes From

Many believe Durmstrang is a wordplay on the German phrase Strang und Durm,

which translates to “storm and stress,” and that interpretation is quite likely. However,

Durmstrang is probably not a German school, because the climate in Germany does not

match the descriptions given by Durmstrang students. More likely, the school is located

in a Slavic nation: Russia; Bulgaria; Ukraine; and the like. Strang translates to

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“strange” or “stranger” in Russian, and Durman and Durme are cities in Russia,

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name, then, might convey a

sense of a strange city or strange place, rather than storm and stress, but either translation is possible.

A Few Key Wizards at Durmstrang

Head of Durmstrang was, for a number of years, Professor Igor Karkaroff, a

former Death Eater (that is, a follower of Lord Voldemort; see Chapter 1). Igor is a

common name in Slavic countries, and stories such as The Winter of Prince Igor and The Song of Igor’s Campaign flourish in Russian literature. Karkaroff is a common Bulgarian surname.

Viktor Krum, an 18-year-old student at Durmstrang, is the school’s most well-

known student. A world-renowned Quidditch Seeker, Krum’s athletic accomplishments

make girls swoon. Viktor is a familiar Slavic name for boys and also means “victor”;

appropriate for the best Seeker in the world. Krum’s last name is just as filled with

promise: Krum was the name of a ninth century ruler (also called a khan or tsar) of

Bulgaria who was among that country’s most influential leaders, expanding the borders

of his country, nearly conquering Constantinople, and establishing a written rule of law.

For a young Bulgarian hero to have the name Krum is like a young American hero being

called Washington.

Interschool Rivalry: The Triwizard Tournament

From roughly 1300 to 1900, the three largest wizarding schools in Europe came

together every five years to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, a test of wizarding

skills among three contestants—one from each school—who competed not only for a

cash prize but also for personal and school glory. Each school rotated its turn as host,

with the other two schools sending a small group of potential contestants to live at the

school for that year. The contest—discontinued for more than 100 years after a number of

students died—was recently revived and held at Hogwarts.

Choosing three schools for the competition is probably more about keeping the

competition manageable than anything else. All three schools are roughly the same size,

thus eliminating the complaints about large schools competing with smaller ones that

plague many state-wide high-school sporting contests in the United States. And two

contingents of guests from visiting schools is a manageable amount to house for nearly an

entire school year. Had five, eight, or more schools been involved in a Pentawizard or

Octowizard Tournament, the result may have been more chaotic. In addition, including

three schools continues a long tradition in magical and fairy realms. The number three is

(along with the number seven) one of two oft-used numbers in mythology and fairy tales:

think of Goldilocks and her three bears, the three pigs, and three billy goats gruff, along

with the many stories of three sons, the youngest of whom succeeds when his older

siblings fail at a task.

Interschool competition exists throughout the nonwizarding community in

Europe, including sports competitions (in soccer, cricket, and rugby) and academically

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oriented competitions like problem-solving, mathematics, science competition, web

design, linguistics, and so on. Although these contests rarely last for an entire year,

schoolchildren do travel from country to country to compete, much like some national-

caliber U.S. high school teams travel several hundred miles to compete in high-level

competitions.

Part 4

Spells, Potions, and Other Ways of Performing Magic

In this part, you get to read the detailed backstory on how J.K. Rowling chose the

names and functions of dozens of wizard herbs, potions, and spells. You also get detailed

information on some of the special, high-level spells and tools that only a select few

wizards will ever use.

Chapter 10

Herbology 101

In This Chapter

•

Discovering the history of many common herbs

•

Recognizing that most wizard plants exist in the natural world

•

Understanding the most common wizarding plants Herbology is the study of

plants and is taught at all good wizarding schools. Herbs have, in fact, been a key

component of a healer’s toolbox for millennia, dating back beyond ancient Greece and

Rome. Many of today’s Muggle pharmaceuticals still use herbs and plants as their base.

This chapter gives you an overview of the primary herbs and plants that exist in

the wizarding world. First you’ll find out what we know about each plant or herb in the

nonwizarding world, including its botanical name, characteristics, and medicinal uses (if

any). That’s followed by a brief look at how each herb or plant is used in the wizarding

world. For plants that exist only in the wizarding world, as is the case with those at the

end of this chapter, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at why

Rowling may have chosen each particular plant’s name and characteristics. (Be

sure to also check out Chapter 11 for in-depth information on magical potions.)

The Link Between Herbs and Magical Potions

Witches have long been rumored to use herbs to make potions, and in Rowling’s

wizarding world, herbs have that vital function. Many herbs, along with eyeballs, livers,

and the like from a variety of creatures—plus the occasional magical stone—make up the

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essential elements of potions, which are used both to cast spells and to cure everything

from acne to broken bones.

On the other hand, some herbs and plants are not used in potions but are

interesting in and of themselves. Like Muggles, some wizards have a green thumb and

simply like to surround themselves with interesting plants. And if you thought the Venus

Flytrap was “interesting,” wait until you see some of the wizard plants in this chapter!

MAGIC TALE You can find herbs in everything from Greek literature to twentieth-

century fantasy novels:

•

Odysseus (in Homer’s Odyssey) uses moly to protect him from Circe’s spells.

•

Aragorn (in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring) uses the herb athelas to help

Frodo survive the wound inflicted by the Black Riders.

•

In Le Guin’s The Wizard of Earthsea, Ged learns the names and uses of all the

herbs in the land.

•

Even in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy receives a gift

from Father Christmas of a cordial of healing potion—we can assume it contains an herb

of some sort.

Plants and Herbs You Know and Love

The plants and herbs in this section exist in the Muggle world—in fact, you could

buy any of these plants and grow them in your garden. You may not have the wizarding

skills to boil them up into potent potions, but you’d have the raw ingredients.

Aconite

Aconite is from the Aconitum genus of the buttercup family, and is considered

highly poisonous. Tiny amounts can slow down the heart and lungs for medical purposes,

but larger amounts are toxic. It is also known by two other words: monkshood and

wolfsbane.

•

Monkshood: The terms monkshood (monks + hood) comes from the shape of the

flower, which looks (as you may have guessed) like the hood of a monk’s cloak.

•

Wolfsbane: The term wolfsbane comes from its use by Greeks as a way to poison

wolves; “bane” means to kill. (See Chapter 11 for more on Wolfsbane Potion.)

MAGIC TALE Near the end of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,

when Peter kills Fenris Ulf, Aslan knights Peter, calling him "Sir Peter Wolfs-Bane” ("Sir Peter Fenris-Bane” in some editions; "fenris” means "wolf”), because he killed such a terrible and mighty wolf. In the wizarding world, aconite is used in a variety of potions.

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Asphodel

Asphodel is a member of the Ashodeline genus of the lily family. It looks like a

lily, with white or yellow flowers and narrow green leaves.

Asphodel has long been known as the flower of death; in fact, it is thought to be

the flower that the dead like the most! For this reason, asphodel used to be planted in and

around tombs.

In the wizarding world, asphodel is used in the Draught of Living Death.

Belladonna

Belladonna (Atropa belladonna) goes by several names, most of which have

“deadly” or “devil” in the title. It is a highly poisonous plant of the nightshade family

(which also includes tobacco, red peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and petunias),

with purple or red flowers and black berries.

The Atropa portion of its botanical name is derived from Atropos, one of the

Greek Fates. The belladonna portion is translated as “beautiful woman.” Confused?

Venetian women once used belladonna to dilate their pupils, which was supposed to

make them more beautiful. We can be grateful that some of history’s great beauty secrets

lasted only a generation or two.

Long used as a way to poison unsuspecting rivals, in tiny amounts it has also been

used to combat migraines, lower heart rate, and relax bronchial and urinary muscles.

Belladonna is used so often in wizarding potions that it is part of the potion-

making kit purchased by all Hogwarts Potions students.

Daisy

The daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) is so common, with its white flowers

and yellow center, that it is sometimes considered a weed among Muggles. Daisy roots,

however, are used in the wizarding world to make a Shrinking Solution, which makes

some sense, because an old wives’ tale says that daisy roots, boiled in milk and fed to a

farm animal, can stop the animal from growing too large.

Fluxweed

Fluxweed (Isanthus brachiatus) is also called false pennyroyal and is a member of

the mint family.

A key ingredient in wizard Polyjuice Potion (which makes one wizard look like

another for a brief period of time), fluxweed is commonly used in the wizarding world.

To be useful in that particular potion, however, the fluxweed must be harvested during a

full moon.

Note that “flux,” from the Latin fluxus, means flow. In electronics design and

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manufacturing, flux is a product that makes solder flow better across circuit boards. In

physics, flux is the rate of flow of energy across a surface. In the movie Back to the

Future, Doc Brown tells Marty that his flux capacitor makes time travel possible.

Ginger

Ginger ( Zingiber officinale) is an herb that’s used both as a spice and as a

medicinal plant. It is known to calm the digestive system, which is why ginger tea and

ginger ale are given to people with upset stomachs.

In the wizarding world, ginger must have an effect on the brain as well; wizards

use ginger roots to make a Wit-Sharpening Potion.

TOURIST TIP Ginger is an effective deterrent against motion sickness. If you have a

tendency to get car- or airsick, take a thermos of ginger tea with you and sip it as you

travel. (If the airline won’t let you take a thermos, bring along a few ginger tea bags.)

Look for ginger tea in supermarkets and health-food stores.

Hellebore

Hellebore—also called Christherb because it flowers near Christmas— is unusual

in that it is from both the Helleborus genus of the buttercup family (as is aconite) and the Veratrum genus of the lily family (as is asphodel). It’s highly poisonous, either killing or causing severe burning to the skin if handled and to the intestines if ingested. Tiny

amounts, however, can stimulate the heart, and people have historically blessed their

farm animals with hellebore.

The name is said to originate from the Greek for “plant eaten by fawns.”

Apparently, it’s not poisonous to deer. It may also come from the Greek elein, meaning

“to injure,” and bora, meaning food—injurious food, which makes sense given how

poisonous the substance is.

In the wizarding world, the syrup from the hellebore plant is used in the Draught

of Peace.

Knotgrass

Knotgrass is from the Polygonum genus of the buckwheat family and is a

common weed or grass with thin stems and leaves and small flowers. Like daisy roots

boiled in milk, knotgrass is thought to limit the growth of animals. Shakespeare mentions

knotgrass in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In the wizarding world, knotgrass is used in Polyjuice Potion and is likely how the

potion gets its name (from the botanical name Polygonum).

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Lovage

This plant (botanical name, Levisticum officianle) is a member of the umbel

family (which is in the same family as celery and parsley). It has long been a home

remedy, often in the form of a medicinal tea.

In the wizarding world, lovage is used to make a Confusing and Befuddlement

Draught.

Mallowsweet

The mallow is a family of plants with large flowers that bloom on a large stalk or

tube; hollyhock is a good example. Mallowsweet is not a recognized variety in the

Muggle world, but would likely come from that same family, perhaps as a sweet-tasting

variety. In the wizarding world, centaurs burn mallowsweet and sage, and receive divine

wisdom from the shapes of the flames and smoke.

Mandrake

The mandrake ( Mandragora officinarum) is a member of the nightshade family; a

small, round, purple plant that’s essential to potion-making, especially antidotes. This

plant has historically been thought to have magical qualities, because its roots look

somewhat human-like.

In the wizarding world, one of its properties is that it can return a person to his or

her human state—if a curse or transfiguration-gone-wrong has trapped the person in a

nonhuman body or if the person has been petrified. Wear earplugs or earmuffs, however,

when repotting mandrakes (which must be done three times in the first nine months),

because the “root” of a mandrake looks like a tiny baby and, when the plant is fully

grown, the root makes a wailing cry that is fatal to the listener.

Nettle

Nettle is from the Urtica genus of the nettle family, and is a stingy, spiny, thorny plant. The plant is so bothersome that the word “nettle” has come to mean “to irritate.”

Nettle is, however, used in teas and soups to help with digestive disorders.

One of the most interesting mentions of nettle in Biblical times was in the Old

Testament during the calamity of Job (pronounced johb). During this dismal time in Job’s

life, his opponents hid behind nettles, and the thorns served as protection for them, rather than harming them. Poor Job. Nothing ever seemed to go his way.

In the wizarding world, nettle is used as a cure for boils. But this isn’t so unusual.

In the Muggle world, especially in Britain, drinking nettle tea is used as a treatment for

boils. The herb called blind nettle (which is actually a mint, not a nettle) has also

traditionally been used to treat boils.

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Pomegranate

Pomegranate ( Punica granatum) is a bright-red fruit borne on a small tree. Inside,

the fruit is full of seeds from which pomegranate juice is made. The juice is prized for its high potassium content, which makes pure pomegranate juice expensive when compared

to other fruit juices. The fruit was historically used as a red dye and in tanning leather,

has been used medicinally, and is a symbol of fertility. In the Bible, Solomon’s temple

contained many pomegranate carvings.

Pomegranate juice is used in the wizarding world, but be careful when making a

Strengthening Solution, because your bottle of pomegranate juice may be carelessly

mistaken for the correct ingredient, salamander blood.

Sage

Sage is from the Salvia genus of the mint family that is used for decoration and

for seasoning foods, especially chicken, meats, cheeses, and so on. It is derived from the

Latin salvus, which means “safe.”

“Safe” sage has many healing powers. Most recently, sage has been shown to help

asthmatics, who breathe it in during attacks.

In the wizarding world, centaurs mix sage with mallowsweet in divination.

KING’S ENGLISH Herbs and plants not only grow in greenhouses at Hogwarts; they

also appear in the backyards of wizards and Muggles alike across England. Keep in mind,

however, that what Americans typically call the "backyard” is called a garden in England.

A garden doesn’t necessarily mean one that’s full of corn, zucchini, and tomatoes, as it

would in the United States. To the British, a garden may consist of a lawn, some patio

furniture, and a badminton net.

Scurvy-grass

Scurvy-grass ( Cochlearia officianlis; also called scurvy weed) is a northern plant

from the crucifer family that was traditionally used to treat scurvy, a disease caused by a

deficiency of Vitamin C and resulting in anemia, weak bones, and other nasty symptoms.

Scurvy was common among those traveling long distances by ship, when no fresh fruits

and vegetables were available. Today, with the advent of vitamins, scurvy has mostly

disappeared. However, describing scurvy is still how fifth-grade teachers get you to eat

oranges and grapefruit.

In the wizarding world, scurvy-grass is used to make Confusing and

Befuddlement Draughts.

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Sneezewort

Sneezewort is a kind of yarrow ( Achillea ptarmica), which causes sneezing in

many people. (Can you say, highly allergenic?) Keep in mind that “wort” simply means

“plant” or “herb,” so a sneezewort is a plant that relates to sneezing.

Sneezewort, along with lovage and scurvy-grass, is used in the wizarding world to

make Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts.

Valerian

Valerian ( Aleriana officinalis) is derived from the Latin valere, meaning “to be healthy.” It is also known as garden heliptrope and tobacco root and has for centuries

been used as a sleep aid. In fact, valerian tablets and teas are commonly sold as an herbal

remedy for inducing sleep.

In the wizarding world, valerian is used in the Draught of Living Death, which is

appropriate, given valerian’s well-known soporific qualities.

Wormwood

Wormwood ( Artemisia judaica) is a shrub in the aster family, the oil of which

was used to make absinthe, a liqueur that is now illegal in some countries because of its

toxicity.

Found in Palestine, the wormwood plant appears often in the Bible, serving as a

metaphor for sadness in several portions of the Old Testament. The New Testament

references the plant in conjunction with God’s punishment of the Israelites.

In the wizarding world, wormwood is used in the Draught of Living Death,

perhaps because although it is lethal in large quantities, it can be taken in small amounts.

Wormwood is also the name of the junior tempter in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape

Letters. In the book, Wormwood’s Uncle Screwtape writes him a series of letters, in which he attempts to teach Wormwood how to become a professional devil, winning

human hearts to “Our Father Below.” The name is meant to convey a disgusting, belly-

crawling creature.

Wizard-Only Plants and Herbs

A few plants and herbs grow only in the wizarding world—no such varieties exist

in Muggle gardens, plant stores, or herb shops. The following sections shed light on this

unusual wizard-only vegetation.

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Abyssinian Shrivelfigs

Abyssinian Shrivelfigs grow as a stalk that must be pruned from time to time. The

figs themselves are skinned and used in a Shrinking Solution.

Figs are, however, historically significant. Greek goddess Demeter was supposed

to have introduced figs to humans (on the Roman side, the god Bacchus is given

responsibility for the introduction of the fig), and the Greeks continued to think highly of this fruit—it was the primary training food of the first Olympians. After all, who needs

meat and potatoes when you have figs?

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey both mention figs. Figs are also the most oft-

mentioned fruit in the Bible. Recently, anthropologists discovered that figs are the oldest

cultivated crop known to man, when several petrified figs were found in the Jordan

Valley and evaluated for their age.

Abyssinia is an older name for the country of Ethiopia but, ironically, Ethiopia’s

main crops are coffee and grains, not figs. (Most of the world’s figs are grown in

California and the Mediterranean.) And figs are a shrivelly sort of fruit, at least when

they’re dried—dried figs are the most common form. Their shriveled skin actually looks

a bit like a walnut’s shell, except that a fig is soft to the touch, not hard like a walnut.

Today, figs are enjoyed primarily in gourmet recipes and, of course, in Fig

Newtons.

MAGIC TALE A few plants that exist only in the wizarding world are interesting twists on flowers we’ve all seen. Chances are, Rowling was well aware that plants and flowers

are not the most interesting topic for younger readers and created amusing versions of

ordinary garden flowers: •

Bouncing Bulbs: Flowering bulbs such as crocus, tulips,

and daffodils are the mainstay of most spring gardens. However, bouncing bulbs don’t

just sit there looking pretty; they smack into your face when you’re not looking. •

Fanged Geranium: Geraniums may be the most common flower known to suburbanites,

and they couldn’t be more boring to kids. But a fanged geranium bites unsuspecting

passersby with its sharp teeth. • + Honking Daffodils: Although it looks like the delicate flower that graces so many of the best gardens, this daffodil also honks, annoyingly and

delightfully. Bubotubers

This plant looks like a large slug with boils on it, which are filled with pus. The

boils can be squeezed and the pus collected; when diluted, it’s used to treat severe acne.

Undiluted, however, it can damage the skin, so when squeezing the boils, wizards wear

dragon-skin gloves.

Tuber is Latin for tumor, which makes sense. But bubo is Latin for horned owl, and that’s where we lose any probable translation, as the plant hardly resembles a tumor-filled horned owl.

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Devil’s Snare

Devil’s Snare looks like several large snakes: the plant has huge tendrils that twist

around your limbs and squeeze you to death. It dies in daylight, in dry conditions, and

when exposed to fire. Devil’s snare is very much like the creature that attacked Frodo (in

The Fellowship of the Ring) at the passageway inside Moria; what Tolkien described as

“a host of snakes” that were trying to wrap their way around Frodo and strangle him.

One can also think of Devil’s Snare like the Southern weed kudzu, which grows

rampantly and multiplies so quickly that it squeezes out every other plant in its path.

Gillyweed

Gillyweed is another unattractive plant: it grows in long, green-gray, spaghetti-

like tendrils about a quarter-inch in diameter. Gillyweed (translating loosely to “a weed

that gives you gills”) sets you up for underwater travel: ingesting the plant allows you, for one hour, to breathe and swim like an amphibian. You sprout gills, grow webs between

your fingers and toes, and can withstand the cold temperature of water.

Gillyweed is, essentially, the wizard equivalent of Scuba equipment (which lets

you breathe underwater) and a wet suit (which allows your body to withstand cold

underwater temperature). Just think of all the money wizards save on Scuba gear rental!

Sopophorous Bean

Sopophorous bean is used in the Draught of Living Death. The word “soporific”

is an SAT word that means “causing sleep”; it’s from the Latin spoor, meaning sleep.

This makes sense, given that living death is a comalike state—a deep sleep.

Venomous Tentacula

This red plant has long feelers that seize you from behind when you’re least

expecting it. You can, however, slap it away if you notice the feelers encircling you. The

black, shriveled seeds (which are of unknown use) are a Class C Non-Tradeable

Substance, which means if you try to sell them, you’d get in big trouble with the

Ministry, buster.

Tentacula is likely a play on “tentacle” and “Dracula,” the blood-sucking

vampire. That the plant is red is an interesting twist on the healing powers of plants.

Traditionally, any red plant was useful in treating “red” medical problems—that is, blood disorders, bloody injuries, and the like. But this particular red plant is itself out for blood, so to speak.

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Chapter 11

Round About the Cauldron Go: Draughts and Potions

In This Chapter

•

Gathering potion-making tools

•

Getting the lowdown on insects and creatures

•

Finding a list of common magical potions

Magical potions—what we might think of as “witch’s brew”—give wizards the power to

heal, kill, extract the truth, and produce a variety of other behaviors and emotions.

Potions are produced in cauldrons, using mostly herbs and portions of insects or other

creatures. This chapter shares the secrets of the most well-known potions, as well as some

of the key ingredients that go into them.

One more note before moving on to the ins and outs of potions: one of the

reference books mentioned in Rowling’s novels is Moste Potente Potions, a book whose name is not meant to be difficult to pronounce, but instead recalls Middle English, spoken

in the British Isles from 1066 C.E. to about 1550.

KING’S ENGLISH The English language can be divided into three periods: Old

English (approximately 450 C.E.-1066 C.E., a blend of Celtic and Old Norse languages;

Middle English (1066-1550), with a strong Latin and French influence; and Modern

English (1550-present). Although Old English is unreadable to an English speaker,

Middle English can be understood, but reading it is slow going. For example, from

Chaucer’s Tale of Melibeus: "and the moste parte of that companye have scorned these

olde wise men.” Basically, to master Middle English, you talk with a lot of pomp and

fluff, and you add an "e” to the end of moste

Basic Tools: Cauldrons, Flagons, Phials, and Scales

Wizards—both those who are in training and those with experience— primarily

use four tools to make potions:

•

A cauldron (also spelled “caldron”) is a large metal pot used to boil liquids (or, for that matter, to make Muggle stew or chili). It may be made of copper, brass, pewter, or

silver, and, if charmed correctly, may be collapsible (easier for carrying) or self-stirring (no bits of lacewings burning to the bottom of the cauldron). For a brief history of

cauldrons, see the “Cauldron Shop” section in Chapter 7.

•

Better known as a flask, a flagon is a container or bottle for beverages (usually

alcoholic ones, in the Muggle world) that has a short or narrow neck and may have a

handle, spout, or lid. A flagon also refers to what’s inside the bottle, so a “flagon of

whiskey” is an actual amount, akin to a “pint of whiskey.” Rowling doesn’t discuss the

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actual uses of flagons in the wizarding world, but presumably, they hold ingredients for

potions.

•

From the Latin phialia and the Greek phiale, phial is also vial in English: a small glass bottle, often used for storing medicines. Phials are used for storing prepared potions by inserting a stopper in the top of the bottle, sealing the contents for future use.

•

A scale is another word for a weighing balance, which was an old way to weigh

objects. It works a bit like a seesaw. Place an object of known mass (say, one ounce) on

one side of the scale, and another object of unknown mass on the other side of the scale.

If the scale tips to the side of the unknown object, it weighs more than one ounce; if it

tips to the side of the known object, the unknown object weighs less than one ounce.

(Potions sometimes require precise amounts of ingredients, which would need to be of a

certain weight or volume, as is the case when Muggles bake and need to get the exact

amount of flour into the cake. On the other hand, as is the case with other types of

Muggle cooking, potions sometimes require only “close-enough” amounts, like a pinch

of rat’s tail.) In addition, knives and other cutting instruments are used to chop, grind, and grate ingredients.

The herbs and insects/creatures that go into most potions can be found in an

apothecary (see Chapter 7). The ingredients can also be grown or collected on your own,

but buying them is certainly cleaner and easier. Ingredients can be bought individually or

as part of potion-making kits.

MAGIC TALE Besides Rowling’s novels, perhaps the best-known literary work

depicting cauldrons is Shakespeare’s Scottish play, Macbeth. In Act IV, Scene I, witches throw into a cauldron ingredients that surely influenced Rowling: snake fillet, newt eye,

frog toe, dog tongue, owl wing, lizard leg, dragon scale, wolf tooth, baboon blood, and so

on! As these ingredients are tossed into a cauldron, three witches incant, "Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

Insects and Other Creatures

In the magical world, an unusual assortment of insects and parts of other creatures

finds their way into potions, including the following slimy, scaly, slippery stuff (see

Chapter 2 for more details on many of these creatures):

•

Scarab beetles: Used mashed-up or powdered, scarab beetles were considered

sacred in ancient Egypt, where the beetles’ form was used on amulets. Also called a dung

beetle because of what it feeds on. See the “Wit-Sharpening Potion” section later in this

chapter for more on scarab beetles and the Egyptians.

•

Powdered horn of bicorn: The bicorn is a fabled beast, the gender equivalent of a

chichevache: legend had long held that the chichevache feeds exclusively on “good

women” and is, therefore, thin and meager-looking, because its food source is so scarce.

(You see where this is going?) The bicorn, on the other hand, feeds only on “good and

enduring husbands,” and is, therefore, nice and plump from all its available food source!

Hmmm.

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•

Shredded boomslang skin: A boomslang is a large, highly poisonous African snake

that’s also called the tree snake. Its shredded skin is used in Polyjuice Potion.

•

Caterpillar: Caterpillars (the larval stage of butterflies and moths) are not generally seen as magical creatures; however, Rowling’s mention of caterpillars in potions may be

a nod to Lewis Carroll’s giant caterpillar in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Caterpillars do end up in the Shrinking Solution (discussed later in this chapter) , which

also calls Alice to mind.

•

Cockroach: I say, “good riddance.” Who could have a problem losing a few of the

world’s cockroaches to a bubbling cauldron? On the other hand, keep in mind that

potions often have to be ingested to work their magic, so maybe cockroaches aren’t so

tenable.

•

Crocodile heart: In the Old Testament, a crocodile is seen in the same vein as a

serpent (or snake), so think of a crocodile like a snake, which is a highly prized magical

creature.

•

Lacewing flies: Also called lacewings, this beneficial insect has gauzy wings and

voraciously eats aphids for dinner. Also called golden-eye flies and stink flies because of

their odor.

•

Leeches and leech juice: A leech is a worm that sucks on flesh and blood; leeches

have a long (if dubious) medicinal history, so their inclusion in potions is to be expected.

•

Porcupine quills: Native Americans, especially the Lakota, have long used

porcupine quills in decoration and consider the porcupine to have magical qualities.

•

Puffer-fish eyes: The puffer-fish (also spelled pufferfish and puffer fish) is also

called blowfish and bubblefish, because it can blow up its body—and, thus, appear much

larger—when threatened. Puffer-fish eyes are known in the Muggle world to be highly

toxic.

•

Rat spleen and pickled rats’ brains: Rats are an important animal in the wizarding

world because they are often kept as pets. It is, then, a bit surprising that rat parts are used in potions!

•

Salamander blood: Salamanders have a long association with dragons (given that

they look like tiny dragons themselves). Salamander blood is used in a Strengthening

Solution. Shelled salamander eggs can also be used to feed magical creatures.

•

Stewed horned slugs: Although “horned slugs” is not an official term used in the

Muggle world, slugs do look like they have small horns, so the term does not likely refer

to a magical creature but to the lowly garden slug. And what better way to get rid of them

than to add them to your favorite magical brew?

•

Crushed snake fangs: Snake fangs would be difficult to procure, unless the snake

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were already dead. But snakes and serpents are among the most magical of all creatures,

so it makes sense that snake fangs would be highly prized for their magical qualities.

•

Unicorn horn and tail: The highly magical horn and tail of this magical creature are occasionally used in potions, because removing either a horn or tail from a unicorn will

not kill it. The blood of a unicorn, on the other hand, is never used in potions. Unicorn

blood has great power, in that it will keep you alive even if you are seconds from death,

but you will lead a cursed life from that moment on.

Common Draughts, Potions, and Antidotes

The final section of this chapter lists the common potions you’ll find in the

wizarding world, most of which clean something, cure some ailment, or cause wizards to

behave in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. Each of the following sections describes the

purpose of the potion, lists its ingredients (if known), and discusses any additional

mythological, Biblical, or literary background.

KING’S ENGLISH Draught is a British way to spell "draft,” but both are pronounced the same way. From the Middle English word for drawing or pulling (like pulling an oar),

the word has numerous meanings. But in the magical world, a draught is a drink or potion

(most likely, a nasty-tasting one) that treats or prevents some terrible malady.

Aging Potion

Muggles spend billions of dollars on creams, injections, and surgery to make a

person appear younger. Even in fairy tales, witches and hags make themselves appear

much younger (and beautiful), but never intentionally age themselves. So fixated are we,

in fact, on making ourselves younger and in promoting youth that the term “ageism” was

coined in the late 1960s, and has now come into common usage in the English language:

an action indicating or portrayal that assumes a person is lesser because of age.

Yet this wizarding potion does the opposite, temporarily aging the potion drinker,

either ever-so-slightly (say, by a few weeks or months) or a great deal (years or decades).

An Age Line spell, however, can block an Aging Potion, so that no one is fooled by the

new, older age.

This potion would get a lot of mileage in the Muggle world among 8-year-olds

who really want to go on that roller-coaster ride and 20-year-olds who really want to go

into that bar. Of course, one would expect powerful anti-aging spells (including the Age

Line spell) at both types of locations.

Amortentia

From the Latin amor (love) and tentamen (attempt or effort), Amortentia is a powerful love potion, one that’s described as “most dangerous and powerful.” The potion

doesn’t actually create love, but instead causes the taker to be strongly attracted to, and

perhaps even obsessed with, a particular witch or wizard. Both Muggles and wizards can

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fall under the spell of Amortentia.

The danger of all love potions is that they eventually wear off, leaving the

affected person no longer moony over his or her love object—much like a crush in the

Muggle world. And even while the potion is in effect, the couple is not really in a

relationship, because the one affected by Amortentia is completely befuddled by his or

her infatuation. This potion, then, creates more of a temporary crush or infatuation than

anything resembling true love. Not even wizards can create that!

Babbling Beverage

This potion causes someone to babble nonsensically. Its ingredients— and,

admittedly, its purpose—are a mystery. However, the opposite potion, a non-Babbling

Beverage, would be mighty popular among people with verbose

spouses/girlfriends/boyfriends and among exhausted parents of toddlers and tweens.

The word “babble” is found in a number of languages, including Latin ( balbulus),

Dutch ( babbelen), Icelandic ( babbla), and Sanskrit ( balbala-kr). Because the word is associated with the sounds babies make before they learn to talk, babies likely make

those same sounds (that is, “ba, ba, ba”) in all cultures; hence the same word is used the

world over.

Blood-Replenishing Potion

This potion acts like a blood transfusion, putting lost blood back into the body.

The ingredients are unknown, but leeches—which are known for the opposite quality,

called bloodletting—are probably not on the ingredients list.

Bloodletting, through the use of leeches, was a medical practice started by

Ancient Egyptians and continued as late as the 1960s. Leeches were placed strategically

on a patient’s body and allowed to feed on the patient’s blood until satiated—roughly a

half hour. Recently, the practice has been revived to help patients who have insufficient

blood drainage following surgeries. The leeches’ saliva produces an anti-clotting

compound, a local anesthetic, and a good bacterium that kills harmful bacteria.

University of Wisconsin scientists have even recently invented a synthetic leech.

Bulbadox Powder

Bulbadox Powder is one of those really awful potions that can be used only to

wreak havoc on the unsuspecting user—it causes boils, which are large, painful infections

on the skin. The name is likely derived from the word “bulbaceous” (a synonym for

“bulbous”), which means bulb-shape (as, unfortunately, a raging boil is!). The ingredients

of Bulbadox Powder are unknown, but a potion to cure boils contains nettles (see Chapter

10), snake fangs, stewed horned slugs, and porcupine quills. Stinging nettles, porcupine

quills, and snake fangs are not the sort of soothing, calming ingredients you might expect

to see in an anti-boil potion, but nettle tea has long been used as a treatment for boils,

especially in Great Britain.

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Confusing and Befuddlement Draught (also Confusing Concoction)

A Confusing and Befuddlement Draught is meant to befuddle and, therefore,

distract the user. This potion is likely used on Muggles who have seen possible wizard

activities, but think of how a rather evil wizard could find it useful in other situations:

pouring a smidgeon into his dad’s nightcap just before he checks the clock to see how

late he got home; sharing a little with a police officer as he or she is writing him a ticket or to a bank teller or store clerk who is counting out his change; slipping a little to a

witnesses in a court case. A good wizard could easily go bad with powers such as these.

Confusing potions aren’t unique to the wizarding world. George Eliot wrote about

a “confusing potion” in her 1876 novel, Daniel Deronda (her last). Long before that, Sophocles wrote that Athena tricked Ajax into confusing sheep with men—which is

highly inconvenient during war-time! Key ingredients include lovage (historically used as

a medicinal tea), scurvy-grass (once a treatment for scurvy or vitamin C deficiency), and

sneezewort (a form of yarrow to which many people are allergic). See Chapter 10 for

more on these ingredients, all of which you can grow in your backyard.

Doxycide

Forget what you know (or can look up) about the word “doxy.” This potion is not

intended to get rid of women of ill repute (a “doxy”) as the name might suggest; in the

wizarding world, a doxy is an evil, fairy-like animal with four arms, four legs, sharp

teeth, and wings. Doxycide, derived from the word “doxy” and the suffix -cide, which

means “to kill” (as in the word “pesticide”), is a black liquid that paralyzes doxies with

just one squirt. Its ingredients are unknown.

Dr. Ubbly’s Oblivious Unction

To be “oblivious” is to be unaware, and “unction” refers to an oil or salve, usually

a soothing or comforting one, used for religious or medicinal purposes. (“Unction” also

refers to rubbing into or sprinkling oil onto the body; thus, Extreme Unction is the term

used by the Catholic Church for the Anointing of the Sick, also called Last Rites.)

Because we don’t know the ingredients for this potion, nor do we know anything about

Dr. Ubbly, we can only assume that it is a salve of some sort that’s intended to make

people oblivious to the world around them (and could, therefore, have a strong

connection to—or even be the same potion as— a Confusing Concoction) or forget

something uncomfortable or terrifying they’ve seen.

One note, however: doctors don’t exist in the wizarding world, so this potion may

have originated in the Muggle world. “Healer Ubbly” would be more likely, if this were,

indeed, a uniquely wizard potion. Ubbly, on the other hand, evokes a strong sense of a

bubbling cauldron (ubbly-bubbly).

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Draught of Living Death

The Draught of Living Death is a sleep potion unlike any other—it produces a

sleep so powerful that it mimics death. Could this be what Sleeping Beauty was given?

Or Juliet?

This complicated potion—which starts off as a black-colored potion and

eventually changes to a pale pink—contains all the best sleep aids.

•

Valarian: This herb has long be used in Muggle teas as a sleep aid.

•

Sopophorous bean: “Soporific” means “causing sleep.”

•

Asphodel: Known as the “flower of death,” people plant this around gravestones to

honor the dead.

•

Wormwood: This plant with toxic qualities is used poetically as a metaphor for

sadness.

The Draught of Living Death may be the same potion as one mentioned in

the wizarding world (but never named) that is supposed to cause dreamless sleep.

Draught of Peace

Possibly the same as a Calming Draught, the Draught of Peace calms anxiety,

irritation, frustration, and agitation. In other words, it makes you chill. Excellent, dude.

The only known ingredients are syrup from the hellebore plant (which is highly

poisonous but has been used medicinally in small quantities) and powdered moonstone

(which is a stone of unknown origin). Other ingredients are likely similar to those of the

Draught of Living Death, albeit in far smaller quantities.

Hellebore has been known for at least a century as a powerful physical depressant,

lowering pulse rate and even creating a light form of paralysis in patients. With too high a dose, patients can die from asphyxia, but at the proper dosage, hellebore begins to

immediately calm patients.

Elixir of Life

In the Muggle world, an elixir is a sweet solution in which the sometimes-nasty

taste of drugs is hidden—a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down, so to speak.

But the Elixir of Life, in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, is something

altogether different. For millennia, alchemists (half scientists, half magicians) searched

for this elusive elixir, which is produced from the equally elusive Philosopher’s Stone

(and called about a thousand other names), which is said to bring immortality to the

drinker. Although no one was ever proven to have discovered this potion, alchemists in

many parts of the world, over the course of hundreds of years, tried valiantly. Alchemy

was, for a long time, considered a noble profession, one that usually involved an

apprenticeship with a master alchemist. A second primary goal of alchemists, along with

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finding this fountain of youth, was to find a process for turning base metals into gold.

One man is repeatedly mentioned as having succeeded in his quest for the Elixir

of Life: Nicolas Flamel, who allegedly drank the potion and shared it with his wife,

Pernelle. Only one sticking point here: Flamel lived to be about 70. Granted, 70 was

pretty old in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but still, one would think the Elixir of Life would create immortality longer than 70 years. (For more on Flamel, see Chapter 1.)

Suffice it to say that, for thousands of years, people have been searching for a way

to stay young and be rich. Alchemists are no different.

Elixir to Induce Euphoria

Euphoria is a feeling of great joy or excitement, and this potion produces those

feelings in someone who is less than excited. Its ingredients are unknown, but we can

guess at them, based on Muggle versions of feel-good tea, which include everything from

rooibos, an African plant made into teas, to brandy and cognac, which have obvious

euphoric qualities.

Eastern teas that are meant to induce euphoria include the following ingredients:

gota kula (known to stimulate a startle response in the brain); yerba mate (which contains

stimulants that are in the same family as those in coffee and cocoa); and damiana (a plant

with leaves that, when smoked, produce a relaxing effect).

MAGIC TALE The Elixir to Induce Euphoria has been known to, among other things,

lead to "excessive ... nose-tweaking.” Similarly, in the Disney version of Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke sings about getting his nose tweaked until he learned the magic word.

But just what is nose-tweaking? It’s a sharp pinch or twist of the nose, meant to be a prank or joke. Oh, yeah. That sounds really fun, doesn’t it? “Euphoria” is also the name of a line of juice bars that serve energizing smoothies and teas throughout the UK. The

company’s motto is “Positive Thinking. Positive Drinking.”

Felix Felicis

Felix Felicis is liquid luck, creating situations in which everything goes your way.

Felix and felicis both are the same word in Latin, meaning fruitful, lucky, happy, fortunate, and successful. In other words, Felix Felicis is bottled confidence.

For obvious reasons, Felix Felicis is banned in the competitive arena (sports,

exams, elections, and so on), but what’s interesting about this potion is that the belief that one has taken it can be as powerful as actually consuming the potion. But that is true in

the Muggle world as well: if one firmly believes in his ability to accomplish something, it

is far more likely to be accomplished than if he doesn’t believe in it.

MAGIC TALE Felix the Cat was a movie cartoon from the early twentieth-century silent film era that was revived as a TV cartoon in the 1950s. In the TV version, Felix had

a Magic Bag of Tricks, which were shapeshifters that Felix could control and that could

get him out of any mess. This sly, grinning, confident cat acted, in fact, just like a wizard on a dose of Felix Felicis.

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Hiccupping Solution

Does a Hiccupping Solution cause or cure hiccups? Alas, we do not know. But

given how often hiccups arise in the Muggle world (from a variety of sources, including

eating spicy or hot food or eating food too quickly, laughing raucously, drinking too

much alcohol), we can assume that this is a welcome cure for the hiccups. Why breathe into a paper bag, turn upside down and drink water, concentrate very hard on getting both

index fingers close together (but not touching!), or eating a lemon when you have magic

potions at your disposal?

The Guinness World Records lists Charles Osborne as the world record holder for

the longest attack of hiccups. A few days, you’re thinking? A month? Perhaps even an

entire year? No, no … Osborne had the hiccups for 68 years! He started hiccupping in

1922, at the age of 28, and finally stopped in 1990, just a year before he died.

Mandrake Restorative Draught

This powerful and important potion restores to normalcy someone who has been

petrified, a state in which a person appears to be frozen solid

(but is not cold), looks to be in a coma (but has a rigid body), or gives every

appearance of being dead (but is actually alive). Someone who is petrified is kept

comfortable until the Mandrake Restorative Draught can be concocted, and because the

draught calls for only fully grown Mandrakes, the potion can take some time to create.

Chapter 10 gives you the lowdown on the magical properties of the unusual

Mandrake plant, the roots of which look initially like a baby, then like a teenager, and

later like a fully grown little person. Unlike their human counterparts, however, these

Mandrake babies can inflict great physical harm on those trying to harvest the roots.

But this is not all magical lore; the root of this plant really does resemble a small

human body. The resemblance is rather eerie; in fact, in the sixteenth and seventeenth

centuries, people actually used to clean up Mandrake roots and keep them as little dolls

that had magical or psychic powers. They usually hid them, so it wasn’t like everyone

had Mandrake dolls on their nightstands, but the practice was not unusual.

As for the harm those roots can inflict on the harvester in the Muggle world,

Roman legend believed that tiny demons lived in Mandrake roots and would shriek so

shrilly at being pulled from the ground that the harvester would die. If you find yourself

repotting a wizard Mandrake, perhaps it’s better to be safe than sorry—wear ear plugs.

Mandrakes have other wizard uses besides unpetrifying, including untransfiguring

someone who has been trapped in an animal’s body. Historically, Mandrake in the

Muggle world has been used as a painkiller, aphrodisiac, and a narcotic.

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Mrs. Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover

To “scour” is to clean something by vigorously rubbing or scrubbing. Mrs.

Skower’s does the same, cleaning up major messes; it’s the OxiClean or Ajax of the

wizarding world. Its ingredients are unknown, but an abrasive agent, like nettles, is likely.

Pepperup Potion

This concoction of unknown ingredients works like an Invigoration Draught or

Elixir to Induce Euphoria. It’s the wizard equivalent of a double espresso or Red Bull.

The closest Muggles have to a true Pepperup Potion is Dr Pepper, which touts

itself as the world’s oldest major soft drink, created in 1885 in Waco, Texas. Known in

the 1950s as “the friendly Pepper-Upper,” Dr Pepper was not invented by someone

named Dr. Pepper, nor does it contain any pepper, but instead, combines 23 different fruit

flavors. One story says that the drink was coined for an actual guy named Dr. Pepper, a

friend of the inventor of the drink, Charles Alderton. But the origin of the name remains

unclear, so the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas, tries to sort out the rightful answer.

Visit www.drpeppermuseum.org.

Poisons

Poisons are a type of potion meant to maim or kill, and like Muggle poisons, they

can be difficult to detect if dropped in a flagon of pumpkin juice or other beverage. To

make detection of poisons even more difficult, poisons can be made Undetectable by a

skilled wizard.

There are two sure-fire antidotes for poisons known to wizards:

•

Essence of rue: Rue is a small, woody, yellow-flowering plant that grows in

Europe and Asia, but is not well known in the United States. The oil in its leaves has long

been used as both a painkiller and stimulant in the treatment of digestive problems,

inflammation, and general malaise, but it can also produce a reaction similar to that of

poison ivy and can even be fatal in large doses. The early Greeks used it—just as in the

magical world—as an antidote for poisons and to guard against malicious magical spells.

•

Bezoar: A bezoar is a small mass, found in the stomach or intestines of some

grazing animals, that has long been thought to be an antidote for poisons. In the

wizarding world, a bezoar is a stone (think of a kidney stone) taken from the stomach of a

goat that, if put down your throat, will save you from most poisons.

Thus, in her

two most effective antidotes to lethal poisons, Rowling found her muse in common

folklore.

Rowling also mentioned Golpalott’s Third Law, which is a brain twister: “The

antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each

of the separate components.” Huh? Apparently, this means that when you mix two

poisons together, the antidote has to be stronger than a simple mixing of the two antidotes

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for each individual potion. We just have to trust that Golpalott (“gulp a lot”) knew what

he or she was talking about.

Polyjuice Potion

Polyjuice Potion makes you temporarily look like someone else; thus allowing

you to take someone’s place for a few hours at a time. The potion gets its name from one

of its major ingredients, knotgrass, which is from the Polygonum genus of the buckwheat family. The prefix poly-also means “more than one”—appropriate, as you are,

essentially, “more than one” person after taking this potion.

Polyjuice Potion takes several weeks to make and, in addition to knotgrass,

requires shredded boomslang skin, lacewing flies that have been stewed for 21 days,

fluxweed that was harvested during a full moon, leeches, and powdered horn of bicorn.

As a final ingredient, the potion requires a single hair from the head of the person into

whom you are trying to transform.

Shrinking Solution

A Shrinking Solution is the cure for a Swelling Solution or any spell that causes

an object to enlarge. Made up of chopped daisy roots, skinned Abyssinian Shrivelfig,

sliced caterpillar, rat spleen, and a dash of leech juice, the daisy is the most effective

ingredient, as it has long been boiled in milk and fed to farm animals to stunt their

growth.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice drank a shrinking solution from the “DRINK ME” bottle,

which undid the effects of the enlarging “EAT ME” cake. Alice’s solution was quite

tasty, a mix of “cherry-tart custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered

toast.” (We can assume that Rowling’s mix of caterpillar, rat spleen, and other

ingredients is far less palatable.) By taking a little cake, drinking a little solution, again and again, Alice was able to return to her normal size. By alternating a Swelling Solution

and Shrinking Solution, perhaps wizards can do the same.

Skele-Gro

Skele-Gro, a potion of unknown ingredients given to wizards who need to regrow

one or more bones, is an apt wordplay on a Muggle product called HairGro, which, like

its wizarding counterpart, encourages a part of the human body to grow at unusual rates.

HairGro has the advantage of being a topical product that is applied to the scalp; Skele-

Gro is a horrible steaming potion that burns as it goes down and causes the painful

regrowing of bones to commence. It is used not to make wizards taller but to regrow

limbs that have been severed or otherwise cursed to no longer have working bones in

them.

Scientists at UCLA have isolated a natural molecule that encourages bone growth,

but it won’t be available as a Muggle potion (er, drug) for another decade.

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Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion

This potion (ingredients unknown) makes your hair straight and shiny; that is,

sleek. It is not necessarily easy to use, however, as at least one wizard eschews it in favor of a natural, frizzy look. Still, Sleekeazy’s is the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine of the wizarding world. Note the similarity to the 1920s and 1930s slang “speakeasy,” which

referred to a place where alcohol could be consumed illegally during Prohibition.

Veritaserum (Truth Potion)

Every culture has its truth serum; intelligence agencies and psychiatrists in the

Muggle world have been using Sodium Pentothal, a sedative that causes deep relaxation

and loss of inhibition, for decades, so it’s no wonder the wizarding world has its own

version.

From the Latin veritas, meaning truth, and the English serum, meaning fluid, this truth-telling potion is so potent that only a few drops lead to spilling your guts. The mere threat of Veritaserum keeps students at Hogwarts in line (see Chapter 8 for more on the

wizarding school).

MAGIC TALE The Latin veritas means truth, but with a capital "V” (Veritas), it refers to Jesus Christ. Those Romans didn’t miss a trick, as Jesus told his followers that he was

"the way, the truth, and the light.” But one has to wonder why Jesus wasn’t referred to as Via (way) or Lumos (light).

Wit-Sharpening Potion

With scarab beetles as the main ingredient (see the “Insects and Other Creatures”

section for more information), this potion doesn’t necessarily make you smarter, but it

does enhance the intelligence you already have.

Why the scarab beetle? This tiny creature was worshipped by the Egyptians as a

symbol of immortality. Unlike the concept of intelligence today, Egyptians believed

intelligence took up residence in the heart, not the brain, so after death, Egyptians would

remove the deceased’s heart, replace it with a scarab beetle carved from stone, place the

heart separately in the tomb, and thus ensure that the deceased went into the afterlife with his or her intelligence preserved. No self-respecting Wit-Sharpening Potion would ignore

this legacy of intelligence-preservation.

Ginger root is another ingredient of this potion; in the Muggle world, ginger is a

major ingredient of teas that are supposed to improve intelligence.

Wolfsbane Potion

Wolfsbane Potion may be the most valuable potion available to wizards: it allows

a werewolf to lead a normal life by keeping him or her from transfiguring fully into a

werewolf at each full moon—the body still transforms, but the mind doesn’t. The

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potion’s main ingredient is aconite (also called monkshood and wolfsbane), a member of

the buttercup family that has long been used in small quantities for medicinal purposes—

see Chapter 10.

Rowling reveals that this potion was invented by “Damocles Belby.” (Belby is a

town in East Yorkshire, England.) An earlier Damocles was a Greek royal attendant who

upset the ruler at that time, Dionysius, and was repaid by having a sword suspended over

his head, held there by a single hair. Thus the term “the sword of Damocles” refers to an

impending tragedy, which is exactly how wizards must feel about werewolves. With just

one nip, a wizard’s entire life is changed: there is no cure, and even though the illness can be kept under control, wizards are so afraid of werewolves that they do everything in

their power to push them out of polite society.

Chapter 12

Watch What You Say: Spells, Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, and Curses

In This Chapter

•

Explaining the difference among the terms

•

Understanding how spells work

•

Revealing the power of charms

•

Understanding the more powerful jinxes, hexes, and spells

•

Being aware of the three unforgivable curses Charms, hexes, jinxes, spells, and

curses—along with potions (see Chapter 11)—are a wizard’s bread and butter. If you

can’t toss off a simple tickling charm to torture your little brother, what’s the fun in being a wizard? And if you can’t protect yourself in a duel, you may as well be a plain-old

Muggle.

The various charms, hexes, jinxes, spells, and curses used in the wizarding world

are defined in this chapter.

Differentiating Among Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, Spells, and Curses

One of the first questions wizard fans ask is, “What’s the difference between a

charm, jinx, hex, spell, and curse?” The answer: not much. They’re nearly all

synonymous.

Charms

The word charm is from the Latin carmen, meaning song, verse, or prophecy;

thus, a charm is a chant, word, or phrase that has magical power. In the world of Harry

Potter, charms tend to be rather benign, helping wizards move objects, clean up rooms,

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improve their physical appearance, and confuse people, rather than physically harm them.

Some charms, however, are quite powerful, as you discover in the “Easing In: A

Handbook of Charms” section later in this chapter. The Disarming Charm

( Expelliarmus! ) and the Memory Charm ( Obliviate! ) are two good examples.

Note that Rowling overlaps the term charm with spell or curse only twice: A Banishing Spell is also called a Banishing Charm, and an Engorgement Curse is also

called an Engorgement Charm.

Hexes

A hex is a spell that’s meant by the hexer to produce something bad in the hexee.

Rowling names only four (Bat-Bogey, Hurling, Stinging, and Twitchy Ears), and all do,

indeed, produce ill effects. Hex is derived from the German hexe, meaning hag or witch.

Interestingly, the dictionary lists “hex” and “jinx” as synonyms.

Jinxes

A jinx is another word for a hex—a spell that produces an ill effect. A jinx is

never benign and is used for two reasons:

1. To counter the spells or activities of someone else, as is the case with Anti-

Disapparition and Anti-intruder jinxes 2. To incapacitate an enemy, such is the case with

Jelly-Legs and Impediment jinxes Rowling points out that the word “counterjinx” is a

misnomer: because jinxes, by definition, are often used to counter other spells,

“counterjinx” and “jinx” are synonymous. Jinxes and curses are even similar enough to

share terminology: the Impediment Jinx is also referred to as the Impediment Curse in the

novels, making it a serious spell indeed.

MAGIC TALE The origin of the word "jinx” is found in Greek mythology. Iynx, the daughter of Pan and Peitho, tried to use magic to make Zeus fall in love with her (note

that there is no such love spell in the wizarding world; see Chapter 11 for love potions).

In retribution, Hera turned Inyx into a bird called the iynx (also called the lynx and the

wryneck bird). So, in a way, Hera jinxed Inyx!

Spells

Spell is the default term that encompasses all charms, hexes, jinxes, and curses.

From the Old English spel, meaning story or account, a spell has come to mean any word or phrase with magical power. Note, in fact, the way we use both charm and spell in everyday usage—for example, a charming man can cast a spell on a woman. Both have the sense of magical power, irresistibility, or enchantment. Spells can be benign (like

most charms) or severe (like hexes, jinxes, and curses). Only once does Rowling

officially call a spell something else, however: the Banishing Spell is also referred to as a Banishing Charm.

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Curses

In Harry Potter’s world, a curse is a high-level spell that usually produces great

discomfort in the victim. By definition, a curse is used to call evil down on another (it’s

from the Old English curs, meaning prayer or malediction), so it makes sense that a curse isn’t used to stir a pot of mashed potatoes or clean your dishes, the way a charm might be.

Good wizards do occasionally utilize curses, but almost exclusively in self-defense. Evil

wizards, on the other hand, might use a dozen curses before breakfast. See the “Mastering

the Minor Curses” section for details on specific curses.

Three curses are considered Unforgivable, although some of the so-called minor

curses can produce results nearly as bad as the Unforgivables. See the “Steering Clear of

the Three Unforgivable Curses” section later in this chapter.

Understanding How Spells Are Named and Produced

Spells have both a name and an incantation, which is the word or words a wizard

speaks to produce the spell. In order for the spell to work, the wizard must speak (or, for

really advanced wizards, think) the incantation, often in conjunction with some sort of wand movement. It is possible, however, for some spells to be produced in the absence of

a wand. These tend to occur when a very powerful wizard is under extreme stress or is

enraged.

In Rowling’s novels, incantations are given in italics, followed by an exclamation

point (incantations must be said with feeling, and the exclamation point communicates

this). That same convention is followed in this chapter.

In some cases, only the name of the spell is mentioned in the H arry Potter novels;

in others, Rowling gives only the incantation; and in still other cases, Rowling gives us

both the name and the incantation. So you’ll see some inconsistencies—not every spell

has an incantation, and vice versa.

Easing In: A Handbook of Charms

Most—although not all—charms are fun, harmless ways of using magic. In an

ideal world, wizards would use only charms, not the more dangerous hexes, jinxes, spells,

and curses. For this reason, Charms is a class taught at Hogwarts (see Chapter 8); the

more aggressive spells are not taught at school, although defending against them is

taught.

Hogwarts also offers a Charm Club, which is something on par with a Muggle

Debate Club or French Club. Mostly a social club, it is also an opportunity to practice

rendering charms.

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Accio! (Summoning Charm)

This charms fetches whatever you need—even through locked doors, if necessary.

Lose your keys? No problem. Do a quick summoning spell, and they’ll come to your

hand. Leave your lunch at home? Same deal. As long as you follow Accio! with the name of the object you want, it’ll come to you. Accio, not surprisingly, is Latin for send for or summon.

Aguamenti Charm

This charm makes water stream or whoosh from the tip of a wand, which could be

pretty handy on a hot, sunny day. Agua is Spanish for water; mentis is Latin for intention.

Alohomora! (Alohomora Charm)

This incredibly handy charm opens locks on doors and windows—no more

calling AAA to get your keys out of your car; no more climbing in a window when

you’re locked out of the house.

In one of the more clever naming schemes of all charms and spells, aloha is the

Hawaiian word for “goodbye” (it also is used to mean “hello”), and mora is Latin for obstacle or hindrance. Goodbye, obstacle; hello, unlocked door!

Confundus Charm

From the Latin confunudi, meaning to confuse or bewilder, this charm is meant to

confuse someone temporarily. If a wizard runs into an old classmate on the street and

doesn’t have time to chat, a Confundus Charm that lasts for thirty seconds would be just

enough time to make a clean getaway.

Expelliarmus! (Disarming Charm)

From the Latin expello, meaning to expel or reject, this charm is used mostly to

de-wand another wizard. Without a wand, a wizard’s powers are greatly inhibited, so

separating a wizard from his wand is like getting a gun away from an opponent.

Homorphus Charm

From the Latin homo (man) and the English morph (to change from one thing into another), this powerful charm is supposed to force a werewolf to turn back into a human.

Given how dangerous werewolves are and how useful a charm like this would be, this

charm probably does not actually work; the wizard describing its existence in the novels

has not proven to be a reliable source.

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Imperturbable Charm

Need to have a private conversation without anyone eavesdropping? A wizard

would use an Imperturbable Charm, which Imperturbs an object to create a privacy

barrier. (The English imperturbable means calm, undisturbed, and not easily distressed.) Doors are the primary targets, but entire walls could be Imperturbed.

Impervius!

From the Latin (and English) impervious, meaning impermeable, this incantation

does not allow one substance to penetrate another. For example, a wizard can charm an

object to repel water. Perhaps Dockers stain-resistant pants were designed with the

Impervius! incantation.

Locomotor!

The verb locomote, from which we get the word locomotive (train), means to

move under your own power. Not surprisingly, this incantation is used to move objects,

like a heavy suitcase. Like Accio!, the incantation must be followed by the name of the object.

Lumos!

From the Latin lumen, meaning light, this incantation produces light at the end of

the wand, helping one to see in the dark.

Nox!

From the Latin nox, meaning darkness, this incantation causes the light at the end

of the wand to go out. It is used as a countercharm to Lumos!

Obliteration Charm

The Obliteration Charm (“to obliterate” means to erase completely, leaving no

trace) is used to make the traces of anything disappear, including footsteps in the snow.

Obliviate! (Memory Charm)

This incantation is from the Latin oblivio, meaning forgetfulness, with is the root of the English oblivious (unaware and/or forgetful) and oblivion (the state of having been forgotten). The Memory Charm is used most often on Muggles, forcing them to forget the

wizard activities they may have accidentally seen; it modifies a person’s memory. It can

also be used wizard-to-wizard to make someone forget something damaging or

embarrassing. A wizard could, conceivably, even forget a painful breakup like in Eternal 114

Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by using this charm.

Protean Charm

The Protean Charm is one of the coolest—and most difficult—charms a wizard

can perform, and it requires great skill. From the word protean, which means continually changing in appearance or behavior, this charm allows a wizard to make a change to one

base item, and then any items associated with that item will change in the same way. For

example, a group of everyday items, such as quills, are bewitched to change color, shape,

or some other characteristic when the wizard changes the main quill. In this way,

clandestine messages can be given to a group of wizards. The Dark Mark that Lord

Voldemort gives to each of his followers is likely powered by the Protean Charm.

MAGIC TALE Proteus was a Greek sea god who could foretell the future, but only to

those who could catch him. Because he was a shapeshifter, catching him was no easy

task. Proteus could take the forms of many animals and several bodies of water (streams,

lakes, seas). Protego! (Shield Charm)

From the Latin protego, meaning protect and defend, the Shield Charm deflects

minor spells and rebounds them on the attacker. The charm creates a temporary force

field around the wizard issuing this incantation.

Relashio!

Probably from the Latin relatio, meaning motion, this charm sends something—

perhaps sparks—out of the end of a wand and slightly wounds the person at whom the

wand is aimed.

Reparo!

From the Latin reparo, meaning repair, this charm repairs something broken: a

mug; a pair of glasses; the iPod you dropped on the sidewalk; the large dent in your car.

Silencio! (Silencing Charm)

From the Latin silens, meaning silent, this charm forces someone to quiet down.

It’s the wizard equivalent of using your “indoor voice” when in kindergarten. The charm

may require a sharp poke from the wand, but that’s probably just to get the attention of

the loud talker.

Sonorus!

From the Latin (and English) sonorous, meaning a loud, deep, clear sound, this

useful charm, evoked by pointing a wand at one’s own throat, turns a normal voice into a

megaphone voice.

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Tergeo!

From the Latin tergeo, meaning to clean or polish, this charm is used to clean dirt, blood, or any other goo off one’s body or clothing.

Rictusempra! (Tickling Charm)

The is the ultimate charm in a sibling’s toolkit, because it allows a wizard to tickle

someone without even having to get his or her fingers near another person’s tummy. The

Latin rictus means open mouth or jaw, semper means always; hence, always laughing.

Waddiwasi!

This charm shoots a “wad” of gum (and, presumably, other objects) up someone’s

nose. Perhaps that’s where the incantation originates; if not, the origin of this incantation is difficult to pin down:

•

Waddi is a rare tree in the Australian Outback that grows right alongside the gum

tree.

•

Vadd is Swedish for soft cotton.

•

Wasi means house in the Native American language of Quechua.

•

Vas-y means “you go” in French. The best fit is wad + vas-y, to mean “you go, wad!”

Wingardium Leviosa! (Levitating Charm)

This charm, one of the first learned by students at Hogwarts, causes objects to rise

into the air. The first word of the incantation is likely derived from the English wing and the Latin arduus, meaning steep or high. The second word may be derived from two

Latin sources: levo, meaning lift (but usually more in the sense of “supporting”) and levitas, meaning lightness. Hence, this incantation is about raising something light up high, as if with wings. The charm appears to be used to lift objects; a wizard wanting to

levitate people would use the Levicorpus! incantation.

Moving Up to More Challenging Hexes, Jinxes, and Spells

As I’ve mentioned, there is virtually no difference between a hex and a jinx; both

tend to produce painful results and are not considered “nice” in the wizarding world.

Jinxes, however, are often used defensively, either to deflect a spell or to incapacitate a

dangerous wizard. Hexes are almost always used offensively, and one can work to gain

proficiency in deflecting hexes.

A spell can be of the benign, charm-like variety or may be as deadly as a curse.

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Spell is the default term that is used synonymously with charm, hex, jinx, and curse.

Anapneo!

This incantation saves a person from choking; it’s the wizard equivalent of the

Heimlich Maneuver. It is derived from the Greek apapneo (breathe), from which we get the English word apnea, which is a temporary suspension of breathing. (Sleep apnea is a

condition in which a person stops breathing for a few seconds several times during the

night.)

Aparecium!

From the Latin aperio, meaning to show or discover, this incantation forces

invisible ink to become visible.

Avis!

From the Latin avis, meaning bird, this incantation makes birds shoot out of the

end of a wand.

Bat-Bogey Hex

This hex is great to use on an opponent, because it covers his or her face with

large, flapping bats that presumably were formed from the person’s bogies. This hex may

also be known as the Curse of the Bogies, a curse that is mentioned but not defined in

Rowling’s novels.

KING’S ENGLISH A bogey in the United States is a frightening object; for example, a

bogey-man (often spelled "boogie man”) is the monster that hides under the bed or in the closet. But in the UK, bogey generally has one meaning: booger. Colloportus!

Probably derived from the Latin colligo (connect) and portus (harbor or haven), this spell seals a door together with a loud squish, the way a boot sounds in mud. The

spell, therefore, creates an airtight seal.

Densaugeo!

From the Latin dens, meaning tooth, and augeo, meaning increase, this

incantation causes teeth to grow at any alarming rate.

Diffindo!

From the Latin diffindo, meaning split, this spell causes something to split or

break—another person’s pants, a bookbag, and so on.

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Ennervate!

This incantation has an interesting history in Rowling’s novels. It is used to revive

someone who has fainted, been knocked out, or been Stunned, yet the definition of

“enervate” is to weaken someone’s vitality, not to strengthen it, which means that the incantation is a word that means the opposite of the incantation’s outcome. So, Rowling

renamed this incantation Rennervate! (“unweaken”), which matches the purpose of the spell much more closely.

Episkey! (Healing Spell)

From the Greek episkeyazo, meaning to recondition or repair, this Healing Spell

restores an injured wizard back to health.

Evanesco! (Vanishing Spell)

From the Latin evanesco, meaning disappear, this spell makes an object vanish.

The larger and more complex the object, the more difficult the spell is to perform.

Making the broccoli on your plate vanish doesn’t take much skill; disappearing a house

takes a substantial amount of wizarding power.

Ferula!

A ferule is a spanking paddle, and Ferula communis is the botanical name for giant fennel, which has huge stalks that are strong and wide. We can assume, then, that

Rowling was referring to a splint of some kind when using the incantation Ferula!,

because this spell splints and bandages up a break or sprain.

Finite Incantatem!

Finite means “end,” and Incantatem! refers to incantations; thus, this spell stops all spells. This is what you say when your wizard children have been playing in the

backyard all morning, hexing and jinxing each other, and you’ve had enough.

Flagrate!

From the Latin flagro, meaning blaze or flame, this incantation affixes a large,

flaming "X” on an object, making it easy to find and recognize in the future.

Incendio!

From the word incendiary, meaning highly flammable, this incantation creates

fire.

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Langlock!

Likely derived from the English words language and lock, this incantation glues the tongue to the roof of the mouth, rendering the person unable to speak (and, thus,

language is locked).

Leberacorpus!

This incantation undoes Levicorpus! (see the following entry), bringing a body

back down to the ground. It’s likely derived from the Latin liber (free or unimpede) and corpus (body).

Levicorpus!

From the Latin levis, meaning light, and corpus, meaning body, this incantation levitates a body. Different from Wingardium Leviosa! (the Levitating Charm) because it’s lifting a human being, and none too carefully. Differentiate this spell also from the

Mobilcorpus! curse, in which a person is being controlled like a puppet, while dangling above the ground.

Mobiliarbus!

Wizards with a green thumb can make great use of this incantation, which moves

a tree from one place to another. The incantation is derived from the Latin mobilis,

meaning movable, and arbor, meaning tree.

Oppugno!

From the Latin oppugno, meaning assault or attack, this none-too-friendly charm

provokes something (birds, for example) to attack another wizard. The effect isn’t deadly

or even injury-inducing, but it is annoying and perhaps even frightening. This could be

the incantation for the Bat-Bogey Hex, but the two are never connected in the Harry

Potter novels.

Portus!

From the Latin porta, meaning gate or entrance and portus, meaning harbor,

haven, or port, this spell creates a Portkey, which is a transportation device (see Chapter

5).

Serpensortia!

From the Latin serpens, meaning serpent and ortus/orior (to have appeared on the scene) , this incantation causes a snake to shoot out of the end of a wand.

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Specialis Revelio! (Scarpin’s Revelaspell)

This spell identifies the ingredients of a potion, allowing one to sniff out poisons,

truth serum, love potions, and other dangerous concoctions. The spell also allows a

wizard to detect unique ingredients in potions, thus copying them. (See Chapter 11 for

more on potions.) The incantation is derived from the English words special and reveal.

Using it on something other than a potion can sometimes reveal some history or secret of

that object.

Stupefy! (Stunning Spell)

Stupefy! is an extremely effective spell when in a fight, because it temporarily

disables your attacker, producing roughly the same effect as using a stun gun. From

stupor, which comes from the Latin stupeo, meaning stunned or numbed, this spell is colloquially referred to in the wizarding world as a Stunner.

Tarantallegra!

This spell causes one to tap dance frantically. The incantation is a combination of

the tarantella, a fast-moving Italian dance, and the Italian word allegro, meaning fast or high-spirited.

TOURIST TIP Visit the city of Taranto, in southern Italy, where the tarantella

originated and is still practiced in some weddings and even in town festivals. This

couples’ dance begins slowly, and then changes direction each time the music, played on

a mandolin, speeds up. Before long, keeping up is nearly impossible. Legend has it that

the tarantella began in the Middle Ages to help sweat out the effects of a tarantula bite,

which was thought to be poisonous (it usually isn’t).

Mastering the Minor

Curses

Although no curse should be considered “minor,” compared to the Unforgivable

Curses (which allow for stealing a person’s identity, torturing a person, or killing a

person), even the dangerous curses in this section may seem benign.

Furnunculus! (Furnunculus Curse)

In what probably fits in the category of “vocabulary you didn’t ever need to

know,” carbuncle is the medical term for a pimple, and a furuncle is a boil. Thus, this curse causes huge boils to spring up on the victim.

Impedimentia! (Impediment Curse)

This curse (also called a jinx) slows down, obstructs, and even stops attackers,

making it extremely useful when dueling or battling. If you’re running away and can

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throw an Impediment Curse over your shoulder, you’ll gain the advantage. It’s derived

from the Latin impedimentum, meaning hindrance or impediment.

Incarcerous!

From incarcerate (to imprison), this incantation places ropes around a person’s

arms and legs, temporarily securing the prisoner.

Locomotor Mortis! (Leg-Locker Curse)

The English verb locomote means to move under your own power. Mortis is Latin for death. “Death to moving under your own power” is a great way to describe what

happens with the Leg-Locker Curse, which locks a person’s legs together, bunny-hop

style, and renders him partially paralyzed.

Mobilcorpus!

From the Latin mobilis, meaning movable and changeable, and corpus, meaning body, this incantation makes a person or object as malleable as a puppet, able to be

moved and controlled for a period of time.

Morsmordre!

From the Latin mors (death) and the French mordre (to bite), this frightening incantation causes Lord Voldemort’s Dark Mark (an intertwining skull and snake, in

glowing green) to hover in the sky. Lord Voldemort’s goal is to defeat death and achieve

immortality; hence, “to bite death.”

Reducto! (Reductor Curse)

From the Latin reductus, meaning receding deeply, this curse reduces items to a

fraction of their original size. Don’t want to go around that park bench on your walk? Use

the Reductor Curse! Tired of hitting your head on that low-hanging beam? Blast it out of

sight! This curse also works as an antidote to the Engorgement Curse.

Sectumsempra!

From the Latin sectum (cut) and sempra (always), this ghastly incantation is used in battle to cover one’s enemy in deep cuts. This is a serious, powerful curse that can

cause great damage.

MAGIC TALE The U.S. Marine Corps has a Latin motto that would do a wizard proud:

Semper Fidelis (often shortened to Semper Fi), and both terms are used in Rowling’s spells. ( Semper means always; Fidelis means faithful.) The British Royal Marines also boast a Latin motto: Per Mare Per Terram (by sea, by land), but no wizard spells contain 121

those Latin words.

Transmogrifian Torture

This curse may exist only in the minds of braggart wizards, but if it is real, it can kill someone. That it exists is unlikely, because it would clearly be included among the

Unforgivable Curses.

The origin of Transmogrifian is not entirely clear, although mogrify is a computer programming term for transforming an image. And, of course, Calvin (of the famed

Calvin and Hobbes comic strip) had a Transmogrifier machine.

Steering Clear of the Three Unforgivable Curses

Aptly named, these curses are unforgivable. Using any of them on another person

will, if caught, lead to a life sentence in Azkaban prison (see Chapter 15). They’re listed

here in order of their impact on the victim.

Imperio! (Imperious Curse)

From the Latin impero, meaning command or rule over, this curse gives the curser

total control over the victim. Whatever the wizard who is in command orders of the other

person, the person under the Imperius Curse must obediently perform.

Those with very strong personalities can fight off this curse, and when doing so,

the actions and speech of the victim will be jerky and hesitant until the curse can be

thrown off completely.

Crucio! (Cruciatus Curse)

From the Latin crucio, meaning torture, this curse causes unbelievable agony for

the victim. There’s no need for thumbscrews in the wizarding world; one jolt of this curse

and the victim will jerk, shudder, and twitch from unbelievable pain. People have gone

insane from this curse. Like any torture, it can get people to talk if a truth potion (see

Chapter 11) isn’t close at hand.

Avada Kedavra! (Killing Curse)

In the wizarding world, no one has to use guns or bombs to kill someone; instead,

this curse does the job. Because the curse can be performed only by powerful wizards and

requires a strong presence of magic, there is no blocking it. And there’s no countercurse,

either. Only one person (Harry Potter) has ever survived it.

The incantation is a play on abracadabra, the age-old incantation for any spell

desired, and on cadaver, meaning corpse.

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Chapter 13

Advanced Wizardry

In This Chapter

•

Changing your appearance at will

•

Enlisting the help of a protector

•

Looking beyond symbols

•

Reading someone’s mind and emotions

•

Becoming a prophesier

•

Speaking with snakes

•

Keeping a secret and a promise

•

Saving your soul

Beyond the herbology, potions, and spells discussed in the previous three chapters, the

greatest wizards practice advanced magic that ranges from morphing the shapes of their

bodies to getting inside another wizard’s thoughts to conversing with snakes … and the

most evil of all advanced wizardry, splitting one’s soul in an attempt to achieve

immortality. This chapter gives you the lowdown on what the best (or worst) and

brightest wizards are up to.

Being an Animagus or Metamorphmagus

Advanced wizards can change their appearance at will (that is, without the help of

a wand or potion):

•

An Animagus, combining ani (from animal) with magus (Latin for magician), is a wizard who can transform into the shape of an animal at will. This difficult skill can be

learned. For werewolves (see Chapter 2), the transformation happens without the control

or consent of the person, so a werewolf is not considered an Animagus.

•

A Metamorphmagus (meta means “change” or “alteration,” morph means “form”)

is a wizard who can change appearance at will. This is not a skill that can be learned,

although wizards can change a portion of their appearance—such as the size of their

teeth—with spells or potions (but the effects might be temporary) . Metamorphmagi are

born with the skill. An Animagus takes only one animal or insect form (cat, dog, deer,

rat, or beetle, for example), and that form often resembles the human in some way.

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Because Animagi are unrecognizable as humans, however, and because an Animagus

transformation is difficult magic that’s fraught with danger, all Animagi must register

with the Ministry of Magic, indicating what sort of animal they transform into and what

that animal’s particular markings are. Failure to register is considered a serious crime.

Powerful wizards can return an Animagus to his human form, even against his

will. This practice allows unregistered and/or criminal Animagi to be exposed as their

true selves.

A Metamorphmagus, on the other hand, does not need to register the skill of

changing hair length and color, nose shape and size, and eye shape and color.

is certainly not new in literature; in fact, it is one of the most common abilities

among gods, wizards, fairies, elves, and others in mythology and fantasy, especially in

Celtic lore but also in the following:

•

Ged, the young wizard in Ursula Le Guin’s The Wizard of Earthsea, can transform

into a hawk.

•

In Patrice Kindl’s Owl in Love, a 13-year-old girl transforms into an owl at night.

•

Merlin turns young Arthur (before he becomes king) into several different animals

in T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, so that Arthur can learn from the animals.

•

Similarly, in Christopher Paolini’s Eldest, Eragon learns the nature of the universe by inserting himself into the minds of animals, from ants to squirrels, and viewing the

world through their eyes.

•

In C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Eustace is turned into a dragon

for a time, and through this experience becomes an almost nice person.

•

In Caribbean and African folktales, young men regularly turn into birds, insects,

and animals of all sizes and shapes.

•

In the Grimm Brothers’ “Hans, My Hedgehog” and “Beauty and the Beast,” the

love of a woman transforms a beast into his beautiful human self. In fact, princes and

princesses are regularly turned into frogs, beasts, and other animals as the result of a

punishing spell, and these effects are temporary until the proper conditions exist for the

reversal of that spell.

•

In the movie Shrek, a princess takes the form of an ogre each night. In both versions of Disney’s The Shaggy Dog, men are turned into sheepdogs, and hilarity ensues.

•

Mythological gods and goddesses often took animal forms, and just as often, they

punished others by turning them into animals.

•

Apuleius’s The Golden Ass, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and Homer’s The Odyssey all contain instances of humans transforming into animals.

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Conjuring a Patronus

When faced with a dementor (a guard at Azkaban prison; see Chapter 15), an

exceptional wizard can perform a Patronus Charm. Patronus is derived from the word

patron, which means protector or defender (from the Latin patrius, for father), and in the wizarding world, a Patronus acts as a defender against a dementor.

A Patronus, which takes a unique animal shape for the wizard conjuring it, isn’t

bothered by the happiness-sucking practice of dementors.

To conjure a Patronus, a wizard must think about a very happy memory (or even a

happy daydream), and then utter the incantation Expecto Patronum! A silver vapor then emanates from the wizard’s wand, and that vapor turns into the Patronus, which is life

size, but shiny, silvery, and almost ghostlike. Wizards who are still learning the Patronus

Charm produce only the silvery smoke, while more advanced wizards produce a

corporeal (that is, a visible and tangible) Patronus.

Patron saints are an important feature of Catholicism and resemble a Patronus in

some ways. (Saints are holy people who, when they lived, had unusual relationships with

God; in Catholicism, the formal process of canonization—that is, sainthood—takes years

to complete.) Patron saints, because of their individual histories, represent a particular

condition (physical or spiritual), state, or vocation, and Catholics ask for intercession on the part of that patron saint when praying. So, for example, an athlete might, in prayer,

ask Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes, to pray for him or her to help with an

injury or because of a difficult upcoming match, acting as a sort of protector. (Note that

patron saints are not gods or deities; asking a patron saint to pray on one’s behalf is like asking a next-door neighbor to pray on one’s behalf. No one would suggest that the

person believes the next-door neighbor is a god. The only difference is that the patron

saint happens to be dead.)

Similarly, in religious practices throughout history, a guardian angel is a protector

like a Patronus. Artifacts show that Babylonians and Assyrians believed in the presence

of angels who guarded people from harm and helped them succeed. Both the Old and

New Testaments also reference angels who protect people from harm.

TOURIST TIP Is there a patron saint of magic? Well, not yet, but a priest in Torino, Italy, is making a case for Saint Giovanni Bosco, who was born less than an hour from

Torino, to have that honor. This saint started doing magic tricks in the early nineteenth

century to amuse his friends, and he became well known for his "magical” abilities.

Bosco actually has a chance at earning the title of patron saint of magicians, as the

Catholic Church sees no problem with magic tricks—as long as they don’t lead to devil

worship! Torino is, in fact, known as a "magic town” because of the abilities of its

greatest conjurer, Bartolomeo Bosco, who was born about 20 years before Saint Giovanni

and likely sparked the younger Bosco’s magical interests.

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Deciphering Runes

The study of runes—that is, symbols that make up a 24-character alphabet known

as the Futhark—does not have a significant place in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Only one main character (Hermione Granger) is known to study the subject; she is often

caught reading books like Ancient Runes Made Easy, Magical Hieroglyphs and

Logograms, Advanced Rune Translations, as well as referencing a rune dictionary.

Runes have, however, had a place in British culture since the collapse of Rome

and the Age of Migrations (also called the Dark Ages). Originally derived from Greek,

runes were used by Germanic and Scandinavian settlers in Britain after the Romans left

the area, roughly around 300 to 400 C.E. The 24 original runic symbols (9 more were

added a few hundred years after their first use, but they’re considered to be posers) are as follows:

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However, runes are not simply an alphabet of letters that are combined to make

words; their study and understanding is far more complex. Each rune is made up of a

symbol that is not only beautiful in and of itself but also has a direct translation, a

meaning (an expansion of the translation) , a personal interpretation for your own life,

characteristics that further examine the translation and meaning, a tie to the natural world of animals and plants, a number, a color, an element (fire, earth, water, air), a polarity

(male or female), associated gods, correspondence to an astrological sign,

correspondence to a Tarot card, a reverse meaning, and a converse meaning.

MAGIC TALE Use of the word "rune” abounds in dragon literature and modern

fantasy. The word, even if readers aren’t exactly sure what it means when they see it,

conjures up images of secrecy and magic. Christopher Paolini mentions runes dozens of

times in the lengthy novels Eragon and Eldest, and the meaning is roughly the idea of

"letters of an alphabet.” In those novels, 11 runes are the oldest and most unique; dwarf runes are quite similar to human runes, humans having based their alphabet on that of the

dwarves.

With so much meaning attributed to each runic symbol, runes have long

been used in divination—that is, to tell one’s personal fortune. They have had other

magical uses, too, including casting spells and weaving charms.

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Using Legilimency and Occlumency

Legilimency is the practice of reading someone’s thoughts, memories, and

emotions, usually for nefarious purposes, although it is sometimes done with good

intentions. Eye contact makes the practice much easier. The greatest Legilimens is Lord

Voldemort, the Dark Lord himself, who has a Legilimenian connection with Harry Potter;

they can sometimes share thoughts and feelings without even trying (and, indeed, against

their wills).

The term literally means the state of reading the mind (the Latin legens means

“reading,” the Latin mens means “mind,” and the suffix -ency means “the state of”), but Legilimency is far subtler than simply reviewing the thoughts in a person’s head. A

skilled Legilimens can determine the intentions of the person, and so can determine

whether a person has just lied, is going to betray those around him, or has intentions other than those he has stated.

Occlumency is the antidote to Legilimency. Literally meaning “the state of

closing the mind” ( occludo is Latin for shut up or close), Occlumency can keep even a skilled Legilimens from penetrating the mind. The key to becoming a skilled Occlumens

is to make the mind as blank as possible, thus revealing nothing about your intentions,

emotions, and thoughts.

Knowing what’s in the hearts and minds of others is an oft-used device in

literature, but that knowledge tends to come more from intuition and the character and

tendencies of another and less from directly reading one’s thoughts. True mind-probing is

relatively uncommon in literature, but two such examples come to mind: in Christopher

Paolini’s Eragon and Eldest, mind-probing is common among Dragon Riders, who also learn to shut out the probes of others. Dragon Riders can also scry others, which means

they can check up on people and places they have seen before (they cannot scry

something they have yet to see), even if the other person or place is at a great distance.

And, of course, Mr. Spock was expert at the Vulcan mind meld in the original Star Trek

TV series—in close proximity, often touching another person’s forehead, a Vulcan can

share the thoughts, knowledge, experiences, and memories of the other.

Practicing Prophecy

Divination is the practice of attempting to predict the future; a divination (or

prophecy) is also the name given to a particular prediction of the future. A Seer (one with

the Inner Eye) makes prophecies, while an Object is one about whom a prophecy is

made.

Divination is one of the few foundations that nearly all cultures share, from

Mesopotamia and Babylonia to the Greeks and Romans, continuing throughout the

history of Western civilization, and including Eastern cultures such as China and Korea.

Divination was not considered “evil” or “alternative” as it is in many cultures now, but an

important component of spiritual and religious life. Even the birth and death of Jesus

were foretold as prophecy.

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In the wizarding world, however, divination is generally treated with a bit of, er,

skepticism. Hogwarts’ Divination teacher, Sibyll Trelawney, is considered by many to be

a fraud. Sibyll ( sibyl is Greek for “wise” or “prophetic”) spends her time teaching

students to interpret tea leaves, look into crystal balls, read cards, interpret dreams, and review the flight pattern of birds, none of which a true Seer needs in order to prophesize.

Trelawney not only teaches Divination through such tools but also uses them to makes

vague predictions of doom that few pay any attention to. She insists that her gifts are

legitimate, perhaps insisting a bit too vehemently. One wonders whether the Divination

teacher has any real confidence in her abilities.

However, Trelawney is the descendent of a truly gifted Seer and, in moments she

does not later recall—and without the aid of any of the Divination tools on which she

relies—Trelawney utters meaningful prophecies. Such prophecies (and others, revealed

by other Seers) are stored in glass orbs in the Hall of Prophecy in the Department of

Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic (see Chapter 14). As long as the orbs remain

unbroken, prophecies can be played back like a tape recorder. Prophecies can also be

repeated by anyone who overhears them.

Prophecies do, indeed, predict what can happen in the future. But this is where

they get interesting. Prophecies are not glimpses of the future. They are not plays that

actors will soon act out, like puppets on a string. Instead, everyone involved in the

prophecy is free to ignore it and go about his or her life. But because most people act on

the prophecy—fearing, or, conversely, desiring its outcome—the prophecy is often

fulfilled.

MAGIC TALE Myth and folktales are filled with examples of people who, upon

hearing a prophecy, acted on it to avoid its coming true, but instead succeeded only in

creating perfect conditions in which the prophecy could happen. Consider the story of

Oedipus, whose father was told that Oedipus would kill him and marry Oedipus’s

mother. Terrified of this prophecy, Oedipus’s father created the very conditions under

which the prophecy could be fulfilled: he injured his son and sent him out into the

wilderness to die. Oedipus was saved by a servant and, never knowing his father or

mother, eventually fulfilled the prophecy. Had the father chosen not to act on the

prophecy and to raise Oedipus as his son, odds are the boy would never have killed his

father or been attracted to his mother.

Such is the case with the essential prophecy

around which Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort center their lives. Trelawney predicted

that a boy born in July to parents who had defied Voldemort three times would have the

power to vanquish the Dark Lord, and that either the boy or Voldemort must die at the

hands of the other. Now, if Voldemort had left this alone, it may or may not have come

true. But, like Oedipus’s father, he acted on it, choosing Harry as that boy, even though

another boy fit the description equally. In so choosing Harry, he marked the boy, and thus

set the fulfillment of the prophecy in motion.

Perhaps the best-known prophet in history was Pythia, the priestess of a shrine to

Apollo, called Delphi, that was located at the center of the Greek world. Known as the

Oracle at Delphi, Pythia communicated with Apollo and shared his prophecies. They

were vague and subject to all sorts of interpretation, but heads of state and more common

folk alike consulted the Oracle for guidance. In Roman times, pure prophecy in the

trance-like state into which Pythia fell was replaced with more assistive forms of

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prophecy, such as those practiced by Sibyll Trelawney.

Speaking in Parseltongue

A Parselmouth—that is, one who can talk to snakes—speaks in the language of

Parseltongue, which is made up of hissing sounds. It tends to be a talent one simply

possesses, and it is not taught—nor for that matter, used—at Hogwarts.

Traditionally, the ability to speak Parseltongue has been the mark of a Dark

Wizard. In fact, the ability has been associated with Salazar

Slytherin, founder of Slytherin House at Hogwarts (see Chapter 8), the house that

has produced more Dark Wizards than any other. Lord Voldemort, the darkest of all

wizards, is the best-known Parselmouth. However, not all Parselmouths are evil, as Harry

Potter speaks fluent Parseltongue. His ability to hear snakes has saved the day on more

than one occasion.

According to an interview with J.K. Rowling, Parselmouth is an “old word for

someone who has a problem with their mouth,” as with a harelip.

Snakes have never been well-liked in culture and literature. A snake was, after all,

responsible for the fall of man, when a serpent tempted Eve into tasting the forbidden

fruit. Serpent mythology and folktales, in fact, are among the most recognizable cultural

stories in the world. Both feared and respected, serpents were thought to be the most

dangerous of all creatures, but they have been used in both healing and fertility rites.

Serpents have been associated with gods and goddesses and played a role in a

variety of literature, from Mesopotamian mythology and the Babylonian Epic of

Gilgamesh to Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

Sealing the Deal with a Fidelius Charm or an Unbreakable Vow

A Fidelius Charm, rarely mentioned in the wizarding world, is a complicated

charm that hides information inside a person, who is known as a Secret-Keeper. ( Fidelis

is Latin for faithful, loyal, trustworthy, and dependable.) As long as the Secret-Keeper

says nothing, it is impossible for anyone else to discover that information, even if faced

with it directly before him. So if you wanted to know the location of a soccer game, but

that information had been hidden inside a Secret-Keeper, you wouldn’t be able to find

that soccer game even if you walked onto the soccer pitch (field) and tripped over the

players themselves.

However, if the Secret-Keeper divulges the secret, the charm is nullified, and the

hidden information is up for grabs. Because of the power of Dark Wizards to perform

Legilimency, Secret-Keeping is important business. Wizards must always choose their

Secret-Keepers carefully; their very lives could depend on it.

An Unbreakable Vow is similar to a Fidelius Charm, but instead of a secret that

cannot be learned, it represents a vow that cannot be broken … ever. To make such an

airtight vow, the two people making the vow take each other’s right hands while a third

party, a Bonder, stands over them. The vow is said out loud, while a flame surrounds the

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two vow-makers’ hands. It’s the equivalent of the fidelity claimed by blood brothers, but

with much less spit and blood and with a much greater consequence if the vow is broken.

What happens if you break the vow? Simple: you die. Imagine if a bride and

groom took this approach. The divorce rate would surely decrease, but the number of

deaths might increase somewhat!

Creating a Horcrux

A Horcrux is, perhaps, the most difficult to understand—and the most evil—of all

advanced wizardry. There is only one reason to create a Horcrux, and that is to achieve

immortality.

A Horcrux is an object in which you hide a portion of your soul. If, after you’ve

created a Horcrux, your body is killed, you will survive because that hidden portion of

your soul will remain untouched. You can then rebuild your body, starting with the torn

portion of your soul.

It’s not the attempt at immortality that makes the creation of a Horcrux inherently

evil; instead, it is the means by which the soul is torn. A soul is split in only one way: by committing the act of murder. This act is so evil that it rips the soul, and thus allows the split portion to be stored in a Horcrux. A split soul will be a lesser soul, however, because the human soul was meant to remain whole and unblemished.

The word Horcrux likely derives from Latin words. The English word crucible, a

container that can resist both great heat and withstand a severe test or trial, is associated with the Latin crux. And hor is likely a shortened version of several Latin terms that all lead to the English horror, horrid, and horrible. Thus, a Horcrux is a “horror-filled

container, ” which is an apt term for a container holding the portions of a person’s soul

ripped apart by committing murder.

Dualism of the soul is an idea long present in the Bible, in which a soul is thought

to be immortal, while the body is not. “Soul” is often used as a synonym for “life” in the

New Testament, whereas today we tend to think of the soul more as the center of

wisdom, goodness, and intuition in the body and less the source of life itself.

The soul is the subject of much of literature, particularly fantasy literature. Phillip

Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is, in fact, obsessed with the notion of the soul, which Pullman calls a person’s “dæmon” and which defines his or her very nature. In

Pullman’s trilogy, a soulless person is a ghost of his former self and either shows no

emotion or dies, much like those in the wizarding world whose souls have been sucked

out by a Dementor’s Kiss (see Chapter 15). A person without a soul, or with only a

portion of a soul, could be thought of as less than human, and in fact would become less

so, the further removed he was, in time, from the other part of his soul.

This definition (less than human) befits Lord Voldemort, who created not one

Horcrux, but six, thus splitting his soul into seven pieces. His Horcruxes include his

diary; two family heirlooms (a ring and a locket); a cup that belonged to one of the

Hogwarts founders, Helga Hufflepuff; and two others, yet unknown. (Voldemort’s snake

and companion, Nagini, is thought to be a possibility, but also likely is that the two

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remaining Horcruxes belonged to Hogwarts founders, much like Helga’s cup. See

Chapter 16 for the latest updates.)

Part 5

Regulating Magic and the Wizards Who Perform It

As with any community, wizards require a method of governing themselves, and

the Ministry of Magic fills that role. In this part, you discover the similarities between

British and wizard forms of government, take a visit to the Ministry itself, and find out

what happens to wizards who break the rules. You also get a bonus chapter, which

highlights the people, places, and wizarding tools found in Rowling’s seventh and final

novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Chapter 14

The Ministry of Magic

In This Chapter

•

Getting a glimpse at the old Wizards’ Council

•

Reviewing the function of each of the seven Ministry departments

•

Discovering how wizards and British politicos liaise Located deep underground in

the center of London, the Ministry of Magic is the governing body for wizards (and for

all creatures with magical abilities) in Great Britain, similar in many ways to British and

American forms of federal government. However, as this chapter shows, several

governmental functions that appear in both Great Britain and the United States simply

don’t exist in the Ministry’s seven departments, and vice versa.

The (Now Defunct) Wizards’ Council

Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Magic more than 400 years ago, UK

wizards were governed by the Wizards’ Council. The Council spent much of its early

days defining Being and Beast, in order to determine who should participate in the

Council, and who shouldn’t.

MAGIC TALE Wizards’ Councils appear in two of the most influential fantasy book

series: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series . In Rings, Gandalf is a member of the White Council, the fraternity of wizards of which Saruman the White (and, later, Gandalf the White himself) is head. In Earthsea, a mature Ged becomes Archmage, head of the wizards’ council.

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Ministry Departments Galore

Seven departments make up the Ministry of Magic, and they are described in the

following sections.

Upon comparing the Ministry to both British and American federal governments,

however, we find some startling omissions in the wizarding world:

•

Exchequer/Treasury: Wizards don’t appear to pay taxes of any sort, yet Ministry

officials do manage to get paid. Given that no governmental body can operate without

funds, somewhere, buried deep in London, there must be an exchequer or treasury

department at the Ministry. Perhaps we just don’t know about it. Or maybe the Exchequer

has an office in the Department of Mysteries (see the final section of this chapter).

•

Work and Pensions/Labor and Social Security: As with the lack of an Exchequer,

the Ministry of Magic has no ministry or department that deals with labor and pension

issues. However, jobs are hardly scarce in the wizarding world: careers with the Ministry,

at Hogwarts, at St. Mungo’s (see Chapter 7), at Gringotts (see Chapter 4), and in retail

and service businesses do appear to be readily available, limited only by one’s lack of

distinction in various school subjects at Hogwarts. In addition, elderly, retired wizards

give all appearances of being well cared for and able to manage their finances quite well.

So perhaps the wizarding community is in the unique position of having enough jobs

available for the people who want them, and having citizens who plan for retirement. •

Education: Note that there is no Department of Education as there is in both UK and

U.S. governments. Hogwarts, as the only British wizarding school, effectively functions

as the education department of the Ministry. All decisions related to the training of

wizards are made at Hogwarts and by Hogwarts staff. However, the Ministry of Magic

has the power to adjust curriculum, change school rules with educational decrees, expel

students from Hogwarts, and replace headmasters and/or professors who aren’t up to

snuff.

•

Housing: Nearly every government throughout the world has to deal, at some

point, with lack of housing, overcrowded housing, unsafe urban dwellings, and/or

unprofitable rural housing and farms. However, the Ministry of Magic does not appear to

have any department or office that helps wizards locate affordable, appropriate housing

for themselves and their families.

Those are the departments that do not exist in the

Ministry. The following are the seven departments that do exist.

Department of Magical Games and Sports

The Department of Magical Games and Sports coordinates all international

competitions held on British soil, and also regulates intra-British sports and games. The

British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters has an office under this department, as

does the Official Gobstones Club (see Chapter 6 for more on Quidditch and Gobstones).

One unusual office in this department is the Ludicrous Patents Office. No one is

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quite sure whether the agency is actively encouraging ludicrous patents, or whether this office is sniffing out the ludicrous ones and throwing those patent applications away.

British government has a similar agency to the Department of Magical Games and

Sports in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which oversees and coordinates

with museums and galleries, libraries, architecture, historic building, and the like. This

British department also funds public broadcasting, including the BBC, promotes British

tourism, encourages creative industries, and sponsors sporting opportunities and events,

from grade-school to elite levels.

KING’S ENGLISH An elevator, called a lift in Great Britain, transports wizards and

witches deep under London to the offices of the Ministry. The most dangerous

departments are the farthest from the surface, which makes sense. No such centralized

department exists in American politics, although small offices and divisions oversee

some similar entities. Sports and games are nearly all self-regulated by sport governing

bodies, with little or no government intervention. Even the U.S. Olympic Committee is a

nonprofit organization, not a government agency.

Department of Magical Transportation

Every good government has an agency that deals with moving people from place

to place (Department for Transport in London; Department of Transportation in

Washington, D.C.), and the Ministry of Magic is no different. Chapter 5 discusses the

four major ways wizards travel from place to place, which four key offices in this

department regulate: the Floo Network Authority, the Broom Regulatory Control, the

Portkey Office, and the Apparition Test Center.

These four offices operate very much like those in the Muggle world, where

Muggle governments undertake tasks like regulating car emissions, licensing automobile

drivers and their cars, regulating the safety of planes and trains, and so on.

Department of International Magical Cooperation

Governments of large, developed countries could, perhaps, take a lesson from the

wizarding world and create their own “departments of international cooperation.” Instead,

the United States has the departments of State (the chief agency of international

diplomacy and cooperation), Commerce (for cooperating in trade), and Defense (for

when nations aren’t feeling so cooperative). Similar departments exist in Great Britain:

Foreign Affairs; International Development; Trade and Industry; and Defence.

The offices in this department include those related both to international trade and

international law, as well as the British seats in the International Confederation of

Wizards. Like the United Nations, the International Confederation of Wizards oversees

all magical ministries and councils worldwide. This group initiated the International Code

of Wizarding Secrecy, which is the international law that drives nearly all other laws and

rules within the wizarding world: that Muggles cannot know of the existence of wizards

and witches. The leader of the International Confederation of Wizards is called the

Supreme Mugwump (see more in Chapter 1).

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KING’S ENGLISH You say "defence,” I say "defense” .... A number of British government terminologies are spelled oh-so-slightly differently than their American

counterparts. Centre is center, organisation is organization, licence is license, and byelaw is bylaw. Go figure.

Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

As both one of the most enjoyable and one of the most dangerous jobs in the

Ministry, working for the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is

a career without equal in American and British politics. The U.S. Department of

Agriculture comes closest, but you can’t compare the inspection of cows—a primary

function of the USDA—with the excitement of transporting a dragon, the gratification

that comes from helping wizards rid their homes of garden gnomes and doxies, and the

danger of hunting fire crab poachers. But it’s all in a day’s work for the employees of this department.

Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

This department has two aims:

•

To attempt to mend and cure wizards who have been injured by magic, either

because of their own, er, lack of skill or because of an attack by another wizard. •

To

modify the memories of Muggles who have inadvertently witnessed magical activities.

Those two goals are met in two ways:

1. St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries: Hidden in London, this

hospital treats everything from injuries due to exploding cauldrons to dragon pox to

unliftable jinxes. The facility also acts as a nursing home, where wizards who have been

put under the Cruciatus Curse (see Chapter 12)—and, thus, have been tortured until they

become insane—are kept comfortable until they die. 2. The Accidental Magic Reversal

Squad: An agency of this department, the squad rushes to the scene of magic and

attempts to correct the damage done, much like an emergency medical technician (EMT)

and ambulance driver might do in the Muggle world. If no Muggles have seen the results

of the accident, the wizard involved is treated and either taken to St. Mungo’s or released, albeit with a hefty fine. But if Muggles have seen magic go awry, as is usually the case when unlicensed wizards attempt Apparition and leave body parts in two different places,

or when Dark Wizards kill and maim indiscriminately, the memories of Muggles who

survive the incident must be altered. Obliviators who work for the squad are expert at

performing memory charms (see Chapter 12), thus removing any memory of the incident

from the minds of the Muggles.

Muggles in the United States and United Kingdom

do not have an equivalent department: the British Department of Health and the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services are involved in treating and correcting

maladies, but do not deal with cleaning up catastrophes.

Likewise, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (with groups like the

Federal Emergency Management Agency) deals regularly with catastrophes, but would

never attempt to change the public’s perception of the event. Wait a minute … maybe

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these two departments aren’t so different after all!

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is structured nearly identically to

the U.S. Justice Department and the British Home Office. But unlike United States and

British law, law enforcement in the magical world (see Chapter 15) has only two

priorities: avoiding Muggle detection and protecting wizards.

International Code of Wizarding Secrecy requires every wizarding government to

take strenuous precautions to avoid detection from Muggles, resorting to the memory-

altering tactics employed by the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, as

needed. For this reason, offices within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

make it illegal for wizards to both improperly use magic and misuse Muggle artifacts.

There is no equivalent agency that comes close in the Muggle world.

To keep powerful and/or Dark Wizards from taking advantage of other wizards,

the Department of Magical Law Enforcement vigorously protects the wizards within its

borders. For wizards engaging in fraudulent, but otherwise harmless, activities, the Office

for Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects (a

mouthful!) prosecutes to the fullest extent of the law. For more evil deeds, the Magical

Law Enforcement Patrol (or Squad) is on hand to make arrests, and Aurors (see Chapter

15) both track criminals and protect innocent citizens in danger. This service is much like

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (United States) and the Serious Organised Crime

Agency (UK).

To prosecute crimes, the Wizengamot Administration Services acts as the high

court, like the United States Supreme Court. You can find more on the Wizengamot in

Chapter 15.

Department of Mysteries

Aaaah, the Department of Mysteries. Very secret are the goings on of this

government agency; so much so that those employed by this department are called

Unspeakables. It’s not that they can’t speak, it’s that they don’t.

An equivalent agency in British and American government probably exists, but

who knows, really? Governments are full of mysterious activities; few advertise the fact

by actively naming a department of

"mysteries.” Remember that the U.S. government was able to develop and test

atomic bombs in complete secrecy during World War II’s Manhattan Project in Oak

Ridge, Tennessee. Residents of that “Secret City” were not allowed to speak to anyone

outside the town limits about what they were working on … the Unspeakables of the

Muggle world. Similarly, the Central Intelligence Agency (United States) and Secret

Intelligence Service (UK) are responsible for all foreign espionage, and those employed

at those agencies are not allowed to speak to outsiders about their jobs. Perhaps there’s

even a link between Rowling’s Unspeakables and the so-called “Untouchables,”

government officials who went after mobster Al Capone in the 1920s.

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The Link Between British Government and the Ministry of Magic

According to Rowling, upon the election of each new British Prime Minister, the

Minister of Magic must contact the Muggle Prime Minister (through a portrait of a

wizard hanging on the Prime Minister’s wall) to meet and discuss the existence of

wizards, magic, and the Ministry of Magic itself. The Minister of Magic must also inform

the Prime Minister whenever highly dangerous creatures are brought into the country or

when Dark Wizards threaten the security of Muggles in general or the Prime Minister

directly. Aurors have even been known to infiltrate the Prime Minister’s staff in order to

guard and protect him under this last set of conditions.

What’s fascinating about this idea is that it forces readers to wonder, “Do wizards

really exist in England, and the Prime Minister just doesn’t want to admit it?” It helps

explain how the wizarding world has survived, undetected, all these millennia. In fact,

one could argue that Rowling’s particular genius comes not only from creating an entire

fantastical world, but in joining that world with the Muggle world and explaining ways in

which the two have been intersecting for years. That concept gives readers pause, even

those older, worldly, experienced readers. Is it possible? Did the Minister of Magic

introduce himself through a picture in the wall to Margaret Thatcher back in the 1980s?

What about Tony Blair more recently?

Each Muggle Prime Minister, of course, tells no one what he or she knows and

takes the knowledge of magic and wizards to the grave. Why? Because if the Prime

Minister passed along his knowledge of the Ministry of Magic and the entire wizarding

world, his mental state would quite surely be questioned, and he would likely find

himself turned out of 10 Downing Street in a half-day’s time.

TOURIST TIP If you plan to make a trip to 10 Downing, you might get close enough to

snap a picture of the sign that reads, "Downing Street” at the end of the block, or possibly even catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister as he gets into his Land Rover limousine.

Forget getting any closer than that, as security is as tight as at the White House.

Chapter 15

Crime and Punishment

In This Chapter

•

Understanding the role of the Ministry

•

Getting to know Aurors

•

Examining the wizard court: the Wizengamot

•

Reviewing wizard forms of punishment, including Azkaban prison As with all

societies, rules and laws exist to govern the wizarding world. Among British wizards,

laws are established by the Ministry of Magic, and they are enforced by Ministry

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department officials, Aurors, and the Wizengamot. Convicted criminals are punished, but

punishments tend to be light for pranks gone wrong and for crimes committed out of

monetary greed. For the use of Dark Magic, however, punishment is fierce: a term at a

prison from which there is little chance of escape.

Ministry Department Officials: Tracking Down the Improper Use of Magic

Improper use of magic—the misdemeanors of the wizarding world— includes any

of the following:

•

Playing pranks on Muggles: Because Muggles cannot defend themselves against

magic of any sort, playing pranks on nonmagic folk is strictly forbidden. Wizards

sometimes enjoy playing pranks on Muggles by magicking up their toilets, doorknobs,

cars, and so on. Is there an equivalent in the Muggle world? Not exactly. This is

something like an eighth-grader picking on a kindergartener, which may be a school

violation but isn’t a crime. Perhaps white-color crime comes the closet—when those with

more power pick on those with less.

•

Using standard Muggle items in magical ways: Items commonly used by Muggles

(and that, incidentally, are generally useless to wizards) are not allowed to be doctored up by magic. No similar “crime” exists in the Muggle world, although Muggles frequently

use items in ways they weren’t originally intended. It’s just not considered a crime in the Muggle world.

•

Allowing Muggles to see magic being performed: Because Muggles are not

supposed to know that wizards exist, the Statute of Secrecy strictly forbids allowing

Muggles to see magical acts being performed. Muggles’ memories are always modified

by Ministry officials (called Obliviators) when they see such acts. In the Muggle world,

the United States CIA reportedly has its own way of “wiping out someone’s memory” if

they’ve seen something they shouldn’t have … yikes! • Note that, as in most cultures,

wizard self-defense is always permitted, which means that in exceptional circumstances

in which anyone’s life is threatened, using magic in the presence of Muggles is allowed. •

Misusing magical creatures: Because so many magical creatures are dangerous,

possessing and misusing such creatures is a crime under wizard law. Cruelty to animals,

the equivalent crime in the Muggle world, does sometimes go unpunished in local courts,

even though studies show that it’s a precursor to more serious crimes.

•

Cheating other wizards: Cheating other wizards can range from selling useless

amulets and substandard cauldrons to outright theft. In the wizarding world, as in nearly

all Muggle societies, cheating others is strictly forbidden. Thus, Ministry department

officials act as a police force for petty crimes (what we might call misdemeanors). For

crimes committed out of sheer evil—and especially for the use of the Unforgivable

Curses (see Chapter 12)—Aurors hunt down the wizards in question, and the

Wizengamot prosecutes the offenders, usually with a life-long term in prison.

When the only person hurt from the misuse of magic is the wizard him-or herself

(such as is the case with many injuries), and no Muggles have seen the results of the

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misused magic, no one is punished. The injury is treated, the wizard may be publicly

embarrassed, and he or she usually has to pay a fine, but the wizard is usually not

prosecuted. This is generally the same as in the Muggle world, where if there is no one to

press charges against an individual, and no damage was done to someone else’s property

(including community-owned property), the individual is sent home, perhaps with a ticket

or light fine.

Ridding the World of Evil Magic: Aurors, the Wizengamot, and Anti-Dark

Wizard Groups

While Ministry department officials detect and deter petty crimes, Aurors are

homicide detectives, the FBI, and the CIA all rolled into one, and the Wizengamot hears

cases brought to trial by the work of Aurors. In addition, other wizards sometimes come

together to fight Dark Magic.

Aurors and Their Role

Aurors are employed by the Ministry as part of the Magical Law Enforcement

Squad, are sometimes called Hit Wizards, and are the top police force in the British

wizarding world. These law-enforcement wizards likely take their name from aurora,

Latin for dawn or daybreak. (Aurora was, in fact, the name of the Roman goddess of the

dawn.) As defenders against Dark Wizards, Aurors are wizards of light.

KING’S ENGLISH A common story about the origin of the word Auror is that, because

British police officers are colloquially known as "coppers,” Rowling named the Auror

after the Latin aurum or aureum, meaning "gold.” This is a bit of a stretch, though. If this sort of thin connection were Rowling’s style, it could be equally likely that Aurors were

named after the Latin auris, meaning ear or hearing, because they listened well enough in class to earn top marks! Pretty unlikely.

Aurors are among the most accomplished

wizards in the world, excelling in several school subjects, including Defense Against the

Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms. Animagi and Metamorphmagi

(discussed in detail in Chapter 13) are prime candidates for Auror work, because they can

easily change their appearance. Aurors must also be of outstanding character, because

they are deeply entrenched in the Dark world and cannot be at risk of changing sides.

Before taking their posts, Aurors train for three years beyond graduation from Hogwarts.

Think of qualifying to be an Auror the same way you might think of getting

accepted to one of the U.S. military academies (West Point, the Navel Academy, and the

Air Force Academy), which require a successful candidate to be an exceptional student

and an exceptional role model. Applicants to the academies must receive

recommendations from members of Congress to submit with their applications! Once

there, the rigors of the academies are radically different from life at other colleges—

course loads are heavier, nearly every student follows a basic engineering curriculum,

military and physical training is required, and so on.

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The Order of the Phoenix

In addition to Aurors, nonofficial anti-Dark Wizard groups occasionally spring up

in the wizarding world. The most potent is the Order of the Phoenix, which is made up of

powerful wizards and Aurors alike, yet meets secretly, outside of the Ministry’s purview.

This group is, in fact, in opposition to the Ministry, during those times that the ministry is in denial over the existence of Dark Wizards. Like orders of knights throughout British

history, who upheld the laws of the land even when kings had gone bad, the Order

upholds the laws of the Ministry when the Ministry is too blinded or corrupt to take on

that task itself. The Order’s symbol, a phoenix, is a colorful bird that lives for hundreds

of years, periodically bursting into flame and renewing itself with new plumage and life

(see Chapter 2).

Prosecuting Dark Wizards: The Wizengamot

The Wizengamot is the Wizard High Court and is made up of the best and

brightest wizards of the day. The Wizengamot has similarities to both the United States

Supreme Court and the UK House of Lords (a legislative body much like the United

States Senate, whose judicial functions will be replaced by a UK Supreme Court in

2008), as both are the highest court in the land. However, both the U.S. and UK versions

are appeals courts, in that they hear only cases that have been heard in lower courts. The

Wizengamot, on the other hand, hears new cases, almost always criminal trials for crimes

in which Dark Magic was used.

When they sit in full session, the fifty or so members of the Wizengamot are

presided over by a Chief Warlock. Likewise, a Chief Justice presides over the nine

justices on the United States Supreme Court, and a Senior heads the twelve UK law lords

(although only five of those twelve usually sit at trial). Of the two, however, the

Wizengamot is much more like the United States Supreme Court: members wear robes,

proceed formally, may block the public from attending trials, and so on. (By contrast, the

House of Lords’ proceedings are quite informal.) The Wizengamot Charter of Rights, a

listing of basic wizard rights, sounds strikingly like the Bill of Rights that were amended

to the U.S. Constitution, the document upon which the United States Supreme Court

bases all its decisions.

However, unlike the United States Supreme Court, members of the Wizengamot

act as prosecutors and interrogators during trials and may even skip the part where they

hear evidence on behalf of the defendant. At times when the Chief Warlock has not been

a person with a well-defined sense of justice, the Wizengamot have come to the court

with their minds made up, and cases have been based on hearsay, with no witnesses or

assistance for the defense. (This is frighteningly like the trials in some non-democratic

countries around the world today.) As a result, defendants and witnesses appearing before

the Wizengamot can be so nervous that they do not insist on the unbiased proceedings

that are their right; in fact, rights under the Charter may be ignored by the Wizengamot.

Indeed, at some proceedings, the charge is read, and then a vote (a show of hands) is

taken to determine guilt or innocence; no other trial proceedings take place. And in

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extreme cases, no trial at all takes place; the accused is sent straight to Azkaban. This is not a legally sanctioned practice; it’s just what happens when the Ministry panics.

MAGIC TALE Proceedings of the Wizengamot court sometimes sound an awful lot

like the Salem Witch Trials. With no means of defense against charges, wizards may be

found guilty of practicing Dark Magic, even though no trial is heard and no defense is

argued on behalf of the accused. The assumption is that if Aurors went after and captured

a wizard, he or she must be a Dark Wizard. But situations can be confused, and good

wizards have been wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban, just as innocent people were tortured

or killed by hasty court proceedings in Salem, Massachusetts.

The Wizengamot has

repeatedly sent Dark Wizards to prison, which is essentially a death sentence. The

Wizengamot can also dole out lesser punishments, but only rarely hears cases that do not

involve Dark Magic. As with Muggle courts of law, accused criminals can exchange

testimony on other criminals for lighter sentences.

The name Wizengamot likely has a double meaning, both that of being made up

of wise wizards and being made up of old wizards. Gamut means “entire range,” (and in Tagalog, the largest of the Philippine languages, gamot means “medicine”) while wizen means “dried up and shriveled.” A range of dried up and shriveled people? The medicine

of the dried and shriveled? Hmmm. Perhaps, but wizen is likely derived from wizard, which means “wise.” The Wizengamot, then, can be thought of as made up of a range of

wise, albeit a bit old, people. Or the medicine of old, wise wizards … tough medicine to

swallow, for those found guilty.

Punishments

In nearly all democratic societies, punishment has four purposes:

•

Retribution: This purpose of punishment appears in the Old Testament “eye for an

eye,” and is often referred to as “paying a debt to society.” This debt is usually tied to the heinousness of the crime: a lesser crime receives a lesser punishment.

•

Deterrence: Punishment is meant to deter others from committing the same crime

and to keep a criminal from repeating the crime in the future. The punishment must,

therefore, be severe enough to act as a deterrent.

•

Rehabilitation: Ideally, punishment also includes a component that rehabilitates the criminal, eliminating the underlying cause of criminal activity (mental illness, extreme

anger, drug use, and so on).

•

Incapacitation: Punishment is meant to restrain the criminal in order to keep him

or her from committing additional criminal acts. Incapacitation ranges from house arrest

to death.

In the wizarding world, retribution and rehabilitation tend to be ignored; the focus is,

instead, on deterrence and incapacitation. Underage criminals are deterred by the risk of

expulsion from school, and adult criminals are deterred by the risk of fines and public

humiliation. Evil criminals are supposed to be deterred and incapacitated by sentences in

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Azkaban prison, but the most evil ones tend to break out and continue their criminal

ways.

Expulsion

The Ministry of Magic has no power to punish Hogwarts students for the crimes

they commit at school, nor does it have the power to expel students from Hogwarts.

However, the Hogwarts headmaster does have that power, and he uses it as a chief

deterrent to underage mischief.

Wizards-in-training are not allowed, for all practical purposes, to practice magic

outside school grounds. However, this violation tends to be prosecuted by school officials

only when it allows Muggles to see magic being performed or when it employs the use of

Dark Magic. Playing Quidditch (see Chapter 6) in the backyard, for example, with no

Muggle neighbors nearby, would not result in expulsion. Messing with helpless Muggles

on the subway, on the other hand, would. This legal turning of the head happens all the

time in the Muggle world … think of a police car sailing past cars going well over the

speed limit on some major highways, for example!

Like Muggle high schools, although wizarding students do drop out of Hogwarts

before completing their seven years, most wizarding jobs require education through at

least the fifth year (when O.W.L.s are taken—see Chapter 8) or the sixth (when

Apparition lessons are offered— see Chapter 5), so incentive is high for students to

remain at Hogwarts until at least that time.

Wizards are considered to be “of age” when they turn seventeen, which is either

late in their sixth year or early in their seventh. (In the Muggle world, it’s usually sixteen to drop out of school; eighteen to be considered a legal adult. The wizarding world does

both at seventeen.) As such, seventh-year students cannot be expelled from Hogwarts for

underage sorcery, as they are no longer considered underage. They could, possibly, be

expelled for being gits and prats, though!

KING’S ENGLISH A git roughly translates to "jerk,” but with a touch of jealousy to it and with a little bit of love. So your best friend is a git when she wins the spelling bee,

and then forgets your birthday the next day. The boys at Hogwarts often call each other

gits. A prat is an idiot, but at Hogwarts it also tends to be an uptight idiot: one who

doesn’t quite get what’s going on, but is trying to be perfect anyway. Percy Weasley is a

perfect example of a goody-two-shoes prat who has little common sense.

Fines and Public Humiliation

For the most part, wizards are kept in line for their minor crimes by small fines

and public humiliation, if they can be caught. Repeat offenders of minor crimes are

viewed with annoyance, and most are simply yelled at when they make their next public

appearances. This sort of public embarrassment has recently been employed in the

Muggle world, as when judges sentence bad teen drivers to several months of riding the

bus, or sentence litterbugs to clean up the highway.

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Azkaban Prison and Dementors

On the far other side of the spectrum from fines and humiliation is the deadly

serious punishment of a sentence at Azkaban prison. In fact, the very name Azkaban

strikes fear into the hearts of wizards. It is a place from which few wizards return, and

when they do, they are often just a shell of their former selves.

Azkaban is much like the U.S. federal prison called Alcatraz (nicknamed “the

Rock”) that operated from the mid 1930s through the mid 1960s, both in name (three-

syllable words beginning with the letter “a”) and in location, as they are both island

prisons. Both are maximum-security prisons that house the most dangerous criminals: in

the case of Alcatraz, the most deadly mobsters and other murderers; in the case of

Azkaban, the most evil Dark Wizards. Alcatraz has had only one successful escape

attempt; Azkaban has had several.

TOURIST TIP If you’re visiting San Francisco, take the boat trip to Alcatraz Island to visit the prison, which is now a prime tourist destination and part of the Golden Gate

National Recreation Area. Visit for more information.

The major difference

between the two prisons, however, is the presence of dementors at Azkaban. Dementors

(from the Latin de, out of, and mens, mind; or “to make insane”) are Azkaban’s prison guards: ghoulish, cloaked creatures (think of the Grim Reaper) who, just by being in the

general vicinity of wizards and Muggles alike, suck happiness, peace, and hope right out

of them. Victims in the presence of dementors feel a deep, whole-body coldness and

remember painful events from the past. Because of the presence of these guards, many

prisoners go mad in just a short time. In addition, for those requiring more serious

punishment, they administer the Dementor’s Kiss; dementors actually suck out the

person’s soul, so that he or she is nothing more than a walking shell. Most wizards die

soon after the Dementor’s Kiss. Compare this to even the meanest guards at Muggle

prisons, and there’s really no comparison.

Dementors can be kept at bay by conjuring up a Patronus (see Chapter 13), which

acts as a positive force that shields the wizard from the soul-draining effects of the

dementor. However, because the Patronus Charm is advanced wizardry, only the most

accomplished wizards possess the ability to drive away the dementors. Happily, if one

has been in the presence of a dementor and escapes, the ill effects can be quickly reversed

by eating copious amounts of chocolate. Just one bite spreads warmth throughout the

body and begins to bring joy back to the wizard. This is not unlike the role of chocolate

in the Muggle world!

Rowling’s depiction of dementors may have been influenced by the work of

Philip Pullman, a British fantasy author. Rowling’s dementors bear

a striking resemblance to Pullman’s Spectres in His Dark Materials: The Subtle

Knife, published in 1997, two years before dementors first appeared in the wizarding world .

The word spectre, by definition, means any object of fear or dread, but Pullman’s

Spectres are especially dreaded. Although they cannot harm children, Spectres move

toward adults as would a host of insects, and then they eat out the person’s soul, leaving a 143

mere shell of the person behind. Children can only watch this slow, soul-sucking death

happening to their parents, older siblings, and other loved ones; they cannot stop the

attacks or help defend against them. And children know that, in time, they, too, will be

subject to Spectre attacks. The only defense against Spectres is the Subtle Knife, which

can be borne only by the designated Knife Bearer.

Chapter 16

The Final Word

In This Chapter

•

Finding out who’s good—and who’s not

•

Getting the lowdown on a new gadget or two

•

Discovering a multitude of new incantations and spells

•

Learning more about Horcruxes

•

Latching on to additional advanced wizardry This is the chapter in which you get

the “final word” on the Harry Potter series. The seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, tied up a decade of loose ends, allowing fans to rest easy, knowing that good has prevailed and—at long last—Lord Voldemort has been

vanquished.

In this chapter, you discover spells that appear for the first time in the last novel,

get the latest on those horrible Horcruxes, and find out about the Deathly Hallows.

Good or Evil Revealed

So many questions about the goodness or badness of wizards lingered in the air

before Deathly Hallows was published! Some cars even sported bumper stickers

predicting that Snape was evil, while others begged for him to be trusted. When it was all

said and done, audiences around the world were pleased to discover that Professor Snape

is a good guy, loyal to the Order of the Phoenix to the end. Likewise, Mr. Ollivander, the

wand-maker discussed in Chapter 7, is not a Dark Wizard, but was needed by Lord

Voldemort for his knowledge of the Elder Wand (see “The Deathly Hallows” section

later in this chapter). And the famed R. A. B. who stole a Horcrux from Voldemort (see

both Chapter 13 and the “Horcruxes” section later in this chapter) was none other than

Regulus Arcturus Black.

But perhaps the most intriguing character of the seventh novel is that of Ignotus

Peverell, the original owner of the Invisibility Cloak (see Chapter 3), and an ancestor of

Harry Potter. The surname Peverell belongs to an influential British family, and two English towns (Sampford Peverell and Bradford Peverell) bear the name. Ignotus is Latin for “unknown,” which is an interesting choice for the bearer of the Invisibility Cloak.

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TOURIST TIP If you want to taste the best vol-au-vent, a French pastry mentioned in

Deathly Hallows, go to France, where you’ll find them filled with escargot (snails) and other delicacies! Or, if you can’t go to France, at least go to a French restaurant in New

Orleans. Invented by Antonin Carême, an early-twentieth -century French pastry chef,

vol-au-vent is a difficult pastry to create, because it’s supposed to be extremely light and delicate. In fact, its name translates to "flight of the wind.” The Peverell family, along with many other wizarding families, lived in Godric’s Hollow, an area named after

Godric Gryffindor, one of the Hogwarts co-founders. This naming convention—a

person’s name, followed by the word “hollow”—is not only a British one. Deep in the

Appalachian mountains (and in other rural, mountainous regions of the United States),

streets and areas are named in this same way: “Xxx Hollow.” Hollow is simply another

word for “valley,” and the family or person who settled a particular valley became its

namesake.

A Healing Herb

Essence of Dittany is a wizarding cure-all that stops a wound from bleeding and

quickly begins the healing process. Dittany also exists in the Muggle world, but it grows

only in Crete, where its essential oil has long been prized by healers for digestive and

rheumatic ailments. The plant itself is an herb that is supposed to have aphrodisiac

properties, in addition to its ability to heal. The botanical name for White Dittany is

Dictamnus albus—that’s right, as in Albus Dumbledore—because albus is Latin for white.

New Incantations and Spells

Deathly Hallows brings a variety of new incantations and spells, many of which

are used to protect homes and other areas.

As Lord Voldemort takes power over the wizarding world, more and more

wizards must find ways to hide and protect themselves. In Deathly Hallows, Rowling

gives us a variety of protective enchantments, including the following:

•

Caterwauling Charm: This unusual charm (with an unknown incantation) alerts

Death Eaters when someone is moving about in Hogsmeade after dark. To “caterwaul” is

to make a loud howling noise, a term derived from the Dutch word kater, for tomcat, an animal that makes a loud screeching sound when prowling for female cats.

•

Cave Inimicum!: This incantation has nothing to do with protecting a cave, which

one might expect. Instead, it’s derived from (no surprise!) Latin words ( cave in this case is pronounced CAH-vay). From the Latin caveo, meaning guard against, beware of, or

get security against, and inimicum, meaning hostile, harmful, enemy, or foe, this

incantation guards against enemies.

•

Muffliato!: This protective enchantment (first introduced in Half-Blood Prince, but not used extensively until Deathly Hallows), derives from an old use of the word

“muffle,” in which a person’s head and face were wrapped up (in a muff—that is, soft fur

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or other material) to keep the person from seeing or speaking. The person’s voice—as

well as any sound trying to reach the wrapped person’s ears—were, therefore, muffled.

Likewise, this incantation muffles conversations so that others cannot overhear them.

MAGIC TALE On Potterwatch, an underground wizarding wireless program akin to the "Voice of America” during the Cold War, Remus Lupin uses the code name

Romulus. Why? Because Remus and Romulus were brothers who reportedly became the

founders of Rome. The boys were raised by a wolf and are the most famous of all feral

children. Although Romulus later killed Remus, their connection to each other—and to

wolves—is unmistakable.

•

Protego Totalum!: This incantation is an extension of the Shield Charm (which has

the incantation Protego! —see Chapter 12), adding the Latin totum, which means entire or the whole of. Therefore, this charm shields, well, everything! • Repello Muggletum!: This incantation is derived from the Latin repello, meaning drive back or repulse, the made-up word Muggle (referring to people without wizarding powers), and the Latin tum, meaning at the moment. In other words, repulse Muggles now!

•

Salvio Hexia!: From the Latin salvus, meaning safe and undamaged, this is a general safety hex.

•

The Taboo: This curse is one of Rowling’s most creative, because it jinxes

Voldemort’s name so that anyone using it immediately loses all of the previously

mentioned protective enchantments. Of course, Harry Potter is one of the few wizards

who ever uses Voldemort’s name (instead of calling him “You-Know-Who” or “He-

Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”), so this curse is an ingenious way for Voldemort to quickly

find Harry. By definition, a taboo is a Polynesian word that refers to a sacred curse put on a person or object, rendering him (or her or it) untouchable or even unmentionable. Thus,

Voldemort’s name becomes unmentionable; but when it is mentioned, it enacts a curse.

KING’S ENGLISH A kissing gate, like the one placed at the entrance to the Godric’s

Hollow cemetery, is an entirely British concept—a gate that can’t accidentally be left

open. One half of the gate swings back and forth, like any gate would. But the other half

traps the swing side with two parallel walls of fencing. The swing side is stopped in one

direction by one wall, and in the other direction by the other wall, so that it can swing

only a few feet in either direction. One person at a time can pass through the gate by

slithering sideways between the swing gate and either wall, but most farm animals can’t

figure it out! This type of gate is common at the entrance to a graveyard, because it

effectively keeps farm animals from wandering in and grazing on the cemetery grass.

Rowling introduces many more spells in Deathly Hallows, above and beyond the

protective enchantments:

•

Confringo! ( Blasting Curse): From the Latin confringo, meaning to break into pieces, this curse explodes just about anything, including an entire room.

•

Defodio!: From the Latin defodio, meaning dig or bury, this incantation enlarges a passageway, blasting it apart, if necessary.

•

Deprimo!: From the Latin deprimo, meaning to sink or keep down, this incantation 146

blasts a hole into whatever is below you and lowers you quickly. This incantation is like

Descendo!

•

Descendo!: From the Latin descendo, meaning to descend or fall, this incantation causes something to lower.

•

Duro!: This rather frightening incantation turns cloth into stone— and may, in fact, turn anything into stone. Turning objects into stone has a long history in fairy tales,

especially those involving trolls, and both Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings include stone-turning. This spell is taken straight from the Latin duro, which means to make something hard, like steel.

•

Geminio! ( Gemino Curse): This curse makes many copies of an object—so many, in fact, that you might literally be squished to death if this happens in a small room. From the Latin gemino, meaning to double the force of, or repeat.

•

Glisseo!: This ultra-fun incantation turns stairs into a slide or chute. From the

French glissade, this is a ballet term that means glide or slide. It’s derived from glisser, an Old French word meaning to glide, which has the same root as the word “glacier.”

•

Homenum revelio!: From the Latin homo, meaning human being, and revelo, meaning reveal, it’s not a big surprise that this incantation tells the wizard whether a

human is present. The Latin ad hominem literally means “argument against the man” and is a way of replaying to an argument or claim by attacking the person. This approach is

today known as an ad hominem attack.

•

Obscuro!: Pulled directly from the Latin obscuro, meaning to conceal, obscure, or darken, this incantation puts a blindfold over someone’s eyes.

•

Piertotum Locomotor!: From the Latin pietas, meaning loyalty and dutifulness, and totum, meaning all of or entire, this intriguing incantation makes statues and suits of armor come to life and protect Hogwarts. Evoking this incantation means, “All you loyal

ones, move! ”

•

Protego Horribilis!: From the Latin protego, meaning to protect or defend, and horribilis, meaning terrible, horrible, or monstrous, this incantation is used to guard Hogwarts against impending attackers (at least attackers who are terrible, horrible, and

monstrous, which, let’s face it, most are).

•

The Trace: This charm finally reveals how underage wizarding activity is detected

by Ministry officials. The English word trace is derived from the Latin tractus, which means dragging or pulling along. This is interesting, because that’s exactly what the

Trace is doing: dragging or pulling along evidence of underage wizardry. The name also

resonates with watchers of TV crime shows, who know that investigators always look for

traces of the criminal—any mark or evidence left at the scene of the crime.

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KING’S ENGLISH Seems like those Brits have a different word for everything! If you

leave someplace quickly, you scarper. If you should happen to leave without permission,

you’ve done a bunk. If a uniformed policeman tries to grab hold of you as you’re running

away, the liveried policeman tries to cop hold. Should you run into a large tent, the kind

set up at parties and weddings, you’ve just run into a marquee.

Horcruxes

Horcruxes are central to Rowling’s sixth and seventh novels, and you can find the

basics on these evil containers in Chapter 13. But new information tells us that each

Horcrux is strikingly similar to the Ring of Power in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Like the One Ring, a Horcrux worn around one’s neck gradually weighs down the

wearer, making him or her more and more fatigued. But as with the Ring, the fatigue is

far more than physical, because both the One Ring and a Horcrux can make those people

around the object think the worst of others. These evil magical objects play on internal

fears, causing anyone close to them to begin to doubt others—and themselves.

Rowling tells us that people can get emotionally attached to Horcruxes; in fact, a

portion of a soul stored inside the Horcrux can get into someone so attached. This has echoes of Tolkien’s Gollum, who became so emotionally attached to the Ring that he

thought of it as a person, his Precious. Perhaps the Ring contained a portion of the soul of Sauron (who is otherwise bodyless). The similarities are eerie.

We also find out that Horcruxes cannot be summoned through a Summoning

Spell, nor can they be destroyed by any but the most magical of objects (just as the Ring

cannot be destroyed by anything but the fires of Mount Doom). And we discover the

identity of the final two Horcruxes: the diadem (which is like a small crown) of Rowena

Ravenclaw (a Hogwarts founder), and Nagini, Voldemort’s snake.

But perhaps the most important new information about Horcruxes comes in the

form of Rowling’s spiritual admonition: that to undo a Horcrux (to unsplit your soul),

you must feel great remorse, and in doing so, the pain of that remorse can kill you.

Anyone who has ever done anything hurtful or regretful can tap into that idea!

The Deathly Hallows

The Deathly Hallows aren’t so much advanced wizardry as they are components

of a wizarding fairy tale that turn out to be true! Wizard children are raised on fairy tales just as Muggle children are, although the titles and the content differ. But a cornerstone

of wizarding fairy tales is the story of the three Peverell brothers who possessed the

Deathly Hallows.

TOURIST TIP The Forest of Dean, an important setting in Deathly Hallows, is a real place in Gloucestershire County, England. Originally settled by the Romans, it was later

the royal hunting grounds of the Tudor kings. Today, it ranks as the most family-friendly

tourist attraction in England. If you’re in London and want to check it out, visit . The

word hallow is drawn from Old English and German terms that all mean something holy

or sacred. Thus, the Deathly Hallows refer to sacred items that are related to death in

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some way. There are three Hallows:

•

The Elder Wand (its symbol is a line): This special wand, one that is supposed to

vanquish all other wands, is called both the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny; that is,

it can either be used for evil or for good. But like Tolkien’s Ring of Power, it’s awfully

tough to wield something that powerful and use it only for good. “Elder” is an interesting

name for this wand, because that word has several meanings and interpretations. In the

most well-known sense of the word, it means oldest or even ancient, as the wand likely

is. Elder also means highest-ranking or of superior rank, like elders in a church, marking

the wand as the single most powerful wand in the world. Elder also refers to a small tree

that’s best known for its jam-friendly berries (elderberries), so the name could allude to

the wood used to make it. Finally, the Elder Futhark is a Germanic and Norse runic

alphabet, the oldest of such alphabets (see Chapter 13 for more on runes). Elder Futhark

runes were inscribed on weapons (and the wand is quite a weapon!) for hundreds of

years; in fact, the angular shape of the runic alphabet is thought to exist because of the

constraints of metal- and wood-stamping the second through eighth centuries, angles

being far easier to stamp than rounded markings. Thus the name could refer to any runic

markings that may exist on the wand itself.

•

The Resurrection Stone (its symbol is a circle): This stone is not another Sorcerer’s Stone, but instead enables ghostly renditions of the dead not to actually come back to life, but to interact with the stone-bearer. This can be detrimental if the stone-bearer chooses

to focus too much on the shades of the dead and fails to live himself. In July 1981 (when

J.K. Rowling would have been in her teens), The Avengers comic book featured an

episode called “The Resurrection Stone.” This stone is strikingly similar to Rowling’s

stone, in that it could bring the dead back to life, although it was more powerful than

Rowling’s stone, because it didn’t just bring back a spirit, but brought back the body, the

spirit—the whole enchilada. Questers in The Avengers story sought this stone, just as wizards do. But the comic-book stone was deeply evil—as with a Horcrux, something

within the stone communicated with anyone holding it, temping them in various

malevolent ways. We know that Rowling’s Stone has the power to badly damage any

human trying to use it, but it is not necessarily evil.

•

The Cloak of Invisibility (its symbol is a triangle): This cloak is the Invisibility Cloak discussed in Chapter 3, and it may seem rather benign compared to the other

Hallows. But as Bilbo discovered when wearing the Ring of Power in Tolkien’s The

Hobbit, being invisible can be incredibly powerful, even when one does still have a corporeal body and leaves footprints!

The Deathly Hallows are a little like the

Rock, Paper, Scissors children’s game, in that each can both beat and be beaten by the

others. The Hallows, however, moved beyond children’s stories or games and into a true

quest for the three objects for many wizards, who believed that any person who bore all

three Hallows would be unbeatable. Likewise, those seeking the Stone in The Avengers

and those seeking the Ring (which, like the cloak, made the wearer invisible) in The Lord of the Rings also believed that owning such objects would make them all-powerful for eternity. Such was the case for the wizard called Grindelwald (see Chapter 1), who

believed the Hallows actually existed and sought them, hoping to do good with them, but

growing increasingly evil until he was the epitome of wizard Darkness. Dumbledore

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defeated Grindelwald in 1945.

Rowling also makes a commentary on children’s literature in her explanation of

the Hallows, telling her readers that children’s fairy tales might just have more power in

them than we think. Lord Voldemort, it turns out, has no respect for children’s stories

(the fiend!), so he does not believe the stories of the Hallows and thus misses his chance

to be unbeatable.

Fiendfyre

Fiendfyre is cursed fire—that is, a powerful brand of Dark Magic that creates fire-

breathing monsters that can consume buildings, people, and even Horcruxes. The word

fiend is derived from a couple of Old English terms that mean hate, which points to the Dark nature of fiendfyre. “The Fiend” is also a term that means Satan, so we see again

that the term fiend refers to deep evil. Fyre, on the other hand, is the Middle English spelling of “fire” that we see in Beowulf, for example. Originally from the German pyre, meaning golden embers, the word gradually changed to fyre, and finally, fire.

MAGIC TALE Besom, which is used as a term of degradation in Deathly Hallows

("you old besom”), doesn’t mean biddy or hag or scoundrel, as you may think. Instead, it means a broom—specifically, a bundle of twigs tied to a handle (which exactly describes

the brooms of the wizarding world). Celtic witches have long been reported to use

besoms to clean and purify their sacred spaces—kind of a feng shui thing. Incidentally,

the broom used in the sport of curling is also called a besom.

The Journey Ends

And so the journey of Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape,

Voldemort, and all the others in Rowling’s cast of characters comes to a close. For more

than 4,000 pages that were more than 10 years in the making, Rowling has kept readers

delighted, intrigued, and even at times frightened (case in point: the first chapter of

Goblet of Fire).

Rowling excels as a writer of scenes, which means that for over 90 percent of

those pages, Harry and company are walking, eating, talking—this is, moving and acting

in some way. Rowling also creates characters that are impossible not to love (or hate, as

the case may be), such that readers celebrate each victory and grieve each setback—and

there were so many of those. But mostly, Rowling’s gift for detail is what sets her apart;

she never misses an opportunity to describe the magical world with such specificity that

… well, that we believe it actually exists. What Harry Potter fan hasn’t wanted to yell

Accio keys! when running late, hasn’t wanted to Apparate or use a Portkey (or bewitch a car to fly) to avoid rush hour traffic, or hasn’t wished a love potion or truth serum

actually exists. It’s a world we all fantasize about living in—sans an evil Dark Lord and

corrupt government, of course. But even that intrigues us, because we hope we would all

be as brave, noble, and humble as Harry and his friends, should such evil overtake the

world.

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Appendix A

Glossary of British Terms

Great Britain and the United States are as much alike as two countries on different

continents could be. But in spite of the similarities, some British terminology may have

you scratching your head. This appendix helps you understand British terms that appear

in the Harry Potter novels.

balaclava Ski mask.

ball A dance similar to an American prom.

bang on course On target.

bang out of order Out of line.

bangers Large sausages served as part of an afternoon or evening meal, usually

with mashed potatoes.

bangers and mash Sausages and mashed potatoes.

bin Trash can.

biscuit A cookie, usually bought and served in a tin (a round metal box with a

lid); also a cracker that’s something like an American saltine, but more dense and often

served with cheese.

blancmange A type of pudding.

blimey Golly; geez.

bloke Fellow; guy.

boater Flat straw hat.

bogey Booger; snot.

bonbons Round treats that usually have a slightly crusty outside and a

chewy center, coated in powdered sugar.

bowler hat A formal black hat with a narrow brim.

brewpub A pub in which beer is brewed onsite.

brilliant Excellent; incredible.

budgerigar A type of parakeet.

camp bed Fold-up cot.

carriage Train car.

cheek, giving Being a smart-mouth.

chipolatas Small pork sausages usually served at breakfast; what Americans

might call “breakfast sausage” or even “cocktail sausage.”

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chocolate gateau A rich chocolate cake, served in slices with fresh cream.

Christmas cake Soft cake with icing; tucked between the icing and cake is

marzipan.

Christmas pudding A plum cake or plum pudding served with a rich sauce.

Often, there’s a coin baked in it for luck.

cloak A long coat that wraps around the body and fastens near the neck but may

not have actual sleeves; like a thick poncho.

clotted cream Thick cream made from scalded milk.

codswollop Hogwash; baloney. See also tripe.

collywobbles The willies.

copper Police officer.

cracker A British holiday traditional favor that’s roughly the size of a paper

towel tube, or smaller. When you pull the cracker apart, it makes a loud “bang!” and out

come small treats or even small, inexpensive gifts.

crikey Golly.

crumpet Unsweetened cake that’s cooked like a pancake, but is taller and not as

large in diameter as pancakes are.

cupboard Closet.

cuppa Cup of tea.

custard Sweet mix of milk and eggs that’s usually baked but may also be boiled.

dab hand Good at; excellent.

derby See bowler hat.

dodgy Scary; risky; rundown; unreliable; dirty.

done a runner Run away; escaped.

dozy Stupid.

draught British spelling of “draft.”

dustbin Trash can.

football British term for soccer.

fortnight Two weeks.

four-poster Bed.

fussed Bothered.

garden Backyard.

git Jerk.

gob Spit.

152

gobstruck Astonished.

going spare Going crazy.

gone round the twist Gone crazy. have a go at Make fun of or lay into.

haversack A small backpack or any sort of bag carried on one’s back or shoulder by a

strap. head See headmaster; headmistress.

Head Boy See prefect.

Head Girl See prefect. headmaster The man in charge of a boarding school.

headmistress The woman in charge of a boarding school. hotel Place to stay the night that generally will not have a bar on the premises, although it will usually serve breakfast.

Also called a private hotel. house A grouping of boarding-school students; students live together and compete for best house in intra-school competitions. inn Place to stay the night that may or may not have a bar that serves alcoholic beverages, but it always offers

meals. jot Bit; iota. keen Eager.

King’s Cross Train station in London. kip A nap. kippers Salt-cured (often smoked) dried fish; usually made from herring. knickerbocker glory Ice cream dessert.

knickerbockers Dressy short pants like those golfers used to wear. lift Elevator. lintel The upper portion of a doorway frame or window frame. looking daggers Giving evil

looks.

marmalade See toast and marmalade.

mate Pal; buddy; dude.

mead A sweet wine made from honey and sometimes aged in oak barrels.

mental Crazy.

meringue A dessert with a meringue crust (like a pie crust but made of meringue)

topped with fruit or other sweet fillings.

mince Another word for ground beef or other meat chopped up into tiny bits.

mince pie Sweet pie made of mincemeat that’s either served cold with custard or

clotted cream or heated with brandy butter.

mincemeat Sweet pie filling, usually consisting of apples, raisins, beef fat, and

(sometimes) mince.

mind the gap Watch your step as you cross from the edge of a carriage (train car)

and the platform.

moleskin Originally, the fur of a mole, used for outerwear. Now also used to

denote a heavy cotton fabric.

mollycoddling Treating like a child.

mouth organ Harmonica.

nick Steal.

nip Going somewhere quickly and/or briefly.

nutter Crazy person.

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Paddington Station Train station in London.

pastilles Fruit candies coated in sugar that come twelve to a pack.

pasty A flaky crust that fully surrounds a rather dry filling of beef or chicken,

potatoes, onions, and other ingredients. Also called a Cornish pasty.

pence Plural of penny, which is one one-hundredth of a British pound.

peppermint humbugs Hard candy flavored with peppermint oil.

pitch An area of land used as a grassy playing field.

plait Pleat (such as the pleat of a skirt).

platform The area at which passengers board a train.

porkpie Small pastry with a SPAM-like pork product in the middle; often served

with gravy.

porridge Crushed oats or oatmeal (and, occasionally, other grains) boiled in

water and/or milk and usually served with sugar and cream.

prat An uptight, goody-two-shoes airbrain.

prefect The top boy or girl at a school. Also called Head Boy or Head Girl.

pub A bar or bar/inn combination.

public school British boarding school.

pudding Another word for dessert.

queue A line of people, such as one at a bus stop, stadium entrance, or lunch line.

ruddy Darned.

sacked Fired.

scrum Rugby term that in non-Rugby settings usually means skirmish.

Sellotape A brand of tape (like the American Scotch tape).

shut your gob Shut up.

skive Skip school.

Snap Children’s card game, played with two or more players.

spiffing To make wonderful, great.

spotted dick A confection made with suet (beef fat), rubbed into flour and made

into a pudding, and then given some dried fruit; served with custard.

taking the mickey To tease or ridicule.

tart An individual pie; a crust is topped with fresh fruit, jam, cream, and/or

custard.

television aerial TV antennae.

toast and marmalade Toast and jam; the marmalade is usually made with

154

oranges.

treacle fudge Fudge made with treacle.

treacle pudding A steamed pudding made with treacle.

treacle tart A tart topped with treacle.

treacle A syrupy topping, with a consistency something like corn syrup but

usually made with molasses.

trifle A many-layered confection that begins with sponge cake (sometimes soaked

in rum or other liqueur), then fruit, then cream, and so on.

tripe Stomach of a cow or ox; eaten as a delicacy. Also called codswollop.

trolley Food cart that travels down the aisles of a train car.

Turkish Delight A candy that’s a denser, chewier version of marshmallow,

coated in sugar, with either chocolate or sprinkles on top.

wardrobe A large cabinet that acts as a closet.

wastrel A lazy person.

West Ham United Football Club Soccer club located in east London.

wotcher Hello!; what’s up?

wrench A difficult decision.

Yorkshire pudding A hearty side dish similar to an American pop-over. May be

served with horseradish sauce and/or gravy.

Appendix B

Cool Wizarding Websites

With hundreds (and even thousands) of new Harry Potter Internet sites appearing

each month, you may want to know where to turn first. Here are my picks for the most

interesting, up-to-date, and easy-to-navigate sites.

The Top Sites

We start with the best of the best.

J.K. Rowling’s Site ()

If you’re going to get information, go straight to the source. Launched in 2004,

this site is full of fun details about Rowling’s life, work, writing process, and news.

There’s a cool list of links, too. While books were in process, the site was updated

regularly; whether that will continue after the release of the final novel in the series

remains to be seen.

155

Harry Potter Lexicon ()

The Harry Potter Lexicon is an encyclopedia of Harry Potter facts. Information is

arranged logically and is easily searchable. So when you’re arguing with your friends

about whether Hermione’s middle name is Anastasia or Jane, check it out here. (It’s

Jane.)

Fan Sites

There are thousands of Harry Potter fan sites, and each offers something slightly

different. If the ones listed here don’t work for you, search around, find one you like,

bookmark it, and check it every week! In addition to the sites discussed in the following

sections, a few others you may want to check out are (for good, quick updates), www. ,

and .

The Leaky Cauldron ()

Run by fans, The Leaky Cauldron is news-central for anything and everything

related to Harry Potter. Movie trailers are posted almost the moment they come out, as are any interviews with J.K. Rowling and actors from the movies.

PotterCast ()

Officially part of The Leaky Cauldron site, Pottercast is a weekly hour-long

podcast of interesting and unique news, interviews, and fan commentary you won’t hear

in the mainstream media.

Harry Potter Fan Zone ()

The Harry Potter Fan Zone (HPFZ) was started by an Australian teenager and has

grown to require the efforts of almost two dozen people. As Harry Potter news happens,

this site reports it.

Muggle Net ()

News, fan commentary, competitions, and discounted shopping make this fan site

unique. Check out the always-interesting Wall of Shame, which is a posting of some

disturbing correspondence the webmaster has received. Also check out MuggleCast (),

which features weekly podcasts in which theories and rumors are discussed and debated.

Movie and Actor Sites

The movies based on Rowling’s novels are nearly as big of a phenomenon as the

novels themselves. Here are sites that are devoted to the Harry Potter movies or to the

156

actors who play significant roles.

Warner Brothers ()

This is the official Warner Brothers site, so it offers brilliantly vivid movie clips

and trailers. It is not updated regularly, however. You can also visit for the British

viewpoint, although the sites are roughly the same.

Daniel Radcliffe ()

Devoted to the actor who plays Harry Potter in the movies, this site is part movie

promotion, part public relations, and part charity fundraising. But it all comes together in a nice package, including interviews, articles, and a calendar of appearances.

Travel-Related Sites

If you’re planning to travel and want to visit Harry Potter-related sites, check out

the Tourist Tip sidebars throughout this book. And also check out HP Fan Trips (), which

arranges trips based on the novels and movies. If you have the time and cash, you

definitely want to take the Hogwarts Express train ride! You can also search for other

Harry Potter travel sites by using an Internet search engine.

Merchandise Sites

Want your own holly wand with a unicorn’s tail as the core? Need a great

wizarding hat for your next party? Want to get your hands on Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor

Beans? These sites help you spend your hard-earned cash on wizard products of all types.

Alivans ()

Modeled to look and feel like Ollivanders (see Chapter 7), this site is among the

best Harry Potter merchandise sites on the web. The website is set up like the interactive

DVD tours that come with the first two Harry Potter movies. The illusion is so complete

that you actually feel like a wizard ordering a wand, broom, clothing, etc. (Of course,

there’s no Internet in the wizarding world, but that’s a small point.) If you’re considering a wand for yourself or to give as a gift, this is where to buy it. You’ll pay more than at

other sites, but your wand will be made of the finest wood with excellent craftsmanship.

The brooms, too, are incredibly authentic.

The Official Warner Brothers Shop (http://harrypotter. )

From T-shirts and hats to action figures and a collectible Time Turner, this slick

site is the official site of movie-related Harry Potter products. Be sure to order your Harry Potter tree ornaments well in advance of the holidays!

157

Harry Gear ()

Billed as carrying “official” Harry Potter products, Harry Gear offers high quality

hats, scarves—even glasses and Quidditch goggles! The online store doesn’t carry many

products, but the ones it carries look and feel authentic. Shipping is a flat $5.95 fee per

order.

The Order of Merlin ()

This rather kitschy online store is devoted to all things Harry Potter. Even if items

are relatively useless (as is likely the case with a cast-iron cauldron, the laminated

Apparator’s License, and the ten-pack of parchment paper), The Order of Merlin offers

gobs of Harry Potter gifts at reasonable prices.

Whimsicalley ()

Set up like a mall of authentic wizard stores you can link to, at Whimsicalley, you

can stock up on Harry Potter products to your heart’s content, from wands to robes to

books. You can even purchase a bottle of Felix Felicis. Prices are usually quite

reasonable.

The Feelings Company ()

This store specializes in hats, not Harry Potter memorabilia, but its wizard hats

are so authentic-looking and reasonably priced that this site is worth a mention. Click on

Fantasy Hats and Helmets when you get to the home page.

LEGO ()

Oh my gosh! If you like LEGO toys, there just isn’t anything cuter than the Harry

Potter-themed LEGO sets. Products range from Harry Potter keychains to the Hogwarts

Express train set to entire kits and games that reenact scenes from the novels. Like all

LEGO products, prices tend to be on the steep side, but they also last a lifetime. Another

downside is that products appear to be limited edition, so some sell out and are no longer

available—at least not in the United States.

eBay ()

Before you spend full price on anything, first check out eBay and view current

auctions for everything related to Harry Potter. But caveat emptor: if a seller claims to have an item “autographed by J.K. Rowling,” assume it’s a fake.

Sylvan Lane Shoppe ( )

158

Much of what’s available at Honeydukes (see Chapter 8) is available at Sylvan

Lane Shoppe—Fizzing Whizbees, Cockroach Clusters, Acid Pops, Jelly Slugs, Bertie

Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and more! Although the company

experiences distribution problems from time to time, when they get stock in, it’s the real

deal. You can buy small quantities, too, because not everyone needs a dozen packs of Ice

Mice.

Candy Warehouse (. html)

Candy Warehouse offers a similar selection to that of Sylvan Lane, but candies

are rarely out of stock. Plus, while you’re there, you can also get Willy Wonka candy,

Star Wars candy, and Disney candy. The downside is that nearly all candy needs to be ordered in bulk.

British Delights ()

An online opportunity to purchase much of the British food discussed in Chapter

4, British Delights (operated out of Westford, Massachusetts) offers everything from

bangers to mince pie to Yorkshire pudding, all with reasonable shipping times and fees.

Fan Fiction Sites

Fan fiction refers to a site full of stories written by fans (not by Rowling) that use the Harry Potter characters and settings in fresh ways. Fan fiction is written by children

and adults alike, and some of it is sugar-sweet, some borders on erotic, and most of it lies somewhere in between. The biggest is Fiction Alley (). Harry Potter Fan Fiction () is

another of the most prolific of the fan fiction sites; if you don’t like what you find at

either of those, search on “Harry Potter fan fiction” for an overload of similar sites.

Parents should keep in mind that some fan fiction is not suitable for children. Fan fiction

is usually rated by the authors using a system similar to movie ratings (G to NC-17).

Index

A

Abraxans

Accidental Magic Reversal Squad

Accio! (Summoning Charm)

Acromantulas

Aging Potion

Agrippa

Aguamenti!

159

Alcatraz Island

alchemists

Alohomora!

Amortentia

Anapneo!

Ancient Runes

Animagus

animals. See creatures

antidotes for poisons

Aparecium!

apothecary

Apparating

Arithmancy

Artemis Fowl, Leprecon

artwork

asphodel

Astronomy

Augurey

Aurors

Auto-Answer Quills

Avada Kedavra! (Killing Curse)

Avis!

Azkaban prison

B

Babbling Beverage

balaclava

balls

banshee

Basilisks

Bat-Bogey Hex

Beaters, Quidditch

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

160

Belby, Damocles

Belladonna

besom

bezoar, antidote to poison

bicorn, powdered horn of (potions)

Black family

Blood-Replenishing Potion

Bludger (Quidditch)

boarding schools

boggarts

boomslangs

Borgin and Burkes

Bouncing Bulbs

Bowtruckles

brewpubs

British Royal Marines

brooms

bubotubers

Bulbadox Powder

Burke, Caractacus

butterbeer

C

caduceus

Care of Magical Creatures

caterpillars, potions

Caterwauling Charm

Catholicism, Patronus and

cats

Cauldron Cakes

cauldrons

Diagon Alley

161

history of

Macbeth

Olympics and

potions and

Pottager’s Cauldron Shop

Cave Inimicum!,

CEE (Common Entrance Examinations)

centaurs

Charm Club

charms

Charterhouse School, houses

Chaser (Quidditch)

Chimaeras

Chinese Fireball dragon

chipolatas

chocolate, dementors and

chocolate gateau

Christ Church, Oxford University

Christherb

Christmas pudding

Chronicles of Narnia, The, (Lewis)

Chudley Cannons Quidditch team

Church of Saint Mungo

Cinderella story

Circe

Cleansweep series of brooms

Cliodna

cloaks

coat of arms

cockroaches, potions

Colloportus!

Common Welsh Green dragon

Confringo! (Blasting Curse)

162

Confundus Charm

Confusing and Befuddlement Draught

cop hold

counterjinxes

creatures

Acromantulas

Augurey

banshee

Basilisks

boggarts

boomslangs

Bowtruckles

cats

centaurs

Chimaeras

dementors

Diricawls

Doxies

dragons

elves

fairies

ghouls

giants

gnomes

goblins

griffins

Grindylows

gryphons

hippocampus

Hippogriffs

hobgoblins

Inferi

163

Irish Death messenger

Irish Phoenix

Jobberknolls

Kappas

kelpies

Kneazles

leprechauns

Lethifolds

Leviathan

manticores

merpeople

orcs

owls

phoenixes

pixies

rats

Red Cap

Reem

salamanders

sirens

sphinxes

trolls

unicorns

vampires

werewolves

Wila

yeti

crocodile heart, potions

Crookshanks

Cruciatus Curse ( Crucio! )

crushed snake fangs, potions

cuppa

curses

164

D

daisy

Damocles

dances

dandelion juice

Dark Arts

Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study

Knockturn Alley

Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder

Secrecy Sensor

Shield Cloaks

Shield Gloves

Shield Hats

Sneakoscope

supplies

Dark Lord

Dark Lord of Derkholm

Dark Magic

Dark Side

Dark Wizards

Death Eaters

Death in the Clouds (Christie)

Deathly Hallows

Cloak of Invisibility

Elder Wand

Resurrection Stone

Defodio!

Delacour, Fleur

dementors

Densaugeo spell

165

Deprimo!

Dervish and Banges, Hogsmeade

Derwent

Descendo!

Devil’s Snare

Diagon Alley

Diffindo!

Diggory, Cedric

Dilys Derwent

Diricawls

Disarming Charm ( Expelliarmus!)

Dittany

Divination

do a bunk

dodgy

Doxies

Doxycide

Dr. Ubbly’s Oblivious Unction

Dracula (Stoker)

dragons

heartstring for wands

Draught of Living Death

Draught of Peace

dress robes

drinks. See food and drink

dueling with wands

Dumbledore, Albus

Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study

Duro!

Dursley, Dudley

E

Earthsea series (Le Guin), Wizards’ Council

166

Eeylops Owl Emporium

Efteling

Elder Wand

Eldest (Paolini)

Elixir to Induce Euphoria

Elixir of Life

elves

Ennervate!

Episkey! (Healing Spell)

Eragon (Paolini)

Essence of Dittany

essence of rue, antidote for poison

Eton College

Evanesco! (Vanishing Spell)

Expecto Patronum! (Patronus Charm)

Expelliarmus! (Disarming Charm)

Exploding Snap

expulsion from Hogwarts

F

fairies

Fanged Geraniums

Fellowship of the Ring, The, (Tolkien)

Ferula!

Fidelius Charm

fiendfyre

Finite Incantatem!

Firebolt broom

firewhiskey

Flagrate!

Flamel, Nicholas

Floo Network

Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor

167

Flourish and Blotts

fluxweed

flying carpets

Foe-Glass

food and drink

biscuits

butterbeer

cauldron cakes

chipolatas

chocolate gateau

Christmas pudding

crumpets

cuppa

dandelion juice

firewhiskey

Ginger Newts

kippers

Leaving Feast

mead

meringue

mince

pasty

peppermint humbugs

porridge

pudding

pumpkin juice

spotted dick

tarts

toast and marmalade

treacle

trifle

tripe

168

Turkish Delight

Welcoming Feast

Yorkshire pudding

forbidden forest

Forest of Dean

Furnunculus!

G

gadgets and inventions

Galleons

Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop

games

Exploding Snap

Gobstones

trading cards

wizard chess

garden gnomes

Geminio!

ghouls

giants

gillyweed

Ginger Newts

git

Glisseo!

gnomes

Goblet of Fire

goblins

Gobstones

Godric’s Hollow

Golden Snitch, Quidditch

Golpalott’s Third Law

Granger, Hermione

169

Great Gatsby, The, billboard as metaphor for God watching us

Great Hall, Hogwarts

Grindelwald

Grindylows

Gringott’s Wizards’ Bank

gryphons

H

Hagrid, Rubeus

Care of Magical Creatures

hut

introduction

Madame Olympe Maxime and

half-blood

Harrow School

hats

Head Boy/Girl

Headmaster

Healers, St. Mungo’s

Healing Spell ( Episkey! )

Hebridean Black dragon

hellebore

Hengist of Woodcroft

herbs

hexes

Hiccupping Solution

hippocampus

Hippogriffs

Hoare, C & Co.

Hobbit, The, (Tolkien)

Hog’s Head

Hogsmeade

170

Hogwarts

Apparating and

coat of arms

curriculum

expulsion from

forbidden forest

Great Hall

Hagrid’s hut

Head Boy/Girl

Headmaster

houses

Marauder’s Map

passwords

Prefects

required supplies

staircases

students

Triwizard Tournament

uniforms

Whomping Willow

Hogwarts Express, Platform ?

Holy Grail, The

Homenum revelio!

Homorphus Charm

Honeydukes, Hogsmeade

Honking Daffodils

Horcruxes

horned slugs, stewed (potions)

horses

hospital, St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

hotels

House Championship

171

House Cup

house-elves

Howlers

Howling, The,

Hungarian Horntail dragon

I

Impedimentia! (Impediment Curse)

Imperious Curse ( Imperio! )

Imperturbable Charm

Impervius!

improper use of magic

incantations

Incarcerous!

Incendio!

Inferi

ink bottles

inns

International Code of Wizarding Secrecy

Invisibility Cloak

Irish Death messenger

J-K

jinxes

Jobberknolls

Jones, Diana Wynne

Kappas

Keeper (Quidditch)

kelpies

Killing Curse ( Avada Kedavra! )

Kings Cross Station

kip

kippers

172

kissing gate

Kneazles

Knight Bus

Knockturn Alley

knotgrass

Knuts

Krum, Viktor

L

lacewing flies, potions

Langlock!

law enforcement . See also punishment

Leaky Cauldron

Leaving Feast

Leberacorpus!

leeches, potions

Leg-Locker Curse ( Locomotor Mortis! )

Legilimency

Lestrange, Bellatrix Black

Lethifolds

Leviathan

Levicorpus!

Levitating Charm ( Wingardium Leviosa! )

lift

Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The, (Lewis)

liveried policemen

Locomotor!

Locomotor Mortis! (Leg-Locker Curse)

Lord of the Rings, The, (Tolkien)

duels

dwarves

elves

173

forests

Gandalf’s staff

Green Dragon

One Ring, invisibility and

orcs

Saruman’s staff

Wizards’ Council

wolves

Lord Voldemort’s wand

lovage

love potion

Lumos!

Lunascope

M

Macbeth, cauldron

Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions

Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop

Madame Olympe Maxime

magic, 6

carpets

Dark Magic

traces of

mail

Malfoy family mallowsweet

Mandrake

Mandrake Restorative Draught

manticores

Marauder’s Map

Memory Charm ( Obliviate! )

Mermaid Tavern

merpeople

174

Metamorphmagus

Middle English

mince

Ministry of Magic, 105

British Government and

Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

Department of International Magical Cooperation

Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

Department of Magical Games and Sports

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Department of Magical Transportation

Department of Mysteries

dueling and

education and

Exchequer

housing and

Labor and Social Security

Ludicrous Patents Office

phone booth

Treasury

Work and Pensions

Mirror of Erised

mirrors

Mobilcorpus!

Mobiliarbus!

Modern English

money

Morgana

Morsmordre!

Moste Potente Potions,

Mrs. Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover

Mudblood

175

Muffliato!

Muggles

Mugwump

musicians

N

N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests)

Narnia, forests

National Curriculum of the UK

Netherlands, Efteling

nettle

Nimbus series of brooms

Norris, Mrs.

Norwegian Ridgeback dragon

Nox!

nurses, St. Mungo’s

O

O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels)

Obliteration Charm

Obliviate! (Memory Charm)

Obscuro!

Occlumency

Ollivanders

Olympics, cauldrons and

Omnioculars

Once and Future King, The, (White)

One Ring, Tolkien

Oppugno!

orcs

Order of the Phoenix, The

owls

Oxford University, Christ Church

176

P

parchment

Parseltongue

passwords, Hogwarts

pasties

Patronus

Pensieve

peppermint humbugs

Pepperup Potion

Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder

Peverell, Ignotus

phials

phoenixes

photographs

pickled rats’ brains, potions

Picture of Dorian Gray, The, aging picture

Piertotum Locomotor!

pigs, witches and

pitch

pixies

plants

Platform ?

poisons

Polyjuice Potion

porcupine quills, potions

porridge

Portkeys

Portus!

potions

Aging Potion

Amortentia

Babbling Beverage

177

Blood-Replenishing Potion

Bulbadox Powder

caterpillars

cauldron and

cockroaches

Confusing and Befuddlement Draught

crocodile heart

crushed snake fangs

Doxycide

Dr. Ubbly’s Oblivious Unction

Draught of Living Death

Draught of Peace

Elixir to Induce Euphoria

Elixir of Life

Felix Felicis

flagons

golden-eye flies

herbs and

Hiccupping Solution

ingredients, apothecary

lacewing files

leech juice

leeches

love potion

Mandrake Restorative Draught

Moste Potente Potions,

Mrs. Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover

Pepperup Potion

phials

pickled rats’ brains

Polyjuice Potion

porcupine quills

powdered horn of bicorn

178

puffer-fish eyes

rat spleen

salamander blood

scales

scarab beetles

shredded boomslang skin

Shrinking Solution

Skele-Gro

Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion

stewed horned slugs

stink files

unicorn horn and tail

Veritaserum

Wit-Sharpening

Wolfsbane

Pottager’s Cauldron Shop

Potter, Harry

hero’s journey

introduction

wand

Potter, James, wand

Potter, Lily, wand

potter’s field

Potterwatch,

powdered horn of bicorn, potions

prat

Prefects

Princess Bride, The,

prophecy

Protean Charm

Protego! (Shield Charm)

Protego Horribilis!

Protego Totalum!

179

Proteus

public schools

pubs

pudding

Puddlemere United Quidditch team

puffer-fish eyes, potions

Pullman, Philip, dementors and

pumpkin juice

punishment . See also law enforcement

pureblood

Purge and Dowse Ltd.

Put-Outer

Pythia

Q-R

Quaffle (Quidditch) queue

Quick-Quotes Quills

Quidditch

Quidditch Through the Ages, quills

radio

rat spleen, potions

rats

Red Caps

Reducto! (Reductor Curse)

Reem

Relashio!

Remembrall

Reparo!

Repello Muggletum!

Resurrection Stone

Revealer

Rictusempra! (Tickling Charm)

Riddikulus!

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Riddle, Tom . See also Voldemort, Lord

robes

Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest

Romulus

Rowling, J.K., influences on

runes

S

salamander blood, potions

salamanders

Salvio Hexia!

scales

scarab beetles, potions

Scarpins Revelaspell ( Specialis Revelio! )

scepters, wands and

Scribulous Writing Instruments

Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop, Hogsmeade

scurvy-grass

sea serpents

Secrecy Sensor

Sectumsempra!

Seeker (Quidditch)

Self-Correcting Quills

Serpensortia!

shapeshifting. See Animagus

Shield Charm ( Protego! )

Shield Cloaks

Shield Gloves

Shield Hats

Shrinking Solution

Sickles

Silencio!

sirens

181

Skele-Gro

Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion

Slug & Jiggers Apothecary

Smart-Answer Quills

snacks

snakes

Snape, Severus

Sneakoscope

sneezewort

Sonorus!

Sopophorous

sopophorous bean, Draught of Living Death

Sorting Hat

Specialis Revelio! (Scarpins Revelaspell)

Spellotape

spells

splinching, Apparating and

sports

Squibs

St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

staircases in Hogwarts

stewed horned slugs, potions

stink flies, potions

Strenghtening Solution, pomegranate

Stupefy! (Stunning Spell)

Summoning Charm ( Accio! )

Supreme Mugwump

Swedish Short-Snout dragon

Sword in the Stone, The, transformation into animals

T

Taboo, The

Tarantallegra! tarts

182

Tergeo!

Thestrals

Three Broomsticks

Tickling Charm ( Rictusempra! )

Time-Turner

time travel

Tonks, Andromeda Black

Trace, The

traces of magic

trading cards

Transmogrification Torture

Trelawney, Sibyll

Triwizard Tournament

trolls

Truth Potion

Turkish Delight

Twilfitt and Tatting’s

two-way mirrors

U-V

U.S. Marine Corps, Semper Fi

Unbreakable Vow

unforgivable curses

unicorn hair, wands

unicorn horn and tail, potions

unicorns

uniforms at Hogwarts

valerian

vampires

Vanishing Cabinet

Vanishing Spell ( Evanesco! )

Venomous Tentacula

Veritaserum

183

Voldemort, Lord . See also Riddle, Tom

von Hohenheim, Auroleus Phillipus Theophrastus Bombastus

von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The, (Lewis)

W-X-Y-Z

Waddiwasi!

wands

ash

beech

borrowing

caduceus

cherry

dragon heartstrings

dueling with

ebony

Elder Wand

Eldest,

Eragon,

Harry Potter’s

holly

hornbeam

ingredients

James Potter’s

Lily Potter’s

Lord Voldemort’s

mahogany wands

maple

Merlyn ( The Once and Future King)

need for

oak

Ollivander’s

184

phoenix tail feather

rosewood

scepters and

unicorn hair

vine wood

White Which ( The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

willow

yew

warlocks

Weasley, Ron, wand

Weasley family

Weird Sisters, The

Welcoming Feast

werewolves

Whomping Willow

Wicca

Wila

Wimbourne Wasps Quidditch team

Wingardium Leviosa! (Levitating Charm)

Wiseacres Wizard Supplies

Witch of Endor

Wit-Sharpening Potion

wizard chess

wizard crackers

Wizard of the Earthsea, The, (Le Guin)

Wizard penknife

Wizarding Examinations Authority

wizards

Wizards’ Council

Wizengamot

Wolfen

wolfsbane

Wolfsbane Potion

185

Worksop College

wormwood

WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network)

Yorkshire pudding

About the Author

Tere Stouffer is a children’s literature scholar and the author of 13 nonfiction

books. She earned her Master’s degree in children’s literature at Hollins University

(Roanoke, VA), where she had the chance to debate the relative merits of the Harry

186

Potter novels with nationally recognized scholars and authors. An unabashed Harry Potter fan, she wrote her first graduate paper in 2001, detailing the key differences between Rowling’s magical world and the magical worlds of previous bestselling novels,

including The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

She soon discovered that few people were studying Rowling’s novels with any level of

seriousness, making her one of the first Harry Potter scholars in the nation. In 2005, 2006, and 2007, she was invited to present papers at the prestigious Children’s Literature

Association International Conference. She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts

(M.F.A.) in writing for children at Hollins University.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Introduction

Part 1 - Wizards, Monsters, and Creatures of All Sorts

Chapter 1 - Wizards, Witches, and Warlocks

Chapter 2 - Creatures of All Shapes and Sizes

Part 2 - Where and How the Wizards Are

Chapter 3 - The Wizard’s Wardrobe and Toolbox

Chapter 4 - How Wizards Spend Their Days

Chapter 5 - Getting Around: Modes of Transportation

Chapter 6 - The Sporting Life: Quidditch, Chess, and Other Games

Part 3 - Magical Places

Chapter 7 - Where the Witches Go in London

Chapter 8 - Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade

Chapter 9 - International Wizarding Schools

Part 4 - Spells, Potions, and Other Ways of Performing Magic

Chapter 10 - Herbology 101

Chapter 11 - Round About the Cauldron Go: Draughts and Potions

Chapter 12 - Watch What You Say: Spells, Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, and Curses

Chapter 13 - Advanced Wizardry

Part 5 - Regulating Magic and the Wizards Who Perform It

Chapter 14 - The Ministry of Magic

Chapter 15 - Crime and Punishment

187

Chapter 16 - The Final Word

Appendix A - Glossary of British Terms

Appendix B - Cool Wizarding Websites

Index

About the Author

188

189

Table of Contents

Part 3: Magical Places 95

Chapter 9 International Wizarding Schools 125

Chapter 10 Herbology 101 133

Chapter 13 Advanced Wizardry 179

Chapter 15 Crime and Punishment 203

Chapter 16 The Final Word 213

Part 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Part 3

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Part 4

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Part 5

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Part 3 - Magical Places

Chapter 9 - International Wizarding Schools

Chapter 10 - Herbology 101

Chapter 13 - Advanced Wizardry

Chapter 15 - Crime and Punishment

Chapter 16 - The Final Word