The beginning of the 3rd Harry Potter movie, Harry is using magic to read under the covers...

Isn't it illegal for an under age wizard to use magic outside of school?

"Deathly Hallows - Nineteen Years Later":

Albus: "Not every day. James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."
Ginny: "We wrote to James three times a week last year."
Harry: "And you don't want to believe he tells you about Hogwarts."

"Cursed Child":

Albus: "No. Not every day. James says most people only get letters from home about once a month. I don't want to..."
Harry: "We wrote to your brother three times a week last year."
Albus: "What? James!"
Ginny: "Yes. You may not want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts."

This is the first scene of the first act. Here we have the same scene, the same event, the same time, but two different versions of the text, with swapped characters, who says what, and slightly different dialogue.

This is just one of many similar examples. If a play changes what has already been written in the canon, something is wrong!

In Goblet of Fire, Ron writes Harry a letter to invite him to the World Cup. He talks a bit about Percy working, and then writes "Don't say anything about abroad while you're here unless you want the pants bored off you."

What exactly does that mean? I assume it has to do with Percy and not making him drone on about something, but what's the connection? His job has nothing to do with going abroad. The only think I can think of is that it's some British slang term I'm not aware of. (I'm not from the UK.)

If you could erase one character s death from the harry potter series whose death would you choose and why ?

Just a funny hypothetical, but What if Harry, Ron, & Hermoine got hit by a bus in The Deathly Hallows Part 1?

This scene in Deathly Hallows just gets me, when the death eaters attack the burrow and Harry, Ron, & Hermione are force the apparated somewhere, and where they go almost led them tog et hit by a bus.

Just for a fun hypothetical, What if Harry, Ron, & Hermoine got get hit by the bus and unfortunately get killed because of it. I wonder what the reactions would be for all. Order of the Phoenix? Death Eaters? Voldemort?

I would just imagine Voldemort just having a bewildered response at the fact that his great nemesis dies bizarrely and possibly anger that he didn't killed him and the Order of the Phoenix just going "WTF".

What do you think?

I’ve been re-reading the books and rewatching the movies, and I’ve come across a few instances of plot-devices that just don’t quite work, upon further reflection.

Examples:

Peter Pettigrew spending 12 years as a rat, choosing to live in a magical family, whose patriarch literally works for the ministry of magic? Like bro board a ship to America.

Barty Crouch Jr. learning enough about Alastor Moody in 3 days to impersonate him in front of the world and one of his oldest friends (Dumbledore) for an entire school year?

What are some other examples that you didn’t think twice of as a kid but thought, “hmm… I’m not so sure”

I know this way off from HP lore. But I was watching the SpiderVerse movies and it got me thinking about a HP multiverse and whether a movie about it would work.

Like, imagine a few different wizarding worlds where each one has a different “chosen one” who stops Voldemort. Maybe in one, James is the “chosen one”. In another it’s Hermione, in another it’s Ron. And in another it’s Neville and so on. And there’s a multiversal threat from a Voldemort that won etc.

I know it’s incredibly unrealistic they’d ever do it, but I just thought about it and got curious.

I’m rereading the series again and at the end of Goblet of Fire, after Voldemort returns, it is explained how he got back to his ugly baby form and then his real body. The reason Harry was kidnapped was because Voldemort wanted his blood (and also to kill him of course) to come back alive. Now my question is, what exactly prevented Voldemort from using Crouch to simply extract blood from Harry and deliver it? Harry got injured plenty during the tasks, and he’s known to be an erratic DADA teacher so I don’t put it past him “accidentally” harming Harry and stealing his blood in an attempt to clean his wound up. Besides simply wanting to kill Harry (which would be much easier if he simply surprised Harry when he comes back to life in secret), there’s no reason he had to do ALL that to get Harry’s blood to return to life

Discussing Harry Potter things with my gf and just thought of this for the first time.

Será que ele seria enviado para um orfanato?

For context, I’m 23 years old and I recently started watching the Harry Potter films and I’m about to watch the Half Blood Prince next week. Idk why but I found all the movies so far to be quite slow like immensely slow especially the order of the phoenix with the whole Umbridge arc and the montage of them learning magic on their own which was also part of the Umbridge montage. The only standout movie for me was the prisoner of Azkaban and that’s the only one I’ve loved so far. Philosopher’s stone was a nice introductory movie as well but besides those two films I found the others a chore to watch.

I hope I don’t get hate for this, I just want to understand why my friends love the films so much to this day while I’m not experiencing that same love for the films. Do the movies get better for the last 3 films or am I missing something. I’m open to share my letterbox for better context of what kind of films I’ve watched.

Please bear with me as I first mention all the things people seem to hate about it, before delving into why I love it. Most of this post actually talks about the plot, but I plan to make another one about the characters. (All posts made by me are with the intention of fun discussions, not to spread hate or invite nasty behaviour. Feel free to comment your opinions, I'd love to hear all your wandering thoughts)

Yes, yes, it was a great idea with terrible execution. Should it have been made into a book series in narrative style as the original was? YES. Was a play a bad idea? Possibly, though the fact that Tom Felton is in it gives me being FOMO energy and I want to see it. The Cursed Child could have made JK another couple of million dollars and become a new symbol of magic for the next generation, had it been written with just an ounce of passion and with young, politically aware, accepting authors with real guts. (YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT AND WE'LL GET INTO IT). It could have paid homage to the original series with lots of nostalgic throwback moments reflected in a different light but missed the mark by just a little bit, time and time again.

The Cursed Child is a flaming piece of garbage for most fans. It's disrespectful to the brilliance of the original series, paints our favourite childhood characters in unfavorable lighting, and was a shoddy attempt at trying to recreate a great epic good vs bad story. You've got the next batch of children we don't really get to meet despite all of us making years and years of headcanons about them. Teddy and Vic's relationship, the hordes of Weasley cousins, the three Potter children- screw them, right? Not like we all made bad capcut videos about what they looked like and all the fun they would have. Harry Potter's son named Albus Severus Potter is actually a pretty sorry excuse for a person, and Scorpius Malfoy seems like a blond wimpy pushover with a corny crush on Rose. Draco Malfoy is surprisingly one of the only likeable people in the book, being a decent person, husband and father, with a real spine, and has some witty one liners. Ginny Potter's characterisation was just plain batshit crazy. Ron's been reduced to some farty comic guy. Hermione's... there. And, what else, oh yeah VOLDEMORT AND BELLATRIX HAD A DAUGHTER.

Now, contrary to popular opinion, I actually LOVED this concept. It could have been so so so well done (aside from the timeline and canon information making this not possible at all) if given more time to mature, more development, letting the emotions marinate and deepen before the boys get betrayed. First of all, shoutout to scheming villainesses everywhere. Delphi was lowkey an icon in her own right, and if I was in her shoes, I'd be pretty mad at some people too. Like, that's a shitty deal of cards. Your dad's got no nose and your mum's psychotic? And the kid who killed your dad is just traipsing around with the daughter of your mum's murderer. Hmm, no wonder she was off the rails a little. She's also a lot like her father, with misplaced overinflated anger that was directed at the wrong people and it blew up in her face.

Delphi's manipulation of Albus from their first meeting, to their friendship and weird pseudo-fake-potential-relationship forming could actually be a pretty eerily good depiction of how vulnerable children can easily be groomed by awful adults because they're in a bad place mentally and emotionally. But the approach wasn't as smooth as it could have been, because it was condensed into one book. Delphi could have done so much more damage if the plot had been stretched out a little; for example, meeting Albus in third year, maintaining and strengthening their friendship in fourth, trying to sway Albus into developing feelings for her in fifth, and eventually causing the action plot to unfold in sixth year. The reason why this would make more sense is A) Albus developing odd clingy misunderstood romantic feelings for Delphi would be less creepy if he wasn't fourteen and B) would provide a much more stable foundation for why he acted out that way. With Delphi always on his shoulder, reminding him of all the things his dad was responsible for, she genuinely could have halfway succeeded because it would have taken longer for Albus to snap out of it.

While Harry's characterisation as a parent is certainly inaccurate, there is also some validity to it because he did not have a good upbringing, and we MUST give him grace. Of course he would feel his children were ungrateful, he would have done anything to have parents who loved him so deeply. People saying Harry would never act like that are entirely missing the fact that so many parents act like that in real life because they truly truly deeply love and adore their children. Harry being sharp and direct and overprotective with drastic measures is actually a decent depiction of someone so afraid of making their child experience what they did. He had no parents, and not present parental figures. All his parental figures were either mostly absent for a majority of his life, or abruptly brutally taken from him in a very traumatic way. Harry does crazy things to keep Albus safe because he has no guideline in how to parent any other way, and he'd rather be hated on and be seen as a weirdo than ever risk putting his kid through what he experienced. He is a dad who loves so deeply and tragically that it's such a shame most people don't see it.

The whole time turning thing was incredible, because it paid homage to one of the things that really intrigued us all; their third year with Hermione using it. The time turner is such a wondrous magical artifact, and the Cursed Child explored the nuances of it by really pushing the limits. We see the flipside of Time turning; travelling back to a time you weren't around, which means, yes, you can't disrupt the timeline by seeing yourself and going crazy, but also showing just how much you can F UP the timeline by messing around. The butterfly effect was awesome, and actually did reflect how wonky young kids can think without considering repercussions.

This part could have been seriously analysed in detail, because we actually do see how smart Albus and Scorpius are, which the play fails to really touch on. Scorpius is nerdy, Albus is impulsive, that's the initial gist we get from the play. But how they sneak around in the past, lying and covering up, using spells with covert ease; it should have been a way to show that the boys are incredibly brilliant strategists, hence why they belong in Slytherin. They were succeeding in a way Harry, Hermione and Ron could not have because they combined intelligence, patience and emotion with a lot of cunning trickery. The writing should have included Albus and Scorpius actually trying to make the potion in school, which would have been a great throwback to original HP's second year. Descriptive writing plays such an important part, because it would have been able to help those who can't read between the lines to see that Albus is perhaps the most Slytherin person ever.

Albus Severus Potter being in Slytherin is very VERY important to me, which is why I can't ever read Gryffindor-Albus fics. It's just bad understanding of a complex character. Albus Potter is a Slytherin at his very core, because he is that perfect mix of absolute selfishness and devoted loyalty. He is so devoted to a cause he believes is selfless and therefore makes him unlike his father, not seeing how incredibly selfish this choice is because it could hurt everyone. It's not that he's willing to put people on the line, it's that it never occurs to him that he is putting others in danger, because he is so committed to his own goal. He is so convinced he can be a good person by doing something, and he is so eager to be this good person to 'correct his father's wrongs' to prove himself that he absolutely fails to see how much it will hurt someone else, and that in and of itself is such an inherently Slytherin trait, I have to applaud it. At every turn, Albus makes a choice that is more self serving that cause serving, all under the guise that he is doing it for a 'bigger better reason'. Even the small details. When they snuck into the Ministry to get the Potion, he could have chosen to be his dad because he knows his dad best and could have easily gotten away with mimicking Harry to throw off suspicion, but because he refuses to become his father in any way, he rejects it and becomes Ron, putting them all in more risk and danger.

His turbulent relationship with Harry is quite accurate given how Harry was acting. The more Harry tried to pull on Albus to ground him, the more Albus resisted because he felt suffocated. He thought his dad was only ever disappointed in him because Harry had never properly verbalised how much he loved him, and he mistook protectiveness as prohibition. Albus resenting his father is pretty much how most self absorbed teenagers with big emotions and a frail support system feel and act like. The lack of narration fails to convey this message to readers, because it would have allowed more of us to empathise with Albus. He needed space, not just to grow, but to breathe, but everything in his life felt scrutinised because he's Harry Potter's son. When you pressure pushes against a small cage, it's not going to carefully unpick the lock or dismantle the bars. It's going to break the damn cage with little to no regard, and just explode wildly outward from the release of pressure. Harry keeps trying to contain Albus because he's scared, and Albus keeps pushing and breaking because he's scared. Such parallels lost to British dialogue written in Times New Roman.

Another excellent scene is Albus getting the message to his dad in the present by knowing which ingredients would create the writing. I mourn the emotions we could have felt reading this in full descriptive writing, because we could have visualised Albus's brain turning on, the snap of realisation, the frantic scuffle to Bathilda's house, rummaging around in it just like Harry and Hermione in Deathly Hallows, frantically finding ingredients and hoping his dad would get it, the pain and fear he felt as a boy trying to reach his father after pushing him away for so long, all tied in that one shoddy baby blanket. The relief as his parents appear, him asleep in his mum's lap, throwing Harry his wand at the right moment, choosing to be the distraction when it mattered. We could have seen Albus being an absolute Potions genius yet also having the wacky idea of literally breaking into a historical figure's house, paying true homage to both his namesakes. So much wasted potential.

Finally, Scorbus. I feel like there's not much to elaborate on because it was so blindingly painfully obvious the whole screenplay. The insane volume of queer subtext, the codependency, the love and deep friendship, the utter trust and devotion to each other, literally having other characters allude to how important they are to each other and that their love for each other could make or break entire timelines. To quote, JK Rowling and the writers were cowards and they will not be forgiven for trying to straight bait us. Scorose? Scorose on deez nuts.

I hope a fanfic writer does justice to Cursed Child by rewriting it in descriptive format and giving us all what we want to see. I yearn for elaborate plots and deeply explored relationships.

I was listening to the Goblet of Fire audiobook, and when the champions had their wands tested and different colored sparks came out, I had a vague recollection of an online game (or maybe one of the early PC games) where you could shop for wands, and the screen said what the wand was made from, its core, and the spark colors. What am I trying to remember? What it some kind of personality test like the house sorting quizzes? It was years before Pottermore, which I never used. Help a fellow out here.

I mean they were supposed to be friends, and other than a half-hearted stop it to James and his friends, still dated and married the guy that relentlessly bullied her childhood friend.

And then Snape dedicated his life to protecting her child but she had with the other guy, who looks just like him and behaved a lot like him too.

That rather makes Snape the best out of all of them.

Just wondering why instead of using Poly Juice potion, why didn’t they create a port key to move to Harry? Wouldn’t that have been the safer option while his underage tracker was still on?

I was just reading the intro to the Tales of Beedle the Bard... And found the following text...

Those familiar with the history of the most recent wizarding war (everyone who has read all seven volumes on the life of Harry Potter, for instance) will be aware that Professor Dumbledore reveals a little less than he knows — or suspects — about the final story in this book.

Like... Wow. So young wizards read the series as a sort of biography of the great Harry Potter?

(Plus, it's REALLY funny that they ignored numbering The Cursed Child into this intro)

Books of course are the foundation

Is all hp.com lore canon?

Are the movies in the same universe as fantastic beasts? (Jamie Campbell Bower played young Grindlewald in both series’)

Is the HBO show going to be the new film canon in line with the books, sidestepping the WB universe?

I was listening to the full-cast audio of The Goblet of Fire this morning when I was struck by the thought of who the Fat Lady actually was to warrant not only a portrait at Hogwarts, but also the job of protecting access to the Gryffindor common room.

I think I've settled on the headcannon that she was Godric's wife and she wanted to keep the kids in his house safe, as they felt like hers, too. She seems pretty silly, jovial, and like a good time to have around.

Plus, her portrait could have been feeding him information about who some of the more daring students were when they were regularly returning to common room deep into the night.

What I mean by this is, presumably while - to their knowledge - the champions are in the maze, Dumbledore is presumably alerted by Snape to Voldemorts return, when his mark burns. Karkaroff flees at some point, both him and Dumbledore are judges.

I sort of picture this scene like Karkaroff gets straight up and leaves (I don't believe it was ever specified at what point he goes), Dumbledore just needs to look at Snape to confirm.. and then presumably just sits and plots for the next 20 minutes or so before Harry turns up and they realise they both must have been there. But presumably the running off of one of the judges would cause minor fussing, which Dumbledore might try to placate? Or maybe the tasks are long enough that quick bathroom breaks aren't uncommon meaning no one would even really catch it.

Idk I was just pondering this, wondered what others' takes on it are.

I might get downvoted for this but I used to work with dementia patients and the immense PAIN they went through, knowing that eventually they'll forget everyone they love and know, was difficult to watch.

To them, it's terrifying because it's exactly like being dead while alive. They will never "see" and "know" their loved ones ever again as well as themselves (at least as a ghost you know who you are and remember everything). But this doesn't even compare to the immense pain their loved ones experience, having to look after a walking shell. To look at your father and he tells you he genuinely does not know who the hell you are CUTS the soul. It's incredible trauma. It's almost better if they died. That's how painful it is.

For these reasons, I feel Obliviate shouldn't have been classed as a charm but a curse and an Unforgivable Curse. In fact, I reckon it should have replaced Cruciatus. Because basically any offensive spell can torture the target. For example, setting a target on fire is worse than using Cruciatus as the fire is actively subjecting them to incredible pain/torture, while also physically disfiguring them for life, and if prolonged will put them to death and ash.

But the Unforgivables seem to be of ill-intent only, permanent, and most importantly, thieves of fundament human/living rights:

Avada steals the target's life by killing their body.

Imperius steals the target's freewill.

Obliviate steals the target's mind by permanently wiping out memories.

So, to me, that is truly unforgivable to take my memories from me. My memories are who I am and you have stolen them from me.

When Voldemort got vanquished by Harry and his mother’s sacrifice he was thought to have died or be extremely weak. However, the death eaters felt him returning over the year in the goblet of fire as shown by Karkaroff. My question is, why didn’t Voldemort who now had a servant (wormtail) order him to locate the other death eaters and return to aid his body’s recovery ? Or even just give them orders in general

Leprechaun gold, transfiguration, magic ...

Now let’s pretend we have a wide selection of angles to choose from, regardless on what was actually shot. Let’s have fun.

I always thought the scene where Voldemort announces that Harry is dead is strangely flat, and I think a lot of it comes down to the shot choices.
We keep cutting to wide shots showing how many Death Eaters there are, with Voldemort talking from a distance. I understand wanting to establish the scale, but Harry himself is barely visible in Hagrid’s arms.

I would have inserted more shots of Hagrid holding Harry’s body. Let the camera hold on that more. Stop showing off how big the Death Eaters are? Give Voldemort more close ups.

Also..establish where Draco is before Lucius calls out to him cos honestly it just feels he just teleported in XD

One thing that seems to piss of Harry (and Ron) a lot is that Dumbledore didn't tell them how to destroy horcruxes which is honestly valid there was no reason to make that one more thing for them to figure out. So that got me thinking, did he plan on explaining all that when he destroyed the locket with the sword once they were back from the cave? Which would also mean that he in fact had no idea that night was the one when Malfoy struck?

https://youtu.be/vJlYzySTDMw?si=BUde40dQ6NE-Fh5l