12 Harry Potter Facts Only Super Fans Should Know
After 7 books and 8 movies, we thought we know everything there is to know about Hogwarts. But if there’s one thing this series taught us, there are some secrets hiding in plain sight.
So get on your broomsticks and take out those wands because we’ve listed down some of the unbelievable secrets all fans must know about the Harry Potter series.
1. You didn't get your Hogwarts letter because Voldemort destroyed Muggleborn records from 1985-1998.
Face it, you're still waiting for that sweet sweet Hogwarts letter to come flying in your letter box, but if you had yet to turn 11 on 1998, there s a chance Voldemort wiped out all your records. When Voldemort took control of The Ministry of Magic, he destroyed all existing records of Muggleborn children between the years of 1985-1998.
2. J.K. Rowling says Muggleborn witches and wizards are descended from Squibs and Muggles, because magic skips a few generations.
They say Muggles got their magic by "stealing" it. Turns out, muggleborn witches and wizards are descended from Squibs and Muggles, and the magic doesn't show up until after many generations. The Muggle-Born Registration Commission Voldemort made The Ministry of Magic do is like some of those IRL government projects: completely useless and a waste of (wizard) money.
3. Voldemort designed the Dark Mark Symbol to look like Salazar Slytherin.
Voldemort fashioned the Dark Mark Symbol as a skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth not just to reference Parselmouths, but because he considered himself to be the heir of Slytherin. But if you notice Salazar Slytherin’s statue in the Chamber of Secrets , a serpent comes out of its mouth when Voldemort released the basilisk from its lair.
Voldemort is a true Slytherin fanboy, tbh.
4. House Elves were first employed by Helga Hufflepuff to keep them from getting abused.
Another reason to hate on the Malfoys for how they treated Dobby is the fact that Helga Hufflepuff had the House Elves work at Hogwarts so they can work somewhere without getting abused.
5. James Potter was a Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Looks like Harry got his Quidditich skills from his dad. James Potter was a very talented Seeker for Gryffindor house. In fact, not only was Snape jealous of James because Lily favours him more, it’s also because he’s talented at Quidditch!
6. Professor Trelawney might have predicted that Harry is a horcrux during a Divination class.
During a Divination class, Professor Trelawney and Harry had the following exchange:
"I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?"
Harry replies, "No, I was born in July."
Harry wasn’t born in midwinter, of course. But Voldemort was! It is entirely possible that Sybill Trelawney sensed the Dark Lord in Harry getting her confused, and unintentionally predicted that he is a horcrux.
7. Another mind-blowing Trelawney moment! She might have foreseen the death of Sirius Black.
There’s a scene in Prisoners of Azkaban where she didn’t want to sit on the table where 12 others are already seated because she would be the 13th, and the first one to stand up would die.
Nothing weird about that, right? But then you see the Order of the Phoenix gather and 13 of them sat on the table. Want to guess who stood up first?
8. Arthur Weasley’s wish is to find out how Muggles keep airplanes flying.
Your resident Muggle-enthusiast wants so badly to know how airplanes are kept airborne. It seems flying cars aren’t as exciting as our airplanes, eh?
9. Voldemort wasn’t the first one to create a horcrux. It was the earliest known Dark Wizard, Herpo the Foul.
Known as the Ancient Greek Dark Wizard, Herpo the Foul is the first wizard to successfully create a horcrux, maybe even the first one to design the ritual itself.
He was also the first wizard to discover that hatching a chicken egg under a toad will create a basilisk. Who knew, right?
10. Snape was a powerful Mind Reader.
In the Sorcerer’s Stone , Harry was worried that Snape knows about his nightly adventures around Hogwarts.
"Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds."
Severus Snape is actually a very skilled Legilimens. Harry was right to be worried!
11. Even Harry's wand sealed his fate to die before he even got to step foot on Hogwarts.
We all know that Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s wands have Celtic roots, telling us about the bond they will share with each other. What most of us overlooked is that Harry’s wand is made of Holly, a symbol of the eighth month of the Celtic Tree calendar and the folklore associated with is the Tree of Sacrifice.
Our boy Harry didn’t even have the chance, he was destined for death all along.
12. Barty Crouch Jr. saw Snape as one of his enemies, which he shouldn't have if Snape's allegiance is with the Death Eaters.
The answer to Snape s loyalty was staring us right in the face. While Barty Crouch Jr. was pretending to Mad-Eye Moody, he had a Foe-Glass in his possession. A Foe-Glass shows the possessors enemies, and Crouch saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Severus Snape . If Snape really had been allied with the Death Eaters, he wouldn’t have showed up as his enemy.
The foreshadowing, coincidences, and fun facts just goes to show how incredible J.K. Rowling is with her world building and how expansive the Wizarding World is.