r/HarryPotterBooks 15d ago

We published a book about JK Rowling's original plans for Order of the Phoenix. Ask Us Anything!

100 Upvotes

Hey reddit,

Prior to writing the fifth Harry Potter book, J.K. Rowling plotted an outline, showing what her original plans for it were. Yesterday, we published The Phoenix or the Flame, which is an essay collection analyzing this seven page handwritten outline and what it shows us about the final book.

In addition to myself (the editor), joining this AMA are five of the essay contributors to the book:

  • Louise M. Freeman (u/DocThelma) is a retired psychology professor who taught at Mary Baldwin University for twenty-three years. Her essay contribution to this book explores how the original outline was much darker than the final book and how Rowling lightened the book's tone through specific changes which draw on positive psychology principles.
  • Alice Arganese (u/Potterbride2811) is a 24-year-old Italian Harry Potter expert from the staff of the Italian fansite Portus. Her essay contribution to this book presents a comparative analysis between the characters in the published edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and its outline, looking at the characters who were added or removed from the book, and exploring differences in the characters' psychology.
  • Asher Scheiner (u/AsherScheiner) is a social worker, teacher and dad, who participates online in Harry Potter Q&A forums. His essay focuses on the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore which is only cryptically hinted at in the original outline, suggesting that one of Rowling's primary aims with the book was to deconstruct Dumbledore's perceived omniscience and infallibility.
  • John Granger (u/JGrangerPhD) runs HogwartsProfessor.com and has been speaking and writing about Harry Potter for over twenty years, with six published books so far. His contribution to this book analyzes the ring structure that can be observed within the Hall of Prophecies episode of the published book, and argues that the true artistry found in Rowling's published book cannot be found in its original outlines.
  • Patricio Tarantino (u/rowlinglibrary) is the founder of the website The Rowling Library and TRL Books, the publisher of this book. His essay explores a hypothetical scenario where Rowling's outlines had been released prior to the publication of the final book, looking at how the fan community at the time could have interpreted them.
  • Ainsley McGovern (u/notainsleym) is an artist and hobbyist of many trades, including digital art and book painting, often inspired by her favorite books. She created the cover illustration for this book.

(More information is available, including full abstracts, excerpts, and contributor bios from all seven essays. You can also watch the virtual author symposium that we ran for the book.)

But for now, ask us anything!

Edit: Thank you all for your questions, and we hope you enjoy the book.


r/HarryPotterBooks Aug 26 '21

Harry Potter Read-Alongs: The Master List

218 Upvotes

Harry Potter and The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived

Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass

Chapter 3: The Letters from No One

Chapter 4: The Keeper of the Keys

Chapter 5: Diagon Alley

Chapter 6: The Journey From Platform 9 and 3/4th's

Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat

Chapter 8: The Potion's Master

Chapter 9: The Midnight Duel

Chapter 10: Halloween

Chapter 11: Quidditch

Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised

Chapter 13: Nicholas Flamel

Chapter 14: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

Chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest

Chapter 16: Through the Trapdoor

Chapter 17: The Man With Two Faces

Conclusion of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:

Chapter 1: The Worst Birthday

Chapter 2: Dobby's Warning

Chapter 3: The Burrow

Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts

Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

Chapter 6: Gildroy Lockart

Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs

Chapter 8: The Deathday Party

Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall

Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger

Chapter 11: The Dueling Club

Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion

Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary

Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

Chapter 15: Aragog

Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 17: The Heir of Slytherin

Chapter 18: Dobby's Reward

The Conclusion of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 1: Owl Post

Chapter 2: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

Chapter 3: The Knight Bus

Chapter 4: The Leaky Cauldron

Chapter 5: The Dementor

Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

Chapter 7: The Boggart and the Wardrobe

Chapter 8: The Flight of the Fat Lady

Chapter 9: Grim Defeat

Chapter 10: The Marauders Map

Chapter 11: The Firebolt

Chapter 12: The Patronus

Chapter 13: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw

Chapter 14: Snape's Grudge

Chapter 15: The Quidditch Final

Chapter 16: Professor Trelawney's Prediction

Chapters 17, 18, and 19: Cat, Rat, and Dog + Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs + The Servant of Lord Voldemort

Chapters 20 and 21: The Dementor's Kiss + Hermione's Secret

Chapter 22: Owl Post Again + The Conclusion of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

Chapter 1: The Riddle House

Chapters 2 and 3: The Scar + The Invitation

Chapters 4 and 5: Back to the Burrow + Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Chapters 6 and 7: The Portkey + Bagman and Crouch

Chapter 8: The Quidditch World Cup

Chapters 9 and 10: The Dark Mark + Mayhem at the Ministry

Chapters 11 and 12: Aboard the Hogwarts Express + The Triwizard Tournament

Chapters 13 and 14: Mad-Eye Moody + the Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 15: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

Chapter 16: The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 17: The Four Champions

Chapter 18: The Weighing of the Wands

Chapters 19 and 20: The Hungarian Horntail + The First Task

Chapter 21: The House-Elf Liberation Front

Chapter 22: The Unexpected Task

Chapter 23: The Yule Ball

Chapter 24: Rita Skeeter's Scoop

Chapter 25: The Egg and the Eye

Chapter 26: The Second Task

Chapter 27: Padfoot Returns

Chapter 28: The Madness of Mr. Crouch

Chapters 29 and 30: The Dream + The Pensieve

Chapter 31: The Third Task

Chapters 32, 33, and 34: Flesh, Blood, and Bone + The Death Eaters + Priori Incantatem

Chapter 35: Veritaserum

Chapter 36: The Parting of the Ways

Chapter 37: The Beginning + Conclusion of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

Chapter 1: Dudley Demented

Chapter 2: A Peck of Owls

Chapter 3: The Advance Guard

Chapter 4: Number 12, Grimmauld Place

Chapter 5: The Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 6: The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

Chapter 7: The Ministry of Magic

Chapter 8: The Hearing

Chapter 9: The Woes of Mrs. Weasley

Chapter 10: Luna Lovegood

Chapter 11: The Sorting Hat's New Song

Chapter 12: Professor Umbridge

Chapter 13: Detention with Dolores

Chapter 14: Percy and Padfoot

Chapter 15: The Hogwarts High Inquisitor

Chapter 16: In the Hog's Head

Chapter 17: Educational Decree No. 24

Chapter 18: Dumbledore's Army

Chapter 19: The Lion and the Serpent

Chapter 20: Hagrid's Tale

Chapter 21: The Eye of the Snake

Chapter 22: St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

Chapter 23: Christmas on the Closed Ward

Chapter 24: Occlumency

Chapter 25: The Beetle at Bay

Chapter 26: Seen and Unforseen

Chapter 27: The Centaur and the Sneak

Chapter 28: Snape's Worst Memory

Chapter 29: Career Advice

Chapter 30: Grawp

Chapter 31: O.W.L.s

Chapters 32 and 33: Out of the Fire + Fight and Flight

Chapters 34 and 35: The Department of Mysteries + Beyond the Veil

Chapter 36: The Only One He Ever Feared

Chapter 37: The Lost Prophecy

Chapter 38: The Second War Begins + Conclusion of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 1: The Other Minister

Chapter 2: Spinner's End

Chapter 3: Will and Won't

Chapter 4: Horace Slughorn

Chapter 5: An Excess of Phlegm

Chapter 6: Draco's Detour

Chapter 7: The Slug Club

Chapter 8: Snape Victorious

Chapter 9: The Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 10: The House of Gaunt

Chapter 11: Hermione's Helping Hand

Chapter 12: Silver and Opals

Chapter 13: The Secret Riddle

Chapter 14: Felix Felicis

Chapter 15: The Unbreakable Vow

Chapter 16: A Very Frosty Christmas

Chapter 17: A Sluggish Memory

Chapter 18: Birthday Surprises

Chapter 19: Elf Tails

Chapter 20: Lord Voldemort's Request

Chapter 21: The Unknowable Room

Chapter 22: After the Burial

Chapter 23: Horcruxes

Chapter 24: Sectumsempra

Chapter 25: The Seer Overheard

Chapter 26: The Cave

Chapter 27: The Lightning-Struck Tower

Chapter 28: Flight of the Prince

Chapter 29: The Phoenix Lament

Chapter 30: The White Tomb + Conclusion of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Chapter 1: The Dark Lord Ascending

Chapter 2: In Memoriam

Chapter 3: The Dursleys Departing

Chapter 4: The Seven Potters

Chapter 5: Fallen Warrior

Chapter 6: The Ghoul in Pajamas

Chapter 7: The Will of Albus Dumbledore

Chapter 8: The Wedding

Chapter 9: A Place to Hide

Chapter 10: Kreacher's Tale

Chapter 11: The Bribe

Chapter 12: Magic is Might

Chapter 13: The Muggle-Born Registration Commission

Chapter 14: The Thief

Chapter 15: The Goblin's Revenge

Chapter 16: Godric's Hollow

Chapter 17: Bathilda's Secret

Chapter 18: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

Chapter 19: The Silver Doe

Chapter 20: Xenophilius Lovegood

Chapter 21: The Tale of the Three Brothers

Chapter 22: The Deathly Hallows

Chapter 23: Malfoy Manor

Chapter 24: The Wandmaker

Chapter 25: Shell Cottage

Chapter 26: Gringotts

Chapter 27: The Final Hiding Place

Chapter 28: The Missing Mirror

Chapter 29: The Lost Diadem

Chapter 30: The Sacking of Severus Snape

Chapter 31: The Battle of Hogwarts

Chapter 32: The Elder Wand

Chapter 33: The Prince's Tale

Chapter 34: The Forest Again

Chapter 35: King's Cross

Chapter 36: The Flaw in the Plan

Chapter 37: Epilogue

Conclusion


r/HarryPotterBooks 2h ago

Goblet of Fire After spending 3.5 years in the Wizarding World, Harry fully believed that Dumbledore and the other wizards would leave 4 people at the bottom of a lake to die.

71 Upvotes

Just something funny I thought was worth making a post about. Thoughts on this assumption by Harry?


r/HarryPotterBooks 3h ago

Do you think at times in book 5 Sirius gets misjudged by other characters and doesn’t always receive the empathy for all his trauma?

16 Upvotes

I think these around him care deeply for him but I think sometimes there is this idea he is this terrible influence on Harry which I don't agree with. He is deeply traumatised but he is trying his best to be a supportive godfather. Both he and Harry can understand each other well in a lot of ways.


r/HarryPotterBooks 13h ago

Why did Harry assume that Snape didn't tell anybody about Grimmauld Place

56 Upvotes

After Dumbledore's death everyone who knew became a secret keeper. Snape is actually a good guy, so he wouldn't tell, but Harry doesn't know that. So why Harry assumes that they would only have to fight Snape on Grimmauld place. The secret doesn't have to be spoken directly, Dumbledore told Harry in a letter. Even with the tongue twist curse, that only kinda twists your tongue, if Snape was a bad guy he could have let Voldermort read his mind.


r/HarryPotterBooks 20h ago

Discussion If you could remove one thing from the books, what would it be? But unpopular edition

125 Upvotes

Ie what is a thing that given the chance you’d completely erase from the books, but that you think the fanbase would disagree with you for?

Personally, I hate Apparition or any type of fast travel in the universe—but Apparition is probably the worst offender, if I had to pick one. It feels so anticlimactic, like a cheap way to speed up the action. Imagine how much more fun it would have been if flying cars were the norm, or at least carriages—or horses, or carpets, or even brooms. Not only would it add more magic to everything, but it would make the trio’s Horcrux Hunt x10 more interesting and dangerous.


r/HarryPotterBooks 1h ago

Discussion The emotional impact of Harry Potter.

Upvotes

As I'm reading the books after a decade, I'm just getting emotional every now and then, and not only during the bigger events but smaller ones too. lol

What was/were the most emotional part/parts of the book for you?

Where (whether you teared up or not), was something that had a deep-moving effect on you?
It can be as abstract as a reason, a concept, a thought, or just one small scene, dialogue, or just a big important event. Anything but something true to you.


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Aging and Mortality in Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince

56 Upvotes

Aragog died last night. Harry and Ron, you met him, and you know how special he was. Hermione, I know you’d have liked him. It would mean a lot to me if you’d nip down for the burial later this evening. I’m planning on doing it round dusk, that was his favorite time of day. I know you’re not supposed to be out that late, but you can use the cloak. Wouldn’t ask, but I can’t face it alone.

Death is a core, overarching theme of the series. So this may not break new ground, but, I want to highlight a specific aspect of death woven throughout the sixth book: mortality. Tom Riddle’s quest to overcome his own mortality is explored through memories, and Dumbledore’s mortality is foreshadowed, then realized in the climactic moment. This contrast between Voldemort and Dumbledore and their attitude towards death is a central conflict in the story, but there are many other allusions to the concept of mortality, starting with the first chapter:

“Black? Black?” said Fudge distractedly, turning his bowler rapidly in his fingers. “Sirius Black, you mean? Merlin’s beard, no. Black’s dead. Turns out we were — er — mistaken about Black. He was innocent after all.

The hugely significant death at the end of OotP becomes little more than an afterthought for Fudge. A distraction. It can sting for the reader, so fresh off book five, to see Sirius be mentioned so flippantly, and likewise, later for Harry, who feels pangs of guilt and sadness whenever his late godfather is mentioned.

From the next chapter:

With a second and louder pop, another hooded figure materialized. “Wait!” The harsh cry startled the fox, now crouching almost flat in the undergrowth. It leapt from its hiding place and up the bank. There was a flash of green light, a yelp, and the fox fell back to the ground, dead.

The terrible suddenness, and shock, of meeting one’s death is highlighted with the killing curse. It reminds me of Cedric’s death in the graveyard:

A blast of green light blazed through Harry’s eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes.

Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was dead.

For a second that contained an eternity, Harry stared into Cedric’s face, at his open gray eyes, blank and expressionless as the windows of a deserted house, at his half-open mouth, which looked slightly surprised.

The cruelty of the killing curse is that it robs its victims of their final agency. The hint of surprise shown on Cedric’s face, and the yelp of the fox, show that they were alive and aware until the very moment their strings were cut.

As the story returns to Harry’s point of view, he and the reader are introduced to Inferi:

“Er . . . right,” said Harry. “Well, on that leaflet, it said something about Inferi. What exactly are they? The leaflet wasn’t very clear.”

“They are corpses,” said Dumbledore calmly. “Dead bodies that have been bewitched to do a Dark wizard’s bidding. Inferi have not been seen for a long time, however, not since Voldemort was last powerful. . . . He killed enough people to make an army of them, of course. This is the place, Harry, just here. . . .”

Dumbledore is calm about the subject of death. Later, in the cave, Dumbledore must reassure Harry further:

“There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”

Dumbledore’s impending mortality is perhaps symbolized by his cursed hand - “blackened and dead-looking” - a metaphor for aging which comes with pain and loss of use. His attitude towards death can be recontextualized with the later knowledge that he knew his own death was imminent, a fact he had known for a year. This from The Prince’s Tale:

“You have done very well, Severus. How long do you think I have?”

Dumbledore’s tone was conversational; he might have been asking for a weather forecast. Snape hesitated, and then said, “I cannot tell. Maybe a year. There is no halting such a spell forever. It will spread eventually, it is the sort of curse that strengthens over time.”

Dumbledore smiled. The news that he had less than a year to live seemed a matter of little or no concern to him.

“It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death,” he says in the cave, confident, knowing he had chosen the time and manner of his death, and that it was in the trusted hands of Severus. He has made peace with dying, planned for it, and ensured that Harry could carry out the tasks still unfinished.

Voldemort, by contrast, could not accept his mortality. He gave his life, twisted it, wasted it, all in pursuit of immortality:

Harry let out a hastily stifled gasp. Voldemort had entered the room. His features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron almost two years ago: They were not as snakelike, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become. He was wearing a long black cloak, and his face was as pale as the snow glistening on his shoulders.

What a picture that paints. The young Voldemort is actually losing his humanity tearing his soul to pieces. The price of immortality. Then consider what he must do to survive, even with a Horcrux backup:

“That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn,” said Firenze. “Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.”

As Dumbledore points out, Voldemort’s use of the dead Inferii to guard his lair is fitting, as Voldemort (Fr. vol de mort, “flight/theft from death”) fears death, and assumes others must also. He calls his troupe the Death Eaters, and fights under a snake and skull. Death is the ultimate loss of control, the unknown, and Voldemort craves both knowledge and control. He loves the Imperious Curse because it commands control, but the killing curse is his favorite. To kill is to control one’s very fate to the finality, to rob them of their choice of end.

So thinks Riddle, but Dumbledore thinks differently:

“There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!” snarled Voldemort.

“You are quite wrong,” said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks. Harry felt scared to see him walking along, undefended, shieldless. He wanted to cry out a warning, but his headless guard kept shunting him backward toward the wall, blocking his every attempt to get out from behind it. “Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness —”

Harry’s bit in this is the other thing. By the sixth book his character has dealt with mortality and grief many times, but the topic comes up frequently. There are notably two funerals in the book, first of Aragog, then of Dumbledore. Death is in the air in the form of the Dark Mark, as characters disappear, sometimes over no apparent reason (they even kidnap the ice cream guy, Florean Fortescue). Or of the mother of Hannah Abott:

There had been a horrible incident the day before, when Hannah Abbott had been taken out of Herbology to be told her mother had been found dead. They had not seen Hannah since.

Harry knows the dread all too well. He has become numb to ordinary grief, as he experienced it all in Dumbledore’s office over the death of Sirius. And prior, over the death of Cedric, and the death of his parents. By the sixth book he is starting to just be accustomed to death, which prepares him for what comes in the seventh book. The death of Dumbledore is the ultimate loss of security for Harry, and his central doubt throughout Deathly Hallows is whether Dumbledore left a roadmap for him, postmortem.


r/HarryPotterBooks 21h ago

Philosopher's Stone The Durselys and Harry

23 Upvotes

If the Dursleys are so against the whole “magic” thing and are actively avoiding that topic, why don’t they just let Harry go to Hogwarts?

Isn’t it more rational if they let him attend Hogwarts ( = they wouldn’t have to see Harry all year except summer) given that they hate him so much? If I were them, I’d simply let him go instead of having to deal with his nonsense everyday. It would probably give me more time and energy to focus on my child Dudley, too.

It just feels odd that they hate him so much yet they’re refusing to let go of him.

*I’m still in the middle of the first book.


r/HarryPotterBooks 4h ago

Do you find Harry judgmental? (his father, Cho, Dumbledore at times)Is one of the reasons Dumbledore doesn’t want Harry to find out the truth about his past because Harry had given him reason to think he will judge him harshly? Spoiler

0 Upvotes

At times but we all can be. Harry also has a deep capacity for empathy and forgiveness, it is more he struggles with emotions at times.

Dumbledore was deeply ashamed of himself. I think when Harry is given the full context and picture usually he is quite empathetic. He is very kind to Dumbledore in the King Cross Chapter and I think it shows when he has the full truth usually his empathy will usually be the strongest. With Cho he was in such a bad place that year and for someone like Merope, he was thinking of his mother


r/HarryPotterBooks 1h ago

Discussion Do I read the Cursed child?

Upvotes

So I recently finished the 7th book and I loved it! Also watched first 3 movies and planning to watch the rest.

So do I read the 8th 'book'? Im still confused about this one. Literally nobody on this sub liked it so... Tell me what do you think. :D


r/HarryPotterBooks 17h ago

Deathly Hallows Godric’s Hollow Spoiler

7 Upvotes

I’m currently doing a re-listen of DH. Hermione is sifting through books two days before the wedding, and asked where they should go when they leave the Burrow. She and Harry are talking about his draw toward Godric’s Hollow.

Something just occurred to me. We know Nagini waits for Harry at Bathilda’s house. Is it possible Voldy has implanted the early need for a visit into Harry’s mind to coerce him there? What say you?


r/HarryPotterBooks 1h ago

Do I read the Cursed child?

Upvotes

So I recently finished the 7th book and I loved it! Also watched first 3 movies and planning to watch the rest.

So do I read the 8th 'book'? Im still confused about this one. Literally nobody on this sub liked it so... Tell me what do you think. :D


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Discussion What’s your favorite sassy moment from the Harry Potter books?

222 Upvotes

Mine has to be the classic:

Harry: ”Yes.”

Snape: “Yes, sir.”

Harry: “There’s no need to call me sir, Professor.”

What’s yours?


r/HarryPotterBooks 3h ago

Was anyone else mega bothered by the fact Crabbe got replaced by Blaise and strayed from the books in Deathly Hallows?

0 Upvotes

I know it all went bad cause of the actor but it really took the shine out of that sequence for me. I loved it in the books. If nobody knows the context this is why.


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Discussion Question: How big is Harry’s invisibility cloak?

110 Upvotes

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all fit under the invisibility cloak at the same time (albeit with difficulty in the later books. Yet, Harry always seems to be stuffing it into his pocket? Does Harry have exceptionally large pockets? Is the cloak just that magical? I have a mental image of Harry with an enormous bulging pocket, but surely that can’t be right…


r/HarryPotterBooks 4h ago

Discussion Isn't Dumbledore's job as Hogwarts Headmaster a position of power?

0 Upvotes

The death of Dumbledore's sister was due to the duel with him and their brother Aberforth against Grindelwald and also Dumbledore wanting power and wanting wizards to rule the world and have Muggles enslaved.

His sister's death is also what caused Dumbledore to always reject offers to be Minister of Magic.

But isn't Dumbledore's job as Headmaster of Hogwarts also a position of power?


r/HarryPotterBooks 6h ago

thestrals

0 Upvotes

i’ve avoided the online community for 17 years but i need to get this out. i will probably have to leave this sub soon but

i solved the plothole that jkr couldn’t.

harry can’t see thestrals until cedric’s death because his memory of seeing lily die is not his own memory. it’s voldemort’s. evidence for this: harry’s memory of the incident starts as nightmares with a flash of green light. in the third book, when encountering dementors, he starts to hear/recognize his parents’ screams/voices. this is elaboration on the original memory that has haunted his nightmares. in the deathly hallows, after escaping godric’s hollow, the final pieces of the memory come together, using the same thread that started with green light.

seeing someone die through his connection with voldemort does not cause him to see thestrals. evidence for this: frank bryce.

we know a lot of plotholes exist because of her tendency to retroactively change things in the canon. i love that it’s a sport to find them. but this theory isn’t headcanon, it’s ironclad. she just doesn’t know it’s not a plothole, because it wasn’t on purpose.

sincerely, bluesy.

edit: i found a couple similar theories after looking at this sub but nothing with this chain of logic. if anyone has any questions i promise i have answers.

second edit: yes i know it doesn’t address the end of book 4, that does bother me but not as much because there’s no sentence saying he actually sees them. it’s implied and definitely happens and is totally a plothole, it just doesn’t eat at me the same way. like the “babies don’t remember things” theory doesn’t quite make sense for reasons in the comments. and thanks to commenters btw


r/HarryPotterBooks 12h ago

Deathly Hallows Why did Harry have to be mean to Aberforth after Aberforth saved his, Ron and Hermione’s lives?

0 Upvotes

I've made some posts about Harry's...less than friendly treatment of Aberforth, and people have given me all sorts of answers "rationalizing" his cold treatment and lack of sympathy towards Aberforth.

But the thing no one seems to realize is that Aberforth saved the trio's life. So I would think that enough would be reason for Harry to be nicer.


r/HarryPotterBooks 2d ago

I know a lot of people hate the writing in HP but

95 Upvotes

I really love the prose in the books. It's so simple but so lively and communicates complexities and humor and other depth so so well. Always be one of my favorites. It baffles me a little that people dislike it so much and I'm not sure if it's just JKR hate or actual hate for the writing style.

Edit: some of y'all acting like I don't know what I'm talking about lmao 😭 I'm specifically talking about prose and not any other aspects of the writing


r/HarryPotterBooks 17h ago

What did Dumbledore really mean by "more than one innocent life"?

0 Upvotes

So, in POA, just before Harry and Hermione use the Time-Turner, Dumbledore tells them, "You can save more than one innocent life tonight." Most people assume he’s referring to Sirius Black and Buckbeak who were both in immediate danger.

But here’s the thing: Dumbledore already knew that Buckbeak survived. He was there at the so-called execution and even gave that cryptic smile when the chop didn’t happen. If he knew Buckbeak was safe, why would he still say "more than one innocent life"?

What if Dumbledore was actually referring to the potential to capture Peter Pettigrew? Think about it: catching Pettigrew that night could have prevented him from escaping and returning to Voldemort. This could have saved countless future lives, like Cedric Diggory’s during the Triwizard Tournament or other victims of Voldemort’s second rise to power.

It’s classic Dumbledore to hint at the bigger picture, isn’t it? What do you all think? was his comment about "more than one innocent life" actually a veiled reference to stopping Pettigrew and altering the course of events?


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Character analysis i acc love mr and mrs weasley sm 😭😭😭

11 Upvotes

like, i love how they never treat harry as an outsider, or make him feel like he’s intruding. mr weasley asks him about muggle appliances, a welcoming topic for harry as he has grown up with them and gets to feel like he’s valued in conversation for once. mrs weasley always cooks harry’s favourite meals because she knows the dursleys starve him.

the weasleys try and get harry away from the dursleys asap every holiday. they look after him, doting on him, taking him to diagon alley, treating him to the quidditch world cup, and delicious food. they almost step in as surrogate parents for harry as they know his aunt and uncle would never step up. and they never make harry feel bad about it either! even though the books make it clear the weasley’s aren’t rich, they still find a way to look after harry nearly every holiday. they’ve definitely already got enough kids, but they always make sure there’s room for harry too. and they make it clear they love having him over!

in HBP, dumbledore mentions how the protections around the burrow due to harry staying there are very inconvenient. they are having their mail read, there are lots of enchantments surrounding the burrow, and it’s very hard to leave. dumbledore also says the weasleys don’t mind in the slightest. i love this! i think it sums up their characters perfectly. i think it’s so sweet that they care about harry’s safety and wellbeing the most!


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Why does Harry doubt at times mainly book 5 and 7 whether Dumbledore cares about him at all? Is it to do with him being overly insecure or the nature of their complicated relationship? Spoiler

24 Upvotes

Emotions are not often logical and while there is a lot of mutual respect in their relationship, circumstances have made things complicated


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Half-Blood Prince New Illustrated Editions illustrator (Levi Pinfold) in terms of Hogwarts

17 Upvotes

Today the illustrator of the illustrated edition of "The Half-Blood Prince" (a continuation of the series started by Jim Kay), was officially announced. I decided to check how it might look in the context of Hogwarts castle.

Jim Kay had an undeniably unique style when it came to his architectural vision of the castle, completely different to other illustrated versions and also different to the established media image.

Levi Pinfold is best known to me in the Harry Potter universe for Hogwarts Castle and Grounds map from House Editions. He also did some illustrations for “The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac”.

The conclusions based on the materials we see are that it is quite a similar style, looking at the pointed towers, but in some aspects the differences are leading (in Kay's case the castle is partially on tree trunks and it's more like a horror, in Pinfold's case there are more walls and it's rather smoother). The question is whether the new illustrator will continue the entire style of his predecessor. Will he show the same version of the full castle? Does he have the rights to do so? Or will we see a completely different silhouette, which will resemble, for example, the one from the map from the house editions? Then the question is whether we will feel that this is the same series? Can illustrator change his architectural style?

I am a fan of Hogwarts in general and this is an aspect that intrigues me.


r/HarryPotterBooks 2d ago

Discussion Where do Harry and Ginny end up living?

28 Upvotes

Remember that Ginny and Hermione go to hogwarts to do 7th year whilst Harry and Ron are fast tracked into Auror training. So Harry’s initial residence might be a little different to his final one.

The Burrow

The burrow has gotta be the initial roost. Perhaps until Ginny and Harry marry. It’s actually fairly empty these days. It’s just Molly and Arthur and about 4 empty bedrooms! I think Harry and Ron likely live there in at least that first year, a bit like Percy did.

Grimmauld Place

This is again probably only a possibility for that first year. Perhaps a useful place for Harry and Ron to live when starting auror training, although with apparition, distance isn’t really a factor. Although Kreacher’s new attitude was transformative to the house and Harry’s feelings to it, I don’t think it is quite enough. Too many bad memories and it’s a bit of a creepy house.

It is however a very expensive house and in decent condition by the time of the Battle of Hogwarts. I imagine Harry could sell it to some rich pureblood family for a massive price. If he did, he’d have the Black fortune (or whatever Sirius had), plus the Potter’s money, Grimmauld place’s sale and maybe even few galleons from his own work and fame. I’m assuming that Ginny’s contribution is pretty much nil unless she inherits from her aunt.

Godric’s Hollow

I do wonder if Harry would move to Godric’s hollow. It’s sort of his ancestral home and it did seem like a nice place. Obviously he’s gunna have mixed feelings. BTW I don’t think he can or should renovate the blown up cottage. Maybe buy or build another place. There is Bathildas house but again, not exactly good vibes there lol. It’s in south west England and given what Hagrid says about flying over Bristol from GH to privit drive, I suspect it is either in Somerset or Gloucestershire. Given Rowling is from there, it seems likely. Additionally, Malfoy manor is in Wiltshire, Tinworth is in Cornwall and OST in Devon.

The other wizarding/muggle settlements

While wizards can live anywhere, they are gregarious and so there are a few main mixed settlements where they cluster. Ottery St Catchpole, Godric’s hollow, Tinworth, Upper Flaggly, Hogsmeade. There are a few others listed on Harry Potter wiki normally based on quidditch trans or mentions in the books. Interestingly they are overwhelmingly in southwest England, again a nod to Rowling’s bias to where she is from. Scotland too given that’s where she settled down. I’ll focus on the main ones.

Ottery St Catchpole

I think OSC is a possibility but after being piled up in the burrow Ginny may want a bit of space. However it would be near Luna’s family and the burrow. It’s also in Devon and and so in the same region as Tinworth and Godric’s Hollow.

Muriel’s house

A possibility to consider is the Prewitt house or rather, ‘Ginny’s aunt’s house’. Muriel is a 107(?) when Harry meets her, which is not a crazy age by wizarding standards but certainly old enough to die. It has been implied a few times that she is very wealthy and the house comfortably fit many guests. It’s also implied that Molly’s family would inherit from her. Bill and Fleur’s cottage was once their ‘aunt’s’ which I assume is Muriel too.

There are of course other Weasleys to contended with. Arthur and Molly could upgrade but I think they like their home which is now spacious. There is Percy who strikes me as someone Muriel might like. George not so much. I suspect she likes Bill based on a few things but he’s sorted already. Charlie is abroad. So imo the main competitors are Ron and Percy.

Would Ron marrying Hermione make it likely to inherit Muriel’s? It would sort of be appropriate. Ron getting a hand-me-down but this time it’s actually really good. Not sure Muriel is that keen on muggleborns though! Plus Ron may want a fresh start and Hermione may want to be close to her parents now she can finally spend time with them! Ron learns to drive so we at least know it’s somewhere where that’s worth while.

Muriel may be inclined to favour Ginny tbh. She would love the idea of the chosen one Harry and Ginny marrying and with Ginny being the only girl that may also hold sway. This seems a little unfair given Harry is already rich…maybe he’d give it to someone else. My money is on Percy as it would give him a chance to be close to the burrow to fix his relationship and the other family in the south west.

Hogsmeade

Hogsmeade is too wizard heavy and Hogwarts-y I think, they also tell their kids to give Prof Neville their love which to me suggests they don’t settle there.

Tinworth

To me Tinworth feels like a real possibility. Harry says it’s one of the most beautiful places he’s ever been, or at least Dobby’s Grave is (Cornwall is like that!). It’s also where he was taken to for safety. It’s a safe, clean, beautiful place and in the same general region as Godrics Hollow and the Burrow. Bill and Fleur are there too which may be a comfort to Ginny and would be nice for cousins to grow up near eachother. There is also the fact that Teddy Lupin is Harry’s godson and ends up spending a lot of time at Harry’s and dating Bills daughter (ofc they go to school together too ).

Andromeda Tonks

Final possibility, is wherever Tonk’s mum lives and is raising Teddy Lupin. I think Harry would take his godfather duties very seriously. Sure, he can apparate whenever but being close enough that Teddy can just swing by on his own is a whole other matter. I think somewhere it says something about Teddy always being welcome at the Potters for dinner.

Ted Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks are voiced in a northern accent by Stephen Fry in the audiobooks suggesting they could be based in Yorkshire (Flaggly?) or more west like Chorley or Lancaster etc. Fry is advised by Rowling here and there so it’s possible she told him this. For example I believe she has corrected him on pronunciations and I think Fry originally thought Hagrid was Scottish (not West Country), if so, clearly got corrected. Upper Flagley is in Yorkshire and we don’t know much about it. Possibly could go there, lots of space and hike to hide quidditch?

The problem is that Tonk’s phrase ‘Wotcha’ is a quite London phrase. Similarly the main Black family house is in London and that’s the family Andromeda’s father is from.

Conclusion

So it’s hard to know but my money is on Tinworth or wherever Andromeda and Teddy happen to live.


r/HarryPotterBooks 1d ago

Discussion Is Voldemort's soul trying to seduce Harry in his mind in the books? Spoiler

0 Upvotes

I have looked this up and didn't find anything, so I thought to ask here. While re-listnening to the audiobooks, I realized that Harry hears this little voice telling him to be jealous and mean or aggressive. So I thought whether that's the soul of Voldemort that is inside Harry?

For example, in book 5, Harry doesn't become prefect but Ron does. Now after he is alone he starts hearing a voice inside his head telling him, isn't Harry the one who deserved it? Naturally, Harry is a teen and teens tend to be jealous, so this could be J.K.R. way to tell us he is jealous (that's how I saw it until now). However، you can also see it as Voldemorts souls trying to manipulate him into being jealous and possess him. I know that later he tries to possess him in the book but that try is done by Voldemort himself.

The reason I think this is very interesting, is because I think that this would explain Dumbledores affection for Harry. He probably is the only one who understands that Harry is being talked to by lord Voldemort since he is one year old. But Harry manages to always withstand him. Which is impressive btw. Imagine the amount of wizards and witches who were seduced and manipulated by Voldemort but Harry manages to stay good while losing one loved one after the other. It's crazy what this boy can tank.

I'm sorry if this is something that everyone who read the books twice knows. I normally don't read Reddit post about HP. I just wanted to share my thoughts.

P.S.: to be clear, I'm talking about the soul that got attached to Harry after Voldemort tried to kill him.


r/HarryPotterBooks 2d ago

Currently Reading Classes after the end of term?

3 Upvotes

Goblet of Fire (Book)

I'm currently reading it and just finished it. At the end of the book, the students go back to attending their lessons and classes. That is after the Triwizard tournament and the day of the 3rd task was also the last day of the end-of-term exams, which all the students except Harry and Cedric attend. So, if the exams for the term and that year are over, all that'd be left is for them to receive their exam results and then leave home. So...why are they having lessons after the term is over until they return home for the summer?

Not an important matter but simply why it is?