Harry Potter Answers

When you finished Harry Potter, did you end up with a bunch of burning unaddressed questions in your head? We sure did, and we're attempting to answer them!

[hogwartshawk]

Ravenclaw Common Room

Hello Ravenclaws,

I see you found your dormitory, nothing less than I expect of you. Be aware that I will have higher expectations of you than the other houses because you’ve already proven your capacity for superior intelligence and/or wisdom through the sorting.

As I already stated, I will not reply to any of your frivolous “roleplays” so keep that between yourselves please. However, as tradition calls for, in order to enter the common room you must answer a riddle. The riddle will change sporadically (whenever I have the time to update it)

What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

As usual, I value creativity and uniqueness more than “textbook” answers. You all have the intellect to “think outside of the box”. Reblog this post with your answers and when I switch the riddle, I’ll post some of the best answers below for “eternal glory” amongst your house mates.

-Professor Venem

[hpanswers]

Well, it’s a good thing I don’t like roleplaying then. Hard cold logic, that’s what I’m after. As to your question, there are a few ways the riddle could be taken, but I like the visual of sand in the sun as waves crash over it. May I come into the common room now please?

[queen-elizabrooke]

she's really not exactly like draco oh my GOD her "reasons" for doing shitty things (e.g. making fun of a black girl's braids) are not excusable; i'm not saying draco's actions are all justified, but he's more exposed to family pressures - and in the deleted scenes (smh) he throws harry his wand, and you know what pansy did OH YEAH wanted to offer harry up to voldemort ... yeah, so much like draco!!

yeah i agree in a lot of ways she’s a bitch in what little we know of her, but i really think her actions must also be pressured by peers and family bc shes 99% likely grown up in aggressive pureblood family right? and she doesn’t have reasons but draco doesnt have real reasons too. and i get it but she obviously has never been taught manners and also i get your point but i dont really think she’s making fun of angelina’s braids bc she’s black, pansys just vicious to everyone she doesnt understand. so yes shes a horrible person but you cant excuse draco and not excuse pansy bc theyre both terrible but they have reasons why they’re terrible?

and this is the same with every bully irl too. v few people set out to be mean or bitches but environments peers and flaws train them to be this way? and good authors write characters so even girls like pansy (which jkr said she hates pansy, and she barely even speaks in the book) have a reason why theyre vicious.

pansy grew up in a prejudiced world, was v sheltered and insulted other girls probably bc she was insecure about herself. she’s described as pug faced and ugly the whole series and even though her actress is pretty (bc hollywood) she probably knew she wasnt that pretty and couldnt understand why these ‘lower’ girls were prettier than her and her only way to sepond was with cruelty. again, not condoning her actions in any way, just like i wouldn’t condone a racist’s, but i also know a kid who moved to where i live about three years ago. now, i live in a v liberal area so when this came in with his confederate flags and obnoxious act from TX we were all shocked and appalled. he got bullied a lot and eventually we all realized that growing up in that part of TX he had just been surrounded by racists his whole life. it didn’t make it okay but once we started talking to him he changed and grew as a person bc of it. people can change.

and pansy parkinson didn’t. this is why i hate the house system @ hogwarts or at least the way it’s set up- pansy was clearly blood-prejudiced from yr 1 not because she’s an evil person but just bc of her upbringing, and she was surrounded with like minded individuals w/the spirit of competition and us v them mentality with the other houses which wouldnt make her sympathetic to other girls views either. and going back to the low self esteem and need for attention/to stand out/to impress draco bc thats just how hormonal misguided teenage brains work, her esteem wasnt helped by draco leading her on all seven years but never committing.

that’s like my friend who would cuddle with me, send me i love you and kiss me on the forehead but all ‘platonically’ meanwhile pointing out how hot other girls were while never saying anything about me. its like the worst kind of friendzoning and fortunately i got out even with a serious crush but pansy couldnt and this unhealthy obsession and need to win over draco made her petty and violent.

also “There has recently been a fandom theory questioning Pansy’s motives for wanting Voldemort to take Harry during the Battle; whether it is the obvious idea that she is a cruel person, as the series often shows, or whether she is genuinely hoping that if he is handed over, Voldemort will not attack the school.” now idk how true this is, but i do know that the reason im a slytherin is a trait i share with pansy, even if i dont like the rest of her. shes intensely loyal. she doesnt care about the bigger picture-fuck the world, fuck hogwarts, fuck everyone, but to the four or five friends she has she would die for them. she never says a mean word about them. this very selective and strong loyalty is 100% a slytherin trait and prob 100% why pansy is a slytherin.

honestly, the books are sorted strategically, if you look at it from a neutral perspective and not a all slytherins=bad and all gryffindors=good bc the world doesnt work like that, pansy is overwhelmingly a gryffindor. she stands up to the entire school, speaks her mind, totally reckless, and sticks to her roots and her morals even when shes proven wrong which is that stubborn streak in gryffindors. (and harrys really a slytherin but at least the hat acknowledges that)

anyway sorry for the ramble, i think what makes hp so great is that pansy should be the epitome of evil as jkr’s least favourite character but she’s not. she’s grey and just calling her good or evil oversimplifies canon and doesnt give justice to jkr’s writing

[hpanswers]

Okay so the writing’s atrocious because it’s from my personal blog but here is some background on Pansy Parkinson (or at least my views on her character). Another fault is (I’m so sorry!) there aren’t any links or quotes, so if you want the references let me know and I’ll send them to you!

[fanonical]

being a muggleborn must be great though

i mean, imagine being a kid and picking up a stick and yelling some nonsense words, and accidentally making your friend fly

[hpanswers]

Brief post because it's too late to be extremely coherent (might expand on later) but simply saying the incantation doesn't immediately cast the spell. The reason for underage magic without wands and nonverbal spells is that the most important part when casting is intention.

[hpanswers]

Thank you so much for explaining your view on being a Slytherin Puckwudgie. I'm also one and this cleared a lot of things up for me and I think I can finally be proud of being Puckwudgie

Thanks, I’m glad it helped xD Yeah, it took me awhile to adjust to the shock of getting that result but after binge watching Scandal at like 2am in the morning I just saw Olivia Pope as a Pukwudgie and things started to make more sense?

[hpanswers]

Let’s talk about house loyalty

Mainly, I wanted to talk about Gryffindor’s strong moral code. I love love love this about the series because people sorted into different houses are going to be loyal to different things, sometimes just as loyal as Hufflepuffs are to their friends. I thought we’d start with Hufflepuff because that’s the easy one, Hufflepuffs are great friends because they value friendships and promises over everything else. That’s like half of the reason they were sorted. Hufflepuff can sometimes seem like a ragtag bunch (nowhere does it actually say Hufflepuffs are nice, remember Zacharias Smith?) but their loyalty to their house, each other, and their hard work ethic pulls them ahead and makes them a strong house even if they don’t necessarily have a common goal.

Now, perhaps the least loyal to their house is Ravenclaw. A lot of the time people compare Ravenclaws to Slytherins because they’re both so individualistic, but Ravenclaws ultimately will sacrifice themselves if it means there is a better world resulting in it. This is where the distinction between Gryffindor and Ravenclaws come in, they have a very different definition of a better world, and to Ravenclaws that always means more or new knowledge. Ravenclaws don’t actively seek to become martyrs however, to a Ravenclaw they probably don’t want to die because that means all their knowledge is gone so there is some self-preservation which is why people sometimes compare them to Slytherins.

Now, I love Slytherins because they have this weird dynamic where they are sometimes the most loyal, but only if it benefits themselves. Like in the Pottermore letter, Slytherins are a brotherhood, which means everyone has the same loyalties: self first, then house. However, because everyone is aware of this weird arrangement, it can make them even more powerful and self aware as a house. For Slytherins to be successful, they need first to be strategic, placing each individual in a position where they can succeed the most because to Slytherins every competition is really an individual sport and if you do well, nothing else matters.

Okay, the whole reason I made this post-GRYFFINDORS! I love writing Gryffindors, because they have such a solid moral code or set of rules that dictates everything they do in life. To Harry, defending his friends and keeping people safe was the overall objective (anyone else call a Pukwudgie?) but to Neville he had a very different idea of what was ‘right’ and stood up to his friends to protect what he believed in. And this is where Gryffindors differ from Slytherins. I don’t think Gryffindors realise as fully that they all are living by different moral codes, because to them the glory of being ‘right’ is so bright that they sometimes don’t realise that they all define that differently. Maybe this is why there is so much bickering done by Gryffindors, but writing or living one feels like a formula, every choice dictated subconsciously by what is ‘right’ and when there moral code changes that means something huge has affected them because that is super rare.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these theories about house loyalty. As usual, I could be wrong; what do you think?

[hpanswers]

Why was I sorted into Pukwudgie???

Alright, I know it’s been awhile (2 months! sorry!) but with the news of Cursed Child coming out, I thought we could totally ignore that can of snakes, and focus instead of Ilvermorny. Now, the test came out awhile ago but it’s taken until today for me to come to terms with my sorting. Yes, maybe you can tell by the title, I was sorted into Pukwudgie.

Not that I have anything against Pukwudgie, but they seem like the kind loyal Hufflepuffs, and I am a Slytherin. In fact, I’ve always gotten the lowest percentage for Hufflepuff. So getting Pukwudgie three times was a surprise (I wanted to see all the different test answers). Now, people told me that if I really wanted Thunderbird I could just take the test again and chose different answers, but this felt different than Hogwarts. In Hogwarts you can talk to the sorting hat and reason with it, in Ilvermorny there is no discussion-you take what you get, no questions asked.

But I wanted to know why. Besides the name, the part that was the most off-putting to me was the heart. Slytherins make decisions based off of their head or perhaps their gut (soul I think represents this instinct) or maybe even body if you’re Crabbe or Goyle. But the only Slytherin I could think of that made decisions based off of his heart was Severus Snape, and maybe Draco when he was trying to stay with his family and all that trauma. However, I did not want to be a love sick Snape or a moody Malfoy. Both Slytherins were incapable of making logical decisions while they were stuck in this rut. Heart and Cleverness simply did not seem to go together.

Stuck in a moody cycle (so maybe I do rely too heavily on my heart) I looked at the other part of the description. And this, witches and wizards, is when it all clicked. Pukwudgie Slytherins are not lovesick moody fools, they are fixers. Yes, I know the description says healers, but what is a self-centered, ambitious clever healer? A fixer. I realized that as a Pukwudgie I didn’t heal people or animals, I healed situations. I fixed things for others and for myself. Only after reaching this conclusion did I feel proud to call myself a Slytherin Pukwudgie.

I want to know-are you happy with your Ilvermorny sorting, and what did you get sorted into in Hogwarts? Do you feel that they match up?

[actuallysalazar]

My sorting is Slytherin 9 times out of 10 and Ravenclaw the other 1. I’m a clear cut Slytherclaw but I identify more with the good old green and gray because what is the point of all that knowledge if you don’t do anything with it, yeah? I’m a very ambitious, focus-driven person. I’m also smart and creative but these manifest themselves in very Slytherin ways.

My Ilvermorny House is Horned Serpent, which makes COMPLETE sense as a Slytherclaw.

My only question from my dual sortings is this: Should I be concerned how often I’m represented as a snake? Lol. #hisshissmotherfucker

[hpanswers]

haha sometimes I wonder how horned serpent will be represented in Ilvermorny. In Hogwarts it was always clear the Slytherin is the darker house because of the negative connotation associated with snakes but in Ilvermorny there don’t seem to be any ‘bad’ houses. Slytherclaws are probably the most badass people out there I think, but like I know when I first got into Slytherin I didn’t tell anyone so maybe I’m just reluctant to get sorted into houses?

[hpanswers]

Some Draco Malfoy to make up for the lack of posts! Speaking of the lovely picture, if you have any Draco Malfoy or Cursed Child questions, send us an ask and we’ll answer them in the next week!

[hpanswers]

Why was I sorted into Pukwudgie???

Alright, I know it’s been awhile (2 months! sorry!) but with the news of Cursed Child coming out, I thought we could totally ignore that can of snakes, and focus instead of Ilvermorny. Now, the test came out awhile ago but it’s taken until today for me to come to terms with my sorting. Yes, maybe you can tell by the title, I was sorted into Pukwudgie.

Not that I have anything against Pukwudgie, but they seem like the kind loyal Hufflepuffs, and I am a Slytherin. In fact, I’ve always gotten the lowest percentage for Hufflepuff. So getting Pukwudgie three times was a surprise (I wanted to see all the different test answers). Now, people told me that if I really wanted Thunderbird I could just take the test again and chose different answers, but this felt different than Hogwarts. In Hogwarts you can talk to the sorting hat and reason with it, in Ilvermorny there is no discussion-you take what you get, no questions asked.

But I wanted to know why. Besides the name, the part that was the most off-putting to me was the heart. Slytherins make decisions based off of their head or perhaps their gut (soul I think represents this instinct) or maybe even body if you’re Crabbe or Goyle. But the only Slytherin I could think of that made decisions based off of his heart was Severus Snape, and maybe Draco when he was trying to stay with his family and all that trauma. However, I did not want to be a love sick Snape or a moody Malfoy. Both Slytherins were incapable of making logical decisions while they were stuck in this rut. Heart and Cleverness simply did not seem to go together.

Stuck in a moody cycle (so maybe I do rely too heavily on my heart) I looked at the other part of the description. And this, witches and wizards, is when it all clicked. Pukwudgie Slytherins are not lovesick moody fools, they are fixers. Yes, I know the description says healers, but what is a self-centered, ambitious clever healer? A fixer. I realized that as a Pukwudgie I didn’t heal people or animals, I healed situations. I fixed things for others and for myself. Only after reaching this conclusion did I feel proud to call myself a Slytherin Pukwudgie.

I want to know-are you happy with your Ilvermorny sorting, and what did you get sorted into in Hogwarts? Do you feel that they match up?

[hpanswers]

Why was Neville so bad at magic?

[haha sorry for the long wait...eventually I’ll start queuing these but for now I just write ‘em and post ‘em...hahaha *awkward silence*]

...and before you say genetics, lean in close because there’s a theory that might change your mind. Neville was never a good student, he struggled and tried passionately for all five years, struggling with stunners and then in sixth and seventh year his magical prowess increased tremendously: fitting him to lead Dumbledore's Army in Harry’s absence, duel the most powerful Dark wizards at the Battle of Hogwarts, and even become an Auror, thereby following in his mother’s and father’s footsteps and making even his infamously disapproving grandmother proud. So what gives?

Some say it was Neville’s wand. The wand chooses the wizard, remember? And while Ron had a mediocre hand-me-down wand, Neville chose to use his father’s wand, a wand that had power an eleven year old could never hope to control. Neville struggled all his life with this hinderance until Death Eater Antonin Dolohov did Neville a huge favor by breaking his—or rather, his father’s—wand at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

But I could be wrong; what do you think?

[hpanswers]

Well, it’s hard to tell anyone’s inner monologue that isn’t Harry, but what led you to think Spinnet was so unhappy? She was a reserve in first in second year for Quidditch, which is pretty normal, and then made the team in third year, becoming friends with the other Gryffindors on the team. She giggled at how cute Cedric was, and joined the DA. She fought in the battle of Hogwarts, and we can assume she went on the further her career in Quidditch. Considering all this, she seems to have everything she needed to be happy. She was generally kind, and looked out for Harry’s life, screamed “How dare you!” when Draco called Hermione a mudblood. A symptom of depression is apathy and the fact she stood up for her friends suggests loyalty, bravery, and happiness.

Academically, Alicia was great at charms (NEWT level), said Flitwick was a great teacher, and was good at duelling, so she seemed to be good at balancing Quidditch and schoolwork. She is also the only chaser that was never injured.

But how can we know if someone is truly happy? I think Alicia truly was. But I could be wrong; what do you think?

[hpanswers]

On the one hand, why wouldn’t you just use a Scouring Charm? It’s a household charm that cleans stuff. On the other hand, I understand why you wouldn’t, as it is possible to use on other humans’ mouths, but when James Potter used it on Severus Snape (GOF), it filled his mouth with soap. Ugh, I’m need a Bertie Bott’s jellybean after that!

In fact, it seems as if they don’t have a spell for toothpaste. We know wizards don’t have perfect teeth because “Tom the landlord [of the Leaky Cauldron is], wizened and toothless” (HBP).

But toothpaste seems to be a thing...or at least in the movies. We all remember Hermione smells spearmint in the Amortentia, and Ron remarks (in the movie! treat this evidence lightly!) that Hermione’s got toothpaste on her face. But remember J.K. Rowling read through the scripts and corrected things, so if she had visions in her head of a toothpaste spell she probably would have corrected it. And we also know that wizard don’t have braces, they just use shrinking spells so dentistry probably hurts a lot more in the wizarding world.

But the main question I think you’re getting at, is why is there no toothpaste spell? If there is a spell for soap, why was toothpaste left out?

Well, I could be wrong, what do you think? And what incantation would you give the toothpaste spell?

[hpanswers]

Stand Up If You Want A Weird Theory

...Or don’t stand up, and just keep reading this, because this is a niche far-fetched theory. But I like it and maybe you will too.

We start with the following pieces of evidence:

When we first see the pensieve in Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore demonstrates for Harry how memories are put into it:

“Dumbledore drew his wand out of the inside of his robes and placed the tip into his own silvery hair, near his temple. When he took the wand away, hair seemed to be clinging to it -- but then Harry saw that it was in fact a glistening strand of the same strange silvery-white substance that filled the Pensieve. Dumbledore added this fresh thought to the basin, and Harry, astonished, saw his own face swimming around the surface of the bowl.” (GoF pg 597/519)

We saw the pensieve in operation in Order of the Phoenix also:

Snape pulled out his wand from an inside pocket of his robes and Harry tensed in his chair, but Snape merely raised the wand to his temple and placed the tip into the greasy roots of his hair. When he withdrew it, some silvery substance came away, stretching from temple to wand like a thick gossamer strand, which broke as he pulled the wand away from it and fell gracefully into the Pensieve, where it swirled silvery white, neither gas nor liquid. (OotP pg 533/471)

Both nearly identical descriptions of two different people putting a memory of their own into the pensieve.

But now, take a look at this from Half-Blood Prince:

"...I have two last memories that I would like to share with you." Dumbledore indicated the two little crystal bottles gleaming beside the Pensieve. (HBP pg 430/402)

"And now for the very last recollection I have to show you" ... Harry got to his feet once more as Dumbledore emptied the last memory into the Pensieve. "Who's memory is it?" he asked. "Mine," said Dumbledore. (HBP pg 440/412)

If this was his own memory, why would Dumbledore have stored this memory in a bottle rather than just pull it out his head the way he and Snape had done before?

Furthemore, we see the same thing when Slughorn gives his memory to Harry:

"You'd cancel out anything you did by giving me the memory," said Harry. "It would be a very brave and noble thing to do." ... Very slowly, Slughorn put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wand. He put his other hand inside his cloak and took out a small, empty bottle. Still looking into Harry's eyes, Slughorn touched the tip of his wand to his temple and withdrew it, so that a long, silver thread of memory came away too, clinging to the wand tip. Longer and longer the memory stretched until it broke and swung, silvery bright, from the wand. Slughorn lowered it into the bottle where it coiled, then spread, swirling like gas. He corked the bottle with a trembling hand and then passed it across the table to Harry. -- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 

Slughorn knew Harry was going to view the memory, so he handed it to him in a bottle. So why would Dumbledore use a bottle?

There are theories out there about how Dumbledore changes a lot after the fifth book, getting closer than ever to Harry.

There is a theory out there that Dumbledore and Snape switched bodies with polyjuice with lots of evidence, but the only reason discussed was that Dumbledore didn’t actually die, which we know he did, as J.K. Rowling has confirmed this. But the quotes discussed in that theory bring up a good point which was during the battle of Hogwarts, Dumbledore definitely wasn’t acting normal. When Dumbledore jumped into the lake, he had the “agility of a younger man” and they point this out twice.

But like with any good theory, we must discuss the proof against it. First of all, Dumbledore may just have been storing the memories in bottles, he does say that he doesn’t keep every memory in his head.

But if not Snape, or Aberforth (another early theory disproved by the seventh book as Aberforth could not possibly do all the spell Dumbledore practiced in book 6) who is it?

Choice 1: Slughorn. Slughorn made a lot of made choices, and we can see after he gives up the memory he desperately wants to make amends. He also knew Regulus. So what if he repeatedly asks Dumbledore how he can possibly redeem himself, and Dumbledore comes up with a plan? Dumbledore was never afraid to sacrifice “for the greater good”, he sacrifices Harry’s childhood and happiness for his safety, and in the 7th book, the seven Potters plan, Dumbledore surely knew at least one of them would be killed or injured.

Some instances in the book that support this: Dumbledore didn't correct Harry in Dumbledore's office when Harry said "Snape" instead of "Professor Snape.” In the cave, Dumbledore at one point says "Oho", which is what Slughorn repeatedly says during the book.

The second belief that seems to have support behind it, is Dumbledore is Wormtail

I found in a forum post by Mini_J that basically sums it up:

Dumbledore is really Peter Pettigrew in this book. Peter Pettigrew has taken some Polyjuice potion and is under the Imperius curse. The Polyjuice Potion? But Dumbledore has the same withered hand throughout... His right hand... Pettigrews right hand is made of metal now. Do we know that when Petter Pettigrew takes the Polyjuice Potion his metal hand is not distorted as it makes the transition from metal to flesh? Hang on! What about Moody/Crouch Jnr? Moody had a false leg and eye. True, but these were detachable. Pettigrew's hand was seamlessly fitted onto the arm, it could not come of Dumbledores reaction in the cave. Does this not seem a bit strange? Dumbledore breaking down like that? Does that not seem like Pettigrew? With the Imperius curse losing it's grip slightly because of the mental turmoil Pettigrew is going through? Snape mentioned when talking to Narcissa and Bellatrix that Dumbledore had recently sustained an injury. If the whole point of the charade was to protect Dumbledore from the plot to kill him. There wasn't much threat to Dumbledore when it was only Draco, but when Snape had to make the Unbreakable vow... This means that they would have had to test the polyjuice potion on Pettigrew before the conversation with N+B and they had to have had an inkling that Narcissa would have been desperate enough to make the Unbreakable vow Snape is good. Before making the vow you read that he stared into Narcissas eyes. Perhaps he was performing Legillimency on her to get an idea of the sort of questions she would have asked in the vow, to see whether it is safe to continue with the vow. The first two questions were fine, nothing specific. But the third question, he flinched and took a long time to answer, he is not evil 'Dumbledore's' death. When Dumbledore dies, he is pleading. Not like Dumbledore, more like Pettigrew, Dumbledore hassaid many times that Death is a great adventure etc. Why would he plead? Pettigrew fears death, maybe so much so that he is able to throw of the Imperius curse. When Snape performs the Avada Kedavra curse, 'Dumbledore' is thrown of the tower. Harry notices that Dumbleodre seems to hover for a second or two. A freeezing charm perhaps? This is to enusre that Pettigrew when the polyjuice potion wears of, will not revert back to his own body. Slughorn perhaps? Who has to practise these spells over the summer. He may be quite gifted in that particular spell.

Now, Dumbledore is dead, right? He showed up at King’s Cross Station, so he must be dead. So how did he die if it was Pettigrew’s body?

Well, you probably know one of J.K. Rowling’s favourite theories (She’s confirmed!) if that Dumbledore is death. Death does not die, it merely moves on. Just like how Dumbledore has a phoenix, I think the metaphor is very fitting, and Dumbledore does not die but is merely reborn into a new form, just like the brothers. When Pettigrew jumps off the tower, Dumbledore trades their bodies back before the potion wears off, and Pettigrew is pardoned. Dumbledore’s body remains behind, but his soul moves on.

Okay, okay, okay, holdup! Souls? Those were never mentioned in HP! Why are you trying to put religion and stuff into good old magic! Like I said, far-fetched and open to interpretation.

Something’s happening though during Dumbledore’s “death”. Every other time we've seen the Avada Kedavra performed, the victim simply falls over dead, However, in Half-Blood Prince, when Snape curses Dumbledore with the same spell, Dumbledore violently flies up and away from the tower.

This theory is kind of grey and misty and doesn’t have a lot of solid edges, but it does have a lot of things backing it up. Go reread HBP and you’ll see that Dumbledore is a lot more harsh than normal, and so what’s going on? Why does Dumbledore use a bottle for his own memories? Is it polyjuice? Imperius?

Of course, I could be wrong; what do you think?

[hpanswers]

Is Albus Dumbledore a time-travelling Ron Weasley from the future?

Today we’re looking at a theory that seems to be pretty popular, but is it plausible?

Let’s first list some proof:

Dumbledore is pretty mysterious about his past, and doesn’t really elaborate unless pressed. To be fair, we also don’t know much about Molly Weasley’s past so it may just be that as a teacher and headmaster he doesn’t think the subject is worthy to spend time on.

Physically, they’re both redheads. Everything else could have come with age.

They both a sweet tooth

They both have “large hands”

They both are tall thin, and have a long nose

Dumbledore has blue eyes, Ron’s eye color was never stated but guess what, Rowling herself said that they were blue. It’s getting a bit freaky now, no?

Ron’s left leg gets injured in PoA. Dumbledore has a scar of the London Underground on his left leg.

Fans of the series know, Harry Potter isn’t really observant about anyone in the series (except for maybe Draco Malfoy) so it’s surprising that he consistently notes Ron and Dumbledore’s similarities almost every book.

Now, some history if you will. We look at the whole series and take it as a metaphor for chess, Weasley is the knight, he chooses knight in SS, he is clearly the brave Gryffindor marching ahead strategically. And that makes Dumbledore in this metaphor the King. But recall that famous song, “Weasley is our king”? Yeah, how can Ron be both the King and the Knight? Time travel. But this theory can’t stand on a couple of similarities and a metaphor. I know, I know, that’s pretty weak. Let’s look at J.K.’s writing style:

“Rowling is rather predictable in how she introduces various magical concepts to us. She never springs anything on the reader. For instance, we are introduced to the concept of Animagi in chapter one of PS/SS in the form of McGonagall who can turn into a cat, only to have this very same concept used once more in Prisoner of Azkaban (PoA) with the Maurauders  and in Goblet of Fire (GoF) with Rita Skeeter. We are introduced to the polyjuice potion in Chamber of Secrets (CoS) with the trio's fruitless attempt to prove that Draco Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin, only to later have it revealed to be crucial to the plot of GoF with Barty Crouch Jr. posing as Mad Eye Moody. We are introduced to the properties of the phoenix in CoS, and we see them displayed once again in GoF. In CoS, we are introduced to the house elves and their plight, and these downtrodden magical beings take on even more importance in GoF and Order of the Phoenix (OotP). In OotP, we meet a Metamorphmagus... does anyone want to bet against a repeat of this one? We could go on (parseltongue, prophecies, dreams, magical moving portraits, chocolate frog cards, chess, etc.), but as observant readers already know, JKR doesn't simply use these concepts and toss them aside -- she recycles. In PoA, we are introduced to the concept of time travel with the Time Turner. So far, we have yet to find another example. It would be unlike JKR to introduce us to something (especially something so big) and not bring it back into the plot with even greater significance. She has  given us a subtle reminder of time travel with the time room in the Department of Mysteries in OotP. In a 2000 interview, when asked if Harry would travel in time again, JKR's answer was 'Not telling!' Time travel is coming back... and it will be instrumental to the plot. What does this have to do with Ron, Dumbledore and the chess game? Everything.”

But that is not all...remember that they both like sweets? In the last chapter of PS/SS, Dumbledore tells Harry that he lost his taste for Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans after eating a vomit flavored bean in his youth. There is one problem with this... Bertie Bott was born in 1935. While Dumbledore is over 150 years old, and for him, 'youth' is a relative term, he could not have possibly eaten a Bertie Bott Every Flavor Bean until the 1950's, most likely even later, making him well over a hundred years old. Even in Dumbledore terms this is hardly his 'youth'. Before anyone makes the brilliant observation that the Bertie Bott card isn't canon, be sure to read the statement from Wizards of the Coast concerning their collaboration with JK Rowling on the making of the cards posted to The Leaky Cauldron.

I’m stealing from Estel’s list, because they have a huge masterpiece of reasons...but it all sums up to, how did Dumbledore always seem to know what was going to happen?

In PS/SS, he knows precisely what Ron saw in the Mirror of Erised and exactly why Ron saw what he did. He tells Harry that there are other ways of being invisible, but are we to believe that Dumbledore was really waiting around every night for Harry to show up in front of the Mirror? He either knew exactly when to show up, or he was there the first time as Ron. When Harry asks Dumbledore what he himself sees in the Mirror, Dumbledore tells him he sees himself holding a pair of socks. What is it that Ron's mother is always giving him, but he never appreciates? Socks. Dumbledore also knows the exact moment to show up and save Harry from Quirrelmort. In fact, Harry leads us to believe that Dumbledore orchestrated the entire thing. Now, we know Dumbledore lets Harry do some things he wouldn't let an ordinary student do, but isn't keeping a Pawn of Voldemort around for an entire school year a very dangerous thing to do? Why yes it is... unless of course Dumbledore knew that everything would turn out okay in the end. In CoS we learn that Dumbledore never really trusted Tom Riddle, even before the murder of Moaning Myrtle. In the Chamber scene, Riddle tells Harry that Dumbledore never liked him as much as the other teachers. When Fudge comes for Hagrid and Lucius for Dumbledore, Harry and Ron are hiding under the invisibility cloak. Dumbledore knows exactly where they are and gives Harry a message. Not only that, but does anyone else think it odd that Dumbledore wasn't worried about what might happen to Harry after he leaves? Once again, Dumbledore sets Harry up to complete a very dangerous task. Either Dumbledore is truly mad, or he knows how it all turns out. In PoA, Dumbledore very readily accepts the innocence of Sirius Black. One might come to the conclusion that he knew Sirius was innocent all along. In fact, many have. The only testimony he hears comes from Sirius himself (a convicted felon). He has already made up his mind to send Harry and Hermione back in time before they get a chance to tell their side of the story. When Harry and Hermione do go back in time, you will notice that every single thing happens in exactly the same way both times. There was never a time through in which Buckbeak was killed or Harry didn't cast his Patronus. JKR is even very careful to put in the door slamming from the second time through in the first time through. Yet... it is Dumbledore himself, as his 'first time' self, who ends up saving Buckbeak - he distracts everyone inside Hagrid's hut so that Harry and Hermione can make off with Buckbeak. Later, when Harry tells Dumbledore about Trelawney's prophecy, Dumbledore is not in the least bit phased. In fact, Harry is surprised he can take it so calmly. In addition, Dumbledore seems to be very adamant about Peter getting away being a 'good thing'. Oh sure, Peter owes him a life debt, but Dumbledore is just a little too convinced that it is all for the best. GoF is a special case. Though we do find one really huge piece of evidence of Dumbledore's ability to know what he really shouldn't, we think that this was one of the times that Ron/DD may have actually tried to change the course of events. He goes to great lengths to prevent the younger students from entering the Tournament (the age line). He goes to great lengths to find the most trustworthy DADA professor possible (for only one year, and as a special favor) - Mad Eye Moody, someone he knows really, really well. Still, in the end, we believe the end result was exactly the same (except, perhaps, the death of Cedric). So, what are we left with? Crouching Death Eater, Hidden Moody. When Dumbledore discovers that Moody is an imposter, he shows up with Snape and McGonagall in Moody's office. He tells McGonagall to go fetch Padfoot. He tells Snape to go fetch Winky and some Veritaserum. Oh wait... go fetch Winky? How did he know to fetch Winky? Barty Crouch Jr. still looked like Moody. Perhaps Dumbledore really is a super genius, and figured out there had to be a connection to the Crouches. However, Crouch Jr. was thought to be dead and Crouch Sr. was present with Moody the night the names came out of the Goblet. Oh wait, you say, perhaps Dumbledore suspected Crouch only began impersonating Moody AFTER Halloween. Or maybe, just maybe, he was able to figure out that Crouch Jr. wasn't really dead between the maze and Moody's office. Maybe... but he tells Harry 'you never knew the real Mad Eye Moody'. Everything else aside... this is something he could not possibly know with any certainty. In OotP, Dumbledore knows from the very beginning to avoid Harry's gaze. While three years have passed for us, only one month has passed for Harry and Dumbledore. How does Dumbledore know when to begin avoiding Harry? He avoids his gaze from the very first time they meet in the courtroom (despite telling Harry later that he sensed something behind his eyes - he never looked Harry in the eye, something Harry was exceedingly peeved about). This is BEFORE Dumbledore knows about the dreams. This is BEFORE the attack on Arthur Weasley. Dumbledore absolutely can not know that Voldemort is already in Harry's mind. Later on, when the attack on Arthur does take place, Dumbledore knows the precise questions to ask Harry about the nature of the attack. We now know that Dumbledore is a Legilimens, however... Dumbledore could not have used this on Harry as he could not make eye contact for fear Voldemort would 'spy' on him. Speaking of which... the issue couldn't have been spying as such. After all, Harry is still observing Dumbledore. He still hangs out at Order headquarters. He still knows the identities of most of the members of the Order. While he is left largely in the dark (with disastrous consequences), he still observes much that would be useful for Voldemort and his followers. Dumbledore does, however, give us a hint as to what it is he doesn't want Voldemort to see: "I was sure that if he realized that our relationship was - or had ever been - closer than that of headmaster and pupil, he would seize his chance to use you as a means to spy on me." (US OotP Ch27 pg 828) Now, we do know that Dumbledore really loves Harry. He tells him as much in that same scene. However,  it is curious that JKR would emphasize (by placing it between dashes) the phrase 'or had ever been'. It is not as simple as Dumbledore not wanting Voldemort knowing his true feelings for Harry and therefore be able to use them against him. After all, Voldemort now knows that, and his not knowing that ended up putting Harry and even more danger (the possession in the MoM). No, the significance is in the phrase 'or had ever been'. The truth is, as far as Harry is concerned, they really aren't any closer than Headmaster and pupil. Why was the line referring to a past relationship? Harry's relationship to Dumbledore has been constant all through the series. Dumbledore orchestrates hoops for Harry to jump through, Harry jumps, they chat about it at the end of the school year. We believe this 'had ever been' refers to Dumbledore's prior relationship to Harry as his best friend Ron. Dumbledore, of course, would not want Voldemort to know of this prior relationship because that would make Ron a target as well, messing up EVERYTHING. Without Ron, without Dumbledore, the game and the war are lost.

Now, there are a few other similarities, but let’s go back to that lovely song Weasley is our King (sorry, I’m jumping all over the place!). Malfoy says Weasley was ‘born in a bin’, born double? Bin can also mean two.

But, let’s not be too hasty. Why would Ron go back in time? How would he go back in time, and how would he know? What about Dumbledore’s family?

Ron and Dumbledore never had much contact during the series:

“"Would you say you were close to Dumbledore, Ronald?" asked Scrimgeour, ignoring Hermione. Ron looked startled.

"Me? Not — not really ... It was always Harry Who ... "

Ron looked around at Harry and Hermione, to see Hermione giving him a stop-talking-now!sort of look, but the damange was done: Scrimgeour looked as though he had heard exactly what he had expected, and wanted, to hear. He swooped in like a bird of prey on Ron's answer.

"If you were not very close to Dumbledore, how do you account for the fact that he remembered you in his will? He made exceptionally few personal bequests. The vast majority of his possessions — his private library, his magical instruments, and other personal effects — were left to Hogwarts. Why do you think you were singled out?"

"I ... dunno," said Ron. "I ... when I say we weren't close ... I mean, I think he liked me ... "

"You're being modest, Ron," said Hermione. "Dumbledore was very fond of you."

This was stretching the truth to a breaking point; as far as Harry knew, Ron and Dumbledore had never been alone together, and direct contact between them had been negligible.”

Maybe Dumbledore deliberately avoided Ron to avoid messing up the timeline. Why else would he avoid Ron while choosing to converse with Hermione?

But there are a lot of problems with this theory. One is that Jk Rowling herself said it wasn’t true. But that aside (it is a theory) do you agree with it? Why or why not?

[hpanswers]

What other sports and clubs are there other than Quidditch, Gobstones and Chess?

Well, there’s Quodpot, but that’s across the pond. Quidditch does seem to be the only major magical British sporting event. There’s a great card game called Exploding Snap, and Laurentia Fletwock was a wizard of the month who breeded and raced flying horses which implies that flying horse races is a sport in Wizarding Britain. Most wizards learn how to swim when they are younger (Fleur, Krum, and Cedric all swam during the tournament), and Kennilworthy Whisp was very fond of backgammon, which implies there are at least some wizards and witches who play that. Snitch Snatcher! is a board game that models Quidditch, presumably for children too young to play, or wizards who can’t play quidditch, or possibly just an easier cheaper option.

But I could be wrong; what do you think?

[hpanswers]

Is Sirius Black dead? What is the veil?

I know we all want him to be secretly alive somewhere. (That was one of the saddest parts of the series!) Well, what is the veil, it’s an empty archway, and it draws people to it. The veil is a curtain between life and “trapped forever in the world of death”. Sirius’s body is never found, and a funeral is never held. But is the “world of death”, as the wiki so poetically puts it, really death? I have to go with yes. But not because of the veil itself, but another magical object, the resurrection stone! It specifically “only brings back loved ones from Death” and since Sirius was brought back (kind of?) when Harry used the stone, it means he truly was in Death’s grasp, and therefore, dead.

But I could be wrong, what do you think?

[hpanswers]

Hello!

Before we got too deep, we thought it might be best to answer some simple questions from the wiki (http://harrypotter.answers.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Un-answered_questions)

1) Are all Salem Institute students witches? Yes, even JK said it was a joke parodying the Women’s Institute in the UK.

2) Who is the Slytherin Quidditch Captain? You can see a full history of the quidditch captains from 1976-1997 on the hp wiki page but when Harry was at Hogwarts, Marcus Flint was the captain from 1991-1994, quidditch was cancelled in 1994-1995 due to the Triwizard Tournament, Graham Montague was captain in 1995-96 and Urquhart was captain in 1996-97.

3) Did Draco belong to Astoria? He only belonged to her in the sense that they were married. We don’t know if it was an arranged marriage or simply that Draco knew Astoria because her sister was in Draco’s year, either is plausible for two purebloods. We also don’t know Astoria’s house.

4) Harry Potter’s newt scores/Did Harry graduate? No, Harry and Ron never graduated or took their NEWTS!

5) Harry Potter’s favourite game? It makes sense that it would probably not be a muggle game, as the muggle world does not have many happy memories for Harry, and working as an auror, he would probably not have many encounters with muggle toys. He was never very good at wizarding chess, and never played gobstones (although contemplated buying a set in SS). So, what is his favourite game? Quidditch, of course! Harry was brilliant at this game and loved it.

6) Harry Potter’s height? Let’s not go by Daniel Radcliffe, that’s the easy answer. the wiki states: “despite the neglect he suffered, Harry seems to have grown at the same rate as James, as when he was fifteen he was within an inch of James at the same age, and when he was seventeen he was exactly the same height his father was, and James was often described as tall.” 

7) Do pregnant werewolves phase during a full moon? The first thing to note is becoming a werewolf is not hereditary, so the child stays human during the full moon. And a wolf could not hold a human child, our anatomy is different. Even a werewolf’s inner organs differ from a humans, so the child would probably die. The werewolf would turn unless they had taken preventive measures.

8) Hagrid said that muggles do not have a drop of magical blood on them. So if a muggle took a wizard's blood would he also be magical? Unfortunately, no, I’m sure squibs have tried, however! If it was the physical blood that made someone magical, how would we have muggleborns? Blood is merely a way to classify someone’s magical ancestry in the wizarding world, so when Hagrid says they don’t have a drop of magical blood in them, he means they have no magical family. We now know that this is very unlikely as many people probably are related to a wizard in some way or another, but it isn’t like this is the first time Hagrid’s been wrong about something...

Alright, that’s all for now, hope you enjoyed that rapidfire list of wiki answers!

But I could be wrong; what do you think?