Wizarding Lore

Dumbledore’s Army started in the 1995-96 school year, when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley turned a frustrated Defence Against the Dark Arts … Read more

Spoiler warning: this article discusses the ending of the Harry Potter series, including events from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you have … Read more

The Black family tree in Harry Potter is the wizarding world’s central document: one ornate family record at 12 Grimmauld Place that links nearly … Read more

The Dark Mark has two forms, and getting them straight settles most of the confusion. One is a skull-and-serpent brand burned into a Death … Read more

Why did the Malfoys switch sides at the end? They did not defect out of courage or conscience. Draco was ordered to kill Dumbledore … Read more

If you want the short answer to how Dobby got his freedom, it is this: it happened in 1993, at the end of Harry … Read more

A Squib is a person born into the wizarding world, to at least one magical parent, who never develops magical ability of their own. … Read more

The Sword of Gryffindor works through two mechanisms, and separating them clears up most of the confusion around it. First, an enchantment makes the … Read more

Short version: how the Chamber of Secrets was opened comes down to Parseltongue, not Slytherin blood. Four people unsealed it in canon — Tom … Read more

Phoenix tears are a phoenix’s healing substance: the drops Fawkes cries onto a wound, and they cured Harry twice, once from basilisk venom and … Read more