47 Reasons Rowling is our King: Facts from the Potterverse

I’ve read the Harry Potter series so many times, that all the little word plays, facts and interesting little quirks seem obvious to me but that doesn’t mean they are obvious to all of you! I’m such a nerd, they are one of my favourite book series of all time and one of the reasons for this is that it just keeps giving. With every reread I learn something else about the characters, get another reference, make another connection and until that stops I don’t think I’ll ever stop reading them.

Add to that the movies, all the companion books, all the titbits that Rowling has given out in interviews and you have a long and rich story. Here are some facts you may not have picked up from the books, some references you may not have noted, and some information on things you might not know about the Potterverse. Be warned, this will be full of spoilers if you still haven’t read the books (what are you waiting for?).

One of the first feelings we get in Harry Potter is our intense dislike for Snape, caused partly when Harry’s scar hurts upon seeing him across the Great Hall. The eagle-eyed among us will realise that Harry’s scar hurt because he had to look past Quirrel, and therefore Voldemort to see him.

To ‘snape’ is to badger someone relentlessly. Severus was an ancient Roman warrior who murdered his way to the title of Roman Emperor.

Malfoy is old French for ‘bad blood’.

J.K Rowling gave Harry Potter her own birthday, July 31st.

Petunia Dursley was half correct when calling James Potter a layabout. James was unemployed having inherited money he never felt the need for a career.

At the end of the Philosopher’s Stone we meet Fluffy the three headed dog. This was likely based on Cerberus, the hound of Hades, a monstrous multi-headed dog who guards the gates of the underworld.

Originally Ron’s character swore a lot, but Rowling’s publisher made her edit it out.

The Mirror of Erised shows Harry his family, Erised is ‘Desire’ backwards. The inscription around the edge of the mirror is ‘Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi’, read it backwards.

To make the anagram work, in the French version of Harry Potter, Voldemort’s middle name is Elvis.

The t is not pronounced in Voldemort (a recent admission by Rowling). Vol is from the French to flee, mort means death.

Once the casting was complete, director Alfonso Cuaron thought it would help each character to write an essay about their character. Emma Watson turned in a 16-page essay, Daniel Radcliffe a simple one page paper, and Rupert Grint didn’t turn his in at all.

Harry has blue eyes in the movies because he could not stand to wear the contact lenses designed for him.

There are 700 ways to commit a Quidditch foul, all of them were commited in the Quidditch World Cup of 1473.

Diagon Alley is a play on Diagonally, similarly Knockturn Alley is nocturnally, Grimauld Place is Grim old place and Kreacher is creature.

Rowling based the Dementors on the depression she suffered in her twenties.

Nicolas Flamel was a real person, who really would have been the age he is announced as in the book had he actually been the alchemist who could make the elexir of life as he was suspected to be during his life.

Dobby’s first and last lines are ‘Harry Potter’

Fred and George were born on April Fool’s Day.

The twins’ first lines in the books are one another’s names. They are only ever separated twice, the first time George’s ear is blown off, the second time Fred is killed.

When Fred and George are throwing snowballs in The Philosopher’s Stone, one of them hits the back of Quirrel’s turban. Although we do not know it yet, they’ve just snowballed Voldemort in the face.

George Weasley went on to marry Angelina Johnson, they had two kids called Fred and Roxanne. He could never produce a Patronus after the death of his brother.

However, Pansy Parkinson did not get Malfoy. Rowling stated she hated her, she represented every bully she had ever met at school and was the anti-Hermione.

One of the first things Snape asks Harry is ‘What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’ Victorian Flower Language tells us that asphodel means ‘regrets to the grave’, wormwood signifies absence. The feels!

Severus Snape is the only Death Eater to conjure a Patronus, none of the others had any need to or had ever thought to.

Although Dean Thomas doesn’t know where his father disappeared to, Rowling has confirmed that he was killed by death eaters for refusing to join. Dean’s mother doesn’t even know he is a wizard and believes he has just walked out on the family.

Mundungous is an archaic word that means ‘stuffy and smelling of tobacco’.

Sirius is the dog star, Sirius Black – black dog.

Bellatrix translates as ‘beautiful warrior’.

The last words spoken by by Lily Potter and Severus Snape are ‘always’.

In the same vein, Remus and Romulus were the two children of Rome, raised by wolves. Lupin means of the moon.

JKR chose the name Hermione because it was unusual and she didn’t want clever children sharing the same name bullied.

So unusual in fact that no one could say it, leading her to spell it out for Viktor Krum in the Goblet of Fire.

Crookshanks is part Kneazle, leading to his ability to sniff out suspicious characters.

The third smell that Hermione is too embarrassed to identify when Slughorn makes the Amortenia love potion was that of Ron’s Hair.

Speaking of love potions, early on we realised that Voldemort is incapable of love, but it’s much later we learn he was conceived under the effects of a love potion.

Snape’s hatred isn’t just for Harry, Neville is also the brunt of his venom. This is because either boy could have been the Chosen One.

Harry, Ron and Hermoine all end up on chocolate frog cards. For Ron, like Dumbledore he calls this his greatest achievement.

If Voldemort saw a boggart he would see his own corpse, fuelled by his fear of death, Dumbledore would see his sister Ariana’s corpse.

All the fractioned stations at King’s Cross Station are for wizards. Platform 7 ½ is the Orient Express.

The tale of the Deathly Hallows was inspired by The Pardoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer.

During the scene in the Horcrux where Hermione and Harry kiss, Rupert Grint had to be sent off set for laughing so much.

Hermione went back and completed her NEWTS as part of Ginny’s year; neither Harry nor Ron felt the need.

Rowling considered writing Dudley Dursley into the epilogue, with a magical child but decided no magic would survive contact with Vernon’s genes.

After Mad Eye is lost in the airborne battle, just thirteen sit to eat. Of these Lupin is the first to rise after offering to look for Moody’s body, he will be the one at the table who dies first as predicted by Trelawney at a previous dinner ‘The first to rise will be the first to die!’.

JK has made no secret of the significance of the number 7, but did you spot them all? 7 books, 7 years of school, 7 horcruxes, 7 Weasley children, 7 potters, 7 players in Quidditch, 7 floors at Hogwarts, 7 secret passageways, 7 is Harry’s Quidditch number, 7 prisoners in Malfoy Manor, 7 locks on Moody’s trunk, 7 registered Animagi, 7 Snakes on the door of the Chamber of Secrets, 7 lights out on Privet Drive by the deluminator, born in the 7th month, 7 failed attempted on Harry’s life.

And the bombshell:

If we assume that Rowling is well-versed in mythology then we must assume she knows that in ancient Greek mythology Centaurs would drag human women into the woods and rape and violate them. When Umbridge comes back from the woods she appears unscathed apart from some ‘twigs in her hair’ but is clearly traumatised, and although nothing is alluded to, those versed in mythology will make the connection.