Here ye, here ye. You have successfully arrived at the perfect spot to ask your question about the Potter series. As a warning, I would like to state that I have no intention of claiming a fact about the series that has yet to be revealed. I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I possess anywhere near the ammount of wisdom and skill that she does. I cannot predict the future of the lives of the beloved characters nor can I read their unknown pasts. I am a devout fan who knows a lot about the series and read the books and watch the movies with a careful eye for detail and connection. Whilst I may be able to offer these skills to help you mold together the pieces of information that you hold or state my opinion, view, or interpretation of the subject matter at hand, I do not claim to know everything nor be an all-knowing figure in the fandom we know and love. Thank you.

>> And please, no more questions concerning your entrance to Hogwarts and regarding your personal wizardry skills. Those just give me the creeps.

Got a particularly perplexing query concerning magical properties?  Puzzled about a specific spell or charm? Or, are you just curious about what others might think about the possible aftermath of an untied loophole?  Well, worry no more, because you can ask The Harry Potter Dictionary.

You can just head over to the Help Desk and submit your question, whether its simple and straighforward, or complex and debatable.  We'll help you come to a considerable conclusion.  But, it gets even better.  Other people can also help to answer the questions whose answers may fall in a gray area, using the form below.

Scroll all the way down until you see the form, and just fill out your name, the question number, and then your assistance.  Again, this form is for those who intend to help answer a question, head to the Help Desk to ask a question.  Askers, please be prepared to see your answer on this page within a few days of asking.  The Harry Potter Dictionary will inform you when your answer is on the website.  Also be prepared for others to provide alternate help at any given time.  The Harry Potter Dictioanry will also inform you of this.

Feel free to ask whatever you're unsure about if it relates to anything in the series.

Any visitors are highly encouraged to assist in providing an answer to any question you believe you could help with.

Submitted by: Caitlin

15.  How does a muggle-born know that they have magic if their muggle parents don't know about the Wizarding World?

     Typically, children with magic powers will start to show minor signs by the age of 7.  However, you can imagine what a parent might think if they whitnessed their seemingly normal child preforming magic before they knew of any such thing's existance.  They get their Hogwarts letters when they're around 11. 

     I can think of one instance where we have a little bit of insight: in chapter 33, "The Prince's Tale" of Deathly Hallows, when Snape and Lily are pre-Hogwarts age.  When he tells her that she's a witch, she seems completely distraught, like she had no idea.  Then we see Snape explaining everyhting to her, and when she asked "Will [the Hogwarts letter] really come by owl?"  Snape says "Normally, but you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents".

     So, I suppose sometime in the summer before they go to Hogwarts, someone from the school comes and explains everything, along with a Hogwarts letter.  But, as we can clearly see in Lily (and others too, such as Tom Riddle) can grasp their magical abilities when they're young.  She must have had some idea that something was special about her, she just didn't know necessarily what it meant.

Submitted by: Sammy

14.  Was Merope Gaunt really a squib, or did she have magical powers?

     She does have magical powers, as we see in chapter 10 of Half-Blood Prince, where we see her doing a few small charms.  Her father refers to her as a squib only because he thinks she's unworthy of proper recognition as a witch, he thinks she's worthless.

Submitted by: Madelyn

13.  In the 1st book, when Ron tries to turn Scabbers yellow, does it not work because he's not really a rat, or because it was not a real spell?

     I suppose that's debatable, but in my opinion, I would say it's not a real spell.  Ron says that Fred and George gave him the spell.  It wouldn't be unlike them to prank him with a nice little rhyme to turn his rat yellow, in hopes that Ron would try and show off with it.  Because that's just the kind of magic that would probably appeal to a first year, a rat changing colors. I think that bit was intended to be more humorous than for a seemingly-irrelevant-artifact-that-turns-out-to-mean-something sort of deal.

Submitted by: Madelyn

12.  Can you do a spell while your wand is lit with Lumos?

     Ooh, that is a very good question.  It seems as if it would be conveniently logical to do so, but I don't believe we have ever seen anyone cast a spell while Lumos is lit.  Since Lumos is a spell itself, it is probably unlikely that you could do 2 simultaneously.  Lumos is also not like other spells, in the way that the effect lingers through the tip of your wand.  But, since Lumos is a spell, it may not be possible.  The "Lumos" would probably be extinguished after a different spell has been cast.

Submitted by: Amanda

11.  What are those "dead", zombie-like people that float in the Black Lake? What are they called? (They're from the Half-Blood Prince and are also found in the trailer.)

     If you refer to the dead, zombie like people, those would be Inferi.  You're right, they are introduced in Half-Blood Prince, in Professor Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.  Inferi are defined as animated corpses, which means that they can be bewitched to probably do just about anything with particular cicrumstances under the control of a powerful dark wizard, such as Voldemort. Inferi are found in the lake where Tom Riddle (Voldemort) hid the horcrux "Salazar Slytherin's Locket".  I'm not sure about the Black Lake though.  You can, however, find grindylows and merpeople in the Black Lake.

Submitted by: JG

10.  How Do you pronounce Accio?

     Hmm... how do I do this verbally...

     Short A, like the sound A makes in "apple".  CC, like... like in cake.  I, like a long e.. like in me.  O, like in Ohhhh..

       A-ck-ee-oh.

Submitted by: Madelyn

9.  Is legillimency mind reading, or is occlumency mind reading?

     Legillimency is the process of entering ones thoughts (mind reading), and occlumency is the process of blocking legillimency.  In other words, legillimency is mind reading, and occlumency is preventing people from reading your mind.

Submitted by: Kara Tracy

8.  What does N.E.W.T stand for?

     Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests.  7th year students take N.E.W.T.s as their end of year exams, and it is assumable that they at least partially determine which occupations the witch or wizard will be qualified for.

Submitted by: Madelyn

7.  How did Dumbledore manage to contact Snape while he was wearing the horcrux???

     We are not told specifically, so there are a few different things that could have happened.  It is common among wizards and witches to communicate through patronuses.  He could have used an owl.  It is unlikely that Dumbledore would have traveled to Snape in person to inform him of his situation, seeing as the horcrux was weakening him.  As we know, there are probably countless alternate methods that are possible, such as the process where you shove your head in the fireplace and throw floo powder on it, and as a result, only your head shows up in the corresponding fire.  Personally? My guess would be a patronus.  It’s probably the most efficient, given his condition.

 Submitted by: Madelyn

     That’s Harry, but it was completely unintentional.  He was getting mad because Marge was talking smack about his mom and dad.  Do you recall in the Sorcerer’s Stone, when Harry made the glass disappear at the zoo?  This is similar.  Sometimes, wizards get angry and they can’t control their abilities, to the point where they unconsciously and accidentally make things happen.   Aunt Marge said that she had a firm grip because she had no idea Harry had anything to do with it; she really did assume that it was the reason the glass exploded.

Submitted by: Madelyn

5.  If you were expelled from Hogwarts, would you still have the magical powers that kid wizards do before they're trained?

     This is a very good question.  This one is debatable, since it’s never mentioned in the books. We can only assume that it’s somewhat dependant on a few variables.  Well, it has been stated through canon that any underage wizard or witch with wizard and witch parents has slightly altered rules.  Typically, underage wizards and witches can’t use magic outside of school.  This is controlled by the Ministry of Magic.  It works kind of like a tracker, and when magic is detected within a certain radius of the given under aged child, they take action.  However, you can see how this would be difficult to control in a household with magically gifted parents, given that they could be using magic at any given time.  So, instead of enforcing the sort of tracker rule, the parents of underage wizards and witches are simply expected to control the children to not use magic themselves.  But, that’s only for children in otherwise magical households.

     There is a possibility, depending on what the Hogwarts student was expelled for, they might even have their magical abilities taken away (taking the wand.)  As we have established previously, wizards don’t always have to have a wand to do magic, though.  In the case that their wand was not taken, however, if the student had parents with magical powers, it is possible that magic could not be controlled.  As you have also mentioned in the question, kid wizards who have not yet even gotten to Hogwarts have minute, but mostly harmless magical abilities.  It is likely that an expelled student may not be able to be prevented from having these minute magical abilities, similar to that of an under-Hogwarts-aged-child.

     Personally, my guess would be that students who are expelled from Hogwarts would be capable of accidental magic, obviously, and possibly also these insignificant abilities possessed by child witches or wizards.

Submitted by: Madelyn

4.  If you can't use magic outside of school, how did Harry do his homework under his covers at his aunt and uncle's house, or Hermione fix Harry's glasses after he traveled by floo powder with the Weasleys in the 2nd book?