Here are some
Sorting Hat Stool - In SS, a four-legged stool is used for the sorting, but in POA and GOF, it is a three-legged stool. Oh, and in OOTP, it is just a 'stool.'
Long Fingers - Voldemort, Dumbledore, Snape, Mr. Ollivander, Sibyll Trelawney, Dobby, and goblins are all frequently described as having long fingers (Voldemort's are described as "unnaturally" long). Could long fingers be a sign of magical power?
Cat Lovers - Argus Filch and Arabella Figg: they have the same initials, both are Squibs, and both love cats!
Wide-Mouthed Tree Frog - We've known ever since Sorcerer's Stone that Harry was going to be replaced as Seeker! At the beginning of the chapter right after Harry catches the Snitch in his mouth, Draco is making fun of Harry and saying how a "wide-mouthed tree frog is going to replace Harry as Seeker" next. This didn't exactly come true, but in Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge (the wide-mouthed tree frog, check all the toad references about her) bans him from the team, essentially replacing him with Ginny! Thanks to Leah for this one
The Marauders - James, Sirius, and Remus, all end in 'S,' are loyal members of the Marauders and would never betray the group. Peter, whose name ends in an 'R,' betrayed the Marauders by giving away James' secret and allowing Sirius to be wrongfully sent to Azkaban.
And here's another Marauder thought: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs (aka Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Potter), the best friends who invented the Marauders Map, listed their names in no particular order. But Prongs (James) died first, then Padfoot (Sirius)...could Wormtail be next?
How Old? - In the "enormous, old" reference book where Flamel is mentioned, it says that he was 665 years old as of "last year." That means he was the big 666 when the book was published.
Number, Please - In Order of the Phoenix, the phone number to get into the Ministry of Magic is 6-2-4-4-2 (which spells out "MAGIC" on the phone keypad).
'711' - The seemingly random number of Sirius's vault, 711 (which appears on page 315 in the British copy of the Prisoner of Azkaban), is also the number of the page on which Sirius falls through the veil in the British version of The Order of the Phoenix.
Not so Final - Harry seems to take his finals only every other year: he took them his first year, Dumbledore cancelled finals for the whole school in his second year, he took them his third year, he was exempt from finals as a Triwizard champion in his fourth year, he took O.W.L.s his fifth year, and in his sixth year all examinations are postponed.
Dursley Post - Harry receives a few Christmas packages from the Dursleys while at Hogwarts. How do the Dursleys send Harry the packages? They refuse to have anything to do with magic and they hate owls...maybe through Dumbledore? And since they normally don't give Harry presents at Privet Drive, do they send the packages (such as they are) because Dumbledore SUGGESTS they do?
Mirror, Mirror - There are instances where mirrors talk. In Chapter 4 of COS, a mirror at the Burrow says to Harry: "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" And in Chapter 4 of POA (another Chapter 4!), "'I'm not going to be murdered,' Harry said aloud. 'That's the spirit dear,' said his MIRROR sleepily." Bring to mind a certain two-way mirror Sirius gave Harry in OOTP? Maybe it will be useful after all...
Red and Green - There are quite a few references to combinations of red and green: Gryffindor-red, Slytherin-green; Ron's maroon (red) Weasley sweater and Harry's green one; Dobby's Christmas gift to Harry, a pair of socks - one red, with broomsticks, the other green with Snitches; in the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Draco are told by Hagrid to send green sparks up in the air if they found the unicorn, red sparks if they are in danger; Voldemort's eyes are red and Harry's eyes are green; Lily was a redhead with green eyes; The Irish National Quidditch team wore green robes, Bulgaria wore red; Ron's dress robes were maroon and Harry's were 'bottle green,' Voldemort's green Killing Curse and Harry's red Disarming Spell that collided when they dueled.
Blue Candles - The candles on the walls of Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day party burn an unusual color - blue! Blue-burning candles are also found on the walls of the large, circular, spinning room in the Department of Mysteries. In SS, Hermione conjures blue fire and scoops it into a jar. The Goblet of Fire burns with a blue-white flame.
And speaking of odd colored fire, Harry and Hermione encounter purple and black fire in Snape's spell to protect the Sorcerer's Stone.
Knock, Knock - Dumbledore's office door has a griffin door-knocker...'Griffin-Door', get it??? Could this have been Godric Gryffindor's office?
Rats! - Dudley's friend, Piers Polkiss, shares his initials with Peter Pettigrew. Both are likened to rats. Piers is described as "a scrawny boy with a face like a rat" and Peter, an Animagus with the ability to turn into a rat, also had "something of the rat linger[ing] around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes."
Cat-Dung - In OOTP, Mundungus Fletcher is described as having "short bandy legs" and "long, straggly ginger hair" while Crookshanks is described as a "bandy-legged ginger cat." In POA, Crookshanks's fur is described as "long." JKR has told us Crookshanks is not an Animagus, but is this only a coincidence?
Out of the Mouth of Ron - In COS, Harry says, "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either." Ron jokingly replies: "Could've been anything...maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favor...." He DID murder Myrtle, through the Basilisk.
Serpent got your Tongue - The Basilisk comes out of the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets, and the Dark Mark is a serpent coming out of the mouth of a skull. Hmm...do you think they might be related?
Sirius' Knife - In POA, Sirius Black slashed the Fat Lady's portrait with a knife. Later, he stood over Ron "holding a knife." Could this be the same knife that Sirius gives Harry as a present in OOTP?
Alliterations (Doubles) - Several characters and creatures have repeating initials: AA (Archibald Alderton), BB (Bathilda Bagshot, Bellatrix Black, Bertie Botts, Bloody Baron, Broderick Bode), CC (Cho Chang, Chudley Cannons, Colin Creevey), DD (Dudley Dursley, Dedalus Diggle, Dilys Derwent), FF (Fat Friar, Filius Flitwick, Florean Fortescue), GG (Gladys Gudgeon, Godric Gryffindor, Gregory Goyle), HH (Helga Hufflepuff, Holyhead Harpies, Hungarian Horntail), II (Inigo Imago), JJ (Joey Jenkins), LL (Luna Lovegood), MM (Minerva McGonagall, 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Marlene McKinnon, Moaning Myrtle, Morag MacDougal), PP (Peter Pettigrew, Piers Polkiss, Pansy Parkinson, Parvati and Padma Patil, Madam 'Poppy' Pomfrey), QQ (Quirinus Quirrell), RR (Rowena Ravenclaw), SS (Severus Snape, Salazar Slytherin, Stan Shunpike, Swedish Short-Snout), TT (Ted Tonks, Tilden Toots), VV (Vindictus Viridian), WW (Willy Widdershins) and I think we could throw in Barnabas the Barmy, Elfric the Eager, Peeves the Poltergeist, Wendelin the Weird, Wimbourne Wasps and William (Bill) Weasley. And how about Fawkes the Phoenix? A phonetic double!
Boggarts Don't Tell - In POA, Lupin says, "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone..." Yet in OOTP, "Moody's electric-blue eye swiveled upward and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen...'Yeah, I see it...Yeah, it's a Boggart...'" How does Mad-Eye know it's a Boggart if nobody knows what they look like when they are alone?
Detention with Dolores - 'Dolores' means 'pain' in Spanish.
Bugs - In GOF, Hermione pounds up beetles in Potions class while wondering how Rita Skeeter knew that Viktor Krum had asked her to visit him over the summer. And beetles can be SO annoying.
Yew, Too? - In GOF, Harry and Cedric take a Portkey into the graveyard, where there is a large yew tree near Tom Riddle Senior's grave...and when Harry gets his first wand in SS, Ollivander reveals to Harry that Ol' Voldy's wand is made of yew.
Cover Clues - Covers on the US editions seem to depict a character/creature who dies in the book: Sorcerer's Stone shows a unicorn; Chamber of Secrets shows a snake (Basilisk?) and Fawkes (who dies and is reborn); Goblet of Fire shows Cedric; Order of the Phoenix shows Sirius; and Half-Blood Prince shows Dumbledore. Prisoner of Azkaban had no deaths, but depicts Buckbeak on the cover who was sentenced to death.
Went to Pieces - Voldemort's soul is probably in seven pieces, and there are seven books. What if one piece were hidden in each book?
Book 1 = Voldemort is introduced (the last part of his soul in him)
Book 2 = Riddle's diary
Book 3 = ?
Book 4 = Voldemort's snake, Nagini
Book 5 = The locket in Sirius's house
Book 6 = Marvolo's ring
Book 7 = ?
Hats Off - In HBP, Dumbledore states that Gryffindor's sword is the only relic left of Godric Gryffindor's - but the Sorting Hat belonged to Gryffindor as well.
Snake Eyes - Could the snake Harry released from the zoo in Sorcerer's Stone be Nagini? Note on this theory: the snake in Sorcerer's Stone is a Boa Constrictor in the book (and a Burmese Python in the movie), both of which are non-venomous, while Nagini is definitely venomous. But Nagini might be venomous BECAUSE it's a Horcrux and now evil and Voldemort...ahem...sorry. Never mind.
Who is R.A.B.? - For those of you who haven't yet heard the loud rumblings around you: could R.A.B. be Sirius Black's brother, Regulus Black? Remember, he had wanted to leave the Death Eaters, and he was killed for it...and remember a heavy locket was found in the Black house that couldn't be opened. Could this be the missing Horcrux from the cave? Where is it now? Has Kreacher stashed it away with his other Black family 'treasures'? Did Mundungus perhaps 'borrow' it along with the family silver? And think about this: the note in the Dutch version of Half-Blood Prince says R.A.Z. instead of R.A.B. 'Black' is 'Zwarts' in Dutch...hmmmm...
Black Stars - Seems many members of the Black family have been named after stars:
Sirius - Called the 'Dog Star,' it is the brightest star and is located in the constellation of Canis Major
Bellatrix - Often translated as 'Female Warrior,' this is the third brightest star in the constellation of Orion
Regulus - The heart of the lion in the constellation Leo
Alphard - The only bright star in the constellation of Hydra, known as the 'Solitary One'
Andromedra - 'The Chained Maiden,' a constellation also containing the Andromedra galaxy
Prediction Puzzle - MuggleNet has received several versions of the following coincidences about Ron and Harry's predictions, so we'll post one here that mostly summarizes what we've been receiving - make of it what you will!
In GOF, Ron and Harry sit making up predictions for Trelawney's class. If you read the book enough times, you start to realize that the predictions are more like foreshadowings. Ron suggests to Harry that he should write down that Harry gets stabbed in the back by someone he thought was a friend. That comes true when Ron gets mad at Harry for becoming a champion. Then Ron says that he'll come off worse in a fight. Later, Hermione and Ron fight about the Yule Ball and Harry thought that Hermione had gotten the point much better than Ron had. Harry said that Ron would lose a treasured possession and the gold he gave to Harry for the Omnioculars disappeared. Later, Hermione came up after Harry and Ron were finishing their predictions and observes that Ron seems to be drowning twice. For the second Triwizard task, Ron and Hermione are placed on the bottom of lake and Harry thinks they'll drown if he doesn't get them out. Thanks to Lindsay for putting it all together!  |
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