Tuesday 31 July 2018

17 details you might have missed in the 'Harry Potter' books

Ron Hermione and Harry Prisoner of Azkaban crying

J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books are the type of novel series that fans can — and do — read again and again. But given how many people haven't revisited Harry, Ron and Hermione's adventures, plus the number of scenes omitted in the movie adaptations, it's possible that you overlooked many of Rowling's smaller details or foreshadowing.

Keep scrolling for a look at the best details that you might have missed, especially without a second (or third) re-read of the series.

The first words Snape speaks to Harry have a hidden reference to Lily Potter's death.

Warner Bros.

When Harry attends his first potions lesson with Snape in "Sorcerer's Stone," the professor asks him a series of difficult questions. One of the questions is, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

A Pottermore article detailing Rowling's use of the Victorian language of flowers reveals how Snape's question was really an expression of regret over Lily Potter's death.

"Asphodel is a type of lily and means 'remembered beyond the tomb' or 'my regrets follow you to the grave,' while wormwood is often associated with regret or bitterness," the Pottermore article explains.



When Fred and George Weasley bewitched snowballs to hit Professor Quirrell, they were really hitting Voldemort's face.

Warner Bros.

In "Sorcerer's Stone," Rowling says the Weasley twins were "punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban."

As several fans have pointed out in the "Harry Potter" Reddit community, Quirrell was sharing his body with Lord Voldemort at the time. Later in the book, Harry sees that Voldemort's face is sticking out of the back of Quirrell's head — which means Fred and George were actually hitting Voldemort in the face with snowballs.



Also in the first book, Harry thinks to himself that Snape might be able to read minds. Four books later, we learned that Snape was a Legilimens.

Warner Bros.

While fretting over whether or not Snape knew he, Ron, and Hermione had discovered who Nicolas Flamel was, Harry thinks to himself that Snape "could read minds."

Later, in "Order of the Phoenix," Rowling reveals that Snape is an accomplished Legilimens, meaning he sort of can read minds. Here's how Snape describes Legilimency to Harry:

"Only Muggles talk of 'mind reading.' The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader [...] Those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly."




See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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