132
votes
Why didn't Voldemort create a seventh Horcrux not knowing Harry was one?
He wanted to split his soul into 7 pieces, not create 7 Horcruxes. The difference here is that the soul in his body counts as one piece, so you only need 6 Horcruxes.
As we can see Voldemort say in ...
- 5,797
107
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Dursleys make witchcraft and wizardry public?
Why would they do it?
As you said, they hate Harry. They want to be away from him as much as possible, and all he represents (i.e., Wizardry). The Dursleys want to be normal above all else. They want ...
- 28.1k
98
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Voldemort create a seventh Horcrux not knowing Harry was one?
You made the same mistake as Harry in Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. As JAD said, Voldemort wanted to split his soul in seven, not create seven Horcruxes (emphasis mine):
“[...] You heard ...
- 1,291
57
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Voldemort kill this character with the killing curse?
If he had used the Avada Kedavara curse, he'd have to use the Elder Wand. He believed if he had used the Avada Kedavara curse, the wand would have resisted him doing so as it did when he tried to kill ...
A J♦
- 58k
49
votes
Accepted
Is Voldemort called "Tom Elvis Riddle" in the French versions of Harry Potter?
It's true that the second name is Elvis, but the last name is also different in French. To make the anagram work there are many different versions of the name in other languages.
In other languages,...
- 1,120
48
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Harry Potter become an Obscurial?
Harry never knew he was a Wizard or could use magic in the first place to suppress magic. He just thought it was "strange"
The Dursleys never liked to acknowledged Harry's magical roots. They just ...
- 7,747
48
votes
Accepted
What gave Harry Potter the idea of writing in Tom Riddle's diary?
The script for Chamber of Secrets describes the scene thusly:
Harry starts to set the diary aside, then notices a
BOTTLE OF INK sitting on the desk. An idea flickers.
Taking his QUILL, Harry ...
- 23.3k
46
votes
Accepted
Why are portkeys not used for long-distance travel?
I've just come across this explanation in the book "Quidditch Through the Ages" .. page 90:
"Too cumbersome to turn at high speed, the Oakshaft [79] never gained
much popularity with those who ...
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41
votes
Accepted
Why did the goblet spit Harry's name out in the first place?
The Goblet can only spit the fourth candidate if it is bewitched. It takes a strong charm to do this.
MAD-EYE: The hell he is. The goblet of fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object, only ...
A J♦
- 58k
40
votes
Accepted
Why did Dumbledore have Harry stick his arm out when Barty Crouch Jr. was revealed?
When Barty Crouch Jr. says,
I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
he wasn't referring to the dark mark, but to the wound Harry got at the graveyard. He was trying to let on that they got Harry'...
A J♦
- 58k
34
votes
Accepted
Why did Albus Dumbledore's clothing change in the third movie?
The new actor and director decided to portray Dumbledore differently.
Dumbledore in the first two films was played by the late Richard Harris; Dumbledore in the rest of the films was played by ...
- 8,470
31
votes
Is Voldemort called "Tom Elvis Riddle" in the French versions of Harry Potter?
Lot of names were actually changed in the French translation of the books. It is the case of Tom Marvolo Riddle which is translated to "Tom Elvis Jedusor" to make the anagram works, but Snape (Rogue ...
- 411
31
votes
Accepted
Can any broom be used to fly in Harry Potter?
So can any old broom in the wizarding world be used to fly, or is
there some enchantment involved?
No, a broom must be enchanted for it to fly. There must always be an enchantment for it to be used ...
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31
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Hermione help Dobby when his life was in danger?
Several things explaining why she wasn't able to heal Dobby
Even though she had a general knowledge of various spells, she was not trained for healing - even in the books she mentions she never ...
- 1,673
30
votes
Accepted
Is there any muggle technology that is used in Harry Potter's world?
This is a community wiki post. Please feel free to add directly within this answer. If you can think of a technology to add, please do so at your leisure.
I'll interpret your phrase "muggle only ...
28
votes
Is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them understandable without watching any other Harry Potter film?
There is no need to watch any Harry Potter movie to understand Fantastic Beasts.
Here is why:
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is not a prequel to all eight Harry Potter movies. The Harry ...
A J♦
- 58k
25
votes
Accepted
Why did Filius Flitwick's appearance change after first two Harry Potter movies?
As explained to Movie Pilot by Warwick Davis himself,
When it came to the third film, of course the looks of the whole films had changed.
Alfonso really wanted to put his mark on the films. And then ...
A J♦
- 58k
22
votes
Why didn't the Dursleys make witchcraft and wizardry public?
They have no motive. It wouldn't benefit them, other than spite, and although it wouldn't be out of character for them to act out of spite, they seem to be more wanting to ignore the wizarding world ...
- 3,068
21
votes
Accepted
Why did Harry Potter behave like this to Lupin?
Because he knows that Lupin is a werewolf because of Hermione.
Hermione: He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes.
Lupin: How long have you known?
Hermione: Since Professor Snape set the ...
A J♦
- 58k
21
votes
Accepted
Did Joe Dempsie make a cameo appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?
I've never thought of Joe Dempsie being that wizard (just because I can't see any similar facial characteristics), and I originally found that information on a Harry Potter fandom: it's Ian Brown.
He'...
- 13.2k
20
votes
Accepted
Is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them understandable without watching any other Harry Potter film?
I think you can watch this as a stand alone movie. Apart from a few references to the Harry Potter world in the movie (name drops of Albus, Hogwarts - total of around 10 small references through out ...
- 7,747
19
votes
What did Hermione see "with her own eyes" in Borgin and Burkes?
They are referring to the Dark Mark tattoed on Draco's arm.
Harry believes that Draco is a fully-fledged Death Eater, who showed Borgin the Dark Mark to intimidate him and have him take care of the ...
- 28.1k
19
votes
Accepted
How did Grindelwald know about Second World War and nuclear bombings?
Quite simply because, he is a seer.
A seer is a gifted wizard or witch who has the ability to see
into the future with their Inner Eye. Seers predict prophecies, which
are then recorded and stored in ...
- 23.4k
18
votes
Why are portkeys not used for long-distance travel?
Thanks to Rand al'Thor, here's a run-down of modes of transport that we know of that could and couldn't work as international modes of transport:
Portkeys - yes.
The answers to this question ...
- 14.3k
18
votes
Is there any muggle technology that is used in Harry Potter's world?
Even if something is manufactured magically, it's Muggle tech if it was designed by Muggles and works without magic once created.
A huge amount of the ordinary things we see in the movies are ...
- 518
18
votes
Accepted
Why did Dumbledore move the mirror to the chamber where the Philosopher's Stone was?
The stone was inside the mirror; the mirror was an added layer of protection for the Stone.
The mirror was in fact the only part of the defenses that posed any real trouble for Quirrell; this is ...
- 5,675
17
votes
Accepted
Why isn't there Hogwarts without Hagrid?
He's saying that the school will be missing something for him if Hagrid is gone, that the experience is lesser without Hagrid. That it just doesn't feel like the same place without Hagrid there. But ...
- 5,675
17
votes
Why did Dumbledore have Harry stick his arm out when Barty Crouch Jr. was revealed?
I took that scene as Crouch wanting to prove to Dumbledore that Voldemort is back, by showing his Dark Mark burning on his arm, which hadn't happened since Voldermort had disappeared all those years ...
- 12.6k
17
votes
Accepted
Why did Voldemort kill his own horcrux?
After Voldemort split his soul six times, his soul became too unstable. When he tried to kill baby Harry, his mother sacrificed herself to save Harry, creating a shield of love for Harry.
In that ...
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