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The wrap-up-warm wordsearch

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Hermione standing in the snow, wrapped up warm in a hat and scarf.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Enjoy today's puzzle with a lovely mug of something warm.

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For more crosswords and wordsearches, [visit our puzzles hub](https://www.wizardingworld.com/collections/potter-puzzles) or you can also enjoy Wizarding World challenges in our app. Scan the QR code below to check it out.

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Ranked: The Hogwarts feasts from worst to best

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 

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and the Philosopher's Stone 

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Here’s our run-down of Harry’s Hogwarts feast experiences, from worst to best.

__20. The fifth-year end-of-term feast__

We hate to begin on a sad note, but we’re pretty sure Harry’s worst Hogwarts feast was one he never made it to — the Leaving Feast, days after Sirius’s tragic death. Unsurprisingly, Harry couldn’t face the usual end-of-term cheer and, instead of joining the others feasting in the Great Hall and celebrating the end of another school year, he sought out Nearly Headless Nick to question him about life, death and ghosts. 

But it was not Nearly Headless Nick who provided Harry with the comfort he needed. It was Luna Lovegood.


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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn’t you?... In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that’s all. You heard them.

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__19. The fourth-year end-of-term feast__

Harry’s fourth year ended sadly, too, coming as it did after Cedric Diggory was murdered. On that occasion, Harry did make it to the Leaving Feast. It was a suitably somber occasion, with black drapes hanging behind the teachers’ table as mark of respect and Dumbledore leading a toast to Cedric:

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

'Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities which distinguish Hufflepuff house,' Dumbledore continued. 'He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play.'

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We’re sure it wasn’t just us with tears in our eyes as Hogwarts' staff and students raised their goblets to Cedric.

__18. The second year Hallowe’en feast__

This was another feast Harry missed in order to spend time with Nearly Headless Nick, albeit for a very different reason — his 500th [Deathday Party](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/halloween-party-tips-from-nearly-headless-nick). 

Harry’s rash promise to join Nearly Headless Nick’s ghostly guests in celebration of his botched execution meant Harry, Hermione and Ron missed the actual Hallowe’en feast, which was clearly revealed as a terrible decision the moment they heard the screeching playlist and experienced the rotting party food. Even worse, missing the Hallowe’en feast for the Deathday Party led to them being first on the scene when Mrs Norris was Petrified. Talk about making a social plan you later regret. Still, we’ve all been there, right?

__17. The sixth-year start-of-term feast __

Harry’s sixth year got off to a bad start, when he was set upon on the Hogwarts Express by Malfoy and arrived late to the feast with blood all over his face, having missed both the Sorting and the savoury courses. At least he got some treacle tart — but even that was soured by the revelation that Snape was set to become Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. All in all: there were better start-of-term feasts…

__16. The fifth-year start-of-term feast__

… like the one at the beginning of Harry’s fifth year — although we’ll be honest, the difference here is extremely marginal, given that was when Professor Umbridge first hem-hem’ed her way onto the Hogwarts faculty. There was also the fact that Hagrid was nowhere to be seen, the Sorting Hat was giving out warnings, and Harry had to face the fact that not everyone believed the truth about Cedric Diggory’s death. But on the plus side, he did get to enjoy some steak-and-kidney pie, as well as his favourite treacle tart.

__15. The fourth year Hallowe’en feast__

Two years after the infamous Deathday Party Harry was back at the Hallowe’en dinner table, but this time wishing he wasn’t. Coming as it did the day after the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, it was not only the second feast Hogwarts had seen in as many days, but also the day the Goblet of Fire announced Harry as the fourth Triwizard Champion. So: a good day for his fellow champions Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour and Cedric Diggory, but not for Harry, who had never wanted to be champion and was left wondering what on earth had happened. 

__14. The Yule Ball__

In fact feast-wise, we’d say the year of the Triwizard Tournament was pretty so-so for Harry. Again, the famous [Yule Ball](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-yule-ball) – held on Christmas Day as part of the Triwizard celebration — was undoubtedly exciting for some, like Fleur and her disbelieving date, Roger Davies. But for Harry, it just meant more unwanted attention. 

OK, the Weird Sisters were great, and being able to order food to your plate sounded pretty amazing, but having to lead the dancing with a partner you’d only asked at the last minute because the girl you’d wanted to take was going with that other, more popular, Hogwarts champion? Well, we just think Harry would have preferred a slightly more low-key festive celebration. *And* he’d already eaten Christmas lunch — sure, he’d have been much happier snoozing in front of the Common Room fire. And come to think of it, so would poor old Ron, with his hand-me-down robes and his Krum-and-Hermione jealousy. Let’s face it: Christmas night is not the best time for a ball, is it?

__13. The second-year start-of-term feast__

This was another feast Harry never actually made it to because, of course, he and Ron were too busy crash-landing a flying car into the branches of the Whomping Willow. So instead of indulging in plates of pie and potatoes, Harry and Ron were facing the punishment dished out by Professor McGonagall. But they did get off pretty lightly, being served sandwiches and pumpkin juice before being sent off to the Common Room – and the delayed, delighted reaction of their fellow Gryffindors was probably enough to make up for the lack of treacle tart.

__12. The first-year Hallowe’en feast__

Now, this had the makings of a very good feast — it was Harry’s first experience of Hallowe’en at Hogwarts, and the usual mountains of delicious food were served against an atmospheric backdrop of candle-filled pumpkins and swooping bats. But before Harry could take a bite of his jacket potato, the feast had been interrupted by Professor Quirrell, who announced there was a troll in the dungeons and then apparently fainted. The one redeeming feature of this Hallowe’en feast day was that it resulted in Ron and Harry becoming friends with Hermione, but all-in-all, it was not the best.

__11. The third-year end-of-term feast__

At the end of his third year, Harry’s mood was pretty low. He’d recently found out Sirius had not, in fact, betrayed his parents and then helped both Sirius and Buckbeak evade capture – but in the process, Peter Pettigrew had escaped, and they had consequently been unable to prove Sirius was innocent. He’d also discovered Professor Lupin was leaving his role as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Never mind exams, that’s quite a catalogue of unpleasantness with which to end the term. But Hogwarts feasts have the power to pierce even the darkest moods, and with Gryffindor having won the Quidditch  Cup, at least Harry had something to celebrate. 

__10. The second-year Christmas feast__

Harry’s second Christmas dinner at Hogwarts was beautifully decorated: frost-covered trees, thick streamers of holly and mistletoe, enchanted snow falling gently from the Great Hall’s bewitched ceiling. Surrounded by his friends, with Dumbledore singing carols and Hagrid drinking eggnog, it was as wonderfully warm as you’d expect. In fact, this particular feast might score higher, were it not for the fact that Harry and Ron were forced by Hermione to follow up their third helping of Christmas pudding with a dose of Polyjuice Potion. Because turning into Crabbe and Goyle is enough to given anyone indigestion.

__9. The Triwizard Tournament opening feast__

With a number of new students to accommodate, we imagine the Great Hall to have been a bit crowded as would-be champions from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang sat down with Hogwarts students for the opening of the Triwizard Tournament. Special dishes such as the French seafood stew bouillabaisse joined the usual hearty Hogwarts fare, and with the appearance of part-Veela Fleur Delacour and the revelation that champion Quidditch seeker Viktor Krum was a Durmstrang student, this Hogwarts feast had a much more international flavour — and even if Ron wasn’t a fan of the bouillabaisse, we appreciated the chance to experience something new.

__8. The third-year Christmas feast__

Another [Christmas at Hogwarts](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/importance-of-christmas-in-the-great-hall-illustrations), and this time Harry was actually sitting on a dinner table with Dumbledore, as well as some magic Christmas crackers, which resulted in Dumbledore eating his turkey with a stuffed-vulture-topped-witch’s hat on his head. The presence of Snape and a typically doom-and-gloom Professor Trelawney put a slight dampener on things, but we’re giving this one extra points for Professor McGonagall’s sarcasm:


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‘We’ll risk it, Sybill,’ said Professor McGonagall impatiently. ‘Do sit down, the turkey’s getting stone cold.’

Professor Trelawney hesitated, then lowered herself into the empty chair, eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit the table. Professor McGonagall poked a large spoon into the nearest tureen.

‘Tripe, Sybill?’

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__7. The third-year start-of-term feast__

At the beginning of his third year, an unexpected run-in with a Dementor meant that Harry – and Hermione, who had to see Professor McGonagall about her packed timetable — missed the Sorting Ceremony. He did not, however, miss any of the courses. This was also the moment Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures teaching role was revealed, and Lupin officially joined the staff. So even with the Dementors lurking outside, we’d say it was a pretty good start to the new school year.

__6. The fourth-year start-of-term feast__

Despite being bombarded by Peeves’ water bombs and Hermione discovering the Hogwarts kitchens were staffed by house-elves, fourth year got off to an even better start with the revelation that Hogwarts was set to host the Triwizard Tournament. Not even the somewhat alarming appearance of (the fake) Mad-Eye Moody or Hermione’s refusal to eat another house-elf-prepared morsel could take the shine away from that announcement.

__5. The third-year Hallowe’en feast__

This was definitely Harry’s [best-ever Hallowe’en feast](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/why-halloween-was-so-important-for-harry-potter), even if it did happen just before Sirius’ first Hogwarts break-in. Professor Lupin was there, looking cheerful. Ron and Hermione were full of Hogsmeade stories and Honeydukes sweets. The Great Hall was once again decorated with hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins and live bats, and the Hogwarts ghosts finished off the evening with an entertaining performance that included a re-enactment of Nearly Headless Nick’s botched beheading. Happy Hallowe’en, indeed.

__4. The end-of-second-year pyjama party feast__

Harry’s second year at Hogwarts ended in typical eventful style as he busily slayed a Basilisk, revealed and subsequently destroyed the memory of Tom Riddle, and freed Dobby from the Malfoy’s employ with the help of an old sock. This impressive series of achievements was rewarded by a most unorthodox end-of-term feast: the students were in pyjamas, for a start. What with Lockhart being removed from his teaching role, Gryffindor once again securing the House Cup thanks to Harry and Ron’s 400 house points, and Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchley’s effusive apologies, it was certainly a pyjama party like no other.

__3. The first-year Christmas feast__

It may not surprise you to know that all three of Harry’s best Hogwarts feast experiences happened in his first year. For a boy who had previously had precious little to celebrate, the warm, happy extravaganza of a Hogwarts feast was very welcome, and long overdue. 

That first Christmas feast was no exception. The food was, of course, amazing — fat roast turkeys, mountains of potatoes, tureens of vegetables and plump chipolatas — and then there were the wizard crackers, and the flaming Christmas puddings, and the steadily-more-merry teachers drinking wine. There was also his first Weasley jumper, a snowball fight, and the best Christmas present of all: his father’s Invisibility Cloak, gifted by a then-unknown benefactor, which allowed him to spend Christmas night in front of the Mirror of Erised gazing at his much-missed family members.

__2. The first-year start-of-term feast__

Harry’s very first Hogwarts feast was also an incredible experience, particularly as he’d never before been able to eat as much as he liked. With his plate piled high and a raft of new friends around him, this was Harry’s introduction to the occasionally raucous merriment of a Hogwarts feast, as well as iconic characters including Nearly Headless Nick, Neville Longbottom, Professor Snape, and Dumbledore himself. What a beginning.

__1. The first-year end-of-term feast__

The battle for the number-one spot on this feast of a list was a close-run thing, but here’s our winner. After a year of fabulous firsts, at this end-of-year feast Harry was definitely going out on a high — he and his new friends had saved the Philosopher’s Stone and, with the help of Neville Longbottom, won the House Cup. As he himself acknowledged:


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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

It was the best evening of Harry’s life, better than winning at Quidditch or Christmas or knocking out mountain trolls ... he would never, ever forget tonight.

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__Honourable Munch-ions__

Given the Hogwarts house-elves cooking prowess, there are a few extra helpings that haven’t made it onto this list. The Triwizard Tournament in particular created a lot more washing up – there was the Christmas lunch served earlier on the day of the Yule Ball, as well as the additional evening feast held for Hogwarts champions and their families ahead of the final task (honestly, how much treacle tart does a champion need? Maybe Fleur Delacour had a point.) 

We should also note that the Hallowe’en feast was not mentioned in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and that the Christmas dinners Harry attended weren’t technically Hogwarts feasts as most of the students weren’t there. We think you’ll agree, though, that they deserve a place upon this list for the wizard crackers alone. 

__What do you think? Do you agree with our number one?__

The importance of sweets and treats in the wizarding world

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Harry and Ron eat sweets in the Gryffindor common room, laughing.

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## For bonding

[The Hogwarts Express](https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/the-hogwarts-express) must have been the scene for many a burgeoning friendship, and we know of at least two sets of best friends who cemented their relationship with sugar. Obviously, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were one such pair. Ron’s corned beef sandwich was quickly forgotten after Harry nearly cleaned out the Trolley Witch’s supplies, and they were soon bonding over Chocolate Frogs, pumpkin pasties and Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans.

Maybe it was this famous example that Scorpius Malfoy’s mother, Astoria, had in mind years later, when she packed her son’s Hogwarts Express bag.


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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I’ve also got some Shock-o-Choc, Pepper Imps and some Jelly Slugs. Mum’s idea – she says (sings), ‘Sweets they always help you make friends’ (he realises that singing was a mistake). Stupid idea probably.

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It wasn’t a stupid idea, though. Harry’s first meeting with Scorpius’s father, Draco, was far from sweet, but when their sons met, things were quite different. Because Albus Potter stayed for Scorpius’s sweets, despite his cousin Rose’s best attempts. And that confectionary-filled moment kicked off another eventful relationship. 

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Scorpius Malfoy is sat on his bed in his pyjamas. He has his duvet wrapped round him and is pulling a funny face.

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## For resilience 

Just as many Muggles indulge in the odd sugary snack, lots of our favourite wizarding world characters also turned to confectionary and cakes for the occasional pick-me-up.

The most obvious example of this was the [use of chocolate to diminish the impact of a Dementor](https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/dementors-and-chocolate). Professor Lupin initially alerted us to this remedy, and even though we have never experienced an actual Dementor attack, we can still appreciate the feeling Harry got when he ate his slab of chocolate after such an intense experience:

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Harry took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.

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Chocolate wasn’t just a post-Dementor pick-me-up, either. Harry���s friends sent him cake to help him get through the long summer holidays he spent with the Dursleys, Ron and Hermione bought him heaps of Honeydukes sweets when he couldn’t visit Hogsmeade, and when he was attempting to re-grow the 33 bones [Professor Lockhart](https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/gilderoy-lockhart) had mistakenly removed from his arm, it was cakes, sweets and pumpkin juice Harry’s friends brought to distract him. Because in such painful situations, fruit won’t cut it.

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## For comfort 

Regrowing bones might be an extreme example, but many of us turn to our favourite foods when in need of comfort. And there’s something about wizarding world treats that seemed particularly comforting in their sweetness. 

Whether it was warming hot Butterbeer, [Florean Fortescue’s](https://www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/florean-fortescue) ice-cream sundaes or second helpings of treacle tart, the treats Harry enjoyed were in such contrast to the mealtimes he spent with the Dursleys that they became part of the whole rich wizarding world tapestry. OK, being a wizard might have cost Harry his family, but it was only in the wizarding world that he finally felt at home – and was there ever anything more comforting than a [Hogwarts feast?](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/hogwarts-feasts-crossword)

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Professor Slughorn with a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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and the Half-Blood Prince

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## For love

From Mrs Weasley’s celebratory dinners to Queenie Goldstein’s apple strudel, many witches and wizards used their talent for creating a sweet treat to show affection. Of course, not everyone had a talent for it – Hagrid’s rock cakes might have been a labour of love, but by all accounts they were pretty laborious to eat – but just as we Muggles show our appreciation by buying a box of chocolates, so too did many of our favourite Wizarding World characters. And sometimes, sweet wrappers were just as good. They were for Neville Longbottom, anyway:

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She did not seem to want to speak, or perhaps she was not able to, but she made timid motions towards Neville, holding something in her outstretched hand.

‘Again?’ said Mrs Longbottom, sounding slightly weary. ‘Very well, Alice dear, very well – Neville, take it, whatever it is.’

But Neville had already stretched out his hand, into which his mother dropped an empty Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum wrapper.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 

HP-B5

and the Order of the Phoenix 

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## For celebration

Sweet treats also had an important part to play in celebrating happier moments – [like when Fred and George organised an impromptu post-Quidditch feast in the Gryffindor Common Room](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/harry-potter-parties-we-all-wanted-to-go-to), and arrived armed with Butterbeer, pumpkin fizz and bags of Honeydukes sweets. Not to mention the many mouthwatering desserts that adorned the tables of actual Hogwarts feasts, or the delicious morsels Mrs Weasley had a knack for supplying seemingly at a moment’s notice. After all, nothing says ‘party’ like birthday cake.

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A close up image of Harry's pink birthday cake with green icing. 

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## For humour 

Sometimes, the magical elements of sweets could make us laugh. It was the Weasley twins’ Skiving Snackboxes that really put sugary treats on the wizarding world map (not the Marauder’s Map, to be clear, although we’re pretty sure the Marauders would have approved of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.) 

A particular humorous confectionary highlight has to be Dudley Dursley becoming an unwitting guinea pig for Ton-Tongue Toffee. After the whole Hagrid-pig’s tail thing you’d think he’d be a bit wary about picking up something that had dropped out of a wizard’s pocket. But then, like a lot of us, Dudley never could resist a sweet treat.

For beginners, for novices, for Harry Potter superfans going 20 years-strong, dig deep into the Wizarding World with our collection of features.

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Every time Hagrid made us feel better about things

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__When he told Harry not to worry ahead of his first term at Hogwarts__

If you think about it, Hagrid was the [perfect person to introduce Harry to the wizarding world](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/the-chapter-that-made-us-fall-in-love-with-hagrid). Fierce enough to frighten the Dursleys, but warm-hearted, instinctive, and able to explain things in a no-nonsense way. Literally, a gentle giant. He also understood that Harry’s time at Hogwarts wouldn’t be easy, because he knew what it was like to be an outsider. That’s why his words to Harry at the end of that birthday trip to Diagon Alley rang so true. They were genuine and kind. Just like Hagrid himself.


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Don’ you worry, Harry. You’ll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you’ll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it’s hard. Yeh’ve been singled out, an’ that’s always hard. But yeh’ll have a great time at Hogwarts – I did – still do, ’smatter of fact.

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__When he helped Ron and comforted Hermione after Malfoy’s insults__

By the time second year rolled around, Malfoy being rude wasn’t unusual – but he really upped the stakes when he called Hermione a Mudblood. But when Ron ended up eating slugs thanks to his backfiring wand, who was there to calm the waters again? Hagrid, of course. Not only did he validate Ron’s reaction and give him space to cough up slug after slug (‘better out than in,’ after all), he also identified that the best way to comfort Hermione was to show how proud of her he was.

HP2-Hagrid-on-Hermione-there-isnt-a-spell-she-cant-do

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

‘An’ they haven’t invented a spell our Hermione can’t do,’ said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione go a brilliant shade of magenta.

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In his usual unruffled style, Hagrid proved, if proof were needed, that name-calling says a lot more about the people who do it than the people they do it out. (Still: eat slugs, Malfoy.)

__The way he always stuck up for Harry__

Hagrid was unendingly loyal to his friends even if it meant getting into trouble himself, as Aragog might attest to. So when Harry was hauled off to Dumbledore’s office after finding Nearly Headless Nick and Justin Finch-Fletchley Petrified, it surprised nobody when Hagrid burst in to spring to his defence. Then, a couple of years later, Hagrid was one of the only people to unquestioningly accept Harry’s version of events after he’d been revealed as the fourth Triwizard Champion.


HP4-Hagrid-believes-Harry-didnt-put-name-in-triwizard-cup

‘You believe I didn’t do it, then?’ said Harry, concealing with difficulty the rush of gratitude he felt at Hagrid’s words.

’Course I do,’ Hagrid grunted. ‘Yeh say it wasn’ you, an’ I believe yeh – an’ Dumbledore believes yer, an’ all.’

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No matter the situation, Hagrid always knew the perfect way to show his support – whether by giving Harry a book of rare family photos, acknowledging his sadness after Cedric’s death, or just believing in him.

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__The way he responded to Rita Skeeter’s giant story__

Hagrid’s initial response might have been to go into hiding but when Dumbledore, Hermione, Harry and Ron showed him that his half-giant status meant nothing to those that mattered, he came out fighting.

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I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. “Never be ashamed,” my ol’ dad used ter say, “there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.”

HP-B4

and the Goblet of Fire

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It was completely understandable that Hagrid would want to run away after the initial revelations, but the way he ultimately honoured Dumbledore’s faith in him and came back with his head held high was admirable. And when Hermione later fell foul of Rita Skeeter’s poisonous words, Hagrid drew on his own experience to comfort her.

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‘Aaah, don’ worry,’ said Hagrid gently, looking down at her. ‘I got some o’ those letters an’ all, after Rita Skeeter wrote abou’ me mum… They’re jus’ nutters, Hermione. Don’ open ’em if yeh get any more. Chuck ’em straigh’ in the fire.’

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__The way he accepted Voldemort’s return__

Hagrid, as he told Harry, Ron and Hermione, always knew Voldemort would return. He didn’t hide from the fact, like Fudge, or run towards danger, like Sirius. He just accepted it, calmly, with faith that things would turn out OK – and a willingness to fight for that outcome. And still, even as he was reflecting on what was to come, he knew exactly what to say to make Harry feel better after Cedric’s death.

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‘No good sittin’ worryin’ abou’ it,’ he said. ‘What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does. Dumbledore told me wha’ you did, Harry.’

Hagrid’s chest swelled as he looked at Harry. ‘Yeh did as much as yer father would’ve done, an’ I can’ give yeh no higher praise than that.’

Harry smiled back at him. It was the first time he’d smiled in days.

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__When he tried to comfort Harry after Sirius’s death__

Hagrid had rather an eventful fifth year himself – what with his attempts to civilise Grawp, being ostracised by angry centaurs, sacked by Professor Umbridge and later attacked by her acolytes – but once again, his own problems didn’t stop him looking out for Harry. As Harry wondered aimlessly around Hogwarts in the days after Sirius’s death, Hagrid tried to offer some words of comfort and his sympathetic view of Sirius was perhaps a truth Harry needed to hear.

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‘Look …’ Hagrid leaned towards him across the table, ‘I knew Sirius longer ’n yeh did … he died in battle, an’ tha’s the way he’d’ve wanted ter go –’

‘He didn’t want to go at all!’ said Harry angrily.

Hagrid bowed his great shaggy head.

‘Nah, I don’ reckon he did,’ he said quietly. ‘But still, Harry … he was never one ter sit aroun’ at home an’ let other people do the fightin’. He couldn’ve lived with himself if he hadn’ gone ter help –’

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__When he refused to leave Hogwarts after Dumbledore’s death__

Hogwarts without Dumbledore might have been unfathomable, but [Hogwarts without Hagrid](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/how-to-live-like-rubeus-hagrid) was as equally hard to imagine – so when Hagrid announced that he’d be staying on, even in the depths of his grief, it was a huge comfort.

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‘Well, I’m stayin’,’ said Hagrid, fat tears still leaking out of the corners of his eyes and trickling down into his tangled beard. ‘It’s me home, it’s bin me home since I was thirteen. An’ if there’s kids who wan’ me ter teach ’em, I’ll do it…’

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__When he held a “Support Harry Potter” party (despite it being very unwise to do so)__

Laughs were thin on the ground during the Horcrux hunt, so it was a welcome surprise when Ron introduced Harry and Hermione to Potterwatch,which went on to reveal that Hagrid had narrowly escaped arrest for throwing a “Support Harry Potter” party. Not the best decision he’d ever made maybe, but hearing that Hagrid’s loyalty even in the face of danger remained as steadfast as ever was a real tonic during a very dark time.

The wizarding world drinks wordsearch

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Ron is sitting in the Great Hall in his Quidditch robes. He is holding a goblet about to take a drink. 

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Glug glug, good luck!

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For more crosswords and wordsearches, [visit our puzzles hub](https://www.wizardingworld.com/collections/potter-puzzles) or you can also enjoy Wizarding World challenges in our app.

The Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans wordsearch

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WB HP F3 Wizarding World sweets 

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We wish you well - and hope for a sweet result!

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For more crosswords and wordsearches, [visit our puzzles hub](https://www.wizardingworld.com/collections/potter-puzzles) or you can also enjoy Wizarding World challenges in our app.

The Hogwarts feasts crossword

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The best and worst food Harry had in the wizarding world

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Here’s our run-down of some of Harry’s memorable food moments…

__Worst: mealtimes at the Dursley’s__

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The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he’d never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick.

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Despite the fact that Harry was often forced to cook for the Dursley’s, at Privet Drive, his own plate was rarely full. Cold tinned soup served through a cat-flap, bread and cheese begrudgingly dished up in a kitchen flooded with the scent of roast pork, the smallest quarter of grapefruit: these were the kinds of meals Harry was fed by Aunt Petunia. And treats were obviously in very short supply – the cheap lemon ice lolly Harry received on Dudley’s birthday was vanishingly rare, as was the remains of Dudley’s unwanted knickerbocker glory. Melted ice cream and leftovers, that was the best Harry could ever hope for.

__Best: eating with the Weasley’s__

The food prepared in Molly Weasley’s kitchen was a very different matter. 

At the Weasley’s Harry could eat his fill, and he did: eight or nine sausages and three fried eggs for breakfast, fourth helpings of whatever he wanted, buttered toast and bacon sandwiches galore, summertime pies and salads, and even a specially-created beach-ball-sized giant Golden Snitch of a birthday cake. 

And what was even better about Mrs Weasley’s cooking was that it was made with genuine affection for Harry, and served on a table full of people who actually liked him. That’s truly delicious.

__Worst: the Deathday Party menu__

But even Mrs Weasley’s cooking couldn’t have saved Nearly Headless Nick’s [Deathday Party](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/halloween-party-tips-from-nearly-headless-nick) for its unlucky few living guests. 

When the rest of the invitees have been dead for years and are unable to taste anything but the most rotten and foul-smelling foodstuffs, even a giant birthday cake can’t sweeten the deal. Not that Nearly Headless Nick’s birthday cake wasn’t impressive in its own morbid way. Enormous, grey, and shaped like a tombstone: it’d certainly be a talking point, wouldn’t it? And we suppose it does sound slightly nicer than the rest of the spread – rotten fish, maggoty haggis, and mouldy cheese. 

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__Best: Hagrid’s birthday cake__

Mrs Weasley’s giant Snitch cake might have been the pinnacle in baked-goods affection, but it was not the first birthday cake Harry received. No, that honour – at least as far as Harry could remember – went to Hagrid. 

Large, sticky, chocolatey, and slightly squashed as it was, when Harry sat down to eat the cake Hagrid had (presumably) baked and brought to the Hut-on-the-Rock, it marked a sea-change in his life. It also came after years of terrible birthdays, and with all that being said we can’t think of a better way to celebrate turning 11 than sitting with Hagrid and learning about Hogwarts over a meal of burnt sausages and squashed cake.

__Worst: all Hagrid’s other cooking__

The birthday cake must have been a one-off though – or perhaps it was simply so rare for Harry to receive birthday cake that it tasted particularly incredible. Because generally speaking, Hagrid’s cooking left a lot to be desired. 

His rock cakes were hard enough to break teeth, and we never really fancied trying his stoat sandwiches, or the treacle fudge that was more like glue, or that beef casserole Hermione found a talon in, either. Yuk.

__Best: Honeydukes’ sweets__

The wizarding world’s greatest sweetshop, [Honeydukes](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/ranking-the-wizarding-world-sweets), packed so many treats onto its shelves that even describing them makes our mouths water. Pepper Imps that made people smoke at the ears or mouth. Chocoballs full of mousse and cream. Sugar quills, Toothflossing Stringmints, Jelly Slugs, levitating sherbet balls called Fizzing Whizzbees, Ice Mice, Chocolate Frogs, peppermint creams, exploding bonbons, and toffee, nougat and chocolate of every kind. No wonder Ron was desperate to get in there and Harry was so disappointed when he couldn’t: we’d pay good money to access those sweet shelves. Imagine the sugar rush.

__Worst: the hungry Horcrux hunt__

Of course, such treats were nowhere to be found during the long, hungry months of the Horcrux hunt. In fact, food of any sort was hard to find during those long, hungry months, although Hermione did her best – no thanks to Ron. We can’t blame him for missing Mrs Weasley’s home cooking, but Ron’s attitude during that time was terrible.

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‘Your mother can’t produce food out of thin air,’ said Hermione. ‘No one can. Food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfigur—’

‘Oh, speak English, can’t you?’ Ron said, prising a fishbone out from between his teeth.

‘It’s impossible to make good food out of nothing! You can Summon it if you know where it is, you can transform it, you can increase the quantity if you’ve already got some –’

‘– well, don’t bother increasing this, it’s disgusting,’ said Ron.

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The disgusting fish in question here was a pike caught by Harry and roasted by Hermione, with no input at all from Ron, so we can understand Hermione’s anger. 

And yet, the impact of serious hunger on a person’s wellbeing cannot be underestimated. For a boy used to three square meals and a bevy of home comforts, hunger clearly exacerbated Ron’s attitude which, when combined with the bleak reality of the Horcrux hunt, had awful consequences.

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__Best: any Hogwarts feast you can think of__

If the gnawing hunger of the Horcrux hunt was Harry’s worst food (or lack-of-food) moment, then picking a best moment is almost impossible. And that is because of the Hogwarts feasts. Those house-elves definitely knew how to prepare a meal.

Take every delicious morsel Mrs Weasley ever cooked, top with sweet treats to rival Honeydukes and serve on a table full of friends, and you have the recipe for a Hogwarts feast. Start-of-term, Hallowe’en, Christmas, that whole Yule Ball order-to-your-plate extravaganza, the end-of-term celebrations. The breakfasts, the sandwiches, the dinners and the puddings – Hogwarts just gave Harry so many delicious moments, it’s a job to narrow it down. But given the life he’d left behind in Privet Drive when he first stepped into the Great Hall, we’d have to say Harry’s first ever Hogwarts welcome feast was probably the best of the best.

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Harry’s mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.

An enchanting visit to Harry Potter: Magic at Play in Chicago

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Last weekend, we embarked upon a magical day out at the new experience, [Harry Potter: Magic at Play](https://harrypottermagicatplay.com/chicago/) – which is now open from this week in Chicago. 

Harry Potter: Magic at Play celebrates the iconic journey from Privet Drive to Hogwarts and its grounds in an all-new, active way  – complete with practicing your Quidditch skills, Forbidden Forest-exploring and feather-floating. Being a Hogwarts student? It’s not all about sitting at desks with a parchment and quill, you know. This experience invites you to roam around, so we strongly recommend some good sturdy shoes for this adventure. 

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A Hogwarts sign at Magic at Play in Chicago

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We start our journey in the same way Harry does – with a trip to Privet Drive. But the magic has already begun – with owls guarding the house and cascading Hogwarts letters all over the living room. The experience earns its “play” title immediately, as guests of all ages are invited to crawl through the space if they so choose, ducking into a climbing frame through the fireplace and make your way to slide down over Harry’s cupboard under the stairs.

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From there, it’s off to King’s Cross, through Platform nine and-three-quarters (make sure to get a photo opp with the trolley!), passing the Hogwarts Express, and then off to Hogwarts itself! Be sure to grab a pic of yourselves in the boats that take the first-years to Hogwarts, as it comes with some rather atmospheric lighting! 

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Once at Hogwarts, you’ll be ushered into the Great Hall (complete with enchanting flaming lanterns) to meet the Sorting Hat and discover more about your house. From there, you can immerse yourself in the school’s traditions, such as mixing potions in giant cauldrons, hanging out outside Hagrid’s Hut (watch out for the adorably larger-than-life pumpkin!) and enjoy some cheeky Cornish Pixies flying around, just as if we were in a Professor Lockhart lesson.

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There is also a huge maze erected within the experience, á la the Triwizard Tournament’s third task, for you to get lost in and discover surprises. 

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LEGO fans will be thrilled to see that there is even an opportunity to create your own LEGO-fied Hogwarts student, have them mirror your actions (and spells!), and then have them emailed back to you. Extremely cute. 
