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What re-reading Harry Potter as a parent revealed to me about love

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When my daughter was a baby, I spent a significant amount of time walking around a series of lakes near my home in a bid to get her to sleep. She was not a good napper, but there was a particular bumpy path that seemed to lull her to sleep much more effectively than all the musical toys and white noise. So that’s where we spent our daylight hours: her wrapped up against the winter cold, me with an overstuffed changing bag and a battered hardback copy of Harry Potter. 

You can anticipate some things about having children, but feeling forced to walk the same stretch of path 30-odd times a day was on a very long list of Things I Never Expected When I Was Expecting.

Such was my familiarity with that path I could generally time it so she’d fall asleep near a bench, and I’d get somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to read in peace. (It was rarely more than 45 minutes because, as Dr Google smugly informed me, newborn sleep cycles are inexplicably short – who knew?)

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Dumbledore and McGonagall leave baby Harry at Privet Drive 

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That’s still enough time to re-read an old favourite. Like many of us, I’ve often returned to Harry Potter at times of change – and as this was one of the biggest changes I'd ever experienced, off I went back to Hogwarts. In the first year of my daughter’s life I read the series from cover to cover again. Not just on park benches: having a baby also made me get a Kindle, so I could read during endless night feeds. 

The reason I went back to Harry Potter is obvious enough. There is something wonderfully comforting about picking up a book you know by heart, especially when you’re in the middle of a situation about which you know absolutely nothing,  full of fear that you might just explode with love and anxiety at any given moment.


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Hermione in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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Becoming a new mother feels like you’ve just crash-landed in the Hogwarts grounds having gone a few rounds with the Whomping Willow. Before you can get your breath back you’re rushed off to get sorted (off you go, you can find your own way). Once you’re in that room it won’t matter how far you pull the hat down over your head, you’ll still be able to feel everyone judging you for every decision you’re about to make. 

On top of that: you haven’t got the right robes, the books you managed to read might as well have been in Ancient Runes and if you were supposed to have a magic wand it’s been well and truly lost in transit. Oh, and you’re clutching a crying baby that is somehow relying on you to navigate this strange and wonderful new world. 

Well. That’s how it felt to me, anyway.


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So while I was adjusting, I sought refuge in a strange and wonderful world that did feel familiar. But something happened as I progressed from *Philosopher’s Stone* to *Deathly Hallows*. The books felt different. It wasn’t just the fact that Lily’s sacrifice was inevitable, that the casual killing of Cedric Diggory broke my heart into even smaller pieces, or the visceral response I experienced when Molly said, ‘NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!’ There were also smaller moments that spoke louder.

Such as in *Goblet of Fire*, after Cedric dies: Harry’s in Dumbledore’s office, waiting for him to finish explaining to Sirius. He’s exhausted, numb and, to all intents and purposes, alone – except for Fawkes, who flies across to sit on his lap.

> “‘’Lo, Fawkes,” said Harry quietly. He stroked the phoenix’s beautiful scarlet and gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. There was something comforting about his warm weight.”

For me, this particular paragraph echoes because it captures the unreal, muffled softness of the moments that follow life-changing events. The simple things that you focus on before you start to deal with how life is going to be now.

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The tragedy of Cedric’s death and the losses that come after show the truth of Dumbledore’s belief that grief is love. Of course you don’t have to be a parent to understand that. But I was noticing all sorts of nuances, wondering about things that happened off the page. What did Hermione say to her parents before she enchanted them to forget about her? How did Dumbledore’s mother cope? Was there ever any kind of friendship between Sirius and Regulus? 

Relationships, especially family relationships, are tricky. It’s not like becoming a parent made me suddenly aware of that, but on some level it showed me it’s OK to know absolutely nothing. With love, everyone is just winging it. Even the magical folk.

One day, when I was reading *Order of the Phoenix* on a bench, I looked up and caught someone looking at me with concern. I’d had a sleepless night and a confusing morning and I was properly sobbing. I thought about explaining – ‘…well yes, I am delirious with tiredness and up to my ears in newborn confusion, but also Sirius just died and I’m sorry if I’m hyperventilating but love just makes everything feel so precarious and how are we supposed to deal with this vulnerability?’ – but instead I just wiped my eyes, smiled reassuringly, and checked on the baby.

I mean, yes, love will make you vulnerable. Sometimes it is difficult. But it’s also literally magic, and we all know that.

The Harry Potter characters whose Hogwarts houses are up for debate

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In this article, we sort through (get it?) those times the Sorting Hat had some trouble making a decision, as well as focus in on those witches and wizards who didn't always feel that the Sorting Hat had placed them in the right house. And of course, there’re the characters we feel might have better belonged elsewhere... Perhaps when you’ve read this article you might agree with Dumbledore’s words: ‘I sometimes think we Sort too soon...’

__Beware! There are about as many spoilers for the Harry Potter books and *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* in this piece as there are gnomes in the Burrow garden...__



## "Hmm,’ said a small voice in his ear. ‘Difficult. Very difficult"

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McGonagall Homepage Carousel

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The famous Thinking Cap boasts ‘I’ll eat myself if you can find/ A smarter hat than me’ in its start of term song, and it would never publicly admit to having doubts about its sorting abilities. But sometimes, it takes a suspiciously long time to make a decision. 

Minerva McGonagall was one Hogwarts student that presented a dilemma for the Sorting Hat. She was a Hatstall – a student whose sorting takes longer than five minutes – and in her case it was the choice between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw that took the time. Given how quickly she answered the Ravenclaw door-knocker’s riddle, we can see that she would have done well in that wise house. On balance though, we think the Sorting Hat went the right way with Minerva McGonagall: duelling with Snape, sticking up to Umbridge and defending Dumbledore – she’s got a lion heart of pure red and gold. 

The line between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw seems to be a bit of a head-scratcher for the Sorting Hat. The same houses were in contention for Hermione Granger, who revealed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that the Sorting Hat ‘seriously considered’ putting her in Ravenclaw. It’s not the biggest surprise if we’re honest – top of her year and arguably one of the brightest witches of her age, we didn’t need the lost Diadem to work out that she would have flourished in Ravenclaw. We’ll never know whether Hermione steered the Sorting Hat away from Ravenclaw or whether she was always heading (get it?) towards Gryffindor, but we’re glad it decided on red and gold in the end – it wouldn’t have been quite the same without our favourite trio plotting in the scarlet common room.

Maybe the Sorting Hat was trying to change Peter Pettigrew’s fate by placing him in Gryffindor rather than Slytherin? Of all the Hogwarts houses, Slytherin boasts the largest number of Death Eaters, after all. A Hatstall like Minerva McGonagall, the Sorting Hat clearly found sorting Wormtail difficult. But we can’t help but feel that this time the Sorting Hat went the wrong way. It seems more cunning than courageous to fake your own death and spend twelve years hiding as a rat. Perhaps the Sorting Hat would argue that fear can overcome anyone, sometimes even a Gryffindor, and that was what had led Peter Pettigrew down the slippery slope and into Lord Voldemort’s service. But we’re not so sure… 


## "There’s no need to tell me I’m not brave enough to be in Gryffindor"



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Neville is suspended by the ears by two Cornish pixies, during Defence Against the Dark Arts

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The Sorting Hat never admits that its final decision is wrong, but it does umm and ahhh in students’ ears while it deliberates. And the longer the student is left sitting on the stool, the more likely they are to doubt the Sorting Hat’s eventual decision. In Harry Potter’s case, the Sorting Hat’s indecision stayed with him for years afterwards, despite it respecting his desperate plea of ‘Not Slytherin, not Slytherin’. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, it took Harry pulling the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat, to allay his concerns that he should have been a Slytherin. 

Although the Sorting Hat respected Harry’s choice, it wasn’t so kind to Neville Longbottom; it was determined to place him in Gryffindor, despite him asking for Hufflepuff. Throughout his first year Neville was plagued with doubts, at one point choking out: ‘There’s no need to tell me I’m not brave enough to be in Gryffindor’. We hope that when Dumbledore explained that ‘there are all kinds of courage’ Neville felt more at home. And if he didn’t, we reckon killing a giant snake with Gryffindor’s sword probably did the trick. 

Albus Severus Potter was a different case entirely. Before he even arrived at Hogwarts he was terrified that he would be Sorted into Slytherin. And then, his worst fear came true. The whispers filled the Great Hall just like they had when his father arrived all those years before. This time though, it was with shock rather than excitement – shock that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley’s son had been Sorted into Slytherin rather than Gryffindor. Side-note: never let it be said that the Sorting Hat bows to peer pressure or celebrity. We might have expected Albus to struggle with the Sorting Hat’s decision, and he did at first. But it soon turned out that Slytherin was exactly where he was supposed to be.


## "And you all know the score:/I sort you into houses/ Because that is what I’m for"





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A head shot of Snape looking sideways from the Deathly Hallows Part 2 

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True. It’s the Sorting Hat’s job to sort, but it’s our job to mull over its decisions. And we too have some doubts. 

Let’s start with Gilderoy Lockhart. Apparently little Lockhart had above-average intelligence when he arrived at Hogwarts and as we know he turned out to have a real talent for Memory Charms. But surely a true Ravenclaw wouldn’t have needed to modify the memories of more knowledgeable and daring witches and wizards? And they certainly would have been able to sort out a few pesky Cornish Pixies? Then there’s his ambition for fame, which was evident even at school, where he once created ‘an illuminated projection of his own face which he would send skywards in imitation of the Dark Mark’. We’re sure that made him lots of friends...

With all of this taken into account, we’d dare to say that Lockhart showed far more cunning and ambition than he ever did wit and wisdom. Perhaps Lockhart wouldn’t have felt the need to prove himself so much if he’d ended up in a house better known for these traits, like Slytherin.

We need to talk about Severus Snape. Surely not? We hear you cry. Yes – Snape was Head of Slytherin. Yes – Snape had a burning ambition to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Yes – he was king of all things cunning in his role as double agent to both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord. But are these what made up the very core of Severus Snape? Without Lily Evans entering his life we might have said yes. Snape’s love for Lily gave him a defining characteristic of another Hogwarts house: Loyalty. This was his essential driving force, it even infiltrated his magic and showed up in his Patronus. His love for Lily, and his loyalty to her above ambition, above self-preservation, was – as Dumbledore puts it – the best of Snape. Would Hufflepuff have been a better fit?

Don’t misunderstand us, Luna Lovegood is an excellent Ravenclaw. She shared a lot of Luna-style wisdom with Harry during her time at Hogwarts, in particular reminding him that the ones who leave us are never truly lost behind the Veil, as well as demonstrating a gift for logical thinking. We’re not sure we could come up with an answer as to whether the Phoenix or the flame came first under such immense pressure. And it must have taken some seriously impressive magic to make her Gryffindor lion hat roar so realistically. But Luna’s loyalty and kindness – key Hufflepuff traits – really did know no bounds. Luna insisted on coming to the Ministry to help her fellow DA members – it was her idea to ride the Thestrals. And Luna was one of only two members of the DA who were loyal enough to answer the call of the charmed Galleons the night Malfoy let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.


Where all these doubts take us, we suppose, is to somewhere more certain: we, like the characters in the wizarding world, are all made up of a mixture of cunning, curiosity, courage, kindness and a whole lot more. Perhaps the Sorting Hat shows witches and wizards the traits most dominant in them already, or perhaps the Hat Sorts to encourage traits that thus far have lain dormant? We can never really know, but as Dumbledore sagely said: ‘It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’


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Dumbledore sitting in a chair from the Half Blood Prince 

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Have you tried our official Sorting Ceremony to discover where you truly belong? It’s available on our new Wizarding World app. 
Don’t worry if you were previously sorted into a Hogwarts house, you have the choice to keep it if you’re unhappy with the Sorting Hat’s choice, just like Harry.



Comparing Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald's paths 

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Voldemort holding his wand in the Ministry of Magic from the Order of the Phoneix 

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## Followers over friends

When teaching Harry about Horcruxes in *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Dumbledore shared memories he had collected about the childhood of Lord Voldemort – or Tom Riddle, as he was then known. During Riddle’s Hogwarts days, Dumbledore observed: 

> ‘As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends; I call them that, for want of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle undoubtedly felt no affection for any of them.’ 
> Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

These early followers – for Riddle was their leader, even if he pretended to be their friend – were ‘forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts.’ From then on, the people who surrounded Lord Voldemort were referred to as his followers, his Death Eaters, but very rarely was the word ‘friend’ used by either Voldemort or others. And the same can be said of Gellert Grindelwald. As the entire city of Paris was covered in his dark banners, Tina warned, ‘it’s Grindelwald. He’s calling his followers.’ 

Followers not friends. 

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Voldemort casts a spell in front of his Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor in a film still from The Deathly Hallows Part 1 

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## The making of impassioned speeches

On stage at the underground amphitheatre in *Crimes of Grindelwald*, Grindelwald spoke, and people listened. Grindelwald addressed those listening as ‘my brothers, my sisters, my friends’. But we know many of those in the crowd were not ¬– and would never be – his friends; Tina was there, as were Newt and Leta. What he was doing was making a speech, trying to persuade, trying to anger, trying to gain followers. And most of all trying to justify his actions. 

Interestingly, Lord Voldemort also made epic, justificatory and impassioned speeches. He made a speech to the Death Eaters that gathered in the graveyard at Little Hangleton the night he returned to his body:

> ‘But I want there to be no mistake in anybody’s mind. Harry Potter escaped me by a lucky chance. And I am now going to prove my power by killing him, here and now, in front of you all, when there is no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother to die for him.’
> Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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And he couldn’t help but make a speech to Harry at their very last encounter, even as they circled each other to fight the duel that would end it all. 

> ‘Is it love again? […] Dumbledore’s favourite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the Tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter – and nobody seems to love you enough to run forwards this time, and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?’ 
> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Both Voldemort and Grindelwald knew the power of words; their ability to scare and to encourage, as well as their power to spread disharmony and fear. Both men also appeared to like the sound of their own voices – their speeches were long, rhetorical and often focussed on themselves, bringing others into their own mythologies rather than recognising other people’s stories. 

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A green beam comes from Voldemort's wand after he casts a killing curse.

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## Spontaneous acts of violence

As well as the power of words, both knew the power of violence – particularly spontaneous acts of violence – as a means of spreading fear and asserting their dominance. 

‘Kill the spare’ Voldemort casually said as he ordered the murder of Cedric Diggory. This coming moments before he used the Cruciatus curse on Avery ¬– one of his own Death Eaters – as Avery begged for his master’s forgiveness. 

Grindelwald committed these violent acts too, despite claiming otherwise in his speech in the underground amphitheatre: ‘Go forth from this place and spread the word: It is not we who are violent.’ 

Grindelwald hid out in Parisian homes and his every move was tinged with the green light of the Killing Curse. While he waited on a street, his followers killed those inside to allow his entry. He didn’t cast the curse himself but we assume it was on his orders, and he tapped his cane carelessly on the pavement whilst he waited.

Inside, a baby was left alive only to face the green light of Carrow’s Killing Curse a few moments later, again on Grindelwald’s nod. The baby’s crime? Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Years later, Lord Voldemort murdered Frank Bryce at the beginning of *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* for eavesdropping. 

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## Obsession

Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort both had obsessions, and they are oddly aligned.  Voldemort was obsessed with Harry Potter – the Boy Who Lived – to the extent that he did not allow his Death Eaters to come to his aid in the graveyard at Little Hangleton, though he had been reborn for mere minutes. As the cores of Voldemort’s and Harry’s wands connected, Voldemort shrieked: ‘Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!’ In *Goblet of Fire*, Wormtail suggested using another wizard’s blood for Voldemort’s rebirth because it would be easier, but his master replied: ‘I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other.’ 

Gellert Grindelwald was similarly focussed on another: Credence Barebone. In contrast to Voldemort’s obsession with killing Harry, though, Grindelwald wanted Credence on his side. Though we still don’t know the full depths and reasons for this obsession, Grindelwald gave us clues along the way.

>  ‘So . . . Credence Barebone. Nearly destroyed by the woman who raised him. Yet now he seeks the mother who bore him. He’s desperate for family. He’s desperate for love. He’s the key to our victory.’<br>
> Fantastic Beasts: The Crime of Grindelwald 

Interestingly, at one time or another Grindelwald and Voldemort waited for Credence and Harry respectively to approach them of their own accord. In the Forbidden Forest during the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort said of Snape and Lucius: ‘Neither of you understands Potter as I do. He does not need finding. Potter will come to me.’ And when Grindelwald’s followers asked him why they couldn’t just grab Credence and leave, his answer was very similar, though for different ends: ‘He must come to me freely — and he will.’ 

Both also shared an obsession with the Deathly Hallows, though Lord Voldemort is only interested in the Elder Wand rather than all three, like Grindelwald. 

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Of his and Grindelwald’s friendship, Dumbledore said:

>  ‘And at the heart of our schemes, the Deathly Hallows! How they fascinated him, how they fascinated both of us!’ <br>
> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Lord Voldemort sought one of the Hallows by travelling across the wizarding world. And when he thought he had finally truly possessed it, he was jubilant. He thought himself unbeatable:

> ’[…] and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore’s last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!’<br>
> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It is perhaps unsurprising that both these Dark wizards, who sought power at any cost, were stirred by the idea of the Deathly Hallows. Their shared obsession with the Elder Wand was an insight into what lay behind their respective rises to power, and later, their downfalls. 

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Stray thoughts: What if Snape was never sorted into Slytherin? 

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*Check out our previous piece in our '[Stray thoughts...](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/stray-thoughts-when-characters-see-thestrals)' series, thinking about characters being able to see Thestrals.*

Albus Dumbledore once said that 'the consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed', and he was right. The fickle nature of fate and prophecies comes up time and time again throughout the Harry Potter series. While Harry Potter became the Chosen One, there were so many different roads that the story could have taken; if Voldemort had gone after Neville instead of Harry, for instance, or if Albus hadn't invited Tom Riddle to Hogwarts.

With all of this in mind, I still reckon that the wizarding world's fate was sealed the moment the Sorting Hat yelled 'Slytherin!' after being placed on an 11-year-old Severus' head. Here's how things might have been different if Snape was never sorted into Slytherin. 

Firstly, a quick disclaimer for the proud snakes out there. We know that Slytherin is a great house. It is for the smart, the ambitious and the quick-thinking, and it deserves to be respected. However, back in the day when Voldemort was growing in power and gaining followers, Slytherin's reputation became murky. Salazar Slytherin's influence on the house also encouraged certain students to carry the thoughts that 'pure bloods' were somehow better than others, from Tom Riddle - all the way up to Malfoy 50 years later.

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When Snape first met Lily, the pair instantly hit it off and became very close, with Severus sharing everything with her: from what she needed to know about magic, to his own unhappy home life. But when they went to Hogwarts, everything changed. The pair were parted when the Sorting Hat placed Severus in Slytherin and Lily in Gryffindor, and while Lily thrived in her new, magical life, Snape was essentially placed in close quarters with the likes of Lucius Malfoy, Avery and Mulciber. Mulciber! 

If he had been sorted into Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, perhaps Snape stood a chance at making a much safer choice of pals. And it has to be said, he was relentlessly bullied by James and Sirius, since the pair had an innate dislike of Slytherin before they even got to know Snape at all, causing him to be angry, bitter, and make up spells like 'Sectumsempra' in his spare time...  

While Lily thrived at Potions and bickered with James, Severus was getting into some seriously heavy stuff. Surrounded by friends fascinated by the Dark Arts, he became more and more involved in the wrong side of magic and fascinated by Voldemort's teachings, so much so that he called the one good influence in his life a 'Mudblood'.

Yes, he had been humiliated by James Potter and wasn't thinking, and yes he was suspicious that Lily liked James, but this unforgivable slur forced Lily to end their friendship once and for all. And thus, Lily and James started going out, and the rest is history.

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Should Snape have never been sorted into Slytherin, he wouldn't have spent nearly as much time with the wrong sort of people, he wouldn't have received James and Sirius' disdain, and his friendship with Lily wouldn't have abruptly ended. Lily's good influence on Snape was now lost. Maybe Lily and James wouldn't have got together. Think, if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin, he most likely wouldn't have been friends with Ron and Hermione. What then? Well, [we pondered that scenario here, actually.](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/what-if-harry-ron-and-hermione-had-never-made-friends-in-philosophers-stone)

But the domino effect of Snape's placement doesn't change everything. If Snape hadn't been in Slytherin, Voldemort would have still risen to power, yes. But Snape might well have been on the good side from the start, and wouldn't have betrayed Trelawney's prediction to Lord Voldemort. Maybe the first wizarding war would have ended differently.

But for Severus, it was just the beginning of his heartbreaking story arc which saw him badly bullied, make a decision which caused him to lose his one true love, then die while redeeming himself and bringing Voldemort down once and for all.

Who knows what could have been, had the Sorting Hat chosen a different road - or if Snape would have still made too many wrong decisions.

What I learnt from Draco Malfoy... by playing Draco Malfoy

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“...It is exceptionally lonely, being Draco Malfoy...”

So comes a heartfelt and powerfully honest admission from someone who has never openly revealed any weakness, especially not to his greatest rival - Harry Potter.
 
Playing Draco Malfoy on stage is not just a hugely exciting challenge. It comes with a backstory so rich that it is impossible not to feel the weight of family history bearing down on him. As he also admits: ‘I will always be suspected. There is no escaping the past.'
 
What makes these lines so powerful to play is that after all the illusions and epic events of *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child*, this scene between the two arch rivals is just that - two men standing on stage together opening up about their pasts, their mistakes and their fears for their children. It’s my favourite scene to play. 
 
When we first meet the adult Draco in our story, he is already showing the burdens of his past. Although happily married to Astoria and with a son and heir - something his father would be relieved about - the Malfoys are still trapped by their past connections with Voldemort. So much so that Scorpius is rumoured to not even be a Malfoy, but the son of the Dark Lord.
 
His first interaction with Harry is to ask him a favour to help discredit the rumours, but his pleas are ignored - and so revives the rivalry and mistrust between the two men. For most of the first part of *Cursed Child* we see many of the old traits of Draco - his sneering view towards Muggles and Mudbloods, especially towards Hermione Granger as the Minister for Magic; and his sense of superiority over his old school acquaintances, including Potter and Ron Weasley.
 
The fun challenge in playing Draco is not to shy away from these darker parts of his character. His childhood was a deeply traumatic experience and the influence of his father has shaped a lot of his personality, no matter how hard Astoria has tried to help him change. I truly don’t believe that Draco was ever really a bad person. He was just an insecure boy with parents who encouraged him to behave as a superior wizard.
 
As he says to Harry and Ginny in *Cursed Child*, 'I think you have to make a choice - at a certain point - of the man you want to be. And I tell you that at that time you need a parent or a friend. And if you’ve learnt to hate your parents by then and you have no friends... then you’re all alone. And being alone - that’s so hard.' The thing that terrifies Draco so much is that the horrors of his childhood are being revisited on his son, and his love and protection of Scorpius becomes the single most important thing in his life. 
 
He also admits to being envious of Harry’s friendships with Ron and Hermione, and only after this admission does he begin to move closer to a potential future truce between them all. If adult Draco shows us anything, it is that we can all turn over a new leaf, and become less isolated by showing that we are all capable of change.
 



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

Features - Wizarding World

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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The Divination Quiz

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The Ultimate Defence Against the Dark Arts Quiz

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Dark Mark

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‘The Dark Arts,’ to quote Severus Snape, ‘are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before.' Which means, in order to do well, you're going to have to have had paid attention to Harry's time in Defence Against the Dark Arts. 

Do you have what it takes to become an Auror or are you more of a Gilderoy Lockhart type? Take our Defence Against the Dark Arts quiz to find out... 

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Discover the films

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to Fantastic Beasts

The Boy Who Lived Quiz

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The Boy Who lived quiz homepage carousel 

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Harry Potter by Jim Kay

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We all have a favourite wizarding world character, but how about the star of the show? How much do you truly know about Harry Potter? Fancy a quiz to test your skills?

Warning: we’ll be going more in-depth than what the shape of his scar is. 

Good luck…

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The Malfoy Family Quiz

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The Malfoy family are one of the oldest wizarding families, known for their pure-blood allegiances, their interests in Dark magic, and a rich history filled with deviant ancestors. 

So, it’s time to see if your Malfoy knowledge is as slick as Draco’s hair. If you do badly at this quiz, Malfoy’s father will hear about this. 

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The Albus Dumbledore Quiz

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Dumbledore uses the Deluminator outside the Dursley's house.

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Fascinating things, quizzes. So how well do you really know your Albus Dumble-lore?

Do you know your sherbet lemons from your Acid Pops? How about all of Dumbledore’s myriad middle names? What does ‘Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak’ actually mean? (Just kidding, nobody knows that.) 

Let’s see how much you know about one of the greatest wizards there ever was.  

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Take these quizzes and discover how much you really know about the Wizarding World. From spells to ghosts, potions to professors, wands to witches and more.

Quizzes - Wizarding World

Put your wizarding knowledge to the test with curious quizzes for all levels

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Get early access & benefits for Fantastic Beasts exhibition with Wizarding World Gold

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[Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature](https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/fantastic-beasts-magical-creatures-wonder-of-nature), is coming soon to the Natural History Museum in London. It explores how the real and wizarding world intertwine: how the wonders of the natural world have inspired myths, legends and magical creatures for generations. Visitors will see creatures, specimens and historic objects from the museum’s world-famous scientific collection, alongside some of our favourite fantastic beasts. Yes, this could indeed include a Niffler.

All manner of wonderful real-world creatures will be featured, from tigers to marine iguanas, and very special exhibits – including the giant oarfish, the world’s longest bony fish. Visitors can channel their inner-Magizoologists on their visit, as they learn the tools and techniques used by Newt as well as real-world scientists and explorers.

Digital installations and props from the films will bring the magic to life. You’ll be able to compare the camouflage tactics of an octopus with the Demiguise, examine the appearance of prehistoric reptiles alongside dragons from the wizarding world, and learn of the mating rituals of the peacock spider, contrasted with the habits of the great Erumpent.

Even better, if you are a member of Wizarding World Gold, you can get 2-day early access to buy tickets for the exhibition, with early access tickets available from 14 January - today!

In addition, Gold subscribers will receive a special 10% discount on tickets purchased on 14 January.*

[Find out more about Gold here.](https://www.wizardingworld.com/about-gold)

And then there's the accompanying BBC One documentary special which is in the works, too, with the working title, Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History. This collaboration between Warner Bros. and the BBC’s Natural History Unit will be presented by none other than Stephen Fry, whose narration of the Harry Potter stories for the UK audiobooks is widely loved by fans old and new.

In a time when looking after our planet and protecting its biodiversity is more important than ever, Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature will inspire Wizarding World fans and nature-lovers alike to learn more about our environment, with the help of some fantastic beasts, be them real or imagined. 

[ *Terms and conditions apply.](https://www.wizardingworld.com/terms/natural-history-gold-terms-conditions)

*Gold subscribers, go to the Wizarding World App to access your tickets today!*

First official Harry Potter flagship store to open in New York later this summer

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This first-of-its-kind Wizarding World experiential store will serve as a next-door neighbour to one of New York’s most iconic landmarks, the Flatiron Building, at 935 Broadway. So, unlike Diagon Alley, Muggles certainly won’t miss this. 

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The Harry Potter New York store will house the largest collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts products in the world under one roof.

Wizarding World fans will be able to peruse everything, from Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans to personalised robes, along with rare collectible items, hand-signed artwork, and exclusive ranges. The building is designed to be fully accessible for wheelchair users. 

Sarah Roots, Senior Vice President for Worldwide Tours and Retail at Warner Bros., said:

‘This will be the largest dedicated Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts store in the world and will become a must-visit fan destination where Wizarding World enthusiasts can engage with interactive experiences and numerous photo opportunities as they step into the magic.’

So, for now, enjoy some of the concept designs and look out for more details coming later this year.

Fantastic Beasts, Magical Creatures and the Wonder of Nature

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Mythical beasts have fascinated authors and artists throughout time, and these creatures are often inspired by the real-life wonders of nature. Thanks to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories and the Fantastic Beasts films, we have followed Harry and Newt as they introduced us to all manner of magical creatures and fantastic beasts. With a wealth of legend and mystery behind them, and their links with remarkable animals of the natural world, the Wizarding World has joined up with some very special partners to deliver a new stand-out project.

In the UK in 2020, Warner Bros., the Natural History Museum, BBC, Bloomsbury Publishing and Pottermore Publishing will all be exploring the parallels between these magical creatures and how nature inspired the creative teams that brought them to life onscreen and on the illustrated page.  

Here’s a taster of what’s in store...

BBC One is creating a new documentary, to be presented by Stephen Fry, which will dive into the fascinating history of some of the world’s most awe-inspiring beasts (we’ll have more news on when that will air soon, so watch this space).

In spring, the exhibition *Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature* will open at London’s Natural History Museum. An international tour will soon follow.

Both the documentary and exhibition will look at remarkable animal behaviours and abilities in the natural world, and explore the history as well as connections that inspired and helped bring to life the magical creatures of the Wizarding World. Beasts, both magical and Muggle, will have their stories told, from 11,000-year-old woolly rhinos to Erumpents and Zouwus. Through innovative storytelling, both teams hope to inspire visitors and viewers to help care for and protect the planet today, and in the future.  

Bloomsbury, the original publisher of the Harry Potter books, will be working closely with the experts at the Natural History Museum to bring this exhibition to life on the page, as well as the Pottermore Publishing team, who will bring their digital and audiobook expertise to the project.

*That’s all for now, more details will follow over the coming months.*

Valentine’s Dinner in the Great Hall returns to the Studio Tour in 2020

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Ah, Valentine’s Day. We can’t say Harry Potter always had the greatest time on Valentine’s Day (just ask Cho Chang about their only date), but nonetheless it is a cause for some much-needed romance in the wizarding world. Who can forget the ‘dozen surly-looking dwarfs’ that Lockhart dressed with golden wings and armed with harps to deliver Valentines messages?!

In the absence of these messengers, we’re pleased to report that  Valentine’s Dinner in the Great Hall will return to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter on Friday 14th, Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th February 2020. 

And we're pleased to say that Wizarding World Gold members will get 48 hours early access to book one of 33 pairs of tickets, 11 pairs per night,  that have been exclusively allocated to Gold subscribers. [Learn more about Gold here.](https://www.wizardingworld.com/about-gold)

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Couples are invited to spend Valentine's Day in a truly magical location this February as Warner Bros. Studio Tour London hosts a romantic dinner in the iconic Great Hall. Each night from Friday 14th February through to Sunday 16th February, guests attending the evening event will be greeted on arrival with welcome drinks and canapés, including a special 'Love Potion' cocktail (no, Snape was not coerced into making this one!), before sitting down to dine on the authentic Great Hall set.

You’ll have your own special romantic space with tables for two and a three-course dinner. Complimentary photos will be taken at the tables.

After dinner, access to the Studio Tour is all yours! Stop for a drink at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters to admire the costumes of film couples Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione from the series’ concluding scene set 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. After exploring Gringotts Wizarding Bank and having a wander up Diagon Alley, after-dinner tea, coffee and petits fours will be served overlooking the majestic model of Hogwarts castle at the tour’s conclusion.

Wizarding World Gold members will have early access to purchase tickets from Sunday 8 December 2019 at 10:00AM GMT until Tuesday 10 December 2019 at 10:00AM GMT, when tickets go on general sale.

*T&Cs: Event is 18+ only. Tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability. Maximum 1 pair of tickets per Gold subscriber. Other limitations and [terms and conditions apply](https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/terms-and-conditions).

Introducing new puzzles to the Wizarding World app 

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Merry Christmas!

Seeing as it’s the festive time of year, ‘tis the season for curling up on a squishy chair with a good puzzle. If you’re subscribed to Wizarding World Gold (you can [learn more about Gold here](https://www.wizardingworld.com/about-gold)) get ready for regular challenges, starting with some wordsearches, which will come with their own magical twists. 

If you’re a Fan Club member, you can have a go at our first puzzle today. Check your app now to try it out.

For Gold members, you’ll begin to see wordsearches popping up in your feed, but keep checking in, for more puzzle-types are on the way, ranging from easy, medium and hard. And be warned, the hard puzzles really will be a challenge...

And, seeing as this is the Wizarding World, expect your puzzles to be peppered with a little sorcery, which shall become apparent once you start playing. Some puzzles will also come with secret codes, which you can unlock with the Wizarding World app for an extra treat.

*Play our first puzzle in the Wizarding World app from today - with more to come!*

Get the latest Wizarding World news here. Faster than an owl and more accurate than the Daily Prophet

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J.K. Rowling Originals

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The Sorting Hat

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The famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat gives an account of its own genesis in a series of songs sung at the beginning of each school year. Legend has it that the hat once belonged to one of the four founders, Godric Gryffindor, and that it was jointly enchanted by all four founders to ensure that students would be sorted into their eponymous houses, which would be selected according to each founder’s particular preferences in students.

The Sorting Hat is one of the cleverest enchanted objects most witches and wizards will ever meet. It literally contains the intelligence of the four founders, can speak (through a rip near its brim) and is skilled at Legilimency, which enables it to look into the wearer’s head and divine his or her capabilities or mood. It can even respond to the thoughts of the wearer.

The Sorting Hat is notorious for refusing to admit it has made a mistake in its sorting of a student. On those occasions when Slytherins behave altruistically or selflessly, when Ravenclaws flunk all their exams, when Hufflepuffs prove lazy yet academically gifted and when Gryffindors exhibit cowardice, the Hat steadfastly backs its original decision. On balance, however, the Hat has made remarkably few errors of judgement over the many centuries it has been at work.

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## J.K. Rowling’s thoughts

The Sorting Hat does not appear in my earliest plans for Hogwarts. I debated several different methods for sorting students (because I knew from early on that there would be four houses, all with very different qualities). The first was an elaborate, Heath Robinson-ish machine that did all kinds of magical things before reaching a decision, but I did not like it: it felt at once too complicated, and too easy. Next I placed four statues of the four founders in the Entrance Hall, which came alive and selected students from the throng in front of them while the school watched. This was better, but still not quite right. Finally, I wrote a list of the ways in which people can be chosen: eeny meeny miny mo, short straws, chosen by team captains, names out of a hat – names out of a talking hat – putting on a hat – the Sorting Hat.

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The Potter Family

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The Potter family is a very old one, but it was never (until the birth of Harry James Potter) at the very forefront of wizarding history, contenting itself with a solid and comfortable existence in the backwaters.  

Potter is a not uncommon Muggle surname, and the family did not make the so-called ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’ for this reason; the anonymous compiler of that supposedly definitive list of pure-bloods suspected that they had sprung from what he considered to be tainted blood. The wizarding Potter family had illustrious beginnings, however, some of which was hinted at in *Deathly Hallows*. 

In the Muggle world ‘Potter’ is an occupational surname, meaning a man who creates pottery. The wizarding family of Potters descends from the twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, ‘the Potterer’, became corrupted in time to ‘Potter’. Linfred was a vague and absent-minded fellow whose Muggle neighbours often called upon his medicinal services. None of them realised that Linfred’s wonderful cures for pox and ague were magical; they all thought him a harmless and lovable old chap, pottering about in his garden with all his funny plants. His reputation as a well-meaning eccentric served Linfred well, for behind closed doors he was able to continue the series of experiments that laid the foundation of the Potter family’s fortune.  Historians credit Linfred as the originator of a number of remedies that evolved into potions still used to this day, including Skele-gro and Pepperup Potion. His sales of such cures to fellow witches and wizards enabled him to leave a significant pile of gold to each of his seven children upon his death. 

Linfred’s eldest son, Hardwin, married a beautiful young witch by the name of Iolanthe Peverell, who came from the village of Godric’s Hollow. She was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. In the absence of male heirs, she, the eldest of her generation, had inherited her grandfather’s invisibility cloak. It was, Iolanthe explained to Hardwin, a tradition in her family that the possession of this cloak remained a secret, and her new husband respected her wishes. From this time on, the cloak was handed down to the eldest in each new generation. 

The Potters continued to marry their neighbours, occasionally Muggles, and to live in the West of England, for several generations, each one adding to the family coffers by their hard work and, it must be said, by the quiet brand of ingenuity that had characterised their forebear, Linfred.  

Occasionally, a Potter made it all the way to London, and a member of the family has twice sat on the Wizengamot: Ralston Potter, who was a member from 1612-1652, and who was a great supporter of the Statute of Secrecy (as opposed to declaring war on the Muggles, as more militant members wished to do) and Henry Potter (Harry to his intimates), who was a direct descendant of Hardwin and Iolanthe, and served on the Wizengamot from 1913-1921. Henry caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War. His outspokenness on the behalf of the Muggle community was also a strong contributing factor in the family’s exclusion from the ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’.  

Henry’s son was called Fleamont Potter. Fleamont was so called because it was the dying wish of Henry’s mother that he perpetuate her maiden name, which would otherwise die out. He bore the burden remarkably well; indeed, he always attributed his dexterity at duelling to the number of times he had to fight people at Hogwarts after they had made fun of his name. It was Fleamont who took the family gold and quadrupled it, by creating magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion ( *‘two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet’* ).  He sold the company at a vast profit when he retired, but no amount of riches could compensate him or his wife Euphemia for their childlessness. They had quite given up hope of a son or daughter when, to their shock and surprise, Euphemia found that she was pregnant and their beloved boy, James, was born. 

Fleamont and Euphemia lived long enough to see James marry a Muggle-born girl called Lily Evans, but not to meet their grandson, Harry. Dragon pox carried them off within days of each other, due to their advanced age, and James Potter then inherited Ignotus Peverell’s Invisibility Cloak.

From the Sorting Hat to wand woods, the Marauder’s Map and more. Discover the writing and content released by J.K. Rowling on Pottermore.com now available on Wizarding World.

J.K. Rowling Archive - Wizarding world

Explore the inner workings of the wizarding world with a collection of writing from J.K. Rowling