20 Fun Trivia About Magic, Wizards, And Harry Potter

You don't have to break the magician's code to learn these facts

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• April 30, 2022

There is no doubt that Harry Potter is a part of a generation's childhood. There was nothing like reading about Hogwarts every time a new book was released.

Young witches and wizards lined up, with their parents of course, outside of their favorite bookstores waiting for the new magical book that will take them home to Hogwarts. Eventually, the book got so popular it was adapted into an equally successful film franchise.

The pages of our favorite childhood wizarding series came to life. Our innocent minds were transported directly into the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common Room, and the Quidditch Pitch.

It was an awesome collective experience for all of us to grow up with the Golden Trio. We were a part of their every dangerous adventure; we celebrated their triumphs and grieved for their losses.

We cried when they let go of their innocence and quite literally sacrifice themselves to save their world, their families, and their home. That era of Harry Potter was wonderful for those of us who got to experience it.

Long before the fame of Harry Potter and way before the author's bigoted opinions tainted the series, "magic," witches, and wizards have long existed. Outside of the multibillion-dollar franchise, the world of magic offers a lot more mystery and intrigue; here are some of them:

1. Rowling gifted her father a first edition of "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" which he promptly sold

She put a personal dedication to it and everything but he sold it anyway. She gifted him with the other 6 books which he also put up for auction.

2. The most glaring security breach in Hogwarts was the Marauder's Map

The mischievous Weasley twins were in possession of the magical map and they could track everybody's movement, ghosts and Dumbledore included. However, they didn't tease Ron about sleeping beside someone named Peter Pettigrew!

3. Men were also wrongfully accused during the Salem Witch Trials

A man named Giles Corey was one of the men accused of being a wizard during the persecution. The 81-year-old farmer refused to acknowledge or deny the crimes.

They couldn't try him without a plea but they still punished him. They put the accused wizard under a wooden board and stacked a bunch of rocks until he was crushed to death; he taunted them further by yelling, "more rocks!"

4. Dumbledore wanted someone — Harry, to obtain the Philosopher's Stone

A fansite theorizes that the challenges set up by the professors in the first book/movie to keep the Stone safe were meant to be beaten. They were meant to be bested by Harry, with the help of his friends, so Dumbledore can teach him a lesson.

5. The original prequel to the series was stolen

The author wrote an 800-word prequel written on a postcard to be sold for charitable purposes. The home of the person who bought it at the auction was burglarized and the prequel was stolen, never to be found again.

6. Jesus had a wand

In 3rd and 4th Century art, at least, Jesus was often depicted wielding a wand. If you really think about it, his miracles were magical: turning water into wine, walking on water, and multiplying food!

7. The Witcher is LGBTQI+ friendly

In the books, Ciri has a romantic relationship with another woman. She forms a fairly physical relationship with Mistle but she also gets attracted to men; we love a sexually fluid character!

8. The first Fantastic Beasts movie was refreshing, the next two were... questionable

The original series was a definite blockbuster hit. It was a tough challenge for the Fantastic Beasts series to beat and they definitely missed the mark; I mean their source material was a short textbook.

9. The Hobbit walked so Fantastic Beasts could hobble

The two follow-ups to great and legendary franchises were a big letdown. They were capitalizing on their loyal fans' nostalgia and failed to deliver anything new and interesting to their amazing original franchise "parents."

10. The Harry Potter books were used in a $750,000 bet between 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The rapper challenged the boxing superstar for a whopping $750,000 to be donated to his favorite charity if the boxer could read a page from the Harry Potter books. The rapper knew fully well that Mayweather couldn't read very well.

11. The Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, exiled Aleister Crowley for being a "sex wizard"

Crowley was fascinated by the occult in the 19th Century. He founded his own religion which he called Thelema and practiced in Sicily until a man died during a ritual.

12. You can visit the Gringotts Bank in real life

The marble-white interior used in the Harry Potter films was shot at Australia House in London. While you can't go inside the building, you can take a look through the glass doors.

13. Potterheads visited and nearly destroyed a grave because of a headstone

The name of the real deceased person was "Tom Riddell" which bears a resemblance to the book's antagonist. The site was so popular it caused a significant erosion according to the custodians.

14. The Harry Potter books can be considered mystery books

In the first book, they were searching for the Philosopher's Stone and why Voldemort would want it, in the second book, it was the location and the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. The third book proved to be the best mystery, why was Professor Lupin missing from class during full moons, why was Peter Pettigrew showing on the map, and did Sirius Black escape Azkaban to kill Harry?

15. A nobleman was demonized in Scottish folklores for conspiring against the throne

In real life he was sentenced to life in prison, while in folklores, it was something else. He was said to be involved in the Black Arts and was killed by being boiled alive.

16. In the late 90's, America had another wizard obsession

Jurassic Park's Sam Neil was the star of the TV movie Merlin. It was the retelling of the story of King Arthur that focused on the wizard Merlin; it was viewed by 70 million live during its premiere.

17. Harry Potter could have been richer

Harry was The Boy Who Lived. He was the son of Lily and James Potter; the Potters are an old wizarding family who has amassed a sizeable fortune, this was evident by Harry's inheritance which was sitting idly at Gringotts Bank.

18. Dumbledore isn't gay in China

The studio censored 2 lines talking about Dumbledore's sexuality at the behest of the Chinese government. The lines are about the wizard falling in love with another man.

19. A "functional" magic wand could have been in the market

The tech giant, Intel, submitted a patent for a "magic" wand that could listen to your commands to control your devices. Are we intrigued? Yes. Will we buy it? Unsure.

20. The Harry Potter author's opinion has ruined the book and the films

She-who-shall-not-be-named could have lived her life as the beloved author of the Harry Potter series. Instead, she chose to be a proud bigoted advocate and now, the latest film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise is struggling to gain any traction.

Harry Potter is not the first book to dive into the magical world, it certainly isn't the only good one. A quick Google search will point you in the right direction.

While some of the 20 trivia stated above aren't all technically ~facts~, they're still interesting, wouldn't you agree? Some of the historical ones are worth more reading into.

Chelsi