Earlier today Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling tweeted:
So, in honor of the Battle of Hogwarts, and the fact that Nerdist News is giving away a copy of the Harry Potter Hogwarts Collection, the Nerdist editorial staff has compiled a list of our Ten Favorite Bits of Harry Potter trivia.
Brian Walton:
“Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”
Back in Victorian times, specific flowers given at certain times to certain people had their own meanings. Asphodel is a member of the lily family and to give someone an asphodel meant ‘My regrets will follow you to the grave.’ Wormwood meant ‘absence; bitter sorrow.’ Thus, Rowling was actually having Snape say to Harry, ‘I bitterly regret Lily’s death.'”
Kristen Rutheford:
“J.K. Rowling told Alan Rickman the ending of the series so he could make accurate acting choices based in the information.”
Rachel Heine:
“Ron Weasley’s patronus is a Jack Russell terrier and Hermione’s is an otter. Jack Russell terriers are known to chase otters.”
“Michael Jackson wanted to create a
Harry Potter musical and RowlingÂ
turned him down. Oh man, wouldn’t a MJ-created
Harry Potter musical just have been the weirdest??”
“
Rowling admitted that Harry Potter and Hermoine would have been a better pairing as she and Ron would have hated each other in the long run.”
“Moaning Myrtle wasn’t exactly a teenager. Shirley Henderson, the actress who played the bereft character, was 37 years old in her first appearance in the films (
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).
That made her the oldest actor to portray a Hogwarts student. I’d like some Moaning Myrtle genes, please!”
“J.K. Rowling came up with the names of the four houses and
wrote them down on a barf bag in an airplane.”
“When Quidditch was first started, seekers originally chased a golden bird called the snidget. The Minister of Magic at the time was attending a game and offered 150 gallons to the player who caught it first. As the snidget population declined, a metal charmer named Bowman Wright invented the golden snitch to be used in its place, and thus traditions were born.”
“The fact that Dumbledore is gay isn’t actually in any of the books,
J.K. Rowling revealed it in a Q&A when someone asked ‘Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?’ She then said that Albus Dumbledore is in fact gay, and had fallen in love with fellow wizard and friend, Gellert Grindelwald. This got a long ovation and after that, she said, ‘I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy.'”
“‘Avada Kedavra,’ the curse used to kill Harry’s parents,
comes from the phrase, ‘Abhadda kedhabhra,” which means ‘disappear like this word’ in Aramaic and is most likely the origin of the word ‘abracadabra.'”
And there you have it! Our ten favorite bits of trivia about The Boy Who Lived. We know you have something to add so be sure to chime in and tell us your favorite
Harry Potter secrets in the comments below and don’t forget to
tell Nerdist News which Hogwarts house you belong in to win a copy of the
Harry Potter Hogwarts Collection. Do it!
*confirm
Did JKR ever confirmed the asphodel easter egg? because it looks more like just a Phersephone reference to me.
Ravenclaw 🙂
Proud member of Gryffindor here. So much so that I named my Corgi Gryffin (which is also the Welsh name for prince).
I did a sorting quiz and got Hufflepuff, and I’ve been bitter ever since.
I totally belong in Slytherin. Not because I’m evil or anything, but I am a good leader and very resourceful!
My Hogwarts house would be HUFFLEPUFF! I’ve always wanted to find out which house I’d be in and so when I got out the first book again, according to the Sorting Hat, we are Hardworking, Friendly and Honest which I’d say are some of my characteristics! Yeah! Go Hufflepuff’s 🙂
Gryffindor all the way! Bravery, daring, nerve and chivalry. 10 points for Gryffindor!
I’ve always thought I would be a Gryffindor because of the qualities described in the books: bravery, daring, nerve and chivalry. 10 points for me! I mean, for Gryffindor!
The fact that Dumbledore is gay isn’t EXPLICITLY in the books, but if you read book 7, you can tell there’s something there between him and Grindelwald. I remember at the time noticing something, but not putting two and two together that Dumbledore was gay
Did you know a lot of the recipes used to feed the students of Hogwarts came from Helga Hufflepuff? Or that Helena Bonham Carter perforated Matthew Lewis’ ear drum during a scene where Bellatrix was torturing Neville. My house is Slytherin by the way ^^
I thought that in the end “Draco Malfoy” would have thanked Harry for saving him. I thought that Neville and Luna would have been a great couple. And I do believe that the “woman” talking to the ticket agent on platform 9 3/4 somewhat looks like “Harry’s mother” in the rest of the movies and in “Chamber of Secrets” the lady talking to the agent sure does look like Ms JK Rowlings………IS IT HER???
Its gotta be Hufflepuff! (Thank you Pottermore!)
I like that he ended up with Ginny!! She was so sweet about him and it made him more gentle in the young love.
I’d like to think perhaps Ravenclaw. The sorting hat describes it as: ‘If you’ve a ready mind, where those of wit and learning will always find their kind’. However, I’m perhaps also Gryffindor. I can be brave and fiercely loyal when it comes to it.
I guess it’s up to the hat…
Slytherin. I actually did a sorting house quiz and i ended up in slytherin
Sivila’s Treloni name is possibly also from the greek word trela that means crazyness. I think so, since I read the books in Greek it made sense and I thought taht it will be different translation in English but now that I am reading them in English the name is still the same.
Def. Ravenclaw. Even pottermore agreed with me XD