Jack Goldstein - Harry Potter - The Ultimate Book of Facts

Title Page

HARRY POTTER

THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF FACTS

Jack Goldstein & Frankie Taylor

Publisher Information

Published in 2013 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The rights of Jack Goldstein and Frankie Taylor to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright 2013 Jack Goldstein and Frankie Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

All facts contained within this book have been researched from reputable sources. If any information is found to be false, please contact the publishers, who will be happy to make corrections for future editions.

This book benefits from fair use provisions as set out in applicable copyright and trademark law. All characters and relevant information from within the world of Harry Potter are the intellectual property of JK. Rowling, to whom all of us are indebted to for bringing us such a wonderful and magical world.

Introduction

This fascinating book contains over two hundred amazing facts about the Harry Potter books and films, covering topics such as Harry, Ron and Hermione, muggles, the Ministry of Magic, the Weasleys, quidditch, the triwizard tournament and many more!

Through JK Rowlings books and films, we have been introduced to a fantastic and magical world that many of us would like to visit, despite the chance of running into a Death Eater or even Voldemort himself. If you love the world of Harry Potter, youll also enjoy reading this book!

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Visit Goldstein Books at www.jackgoldsteinbooks.com

Hogwarts

1. We are told that Hogwarts castle is somewhere in Scotland. In the films, a real castle (Alnwick in Northumberland) is used for some external shots, although a model was used for many scenes - this explains why the castle looks so realistic - if it was mainly CGI, you would easily be able to tell!
2. You would think that a muggle might come across Hogwarts whilst walking around Scotland... this doesnt happen however as there are a whole host of charms and enchantments to keep prying eyes away. If a muggle does stumble across the school, all they will see are ruins and danger signs.
3. The eight core subjects taught at Hogwarts are Astronomy, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts, Flying, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and Transfiguration. From the third year onwards, students can also choose from these: Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies and Study of Ancient Runes. In the sixth year, students can choose to study Alchemy and Apparition. There are also eleven extra-curricular subjects offered: Ancient Studies, Art, Earth Magic, Muggle Art, Music, Muggle Music, Ghoul Studies, Magical Theory, Xylomancy, Frog Choir and Hogwarts Orchestra.
4. You might know that it was Helga Hufflepuff who brought the house elves to work at Hogwarts; despite Hermiones feelings this was in fact to give them a job where they wouldnt be abused. But did you know that much of the food made today is by recipes Helga gave to the house elves all those years ago?
5. In the books, the tallest of the Hogwarts towers is the astronomy tower. It is out of bounds - except for classes. According to Nearly-Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron likes to groan and clank up it! In the Half-Blood Prince film however, it isnt the tallest tower and was even relocated (when compared to the books) to be over the transfiguration courtyard.
6. If you read the books and watch the films again, you might notice that the only electronic devices mentioned at Hogwarts are radios. There are no computers, televisions, iPads or anything else. This is because magic fields cause any equipment to go haywire around the grounds (at least this is what we are told by Hermione). So how come radios work? Easy - JK Rowling says theyre powered by magic in the wizarding world, not electricity.
7. If youre not from Great Britain or Ireland, sadly youll never be admitted to Hogwarts. It is exclusively for children from these two countries.
8. So, children come to Hogwarts from the age of eleven. You would expect magical children to attend a junior wizards school, wouldnt you? Apparently not - most of them are home-schooled, however a few actually go to their local muggle junior school! I bet they have a hard time keeping their powers under wraps...
9. The Great Hall was one of the first sets made for the films. It took thirty men more than eighteen weeks to construct it from nearly 100 tonnes of plaster! The tables are an amazing 121 metres long and were of course made especially for the set. They are covered with graffiti from the Harry Potter actors, something that was actually encouraged by the set designer so that they had a more realistic look.
10. Hogwarts isnt left in the best condition after the battles in The Deathly Hallows . For the films, five massive truckloads of rubble (albeit made from polystyrene) were used in the various scenes!

Daniel and Harry

1. Daniels full name is Daniel Jacob Radcliffe.
2. His father is a literary agent and his mother a casting agent.
3. Daniel has said he wasnt very good at school and found the work really difficult - although he did achieve three A grades!
4. Daniels parents didnt tell him about the role for Harry Potter because the contract required shooting all seven films in Los Angeles and California.
5. Along with most of the cast, during the last day of filming Daniel openly wept.
6. Harrys full name is Harry James Potter.
7. It was decided that Harry was to be an orphan because he needed to be free from the fear of disappointing his parents.
8. Harrys pain and longing for his parents became much stronger than in initial drafts after J.K Rowling lost her mother in December 1990.
9. Harrys Birthday is July 31 st .
10. Unlike many other characters in the stories, Harry is not based on a real-life person.

The Malfoys

1. Lucius Malfoys father was named Abraxas Malfoy. In ancient Greece, the word abraxas was carved into amulets that also had pictures of basilisks on them - a real-life link to the chamber of secrets maybe! In addition to this, the word Abracadabra is supposedly related to the word Abraxas, with ancient peoples believing it had magical properties.
2. The Malfoys, of course, claim to be a pure-blood family. According to Hagrid, there is no such thing anymore, however Lucius and his clan certainly wouldnt want you to think that! Being a pure-blood family in the Harry Potter universe can possibly be compared to pre-20 th century European royalty. During this period of history, a member of the aristocracy from one country could only marry someone of similar stature from another. This led to a fair amount of inbreeding, which we now know is very bad for a humans genetic makeup (it causes all manner of health problems including ones of the mind). Perhaps this is what happened to the Malfoys and the Blacks...
3. The first of the Malfoy family to set foot on English soil was a wizard called Armand Malfoy, who came over in 1066 during the Norman conquest. After helping William the Conqueror to win the country from the natives, the king awarded him the estate on which the family still live.
4. The Malfoys family crest is black, green and silver and features images of a number of snakes and snake-like creatures. It bears the motto Sanctimonia Vincet Semper which translates as Purity Will Always Conquer.