Potter Harry - The Sorcerers Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter, Third Edition

THE SORCERERS COMPANION . Copyright 2001, 2004, 2010 by Allan Zola Kronzek and Elizabeth Kronzek.

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

Previous editions of this book were published in the United States by Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2001 and 2004.

BROADWAY BOOKS and the Broadway Books colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kronzek, Allan Zola.
The sorcerers companion / Allan Zola Kronzek and Elizabeth
Kronzek.New ed.
p. cm.
1. Rowling, J. K.CharactersHarry PotterHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Potter, Harry (Fictitious character)Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Childrens stories, EnglishHandbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Fantasy fiction, EnglishHandbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Wizards in literatureHandbooks, manuals, etc. 6. Magic in literatureHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Kronzek, Elizabeth, 1969II. Title.

PR6068.O93Z75 2004

823.914dc22 2004045840

eISBN: 978-0-307-88514-2

v3.1

f youre like most Harry Potter fans, you probably know that Harrys prized possession is his broomstick, Hermiones favorite subject is arithmancy, and a magnificent creature called a hippogriff helped Sirius Black evade capture. But did you know that wizards were once thought to fly on pitchforks, arithmancy is an ancient form of fortune-telling, and the hippogriff was first mounted by the legendary knights of Charlemagne? Or that Professor Dumbledores friend Nicholas Flamel, creator of the Sorcerers Stone, was a real person?

So quickly do the astonishing adventures of Harry and his friends fly by that we rarely have a moment to consider the wealth of real mythology, folklore, and history that shimmers just beneath the surface. One of the great pleasures of reading the Harry Potter books comes from the extraordinary richness of the magical universe they containfashioned partly from J. K. Rowlings seemingly boundless imagination and partly from the vast collective lore of magic from around the world. Potions and charms, giants and dragons, cauldrons and crystal ballsall have intriguing and often surprising histories going back hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. Magic wands like those sold in Diagon Alley were once fashioned by Druid sorcerers out of the sacred yew tree. Love potions are traceable to ancient Greece and Rome. And books of spells and cursesrequired reading at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardrywere highly popular (and much frowned upon) during the Middle Ages.

The Sorcerers Companion is designed to allow the curious reader to look up anything magical from any of the Harry Potter books and discover a wealth of fascinating and unexpected information. How did the Sorcerers Stone get its power? What were the first magic words? Did J. K. Rowling dream up the terrifying basilisk, the seductive veela, or the vicious grindylow? And if she didnt, who did?

The history of magical beliefs is vast, and in writing this book we have had to leave out far more than we put in. Barely mentioned are the rich traditions of magic and mythology of China, Africa, India, Japan, Australia, and the Americas. Rather we have limited our focus to those aspects of lore directly related to Harrys world. Nearly all of the magical practices taught at Hogwarts are rooted in the Western magical tradition, which emerged from the ancient empires of the Middle East, Greece, and Rome. Imaginary creatures like the centaur, the manticore, and the unicorn come from the same rich tradition. Many other magical beings, such as elves, gnomes, goblins, hinkypunks, and trolls, have their roots in the folklore of northern Europe and the British Isles.

When we first began researching The Sorcerers Companion we asked Harry Potter fans what subjects interested them the most. Some wanted to know more about spells, charms, and curses. Others were eager to learn about boggarts, red caps, or the difference between witches and hags. We expect you, too, will have your own particular interests and will follow them as you choose. This book is not intended to be read straight through in alphabetical order, although it certainly can be. You might want to start with the Magic entry for an introduction to this fascinating subject. But actually, you can start anywhereand chances are, youll end up everywhere.

In each entry, weve tried to provide an overview of the subject and its roots in mythology, folklore, and history. Whenever a word appears in bold, that means it has its own entry. Following most entries, youll find this symbol and an abbreviation indicating at least one place in the Harry Potter books where the subject appears. SS 5/71, for example, refers you to Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, chapter 5, page 71. CS refers to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, PA to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, GF to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, OP to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, HBP to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and DH to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. All references are to the American editions.

In researching The Sorcerers Companion we learned many curious things we never expected to know, like how to read tea leaves, get rid of goblins, safely harvest mandrake root, and use arithmancy to choose a breakfast cereal. We feel more secure knowing how to recognize a demon and what to do if attacked by a ghoul (never, ever hit him twice). We hope all of this information is as interesting to you as it is to us. You never know when you might need it.

re you unusually susceptible to colds and infections? Do you have a tendency to attract the wrong kind of attention? Are you plagued by bad luck? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, an amulet might be just what the doctor ordered. In fact, centuries ago, an amulet often