How is it that Christmas and Easter are celebrated and observed at Hogwarts? The films depict both holidays but no Wiccan feast days are mentioned. Christianity has been intolerant of witches and wizards, the Vatican has been rather negative on Rowlings' Harry Potter series, but the movies seem to depict an armistice or acceptance of conflicting positions. Is the history of the Church's persecution just water under the bridge?
25242
Every winter, Hogwarts students return home and celebrate Christmas with their families. However, given their extensive use of magic, it does not seem likely they'd understand Christianity the way muggles would.  How and why do wizards observe Christmas?
11609
I was wondering what a wizard should do when a Muggle is about to be killed (let's say in a car accident) and a present wizard notices this in time to prevent this (for example by levitating the victim out of the way). Would the wizard be prosecuted because he violated the Statute or is there some kind of exception? From there, the next question is of course: (TLDR;) are there any exceptions in the Statute? Which?
32702
In the Harry Potter universe, young wizards and witches are sometimes born to Muggle parents. In this case, someone from the wizarding world visits them to offer the child their place at Hogwarts.   Anyway, attendance at Hogwarts isn't mandatory because parents can home school their children, but is this true for all children, or only those whose parents can teach them magic?  Would a Muggle-born wizard or witch be left to their own devices, not taught magic or integrated in the wizarding community, basically be left to live as a Muggle?   The only example I know of is Harry (the Dursleys didn't want him to go, but they were intimidated into letting him) but then again he is Harry Potter and there is no other way (even for Dumbledore in-universe) than to make an exception for him.   Do we know what the general rule would be for muggle born wizards and witches, or do we have any clues?
120001
Some of you might insist that it was not a murder, as we know that a rebounding spell had hit Ariana, as shown in .  However, a death in such a well known family would not go uninvestigated, I presume. Were the Dumbledore brothers investigated? How did they get away with their sister suddenly dropping dead?  I'd think that Ministry of Magic has means to recognize a death caused by magical means. That's how we know that Tom Riddle Snr. was killed by Avada Kedavra. So Ariana's failing health might be a poor excuse.
76761
Harry is a half-blood and Ginny is a pure-blood, so what does that make his children? I've been told it means they are pure-bloods but I can't be sure. What do you think?
60393
Something always bothered me with Fudge's accusations:     “Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August,” said Fudge in a   ringing voice, and Percy began taking notes at once, “into offences   committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage   Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James   Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging,   Surrey." - OotP Ch. 8 "The Hearing"   Harry cast the Patronus Charm, so he violated the Decree for Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery alright - extinuating circumstances aside - but how did he breach the Statute of Secrecy?  The only witnesses were Dudley and Mrs. Figg, both of whom already knew that Harry is a wizard. Earlier, even Hermione gets it wrong (don't tell her!):     They haven’t even reported that you broke the International Statute of   Secrecy. We thought they would,... - OotP Ch. 4 "#12"   Yes, Harry does use magic in front of a Muggle, Dudley, but even Dudley is not so thick that the fact that Harry's a wizard would come as a revelation to him. Harry cannot breach the Statute of Secrecy to someone already in the know.  Shouldn't Dumbledore point out that glaring error in the indictment sooner rather than later? Or at least mention it, at all?  Is there maybe a source that mentions the Statute of Secrecy containing a clause, that even the mere possibility of magic being witnessed by an uninitiated muggle is sufficient for its breach?? Cause if so, wouldn't even adult wizards have a really tough time doing anything, ever.  Possibly related:
110304
With regards to drinking unicorns blood, according to Firenze:  you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips  How is this curse played out? Is it the initial drinking of it that bestows a curse, or is the curse that you must keep drinking the blood to survive? Slytherincess mentions in an   Unicorn blood is an ingredient in Voldemort's initial resurrection potion which allows him to return to the infant form that Wormtail carries around, that we see in the beginning of Goblet of Fire  Is this the point at which the curse is bestowed? Lifted? If the Latter is the curse to be stuck on the back of someone's head? Is there a timeline of Voldemort's unicorn drinking 'habit' that clears up any of my questions? E.G Time of first drinking, effect, time of second drinking etc? Further, is Quirrel equally cursed? Or is he alone cursed?
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The question "" got me to wondering how many wizards and witches there were on the planet during the events of the Harry Potter series.    Was there any information given regarding this, either in the books or from JK Rowling herself? If there is not, then a best guess calculation would suffice.
10829
This came up to me while I was reading the question about Magical being using firearms in battle to raise their power (which I think I have a good answer for, but it's too long to fit in this question... and it would also be inappropriate).  Anyways, I was reading it and then the following thought came into my mind: If wizards decided to use guns on their battles (the ones agains Voldemort for instance), that would create that opening for much bigger battles than we see in the books (after all even a muggle can fire a gun, so lots of guns + the Imperio curse, and presto manifesto (is that racist? talking about wizards and all) you have yourself an army). Those kinds of battles, however, would most definitely not go unnoticed by the muggles - even though they wouldn't be able to link it to magic.  Well, that thought brought up my one and final question, which I bring forth to you guys. Is there any mention on how the Wizards and Witches viewed the two world wars (which had taken part by the time Harry got to Hogwarts, and which he had probably heard about in muggle school), and what was the Wizards' part in it? What about the cold war? Did the magical world even recognise the existence of weapons such as nukes, which could render all life on earth extinct?  EDIT  DVK has brought up an  regarding the connections between the Second World War and the wizarding world (more specifically, the wizard Grindelwald). Although it doesn't fully answer my question, it does help by showing that there was indeed some form of connection between the two world at the time.
63295
What is Divination really like when it is not just a school subject, but is practically applied by a competent Wizard?  Is there a definition of what counts as Divination in the Harry Potter universe?  Most of what we know about Divination in the Harry Potter universe is through the school courses of Professor Trelawney and Firenze, plus a few remarks by Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.  I don't believe these give a fair representation of Divination in the real world, just like how the school curriculum of the first three years of Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts class wouldn't tell much about how Defense Against the Dark Arts is used by adults.  To give some specifics, which of the following (if any) are Divination?   Professor Snape's task of finding out about the Dark Lord's plan. Professor Dumbledore finding out lots of details about the past of the Dark Lord. Professor Dumbledore coercing Kreacher to tell him what's happened to Sirius.   Professor Dumbledore detecting magic in the cave. The visions Harry had, showing what the Dark Lord or his Snake were doing. The spell used to reveal the last spell cast by a wand, as seen in Goblet of Fire. The Sorting Hat determining the personality traits of a young wizard. The Specialis Revelio spell cast by Hermione on the Riddle diary. The examination the Ministry of Magic has done on the objects Professor Dumbledore has left in his will to the trio. The tests done on the Firebolt that Harry got as a gift, ensuring that it is not jinxed. The Homenium Revelio spell cast by Hermione to find humans in the Black manor. What the Marauder's Map does. The two real prophecies of Professor Trelawney.   I have guesses about how some of the above are Divination and some aren't, but they are all based on what I've heared of divination outside the Harry Potter universe.  There is, however, probably some material in the books, interviews, Pottermore, or other resources that I don't know about.  To address a particular argument you might give about the prophecies of Professor Trelawney, recall that Professor Dumbledore wanted to keep Trelawney in Hogwarts to protect her, after the first prophecy and the immediately following events.  The way he insisted that she stay after she was sacked from her teaching position (in the Order of the Phoenix) clearly shows this, together with what he says about the matter in Half-Blood Prince chapter 20:     I cannot ask Firenze to return to the forest, where he is now an outcast, nor can I ask Sybill Trelawney to leave. Between ourselves, she has no idea of the danger she would be in outside the castle. She does not know – and I think it would be unwise to enlighten her — that she made the prophecy about you and Voldemort, you see.   This means that Professor Dumbledore may have applied Trelawney regardless of how good Divination teacher he thought she was, and regardless of whether the prophecy is Divination or not.  Can you give other examples of Divination used by Wizards, other than the ones related to school courses?  This is a speciesist question, I'm specifically asking only about human Wizards, not about divination practiced by Centaurs or House Elves or Goblins or other creatures.  Remark.  The original reason why this question came up is a disagreement in the thread
25994
During Goblet of Fire, Voldemort lured Harry away from Hogwarts and into a Muggle cemetery. This was done during the Triwizard tournament to make Harry’s death look like an accident.  Harry was supposed to have a Trace on him, so why couldn’t the Ministry tell an underage wizard was performing magic (Expelliarmus) in a Muggle cemetery? Or (as the Trace seems to pick up ANY magic used near a young wizard/witch) magic used by the Death Eaters?
20292
In Harry Potter each Hogwarts house has its own animal that represents it; is it ever explained how these animals came to represent a specific house? I never read a canon explanation to who chose the animals, is that known?
109138
Voldemort was said to be very interested in the four founders of Hogwarts. He created a Horcrux from the Ravenclaw diadem, the Hufflepuff cup, and the Slytherin locket. Did he try to find a Gryffindor relic to complete the set, or did he not bother?   I can't see him giving up on such a task, but maybe there was insufficient time.  Gryffindor's sword was hiding 'inside' the Sorting Hat, but a famous family usually has some other heirlooms too.  If there are no canon answers I'd be interested in your own speculation!
106484
There were a lot of family connections between everyone and everyone in HP... Harry and Ignotus, Voldemort and Slytherin, the Blacks and everyone else (Tonks, Weasleys, etc...)  Was there any info (canon or JKR) that Dumbledore was related to anyone? He lived in Godric's Hollow, but that is not necessarily a basis for any leaps of logic.
87376
Spoilers Ahead. If you haven't watched Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald yet, please do not read further.  According to  and many other such fan pages, Minerva McGonagall, Harry's Transfiguration teacher was born in 1935 (although Pottermore , and no year). Now, in The Crimes of Grindelwald, we see a "Professor McGonagall" when the Aurors come to question Dumbledore about the whereabouts of Newt Scamander, which must have happened at least in the late 1920s if not exactly in 1927, if we follow the timeline shown in Fantastic Beasts. The same professor is also seen in a flashback which may have happened around ten years before this incident, when Dumbledore is teaching Newt and Leta's class. This would have happened in the 1910s then?  I even conjectured that maybe this is a different McGonagall teaching at the time Newt was a student, but the credits show Minerva McGonagall! If she was born in 1935 and these events occurred in 1927 or so (and earlier in the flashback), she wouldn't even have been born yet. How come she is fully grown and teaching in 1927? Was this some Minerva McGonagall senior? An ancestor to our beloved Transfiguration teacher and headmistress?
25752
In the Goblet of Fire, students were supposed to put their name and the name of their school in the Parchment they put inside the Goblet.  It is clearly stated that Fred wrote "Fred Weasly, Hogwarts", in his.  But when the parchments come out, the school's name isn't there. It simply says 'Harry Potter'. Why?  Since no one was surprised at the absence of school name, I don't think this was the result of Moody's Confundus charm.
11704
Are there either examples, or a mention of this having happened, of students permanently transferring from one magical school to another in Potterverse?  Canon only please (books/JKR/Pottermore).  Please note that I am only asking about transfers, e.g. you must already be studying in one school. Therefore an example of Malfoys considering sending Draco to Durmstrang is not in scope, since that happened before he attended Hogwarts. Also, guest-studying during Tri-Wizard doesn't count as it wasn't permanent.  Also, if the answer is a "no", please provide evidence (other than "well I read the books before and I don't remember a single case like that", unless you have eidetic memory) from entire canon.