55 Fun Facts About Amazing Harry Potter Movies & Books

If you ever want to watch all 8 movies in one sitting, keep in mind: their total runtime without credits is 18 hours and 20 minutes.

The final installment of the franchise became the most successful: its box office revenues exceeded $1.3 billion. Previously, no film in the series could even reach $1 billion.

For the filming of the scene in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault, more than 210,000 coins were created, which were further multiplied during the editing process.

At the beginning of the sixth movie, the destruction of the Millennium Bridge is shown. However, the events in the film take place in 1996-1997, while the bridge was built in 2000.

Some of the Hogwarts scenes were filmed in the halls of Oxford University.

The Goblet of Fire is over half a meter high, made of elm wood, and all the carving was done by hand.

Curious: In the movie, Fred and George Weasley managed to throw their names into the Goblet of Fire. In the book, they barely crossed the line when they were immediately thrown out of the circle.

In «Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,» when Harry is drawn into Tom Riddle’s diary, the reflection of the candles lighting the room where he reads the diary is still visible on his face.

Filming for the second movie in the series, «Chamber of Secrets,» began on November 19, 2001, just three days after the release of the first film.

A portion of the filming in the Forbidden Forest, at least in the first two movies, took place in Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire - a unique park so densely populated with trees that even on sunny days, there is always a twilight.

During filming in the Black Lake, Radcliffe frightened the divers when he wanted to show that everything was okay and gave a thumbs up. In the divers’ sign language, it means «ascend.» The divers who were with Daniel at that moment thought he was drowning, and they were genuinely scared.

Due to a lack of screen time in «The Goblet of Fire,» house elves Dobby and Winky were cut out, just as Peeves the poltergeist was cut out of «The Philosopher’s Stone.» However, at the sixth minute, you can see them riding llamas. You can only catch them with a freeze-frame, as they pass by in a split second.

In the third book, it is said that Pettigrew’s right hand is missing the index finger, while in the films, it is the ring finger on his left hand that is missing. However, during the revival of the Dark Lord, both in the book and in the film, Peter cuts off his right hand instead, in which he gets a Silver One.

The interior of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes in the film «Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince» was inspired by the interior of the Lello e Irmão bookstore, located in the largest city of Portugal, Porto. In 2008, the British newspaper «The Guardian» named Lello e Irmão the most beautiful bookstore in the world.

The film crew had to make rubber wands for stunts so that actors couldn’t hurt themselves. Additionally, separate wands were made for shooting mass scenes and background shots with extras. By the way, control over the magical props was strict: before, during, and after shooting, a record was kept of broken and lost wands.

It turns out that the characters Bill Weasley (older brother of the main character Ron Weasley) and Alastor «Mad-Eye» Moody are father and son in real life.

The most complex makeup was for the goblin characters. For them, special prosthetic masks were created, which took about four hours to apply to the actors. Another hour was spent removing the makeup. To give each goblin an individual look, the prop makers made 38 masks.

Kate Winslet could have played Helena Ravenclaw, but her agent interfered with the negotiations. He didn’t even consult with the actress, believing that she wouldn’t want to «follow the example of every other actor in Britain.»

The interior of the Chamber of Secrets in the movie is a real full-size set created for filming, including the door with a snake lock (the snakes were set in motion with the help of an electrical device).

J.K. Rowling admitted that if she could choose a superpower, she would choose invisibility... so she could write all day in a coffee shop, and no one would notice her.

J.K. Rowling wrote that Harry inherited a huge fortune because she was living in poverty at the time and did not want her hero to be poor either.

In Gloucestershire (UK), there is the Forest of Dean (the Royal Forest of Dean, which is mentioned in the seventh book). Part of this forest is the prehistoric site Puzzlewood. J.K. Rowling loved to visit the Forest of Dean, and in particular, Puzzlewood. It is believed that the whimsical landscapes of Puzzlewood inspired her to create the Forbidden Forest.

All Horcruxes were destroyed by different people. This would not be surprising if it weren’t for Vincent Crabbe, who could not be considered an opponent of Voldemort. There may be a connection between how the Horcrux was created and how it was destroyed.

Curious: Voldemort tried to make a Horcrux from Godric Gryffindor’s sword, but he failed.

The first Harry Potter book was published in 1998, the same year the final battle for Hogwarts took place.

In the second part of «Deathly Hallows,» Harry, Ron, and Hermione easily pass the troll, spiders, werewolf, and Dementors - their antagonists from the first films. This demonstrates how strong our heroes have become.

One of the contenders for the role of Tom Riddle was Eddie Redmayne. His candidacy was rejected, and the role went to Christian Coulson. However, Redmayne eventually got his chance, playing Newt Scamander in the spin-off «Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.»

Curious: «I really auditioned for the role of Tom Riddle when I was still at university, but I failed the audition, and they never called me back. For many years after that, I hoped to get a role as one of the Weasley family members, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen,» Redmayne said in a 2016 interview with Empire.

In «HP and the Half-Blood Prince» (2009), Luna wears a rabbit bracelet to the Slughorn Christmas party. An obvious reference to her Patronus. Interestingly, the bracelet was made by Evanna Lynch - the actress who played Luna.

Director Mike Newell did not know that Alan Rickman wore black contact lenses for the role of Snape until he once complimented him on the amazing shade of his eyes. Rickman leaned over and popped out one of the lenses.

Brendan Gleeson wore a wig as Mad-Eye Moody. The wig hid electronics that made the magical eye move.

In his first scene in «The Goblet of Fire», Cedric Diggory jumps out of a tree. Pattinson came up with the idea for his character to appear in the frame like that and later repeated it in «Twilight.»

Curious: Now, when shooting in new films, the actor jokingly always asks the team if his character should jump out of a tree at the beginning of the movie. 😊

Actors often received gifts from fans. The most recurring gifts were a Bible for Emma Watson and pajamas for Rupert Grint. The actors admitted that they couldn’t understand what this was related to.

Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the franchise, a character suffering from arachnophobia, is actually very afraid of spiders in real life. Therefore, when they played scenes with spiders, he didn’t even have to pretend to feel disgust and horror.

Originally, Lucius Malfoy was supposed to have short hair, but Jason Isaacs insisted on wearing long hair - otherwise, he could be confused with Draco from behind. To prevent the strands from falling on his face, the actor had to keep his head slightly tilted back, which gave his character an even more arrogant appearance and fit well into the image.

Hagrid told Harry that although Quirrell could be called nervous and a bit strange, there were few people in Hogwarts who could compete with him intellectually. Later, this was confirmed by the fact that Quirrell was the only person who found out Voldemort’s whereabouts.

As we know from the book Harry Potter Magic Facts, Harry’s ancestors were successful healers, which allowed the family to live comfortably. However, Harry’s grandfather Fleamont significantly increased the Potter’s fortune by creating the magical potion Sleekeazy - a hair-smoothing and scalp treatment product, especially effective for taming thick and unruly hair. It is not a medicinal product.

When he retired, Fleamont sold the company and deposited the money in Gringotts. Currently, the potion is being produced in China.

Curious: Hermione Granger used the potion when she went to the Yule Ball in 1994.

J.K. Rowling stated that Arthur Weasley had two brothers. Their names have not been revealed to date.

Curious: It is not excluded that Uncle Bilius, who Ron, Fred, and George mentioned several times, could be Arthur’s brother.

In addition, the tipsy uncle of the Weasley children, who attended Bill and Fleur’s wedding and mistook Harry Potter in the guise of red-haired «cousin Barny» for his own son, might have been one of Arthur’s brothers.

The name «Bartemius» comes from the biblical name «Bartimaeus.» This name was borne by a man who had been blind all his life and was healed by Jesus Christ. He got his name from his father, as did young Crouch. This is probably a hint that Crouch Sr. was blinded by his desire to climb the career ladder, and then «saw the light» and wanted to confess everything he had done to Dumbledore.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione transform into other wizards to sneak into the Ministry of Magic, Hermione takes on the appearance of Mafalda Hopkirk. It was she who wrote the letter to Harry Potter informing him of his expulsion from Hogwarts for using magic in front of Muggles.

A magic wand in Ollivander’s Shop costs about 7 gold galleons. It is unclear whether the wood or the core affects the price.

Over the centuries, the Malfoys’ impressive fortune has ensured their favor with the Ministry of Magic. Although no Malfoy has ever become a Minister, the family has repeatedly financed the election campaigns of right candidates, and many ministers were, in essence, in the pockets of Draco’s ancestors. For example, it is rumored that the tenth Minister for Magic, Unctuous Osbert, was nothing more than a puppet in the hands of Septimus Malfoy, and Abraxas Malfoy played a significant role in the conspiracy that led to the premature resignation of the first Muggle-born Minister for Magic, Nobby Leach.

Curious: That’s why no one was surprised when the notorious Death Eater Lucius Malfoy got off scot-free when Voldemort’s supporters were brought to trial.

J.K. Rowling on Dudley’s encounter with Dementors: «I think when Dudley was attacked by Dementors, he saw himself from the outside for the first time, as he really is. This lesson was very painful for him but extremely useful, and it was from that moment that Dudley began to change.

Portraits are not alive. They simply reflect the most significant traits of a real person’s character.

Why does Harry’s scar hurt when Voldemort is nearby? Rowling explained this phenomenon by the fact that the part of the Dark Lord’s soul inside Harry longs to return to its body. The scar is the place through which the soul part wants to break out.

Although many inhabitants of the magical world seem to disapprove of Dark Arts, they are not legally prohibited. For example, while Hogwarts teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts, Durmstrang teaches the Dark Arts themselves. Furthermore, shops, usually located in Knockturn Alley, can freely trade dark artifacts.

However, there are Unforgivable Curses, for which wizards who use them on people are sentenced to life imprisonment in the magical prison Azkaban.

The Headless Hat is a product from the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes store assortment. It is an invisibility hat that makes only the head of the person wearing it invisible. Most likely, the idea for such a prank was inspired by the sight of Nearly Headless Nick and his eternal suffering about being denied access to the Headless Hunt Club.

Mutual enhancement of magic wands. In the book «History of Magic in North America,» an interesting point is made that the wands of the two Boot brothers had the same core made of the horn of a horned serpent. During the battle with the dark witch Gormlaith, the power of the brothers’ wands increased tenfold as they fought against a common enemy.

Along with the body of another person, the wizard who consumed the potion also acquires all their characteristics and disabilities. Thus, those who transformed into Harry during the «Seven Potters» operation needed glasses to see, and Barty Crouch used a wooden leg and Moody’s magical eye.

Curious: Lupin said that the Polyjuice Potion would not work on Hagrid because he is a half-giant, and the potion is only for humans. However, it worked on Fleur Delacour, who was a quarter Veela.

The potion changes its color, consistency, and taste after adding a part of the person the wizard wants to transform into. These qualities directly depend on the character of the person used as a «sample.» For example, when Harry Potter turned into Gregory Goyle, he compared the taste of the Polyjuice Potion to the taste of overripe cabbage, and the potion had a swamp-green color. The potion with a part of Vincent Crabbe was dark brown. And before the «Seven Potters» operation, as Hermione noticed, the potion looked much nicer than in previous cases and had a bright golden color.

Curious: The potion with Mafalda Hopkirk’s hair was light purple, and the taste of the potion with a part of Bellatrix Lestrange was more disgusting than the taste of Gurdyroot.

The ancient book Magick Moste Evile, when displeased, howls like a ghost. There is a high probability that the book Harry stumbled upon in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library was this very book! And it had a reason to be displeased: it was night, everyone was asleep, and suddenly, it was awakened. There’s a reason to be angry! 😊

Entrepreneur Ali Bashir was banned from importing Flying Carpets (a comfortable alternative to brooms, it seems) into Britain because the carpet is a Muggle invention and is included in the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects. One could argue that brooms are also used by Muggles, but apparently, the difference lies in the process of making a flying broom and a flying carpet. Perhaps, the flying carpet is an ordinary carpet enchanted with charms similar to Wingardium Leviosa, while special magical ingredients are used for brooms.

Curious: However, in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, and Mongolia, flying carpets are allowed by local Ministries of Magic and are more popular than flying brooms.

Transmogrifian Torture is a curse that causes agonizing death. Professor Gilderoy Lockhart claimed it was the spell that killed Mrs. Norris before it was revealed that she had only been petrified. Considering Lockhart’s level of enlightenment in matters of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the existence of such torture or a counter-curse for it is doubtful. Unlike other spells presented in the book Harry Potter Spellbook 😉

The inventor of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans was Bertie Bott, who created them by mistake in the mid-20th century. He planned to make tasty sweets with the flavors of food but accidentally created a bean with the taste of a dirty sock. Bertie immediately saw the sales potential of products under the slogan «Risk in every bite!»

Curious: There are beans with both ordinary flavors, such as chocolate, peppermint, or marmalade, and exotic ones like spinach, pepper, or Brussels sprouts. Some are barely edible: with the taste of vomit, earwax, and snot.

When Nagini bit Arthur Weasley in late 1995, he was treated at St. Mungo’s Hospital, where healers needed a lot of time to heal his wounds because the snake venom dissolved the stitches and was resistant to magical forms of healing. However, Hermione healed Harry’s wounds inflicted by Nagini in Godric’s Hollow with just some dittany. It is possible that the snake did not inject venom into the wound because Voldemort ordered Nagini to only capture Harry, not kill him. Alternatively, the snake may have felt some kinship with Harry since they were both Horcruxes, and Harry was also a Parselmouth.

In 2014, the «Borgin and Burkes» store opened in the Harry Potter-themed park in Orlando, «The Wizarding World of Harry Potter». They trade in dark arts-themed goods: souvenirs featuring Death Eaters, various skulls, and plastic replicas of artifacts.

In the book «Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,» it is mentioned that the Muggle-Repelling Charm is used in the habitats of some magical creatures to prevent rare species from being discovered by Muggles.