Harry Potter Theory EXTRA Harry Potter Theory EXTRA

Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing some of the best secrets held by founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin.

A pureblood British wizard, Salazar Slytherin is one of the first known individuals to have possessed the ability to speak the language of the snakes, a rare, genetically inherited skill referred to as Parseltongue. He was also said to be skilled at Legilimency, which is a complex form of magical “mind reading”. As an incredibly talented and powerful wizard, Salazar was also one of the four witches and wizards to establish the world-famous wizarding school of Hogwarts. And yet, despite his impressive intellect and abilities, Salazar Slytherin has arguably the worst reputation of any of the four founders—with even darker secrets.
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Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing whether or not Godric Gryffindor had a destined heir, similar to Salazar Slytherin, and—if one existed—who it could have been.
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Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing whether or not the Dark Wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, was responsible for the infamous Muggle conflict of World War II.

The idea that Gellert Grindelwald, former flame of Albus Dumbledore turned Dark Wizard, could have had anything to do with the second global war of the 20th century has become a rather popular fan theory. There’s, of course, the fact that the timeline of both Grindelwald’s rise to power in the first half of the 1900s coincides with the historical events of World War II. More than that, however, are the blatant references to the Muggle war that are present, specifically in the Fantastic Beasts films. Let’s take a closer look.
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Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing a handful of Harry Potter book characters who are NOTHING like their movie counterparts.

As a general rule, fans of book series know to watch movie adaptations of the novels they love without expecting too much—for it is extremely rare that a filmmaker's vision will match the fictitious world that a fan has created in their own mind. After all, how could you expect every single person to interpret a book the EXACT same way—from the appearance of the characters to how the world looks around them. And even if there was some sort of consensus on how a character was supposed to look, there’s also the fact that it’s incredibly unlikely for there to be an actor or actress out there who perfectly resembles that character, is the right age, has the correct dialect, AND can act. Of course, this seems even more impossible when applying the concept to an entire cast of characters—like in Harry Potter. 

And so, when the first movie adaptation of the Harry Potter series, The Philosopher’s Stone, was released in 2001, it goes without saying that fans of the books knew things wouldn’t be perfect. BUT it wasn’t unreasonable to think that the films would at least TRY to accurately reflect the people and places that fans had read on the pages of the first few books. And in many ways, it did—especially, that first film. However, as more and more movies were made, there were some pretty glaring differences between the books and the films—in particular, with some of the main characters of the series. 

And so, here are five book characters that I think are NOTHING like their movie counterparts…
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Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing whether or not Muggles would have evolved the way that we did if witches and wizards had never gone into hiding.

For centuries leading up to the late 1700s, individuals with magical abilities—primarily witches—were hunted down and persecuted by Muggles. In what would later be referred to as the infamous witch hunts, formal and informal trials were held between the 14th and 18th centuries in which global communities tried and executed around 40,000 to 60,000 people. 50-to-70,000 more people were accused without being condemned. Among these witch hunts were the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the early 1690s, where the brutalities of the American townsfolk killed 19 people for crimes that included worshipping the devil and taking part in sinful activities. 

Around this same time, in the latter half of the 1700s, people with magical abilities—who had previously lived openly among Muggles—disappeared from Muggle society. This, of course, was due to the institution of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, a law that was conceived to protect the wizarding world from the threats of ill-advised Muggles, which went into effect in the year of 1689.

This is also around the same time in history in which Muggles began rapidly evolving. In particular, we had the Age of Enlightenment
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Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing whether or not magic in the wizarding world of Harry Potter is becoming weaker with each passing decade.

At the mere age of eleven, when a young Harry Potter discovered that he was a wizard, the spells and incantations that he encountered were—for lack of a better word—MAGICAL. Everything that he witnessed from the time that Hagrid came and got him from that island in the sea, it all just seemed so impressive. I mean, a half-giant who could put a pig’s tail on his cruel bully of a cousin? Incredible. Especially for our poor boy, Harry, who had suffered terribly at the terrorising hands of Dudley. And lest we forget the marvels that awaited him in Diagon Alley, or the simple fact that his Transfiguration Professor could transform into a cat and then back again? All of these displays of magic seemed quite amazing indeed. At least at the time.
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