Harry Potter: Characters

There are meanings to most characters' names (and even the names of places and things) in the Harry Potter books. Some names were chosen so they correspond with the character. (e.g. Tom Marvolo Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort – Tom: He hated his first name because it made him quite alike many other people; Tom is a common name, and Voldemort thinks he is superior above all else. Marvolo: mar, meaning to 'impare the quality/appearance of something, to disfigure or spoil something'; volo, the Latin root, meaning 'I wish, want, will, ordain, suppose, maintain that, be willing, to mean, signify, or denote'. Riddle: Obviously, this is a good way to describe Voldemort; like a puzzle. . . . Even better, scramble up the letters in Tom Marvolo Riddle, and you get I am Lord Voldemort. Voldemort: vol de mort, in French, means 'flight from death'; death was Voldemort's greatest fear.)

Dumbledore was born in the summer (either July or August) of 1881. He had died at the age of 115 in June of 1997.

Only a wizard or a witch who is afraid of death can become a ghost.

Dean Thomas's name in the earlier drafts of Philosopher's Stone was originally Gary. His father was killed by Death Eaters when he refused to join them. Neither Dean nor his mother know.

A magical quill detects the birth of every magical child and records it in a book and Professor McGonagall sends an owl to each child when he or she turns eleven.

The Sorting Hat belonged to Godric Gryffindor.

In 2004, J. K. Rowling had said in an interview that Hermione's middle name was Jane. This was later changed to Jean in Deathly Hallows, 2007. The modification was done probably due to the fact that Dolores Umbridge also had the middle name of Jane. On a related note, Jo's daughter, Mackenzie Rowling-Murray, also has Jean as her middle name.

Both of Sirius Black's parents, Orion Black and Walburga Black, were related. Their great-grandparents, Phineas Nigellus Black and Ursula Flint-Black, were the same.

In the the Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone film they mention that James Potter I is a Seeker. J. K. Rowling has said in an interview that he was a Chaser. However, in Book Five, Order of the Phoenix, "Snape's Worst Memory", Harry sees his father playing around (or showing off, rather) with a Snitch. Though, this matter can be explained, just as how Ginny Weasley was not only a Chaser, but a substitute Seeker.

James Potter I and Adrian Rawlins, the actor who plays him, are both born on March 27. What's even more surprising is that Rawlins was around 42 years old when he shot his scene for the first movie (The Mirror of Erised, where Harry sees his parents), exactly double the age in which James had died in, 21.

Alfonso Cuarón, the director of Prisoner of Azkaban, asked Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint to each write an essay about their characters from a first-person perspective. Emma, being true to her character, wrote a 15 to 16-page essay, though blames her 'big handwriting'. Dan wrote a simple one-page summary, but Rupert never turned his in (very much like Ron).

In the end credits of the Goblet of Fire film, it says: 'No dragons were harmed in the making of this movie'. (