Harry Potter: 10 Biggest Unanswered Questions, According to Reddit
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When talking about worldwide popular franchises, Harry Potter is probably among the first that come to mind. Especially considering that its fandom is still going strong and continues to grow to this day. Back in 1997, J. K. Rowling published the book that started it all: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which follows the adventures of Harry and his friends in their first year at Hogwarts while also presenting his dramatic history with Lord Voldemort. This successful novel kicked off a series of seven books, which ended in 2007 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The literary saga became a worldwide phenomenon, engaging children of all ages with literature.
As a result of the novels’ popularity, the story was adapted to the silver screen, and in 2001, it arrived in theaters under Chris Columbus’ direction. The film saga comprises eight movies made by four directors: Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates. Headlining the cast were Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, along with major industry stars and promising young talents. In 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the last film in the saga, was released, and 20 years later, its cast got back together once again for the TV special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, where they joyfully revisited their days in the series.
However, in spite of all these years, there are still many questions regarding the story that have not been answered, as can happen in a franchise with multiple installments and characters. Here are 10 of the biggest unanswered questions in Harry Potter, according to Reddit users.
What Do Wizard Children Do Until They Turn 11?
In the first film, Harry receives his letter from Hogwarts on his 11th birthday, entering his freshman year at that age. But how are wizard children trained up to that age? How do they acquire the necessary skills to attend Hogwarts? Rowling answered this question during an interview stating that, up to the age of 11, wizard children can either attend a Muggle school or be home-schooled by their parents, which raises even more doubts, because having a young wizard attending a Muggle school might be a problem if said child performs wizardry in the institution, which has probably happened many times with mischievous young wizards. Plus, what about children of pure-blooded families who have no contact with the Muggle world? Apart from this, we still don’t know exactly how home-schooled wizards are educated and the lessons they are taught at home.
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Why Didn’t the Potters Use the Cloak of Invisibility to Hide from Voldemort?
The Cloak of Invisibility is one of the Deathly Hallows, and it was handed down from one generation to the next until it made its way to Harry, who used it several times during his days at Hogwarts. The last official owner of the cloak had been his father, James Potter. However, by the time Voldemort was hunting the Potter family, Dumbledore became interested in the cloak, so he borrowed it from James to study it. Knowing how powerful this device was and that there was a powerful killer after him, it would have been far better for James to keep the cloak and use it to protect his family from Voldemort. Unfortunately, when the Dark Lord found them in Godric’s Hollow, Harry’s father didn’t have the cloak anymore, so he was unable to defend himself against this evil wizard.
Can Wizard Children Use Magic in Front of Muggle Family Members?
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry is forced to cast a Patronus Charm in front of his cousin Dudley as they had been attacked by Dementors. The Ministry of Magic is informed of this situation and decides to expel him from Hogwarts for using magic as a minor and in front of a Muggle, unaware that said Muggle was a member of his family. Eventually, Harry is exonerated, but the whole situation raised some doubts in the audience: it is well known that wizards cannot use magic in front of Muggles, but what about those children who are half-blood or Muggle-born? The saga does not give an answer as to whether this violates the rules of the wizarding world or if it is allowed as an exception to the rule, considering that the family members of these young wizards wouldn’t snitch on them to the Muggle world.
Why Didn’t Harry See the Thestrals Earlier?
When Harry arrives at Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he discovers that the chariots transporting them into the building are not pulled by magic, but by Thestrals, which he had never seen before. Luna, a friend of his who can also see them, explains that these are creatures only visible to those who have witnessed people dying, and that he is now able to see them because he was present when Cedric Diggory died after the Triwizard Tournament. However, Harry had already been exposed to Thestrals just after Cedric’s death, and he was not able to see them, nor had he ever seen them in his previous years at Hogwarts, considering that he had watched his mother die when he was a baby.
This situation raised many doubts in the audience, but luckily, Rowling clarified it a few years later. According to her, Harry had not been able to see them sooner because, despite witnessing his mother’s death, he could not fully understand it due to his young age. Regarding Cedric’s death, the author mentioned that it also took Harry some time to recover from the emotional shock of losing his friend, which is why he only gets to see the Thestrals one year later.
How Do Magical Portraits Actually Work?
Hogwarts walls are covered with magical portraits that feature significant people from the school and the wizarding world. Among the best known is The Fat Lady, who guards the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. While these portraits can be seen in every film, it is not entirely clear how they work. In the particular case of the Hogwarts headmasters, it is known that they are painted while they are alive, and thereafter, each headmaster can upload information to his portrait so that it absorbs part of his personality.
The subjects in the paintings behave quite differently: some are limited to gestures and minor movements while others can carry on long conversations with real people or even fellow portraits. Nor is it revealed what would happen to a portrait’s behavior if the person depicted died before the painting was made. Undoubtedly, magical portraits are a very interesting topic that has not been fully explored in the saga.
Why Didn’t They Use Veritaserum More Frequently?
Veritaserum is a very powerful Truth Potion that forces those who drink it to tell the truth even if they don’t want to. It is strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic, and its use on Hogwarts students is completely forbidden, even though Dolores Umbridge ignored this prohibition during her time at the school and used it, among other things, to dismantle Dumbledore’s Army. It’s understandable that they wouldn’t use Veritaserum whenever they felt like it, as it’s a potion that clearly stomps on the individual rights of whoever takes it.
However, many complex situations that are presented throughout the saga would have been very easily solved by using this potion if authorized by the person involved. For instance, had Sirius Black taken Veritaserum before being unjustly imprisoned in Azkaban, he would have proven his innocence, thus sparing him over ten years of imprisonment. However, the reason it is not so commonly used may have to do with the fact that certain wizards can fight off its effects using antidotes or occlumency.
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Unforgivable Curses: Why Can’t They Be Stopped Like Any Other Spell?
The Unforgivable Curses are three spells of the wizarding world that could sentence any wizard casting them to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Avada Kedavra, Crucio, and Imperius are the most powerful and ruthless dark spells known to wizards and, unlike every other spell in the magical world, they cannot be repelled using other charms. This does not mean that they cannot be blocked: there have been many instances in the movies where a character escapes an unforgivable curse by hiding behind something or even because someone else gets in the way. Still, the fact that wizards cannot use their own wands to defend themselves against these curses sparked many questions that remain unanswered to this day.
What is the Purpose of the Veil in the Department of Mysteries?
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the hero suffers a major loss in his life: that of his godfather Sirius Black. During a battle between The Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters in the Death Chamber, Bellatrix Lestrange hits Sirius with a spell that causes him to pass through the Veil, one of the most mysterious structures presented in the entire saga. What exactly is the Veil? To this day, it remains unclear. This ancient structure is located in the Department of Mysteries, and seems to be a barrier between the living and the dead, although this is not entirely confirmed. Bearing this in mind, we don’t really know what happened to Sirius after crossing it, whether he really died or just traveled to another dimension that we still ignore to this day.
What Happened to Voldemort’s Body After the Battle of Hogwarts?
The second part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows features a duel that has been years in the making: the one between Voldemort and Harry Potter. Of course, this final battle claimed a great number of victims who died defending the wizarding world from the dark forces. After an epic battle, Lord Voldemort is defeated by his own Killing Curse that bounced back to him, putting an end to the Battle of Hogwarts. In the school’s crumbling halls, different students and wizards gathered, mourning the victims of the fight. Among them, we notice the Weasley family mourning Fred and Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin’s corpses, nearly holding hands.
However, among all the dead bodies, Lord Voldemort’s is nowhere to be seen. Of course, it is quite logical that they would not place his body among the rest of the victims, considering that he was responsible for so many deaths and suffering over the course of the saga. However, this leaves one wondering about what happened to his body and what his final resting place was.
How Did Lily’s Sacrificial Protection Really Work?
Lily’s sacrificial protection is one of the most important elements of the story, and in truth, it could be further developed in the saga in order to fully understand its scope and limitations. On the fateful night when Lord Voldemort hunted the Potters, Lily sacrificed her life to protect Harry, putting the baby under a magical protection that prevented the Dark Lord from touching or harming him. Thus, Harry became the only person to survive a Killing Curse, aided by his mother’s great sacrifice. This protection kept Harry safe for many years, until it was eventually altered when Voldemort used Harry’s blood to regenerate his body in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
However, this protection helped him once again during the final battle against Voldemort, who ended up dead as his own spell rebounded back at him, thus saving Harry once again from a killing curse. Although the fundamentals of Lily’s protection spell are explained briefly, there are many aspects of it that are not explored as much in the movies, sparking many doubts in the audience, and prompting fans to compile the story of this protection spell from snippets in the books and Rowling’s own statements in different interviews.