ProfessorTofty's blog

Harry Potter Wiki: Time Turner - Minerva McGonagall

2013-04-27T20:22:49Z

Our Time-Turner feature on the Harry Potter Wiki continues, thanks to the help of Hunnie Bunn.

Take a trip back into the history of the Harry Potter Wiki with Harry Potter Wiki:Time-Turner - Minerva McGonagall. This time around, we look back at the article as it was on August 6, 2007, about two years and a month after the Harry Potter Wiki was first founded. Things have come a long way since then, as Minerva McGonagall is now a thriving, featured article with numerous sections and, of course, the latest info from Pottermore. In fact, a while back, McGonagall's page was featured on Wikia as our choice for the best article on the wiki.

Looking back to 2007, while the page was much shorter, many of the basics were still in place, including some biographical info and an infobox (with the colours of Gryffindor at the time). Some things were a bit more informal, such as lines like "No one could have ever been in any doubt as to who was in charge when Professor McGonagall was teaching a class" and for lack of a Behind the scenes section, a couple of the books are mentioned within the article. Still, the article was quite detailed for that time in the history of the Wiki, given McGonagall's status as a somewhat more minor character and, while reasonably well-liked, not quite as popular in comparison to certain other characters.

Welcome to the Lord Voldemort Wiki

2013-04-01T00:02:20Z

Greetings everyone, and welcome to the Lord Voldemort Wiki!*

I Lord Voldemort am pleased to welcome you to this new, improved, purely pure version of the wiki. A bastion of Dark Magic, join us now on the quest for immortality. Those not meeting our criteria must register immediately with the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. Please report any and all sightings of Undesirable No. 1 immediately. That is all.

*(Note from the Harry Potter Wiki staff: the Ministry of Magic assures us that they will have this all under control by tomorrow. Something about April something... the details are still a bit hazy...)

Harry Potter Wiki - Be My Valentine

2013-02-26T23:32:12Z

A couple days before Valentine's Day, the Harry Potter Wiki posted a poll to determine who you'd like be your Valentine. The results are now in, and can be viewed at our poll archive.

Of course, in looking back, there was one glaring omission from the poll, and that was Ginny Weasley. I'm sure there's many guys out there that would want her to be their Valentine, but I guess there's always next year.

Looking at the results for male characters, it would seem that many of our readers have a taste for bad boys. Draco Malfoy was the top scorer, earning nearly 20% of the total poll vote. Severus Snape and Lord Voldemort combined also managed to pull in over 200 votes. Not that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley didn't have their fans also, with Harry pulling in over 400 votes, and Ron over 300. Gilderoy Lockhart, whom we might call the prince of Valentine's day, was by far the least popular choice, with only 20 votes.

On the female side, Hermione Granger was the runaway winner, with over 700 votes and over 25% of the total poll vote. She was nearly as popular as the other two members of the Trio combined. Coming in a distant second was Luna Lovegood at just over 10% of the vote, with Bellatrix Lestrange in the show position. Molly Weasley was the least popular choice, with only 18 total votes.

The new poll question asks what character you're most interested in seeing more information about as Pottermore covers Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So get voting!

Review - Wonderbook: Book of Spells

2013-02-12T02:23:45Z

In November 2012, a new type of Harry Potter game experience was released. Called Wonderbook: Book of Spells, the game was met with excitement and great anticipation, as it utilizes a new type of technology to present an immersive and interactive experience, while introducing a number of new canon elements into the Harry Potter universe. So how does the Wonderbook experience stack up? Read on to find out.

Seeing as I already owned a PlayStation 3, I knew that Wonderbook was something that I definitely wanted to have. The very idea of the game is exciting-- allowing you to take control of your own magic wand and learn spells from a spellbook and view your achievements on-screen. The player is quickly drawn into the world of magic, with tales of wizarding history, and familiar incantations and magic.

Wonderbook offers a fun selection of spells, from starting out with simple charms such as the Levitation Charm, to advanced magic such as the Patronus Charm. This latter one is one of the true highlights of the game, in which you find out just what your Patronus is and watch with delight as it capers, sending Dementors scattering. Throughout the game are a series of entertaining tales about great uses of spells in history, along with some opportunities for humour as you guess what happens next in the story. Additionally, after learning the spells, you'll usually be given the opportunity to test what you just learned in a wizarding challenge, with a test at the end of each chapter. Doing well on these opportunities earns you House Points, and the game is also connected to the PlayStation Network, allowing to earn Trophies, with the valuable Platinum Trophy "First Edition" granted for getting through the game and completing all the other Trophies.

All of this isn't to say that Wonderbook: Book of Spells isn't without its flaws. The two biggest of these would have be overall length and replay value. For the price at which the game is offered, the length of the game is actually surprisingly short. I assume the price has more to do with the innovative nature of the game, as each chapter (and there are only five) only takes about an hour or two to complete. Most of the Trophies are earned simply for progressing through the game, and there are only a couple where you have to fulfill specific skill requirements. As such, replay value is very limited, since you can easily earn all of the Trophies without having to start a new playthrough. The game encourages you to practice, but it doesn't give you any major incentive to do so. Furthermore, while the game allows you to link with your Pottermore account to customise your wand and House, the "House Points" that it gives don't seem to be credited to your Pottermore account, at least not in my experience. This is quite disappointing, as it would have been a great incentive to keep playing. One can only hope that future downloadable content may be offered for this game, either in the form of upgrades or new spells to learn.

The other biggest annoyance with the game is the controls. If you get the game, do yourself a favor-- do as the game instructs and sit on the floor. Even though it may be a bit uncomfortable, you will save yourself a lot of hassle this way. Even with this, there are still things that are somewhat irritating. The game asks you to make gestures to cast spells, but oftentimes you can almost precisely duplicate what is on-screen and it won't recognise it, whereas at other times, you can make a gesture that seemingly isn't even close, and it'll accept it. Furthermore, any exercise that asks you to aim your wand at something can be a bit of a pain in the rear to master.

Would I recommend Book of Spells? Yes. But I'd say wait for the price to drop, or consider looking for an opportunity to rent, or get a used copy. Or, if you don't have a PlayStation 3 and/or just want to experience the story of the game, seek out the videos of the gameplay online.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Harry Potter Wiki Reading Club - Chamber of Secrets

2013-01-31T21:05:25Z

A little while back, in association with Wikia, the Harry Potter Wiki had its first ever Reading Club. Over a couple of weeks, we discussed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It was enjoyed so much that we've decided to bring it back!

Join us at 7 P.M. eastern on Wednesday, February 20 (that's 4 P.M. western) for the first part of the chat for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The chat will last for about an hour. Come having read Chapters 1-9 and join us for the following questions:

Is this anyone's first time reading Chamber of Secrets?
Did these chapters disappoint you in any way? If so, how would you change them to better live up to your expectations?
Did you think the characters and their decisions or problems were realistic? Do you think the author was trying to make them so? If so, how do you think they failed?
What was your initial take on Gilderoy Lockhart? If you could buy any of his works, would you and which one?
What was your favourite chapter so far? Was there a passage you liked best?
Which do you feel the author described best; plot, events or characters?
How did these chapters make you feel?
Would you recommend this book, based on what you've read so far, to your friends or family?

If your fancy isn't tickled by these questions, don't worry. You're welcome to bring up other things that catch your interest, and there'll be plenty of follow-up discussion. Those who haven't already that are interested are asked to leave a message on the talk page of Hunnie Bunn, though last minute drop-ins are welcome, provided they've read the book. If you've read before, but it's been a while, this is an excellent chance to catch up.

Contest to Win Wonderbook: Book of Spells Bundle

2013-01-04T21:50:18Z

Wanted Wonderbook: Book of Spells for Christmas, but didn't get it? A site called SheKnows is offering a chance to win the complete package, with PlayStation Eye camera and PlayStation Move controller. You can enter here. The contest goes until February 3 and you can enter as many times as you like.

Tom Riddle! (Time-Turner)

2012-12-31T22:26:26Z

Hey there, ol' Voldy! The Harry Potter Wiki wishes you a very happy birthday as your poor, pathetic form molders in Limbo. And while you rot, we announce:

Harry Potter Wiki:Time-Turner - Tom Riddle

Travel back in time to New Year's Eve of 2010 and view the Tom Riddle article as it appeared two years ago. At that time, most of the article that we have today was already in place, but since then, there have been some significant additions, including a new page-top quote, a signature image, more info for behind the scenes, a Media section courtesy of Wikia and an imagecat link. Take a look, and see how far we've come, and keep an eye out for the next Time-Turned article. ProfessorTofty (talk) 22:26, December 31, 2012 (UTC)

Dear Santa...

2012-12-29T00:09:18Z

So, it's a bit late, but for Christmas, the Harry Potter Wiki asked if you had any Harry Potter related items on your list for Christmas. Here's what you had to say:

Yes - Wonderbook: Book of Spells - 11.55% (227 votes)
Yes - Harry Potter for Kinect - 3.87% (76 votes)
Yes - Harry Potter Wizard's Collection - 12.72% (250 votes)
Yes - Harry Potter Limited Edition - 3.76% (74 votes)
Yes - Something else - 50.71% (997 votes)
No - 17.4% (342 votes)

So, all in all, over 80% of our readers were hoping for at least something Harry Potter related for Christmas. But if they asked, did they receive? That's the subject of our next poll, so get in those votes, and in the next couple of weeks, we'll reveal just how many got at least some of what they wished for.

Harry Potter Wiki: Time Turner

2012-12-20T02:37:10Z

Harry Potter Wiki readers - ever wished you could travel back in time? Well, now you can with our new feature - Harry Potter Wiki: Time-Turner. The Time-Turner takes you back in time, allowing you to easily view one of our pages as it appeared in the past, with a new past revision featured every so often.

We begin with a previous revision of Harry Potter. This revision, dated February 28, 2006, allows you to see exactly how our article for Harry Potter looked back when it was first chosen as a featured article. At the time, the page was only about 6 KB in size. Only some basic biography info, one picture and a family tree were present, and only info through the first four films and six books, as the rest hadn't been released yet. We've really come a long way since then, haven't we?

Keep an eye out for more from the Time-Turner!

Trip to Wikia headquarters - Video features, Presentations, Photos & More

2012-12-01T16:48:14Z

Well, I'm back and rested from my trip to San Francisco. The trip was great - the travel there went smoothly and everything went well checking into the hotel. After getting situated in, I spent a good portion of the night sleeping and got up early the next day for the trip to Wikia headquarters.

It was a rainy morning, but I had my umbrella and I made it in without getting too wet. Things cleared up somewhat later in the day and it stopped raining.

At Wikia's headquarters, I was introduced to the tool that they use to create videos upon request. It's a neat program that has access to a lot of video, including all of the Harry Potter movies. Unfortunately, that particular service was acting rather flaky at the time (the fault of the third-party company, not Wikia), so I didn't get to make as many clips as I had hoped, but I did get to make a few.

I had several presentations throughout the day about both videos and various wiki features. One thing I discussed was the use of videos on the Harry Potter Wiki, both in the past and in the future. Now that we have access to the full library of Harry Potter films to make clips, I think this is something that could really take off. The clips would work well within certain sections of the articles, and we also have access to some neat behind-the-scenes material for things like the actor pages. You may have also seen it mentioned on my other blog post, but there's potential for things like video galleries, as seen at the Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki. If you haven't taken a moment to check it out already, I recommend it, because it really looked great. I also mentioned that it would be neat to have access to material from the games, because there's a lot of things like spells and characters that don't currently even have pictures at the moment. That's something they're looking into.

Another thing that they mentioned that's still in the early stages is a revamp for the visual editor. The visual editor has certainly caused some issues here with things like images ending up out of place or the issue with the character names in the infoboxes. I can't say too much about it at the moment because it's still in the earliest development, but I think it has the potential to really make things easier for new users, while at the same time providing a useful tool for quick edits when we don't really need the full-coded interface.

One thing that I'm very excited about it is Wikia's plans to develop more media connections with people associated with the Harry Potter franchise. While nothing is certain, there's the chance that we could be seeing things like getting access to interviews with people actually involved with the development of the Harry Potter films and such. And while it certainly isn't necessarily likely, I threw the idea out there of possibly even having some sort of interview or chat with J. K. Rowling herself. So cross your fingers - you never know! I can certainly think of several things I would ask if we actually had a chance to talk to Rowling - such as what she considers Lavender Brown's fate to be, and what is Remus Lupin's patronus? (I imagine a werewolf, but the point is, we don't know.)

We went to lunch at a place called The Local. I had their burger and fries (pretty good), and I got to meet Wikia's C.E.O., Craig Palmer. He's a nice guy and we had a good chat. You can learn more about him here.

I also got to meet Danny Horn, who is Wikia's Senior Project Manager. For those that have never talked with Danny here on Wikia, he is Toughpigs, the founder of Muppet Wiki, one of Wikia's largest and most successful wikis, on which he has an astonishing over 100,000 edits. I first "met" Danny on Muppet Wiki under another username and also recommend his website, ToughPigs, as an excellent resource for information about both everything Muppets and pop-culture in general.

I'd like to give a special thanks to Sena Roth for being my contact and for guiding me throughout the day, and to everyone at Wikia for their generosity and enthusiasm.

After leaving Wikia headquarters, I visited the area of AT&T Park (being a baseball fan), home of the San Francisco Giants and purchased a World Series program from their shop (the Giants are the 2012 baseball World Series champions.) After this, since I work at a library myself, I visited a branch of San Francisco's library and got an out-of-state library card. While I can't actually use it at the library there (since I'm back in Ohio) now, I can still use their downloadable collection, and it also makes a nice souvenir. Finally, before heading back to the hotel to rest for the trip back the next day, I visited the Disney Store near my hotel. I was pleased to see it, as the Disney Store at the local mall was removed a long time ago. I was hoping they might have some Kingdom Hearts merchandise. They didn't, but I did buy a plush Special Agent Oso.

The trip back the next day was interesting. My first flight connected through Chicago and on the flight to there, there was nobody sitting next to me in either seat, so I essentially had all three seats to myself. The second flight was supposed to be just a quick hop from Chicago to Dayton, but when I got there, the flight was reporting as being delayed about 40 minutes and it had also moved to a different terminal. As the wait continued, they kept tacking another 30 minutes onto the delay until the flight ended up being delayed by around 2 and a half hours. It turned out, though, that there was another flight going to Dayton with seats available, so I managed to get onto that and I actually ended up with a bit of an upgrade because a seat in Economy Plus happened to be available, so I got a cushier seat with more legroom. From what I read, the other flight did eventually arrive - I imagine anyone that stuck around pretty much had the run of it, as I think most of the people that were on the original flight transferred to the one that I ultimately got on.

Here's a gallery of the photos I took while in San Francisco. I actually took quite a few more, but I wanted to keep these related to the actual Wikia-related photos. If you want to see the rest, leave a comment or send me a message and we'll work something out.

ProfessorTofty's Travelogue - On My Way to Wikia Headquarters

2012-11-27T21:45:54Z

Well, my trip has begun and I am now on my way to Wikia's headquarters, where I shall discover the deepest secrets of Wikia. ... ... :D Okay, well, maybe not, but it should be a good time.

Currently I am in the Dallas Airport, waiting for the trip to San Francisco. Trip's been fine so far - flight to Dallas departed a bit later than scheduled, but then arrived earlier than scheduled, so I've got a bit of extra time.

I'll keep you updated here as the trip continues, so watch this spot. And if you have any questions or anything about Wikia (the headquarters), you can ask them here, and I'll see if maybe I can answer them.

Day 2 - Morning

I am in San Francisco - I am scheduled to arrive at Wikia's headquarters in about an hour. Trip was fine - flights were good and I arrived at the hotel okay. The hotel is nice, but it doesn't have free wifi. I didn't want to pay for it and I didn't feel like doing much but sleeping last night, so no update last night. It's morning now, though, and I am up and at 'em.

Update - Arrived

I have just arrived and I am here at Wikia's headquarters. It's very nice - they have sections that are named after various wikis (no Harry Potter one that I've seen so far, but they do have a Lego one that includes Lego Star Wars and Lego Harry Potter) and the computer station I am seated at has a Harry Potter Wiki logo with Gryffindor on it.

Video Presentation

Just had a presentation and discussion regarding video features on Wikia. We had some good conversations regarding what types of videos are available on Wikia, which ones are best to put where, and some bugs & things that need to be improved. One idea that was mentioned that we aren't really doing at the moment but might be something to consider was having videos that are sort of like highlight clips - for example, Quidditch could have a reel showing major highlights from the Quidditch matches. Something to consider. We have access to the library of the eight Harry Potter films and I also mentioned that it would be great if we could access material from the video games as well. Another thing that I'll be exploring today is updates to the editor - we've had a lot of issues with the visual editor feature in the past and that's something that they're going to be working on improving. Stay tuned!

Thursday Morning

A special thank you to Wikia for paying for wifi at the hotel - they are awesome! The presentations and everything went well last night, but I was rather tired after that and spending some time exploring the sights of San Francisco, so no post last night. I had several excellent presentations, including some more discussions about how to implement videos and regarding several other upcoming major Wikia features. I'll have more to say about it soon, as well as some photographs to post. In the meantime, I'll mention the Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki, which has some of the latest updates in videos that they've been working on. So if you have a moment, check that one out, it's great. This is one where the staff was allowed directly in to edit the pages to update everything with the latest in video content and they have some neat video galleries. Another thing that's on the pipeline is a new visual editor. I can't really say too much about this one at this point, as it's still in the newest stages, but it's intended to solve a lot of the problems related to the current visual editor, which has caused several headaches in the past. If you check out MediaWiki's visual editor project, you can get an idea of the basics of where they're going.

Wonderbook for Black Friday

2012-11-23T17:19:22Z

Harry Potter fans - if you've been waiting for Wonderbook: Book of Spells, now is your chance. It's Black Friday, and there's not likely to be any better deals on this new and exciting Harry Potter video game title anytime soon. I just purchased the Wonderbook with PlayStation Move and Eye camera on Amazon, but you have choices, so let's break them down:

- PlayStation Move Bundle with PlayStation Eye camera on Amazon - You can find this here. The price is $49.99 and if you have Amazon Prime, you get free shipping in two business days (though it's noted that it "may take an additional 1-2 days to process") or if you don't have Prime, you have the option of free "Super Saver Shipping," but you may have to wait a while to get it.

- Regular game without the bundle - Here at Amazon for $19.99 (Note: Says $29.99 on the main entry - do not pay this, click for more buying options and choose to buy from Amazon.)

- GameStop - Same prices as Amazon

If anyone knows of a better deal, I'd be curious to hear about it, but this seems like your best shot. Good luck, Black Friday shoppers!

On the Way to Sunny CA

2012-11-08T17:44:02Z

Some exciting news - Wikia has offered me a free trip to their headquarters in California at the end of this month. I'll be spending a day there at their headquarters and while there, I'll be learning about and discussing the latest features for videos on Wikia. The travel expenses are entirely paid, so it's a pretty neat deal.

While I'm there, if there's any questions anyone wants me to ask, or anything they'd like to find out, just let me know. I'll try to represent the Harry Potter Wiki while I'm there, as well as my pet project, the Eternal Sonata Wiki. Really excited about the trip and this opportunity to learn more about Wikia!

Happy Hallowe'en from Harry Potter Wiki

2012-10-31T06:22:21Z

Hallowe'en has come, and the ghosts and goblins are out!

We celebrate Hallowe'een here on the Harry Potter Wiki, but for Harry Potter, Hallowe'en brings mixed feelings, as this way the day that he lost his parents, James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort, who was certainly out on on trick-or-treating expedition that night.

On the other hand, Hallowe'en brought the delicious Hallowe'en feast, but also thrills and danger in the form of Quirinus Quirrell's first mountain troll and the Deathday Party for Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, followed by Harry's hearing a strange voice and the discovery of the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. 31 October was also the day of Sirius Black's attack on the Fat Lady and the fateful day when Harry learned that he was fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament.

It's also interesting to consider Hallowe'en holiday in the books. Hallowe'en was significant in each of the first four books, but didn't play a role at all in any of the final three, unless you count the flashback in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Why Rowling chose to do it this way is uncertain, but even so, there's no doubt that Hallowe'en was of key importance to the series.

So, how about you, Potter fans? Any plans to dress up in Harry Potter-themed Hallowe'een costumes, or maybe your kids? Seen any interesting Harry Potter Hallowe'en themed displays in your neighbourhood? Share it here!

Harry Potter Wikia a Top Wikia Entertainment Wiki

2012-07-02T23:44:34Z

I was over at the Community Wiki and I spotted something interesting - the Harry Potter Wiki is in fifth place on the top entertainment wikis. Our popularity exceeds even that of the Star Trek Wiki, Memory Alpha, and other wikis just below us include the Digimon Wiki and the Marvel Database. I assume these rankings must be popularity, as Memory Alpha is far larger in terms of content than us. Wikis that are more popular at this time include Wookiepedia, the Star Wars wiki (and no surprise, it's massive) and the Dragon Ball Wiki.

Pretty thrilling to be in the top five, and hopefully we can push ahead even further!

A Very Harry Christmas

2011-12-25T06:50:44Z

"Harry arrived early in the Room of Requirement for the last D.A. meeting before the holidays and was very glad he had, because when the lamps burst into light he saw that Dobby had taken it upon himself to decorate the place for Christmas. He could tell the elf had done it, because nobody else would have strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Harry's face and bearing the legend: HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!"

—Harry discovers a Christmas surprise in the Room of Requirement^[src]

Merry Christmas! Or Happy Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or winter-berry hunting ( :D ) -- I'm down with whatever winter holiday tradition you like to celebrate.

But in the Harry Potter series, the characters celebrate Christmas. Christmas has certainly brought some interesting things for Harry, some good, some not so good. During his time with the Dursleys, Christmas wasn't particularly a time to look forward to, as he never received any presents, and perhaps more importantly, he never had anyone he truly considered family or friends to spend it with. All of that changed, however, once he arrived at Hogwarts and took his place in the magical world. With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at Harry's Christmases...

1 1991
2 1992
3 1993
4 1994
5 1995
6 1996
7 1997

1991Edit

Harry first tries on the cloak.

Added by NuVanDibe

When Harry first arrived at Hogwarts, the idea of a Christmas with friends and things like getting presents was still new to him. While excited by the general holiday atmosphere at Hogwarts, he really wasn't expecting any presents, having been so used to the way things were with the Dursleys. As such, it came as something of a surprise to him when he woke up to presents on Christmas morning. Among other things, he received his first-ever Weasley jumper, but the most exciting and interesting present by far had to be the invisibility cloak, a gift that at the time he had no idea of knowing was the fabled Cloak of Invisibility, one of the three fabled Deathly Hallows. It was left to him with a note written in loopy handwriting reading simply "Use it well." At that time, he used it to sneak into the Hogwarts Library with the intention of visiting the Restricted Section and searching for information about Nicolas Flamel. Throughout the years, the Cloak proved quite useful indeed, aiding Harry and his friends in a number of situations. He did, indeed, "use it well."

1992Edit

Hermione with a cat's face

Added by Family guy man

Christmas time in 1992 was tainted by the fear that swept through the castle following the unexplained Petrification of Argus Filch's cat and Hogwarts students. The atmosphere of fear at the school meant that the vast majority of students left for him, but Harry's friends Ron and Hermione remained for moral support. To their surprise, they discovered that Draco Malfoy and his cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were remaining at the school at well. Therefore, while Harry and his friends enjoyed the sumptuous Christmas feast, their evening affairs involved covert activities as they used Polyjuice Potion in the hopes of tricking Malfoy into revealing that he was the "Heir of Slytherin," the individual that had opened the Chamber of Secrets and was setting an unknown monster on the muggle-borns of the school. In the end, they only succeeding in learning that Malfoy was not, in fact, the Heir. Furthermore, Hermione had made a critical mistake, having secured a hair for the potion not from Millicent Bulstrode of Slytherin, but rather from her cat. She was left with a cat's face and other cat features (including a tail) and required a stay in the hospital wing.

1993Edit

Harry Potter's Firebolt broomstick

Added by Dgw2008

Christmas and the time leading up to it in 1993 was another mixed bag for Harry. With the help of "a bit of festive cheer" from Fred and George Weasley, he was able to visit the Wizarding village of Hogsmeade for the first time and experience its many delights. But this fun trip was marred by an overheard conservation at the Three Broomsticks Inn in which Harry learned (though nobody knew that this was not the truth at the time) that Sirius Black was the man who had betrayed the whereabouts of his parents to Lord Voldemort, the world's most evil wizard. Before he could spend too long brooding on revenge, however, he and his friends learned of more bad news-- that their friend and professor Rubeus Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak, was scheduled for a hearing with the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. This drove thoughts of revenge out of Harry's mind as he and the others tried their best to help Hagrid. Then, on Christmas morning, Harry received one of his biggest surprises ever - a state-of-the-art Quidditch broomstick, a Firebolt. The sort of racing broom that any top-flight Quidditch player dreams about, Harry marveled at the broom. But his cheer was cut short later that day when Professor Minerva McGonagall arrived to confiscate the broom, fearing it been sent by Sirius Black as a means of endangering Harry. (Again, though nobody could have known it at the time, the broom was sent by Sirius Black, but it was simply what Harry had thought it to be - a Christmas gift.) As it was Hermione who had tipped McGonagall off to Harry's receiving the broom, this led to a rift in her friendship with Harry and Ron that would take quite a while to heal.

1994Edit

Harry in dress robes

Added by You-Know-Who

1994 saw Harry's nerve, daring and magical skills tested to the limit as he learned that he was the unprecedented fourth entrant in the Triwizard Tournament, a competition between Hogwarts and two other wizarding schools, the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute. The dangers included dragons and more, but the real threat was lurking outside Hogwarts. In the time leading up to Christmas, however, Harry found himself facing an entirely unexpected task. He learned that he would be required to dance with a partner at the Yule Ball, a traditional festive accompaniment to the Tournament. Though he knew whom he wanted to ask out, he found his choice taken instead by Cedric Diggory, his fellow Hogwarts opponent in the Tournament. He was forced to settle instead for Parvati Patil, while his friend Ron was accompanied by Parvati's twin, Pamda. Neither of the boys greatly enjoyed the ball (Ron's enjoyment particularly spoiled by Hermione's dating another champion, Viktor Krum). Slome interesting information was learned, however, as the two overheard an argument between Severus Snape and Igor Karkaroff and then later heard Hagrid admit to Madame Maxime that was half-giant. As the Yule Ball ended, Harry was left with something else to ponder when Diggory gave him a seemingly strange piece of advice - that he could learn something that would help him solve the Golden Egg clue for the second task of the tournament if he took a bath and used the Prefects' bathroom.

1995Edit

Arthur Weasley, attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini

Added by Daniel Hu

1995 was a difficult year for Harry and the others, as Harry was being persecuted by the British Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts was under the tyranny of the sadistic Dolores Umbridge. Inspired to fight, Harry took charge of Dumbledore's Army, a secret group of Hogwarts students who wished to learn proper Defence Against the Dark Arts. In the time leading up to the holidays, he scheduled a final meeting before break, only to enter the Room of Requirement (the secret location discovered for the meetings) and find that it had been decorated by Dobby with golden baubles bearing his face and the legend "HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS." He managed to remove most of the decorations, but was not in time to remove some mistletoe, which was pointed out by Luna Lovegood, though she worried that it might be infested with nargles. The mistletoe later came into play when Harry shared his first kiss with Cho Chang. Later, Harry experienced a vision in which Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, was attacked by the snake Nagini. This vision allowed him to alert Albus Dumbledore and save Arthur's life, though this and other events led Harry to become concerned that his connection with Voldemort would somehow pose a danger to his friends. Nevertheless, Harry ended up spending the holidays at 12 Grimmauld Place and in the company of his godfather, Sirius Black.

1996Edit

The Slug Club party

Added by You-Know-Who

With Dolores Umbridge gone from the school, things went somewhat back to normal at Hogwarts, though the wizarding community was on heightened alert due to the growing threat of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. As Christmas approached, Harry faced another problem, the rift between his friends Hermione and Ron, who was dating Lavender Brown. For the end of term, Horace Slughorn scheduled a Christmas party for the members of his Slug Club, having checked Harry's schedule to make sure it would be at time when Harry could attend. Members were allowed to take a partner of the choice to the party (whether or not the partner was in the Slug Club). At Hermione's urging that he had best pick a partner before some girl slipped him a Love Potion, Harry ended up taking Luna Lovegood, who proved to great entertainment with her theories about the Rotfang Conspiracy and the idea of Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour being a vampire. Harry also overheard a troubling conversation between Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. Hary then visited The Burrow for Christmas with Ron, Hermione being thoroughly upset with Ron for his dating Lavender. At The Burrow, Harry talked with Remus Lupin and learned why he hadn't heard from his former professor recently, as Lupin was underground trying to make headway for the light side's cause with his fellow werewolves. Harry also floated his theory with Lupin of Draco Malfoy being a Death Eater, but Lupin felt that they all had to trust in Dumbledore. On Christmas day, Harry received a visit from Rufus Scrimgeour, who tried to talk him into revealing where Dumbledore went when he left Hogwarts. Harry, however, was not inclined to tell the minister, even if he did know.

1997Edit

Godric's Hollow

Added by Oiv8

In the time leading up to Christmas in 1997, Harry and Hermione were on the run following Voldemort's return to the open and his control over the Ministry of Magic. The two found themselves without Ron Weasley, who had run away in a fit of temper and found himself unable to return after nearly being caught by a gang of Snatchers. Running low on leads in their hunt for Horcruxes, Hermione suggested a visit to Godric's Hollow in the belief that they might learn about the strange eye-like symbol that Harry first seen as a necklace around the neck of Xenophilius Lovegood. Harry agreed to the journey, as he had thought that Godric's Hollow might hold answers, and he also thought that Dumbledore might have chosen to leave Godric Gryffindor's Sword with Bathilda Bagshot, who lived in Godric's Hollow. During their visit, the two learned that it was Christmas Eve, having lost track of time during the many months spent on the run. They visited the graveyard and found the strange symbol on the grave of Ignotus Peverell and also discovered the graves of Harry's parents. Bathilda Bagshot, however, did not possess the sword that they were seeking - it turned out that Bagshot had been killed many months previously and replaced by Nagini, a trap set for Harry Potter. Harry and Hermione managed to escape, but at great cost, as Harry's wand was snapped and Harry was injured. Soon after this incident, however, Harry was led to the real Sword of Gryffindor and Ron was reunited with Harry and Hermione.

So there you have it. Whether good or bad, one can certainly not say that Christmas was ever uninteresting for Harry during his years at Hogwarts. Still, here's hoping that in future years, Christmas was a peaceful time for Harry spent with friends and family. As he himself noted, "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."

And again, happy holidays to everyone here, and here's hoping you get at least some of what you wished for for the holidays!

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