Mistakes
Taken Derectly from www.mugglenet.com
- In Book 1, on page 27 (American paperback), it mentions that the snake in the zoo winked at Harry. Harry can't be blamed for being so surprised, as snakes don't have movable eyelids.
- When Hagrid comes and gets Harry out of the little hut on the rock, they use the boat that the Dursleys used to get to the rock. So how do the Dursleys get off the rock?
- On Harry's equipment list in the letter from Hogwarts, "1 wand" is listed twice. This was corrected quickly and only appears in the earlier versions.
- Harry's letter from Hogwarts says he may bring a cat, an owl, or a toad, but Ron brings his rat, Scabbers.
- Arguable: When Hagrid brought Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time, Harry heard a woman say "Seventeen sickles an ounce for Dragon Liver. They're mad." But Hagrid told Harry that there were seventeen sickles in a galleon. So that would be like saying "100 pennies" instead of a dollar. Think of it this way: if the Dragon Liver weighed three pounds, a galleon (or for our purposes, a dollar) per ounce is quite a lot of money.
- Harry buys the book One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, but later in the book it says Harry looked up 'dittany' in One Hundred Magical Herbs and Fungi.
- In Chapter 7, page 122, it says that Harry looked up at the Sorting Stool, there were only three people left to be sorted, Professor McGonagall calls the names of four more people instead.
- On page 123, in the chapter "The Sorting Hat," Nearly Headless Nick says that he hasn't eaten in "nearly four hundred years"; but in the second book, Harry goes to Nick's 500th Deathday Party, meaning that Nearly Headless Nick has been dead for 500 years, not 400.
- On the fourth paragraph of page 133, it says that Hermione lent Harry Quidditch Through the Ages: "She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read." On page 46, paragraph three of QTTA, it says "The most successful Japanese team, The Toyohashi Tengu, narrowly missed a win over Lithuania's Gorodok gargoyles in 1994." However, Harry borrows QTTA in Book 1, which is set in 1991.
- On page 153 of the hard-cover US version of Sorcerer's Stone, Fred says: "We haven't won [the Quidditch Cup] since Charlie left..." However, according to JKR, Charlie is three years older than Percy (who is in his 5th year at the time), so Charlie should still have been in Hogwarts the year before. This makes Fred's statement "We haven't won since last year!"
- On page 236 of the US hardback version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it reads: "Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room... The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared..." But on page 133, it says: "They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight..." So are they cutting class to discuss Norbert?
- On pages 274-275 of the hardback American edition of Sorcerer's Stone, the trio, who are coming from Gryffindor Tower, go up two flights of stairs to get to the third floor. Gryffindor Tower is on the 7th floor, so they should have gone down, not up.
- At the beginning of the chess match, Ron is the knight in the giant chess set. However, it later says that he had to 'move ahead one' so the Queen could take him, opening the path for Harry to checkmate the king. If he was a knight, he could only move 1) ahead one, sideways two, or 2) ahead two, sideways one, like an "L."
- On pages 297 and 302 in the paperback version of Sorcerer's Stone, Dumbledore said that he and Hermione's owl crossed in mid-air. However, on page 302, Hermione said that they ran into Dumbledore on the way to the Owlery to send him the owl.
- On page 205 of the UK SS, Ron says, "Well Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle." But the castle is next to the knight, not the bishop.
- On page 4, the day of Harry's birthday, Rowling says, "and then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry..." but they had actually written before Harry's eleventh birthday. He'd been receiving them before, he just never had the chance to read one. So technically he had been written to before his eleventh birthday.
- On page 95, it states that Nearly Headless Nick "took several deep breaths, and then said, in a far calmer tone, 'So what's bothering you?'" However, on page 506 of GOF, Myrtle says that ghosts do not breathe: "When I can't ...when I haven't...not for ages..."
- On page 102 of the American COS: "Several (freshly caught Cornish pixies) shot through the window, showering the back row with broken glass." The glass would have splintered outward, not back into the classroom.
- In COS, on page 119 of the American version, it states, "...Harry was dragging his feet along the SECOND floor corridor to Lockhart's office. He gritted his teeth and knocked." However, on page 141, after Mrs. Norris is found petrified on the second floor, Lockhart urges Professor Dumbledore to use his office to examine her, saying that it is just upstairs. That would mean that his office is on the THIRD floor, not the second. Thanks, Christina!
- (NOTE: This mistake applies only to the US versions.) When Professor McGonagall took Harry to Professor Dumbledore's office, the password was "lemon drop," but then in the fourth book when he's going to tell Dumbledore about Mr. Crouch in the forest it says "...five minutes later he was hurtling towards a stone gargoyle standing half way along an empty corridor. 'Sher-sherbet lemon,' he panted at it. This was the password to the hidden staircase to Dumbledore's office- or at least it had been two years ago."
- The chapter picture for "The Rogue Bludger" shows Harry's left arm deboned, but in the story, his right arm has been deboned.
- At the end of the second book Dumbledore tells Harry that Lord Voldemort is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin. But it should say that Lord Voldemort is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
- In the back of the paperback version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, on the last page where it gives a preview of the next book, it reads: "Harry Potter has to sneak back to his third year at Hogwarts after accidentally inflating his horrible Aunt Petunia." It should say he inflated his Aunt Marge.
- When Harry and Ron go to McGonical's office after they flew the car she preduces a plate on sandwiges for them out of thin air. It is immpossable to create food out of nowwhere.
- The cover of Prisoner of Azkaban (American version) clearly depicts the night that Harry and Hermione save Sirius and Buckbeak. That night is also supposed to be a full moon, as stated in the book. However, on the back side of the cover, the moon appears to be crescent when it should be a full moon.
- In the UK version of POA, page 45 primarily states that Harry is being waited on by the manager of Flourish and Blotts. The manager takes him to the Divination section and takes down Unfogging the Future. However, after Harry is fixated on the Death Omens book, the manager is suddenly referred to as the "assistant."
- In the US version of Book 3, on page 65, when Mr. Weasley is arguing with Mrs. Weasley at the Leaky Cauldron, he says, "You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves--they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice!" Ron has only been in the Forbidden Forest once--to see Aragog in COS.
- In the American version of Prisoner of Azkaban, page 72, first paragraph, it states that "Harry and Ron led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty. They loaded the trunks onto it, stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the luggage rack, then went back outside..."
- On page 74, it states that "Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train. This one had only one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window."
- They had just put their belongings into an empty compartment, so they didn't need to look for another.
- On page 76, it states, "A faint, tinny sort of whistle was coming from somewhere. They looked all around the compartment. 'It's coming from your trunk, Harry,' said Ron, standing up and reaching into the luggage rack."
- Their trunks couldn't have been in that compartment as they had stowed them in another one.
- In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, American paperback version, page 186, paragraph 10, there are no end quotes when Professor Lupin is talking. It says, "'They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance."
- Prisoner of Azkaban, UK edition: On page 242, it says, "Harry felt strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch." Later, on page 293, however, it says, "Harry began to fumble with the rope tying Buckbeak to the fence." Here Buckbeak is tied to a fence, not a tree.
- Throughout the series, the future Hufflepuff prefect is referred to as "Ernie Macmillan." However, on page 244 of the American hardcover edition of POA, his last name is spelled "McMillan."
- It says on page 250 (American hardback) and page 185 (UK edition), Chapter 13, that all of the players on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team ride on Cleansweep Sevens. However, on page 254 (American) and page 188 (UK) it states that Wood told Harry that Cho Chang (Ravenclaw Seeker) rides a Comet Two Sixty.
- On page 324, it says that after his exam with Professor Trelawney, "Harry got up, picked up his bag and turned to go." But when Professor Trelawney began her prediction, the book then says, "Her eyes started to roll. Harry sat there in a panic." How could Harry be sitting when it states that he got up right before Professor Trelawney began her prediction?
- On page 341 (American Hardback edition) it says "Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it." But then when Professor Lupin comes in, it says, "His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor." This cannot be, as Ron is lying on the bed.
- In the American version of Prisoner Of Azkaban, page 380, when the group is exiting the Whomping Willow, it states: "Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Hermione and Harry to pass."
- But then on page 408, after Harry and Hermione turned back time and are watching their other selves, "They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione...then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry and Black."
- The order is different. The first time, it's Snape, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius. The second time, it's Hermione, Snape, Harry, and Sirius.
- Page 400 states: "Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar." This allows Harry and Hermione to hear the conversation inside. Then, on page 402, it says: "Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang." How can it open again, since it was never closed?
- On page 23 of the American version of Goblet of Fire, when Harry is writing to Sirius about the pain in his scar, it says he was "marveling at the fact that he hadn't thought of Sirius straight away. But then, perhaps it wasn't so surprising -- after all, he had only found out that Sirius was his godfather two months ago." Harry actually found out Sirius was his godfather about eight months before, on that day in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
- On the bottom of page 148 in the US edition, it states that Ron, Harry, and Hermione had entered Ron's room, which is here called the "attic room." However, on page 154, it states at the bottom that one of the sounds that could be heard from Ron's room was the ghoul "in the attic." How, then, could Ron's room be considered the attic room, when there is a ghoul living above that room in "the attic"?
- On page 232 of GOF it reads, "Moody had insisted on putting Harry through his paces four times in a row, until Harry could throw off the curse entirely," referring to the Imperius Curse. However, on page 661 it says, "And Harry felt, for the third time in his life, the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought..." Wouldn't that be the fifth time instead of the third? Possible Explanation: The first time Harry's mind was wiped clean was at the Quidditch World Cup and the times that Moody tested the Imperius Curse on Harry count as one time. Therefore, when Voldemort placed the curse on Harry, it was the third time he experienced the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought.
- In Chapter 26 of GOF, page 505, Krum tells Hermione that she has a beetle in her hair, "but Hermione brushed away the beetle impatiently." In Chapter 37 on the train after she had captured Rita Skeeter, Hermione says, "and Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair..." Hermione says Viktor pulled the beetle out, yet the book says that she brushed it away.
- In Chapter 35 ("Veritaserum") of Goblet of Fire, there is an error on page 594. Dumbledore asks, "How did your father subdue you?" The book then states, "'The Imperius curse,' Moody said." Yet the Polyjuice Potion has already worn off, and Barty Crouch Junior is speaking.
- On page 617 of the US edition of GOF, Mrs. Weasley "reminisced at length about" Ogg, the gamekeeper before Hagrid. Hagrid was given the position right after he was expelled in his third year. Since this was over fifty years ago, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't remember another gamekeeper.
- On page 705 in the US paperback edition, Fudge says, "You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who...well..." Shouldn't he have said "You-Know-Who" or "He Who Must Not Be Named" like he usually does?
- The cover of OOTP shows Harry in the Department of Mysteries holding his wand in his left hand. However, it is clearly stated that his right arm is his wand arm.
- On page 1, Harry is lying in his Aunt's hydrangea bush, but on page 7 he recalls that "someone magical had been near him as he lay among Aunt Petunia's dying begonias..."
Possible Explanation: Aunt Petunia may have had a variety of plants and flowers in her garden.
- In the Hardcover U.S. edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, page 12, paragraph three, it says, "Harry stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited." But lilacs grow on bushes, not trees.
- In OOTP, page 60, the description of 12 Grimmauld Place states, "The silver door knocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or letterbox." However, it clearly shows on the title page (the drawing of Snuffles exiting number twelve) that there is a keyhole.
- On page 166, Chapter 9, "The Woes of Mrs. Weasley," it says: "He pretended to be rummaging for something while Hermione crossed to the wardrobe and called Hedwig down. A few moments passed; Harry heard the door close but remained bent double, listening... He straightened up and looked behind him. Hermione and Hedwig had gone. Harry hurried across the room, closed the door..." But Harry had already heard the door close.
- Harry is able to see the Thestrals at the beginning of Order of the Phoenix. It is later explained that you can see them after you have seen death. Harry had seen the death of his mother and possibly his father before he saw Cedric Diggory die, so why didn't he see the Thestrals before?
JKR's response: You can't see them until the death "sinks in." - In OOTP, American edition, hardcover version, on pages 198-199, it says: "The horse was there in front of him, gleaming solidly in the dim light issuing from the station windows behind them, vapor rising from its nostrils in the chilly night air." Before this line, Harry tells Ron that he can see the skeletal horses and Ron can't see them. However, even if Ron couldn't see the horses, he should have been able to see the vapor rising from nowhere.
- On page 225 of the American edition, Ron groans about their schedule. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defense Against the Dark Arts..." Shortly after, on page 229, Harry and his classmates suffer "an hour and a half's droning". Later, on pages 232-233, Snape informs the class they have "an hour and a half" to complete their assignment. It was a regular History of Magic lesson, yet it lasted the same amount of time as double Potions.
- In Chapter 13, "Detention with Dolores," starting on page 234 (259 USA), Professor Grubbly-Plank states, "I want a sketch from each of you with all body-parts labeled by the end of the lesson." The inconsistencies are noticeable at the end of that class; for example, on page 235 (260 USA), it says, "When the bell echoed distantly over the grounds, Harry rolled up his blood-stained Bowtruckle picture and marched off..." On page 238 (264 USA) Harry says that they all (specifically Ron and Hermione) have tons of homework, including to "finish the Bowtruckle drawing," and again it's mentioned on page 241 (268 USA). On page 242 (269 USA), Harry even skips lunch to finish it. Wasn't it due at the end of the original class, therefore not being homework?
- In Order of the Phoenix, UK Edition, page 340, it says "but Harry pulled out his Charms books and set to work on finishing his essay..." However, the excerpts from the Charms book have nothing to do with Charms - they sound like potion ingredients: "Therefore much used in Confusing and Befuddlement Droughts..." Then, after his conversation with Dobby on page 342, "He (Harry) bent and picked up his Potions book. He'd have to try and finish the essay tomorrow." It appears that Harry's Charms essay magically transformed into a Potions essay.
- In the paperback American Edition, Chapter 22, page 474, it says, "There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor." But the next paragraph reads: "'It's Fawkes's warning,' said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell." Dumbledore couldn't have caught the feather; it was already on the ground.
- In the hardback US edition of Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 24 ("Occlumency"), page 526, it says, "'That bossy woman up front 'oo got on with you, she's given us a little tip to move you up the queue. We're just going to let Madam Marsh off first, though--' There was more retching from downstairs, followed by a horrible spattering sound. 'She's not feeling 'er best.'" Nowhere did it say that they had heard retching, so why did it say "more retching"?
- On page 651, the illustration shows Fred and George flying into a night sky with a very full moon. However, on page 675 it says, "Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset."
- On pages 662-663 of the US hardback edition, in Chapter 29 ("Career Advice"), Professor McGonagall seems to make a mistake. She tells Harry that he will need a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, but only four are listed: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions. What happened to the fifth subject?
- In Book 5, Chapter 30 ("Grawp"), pages 683 and 684, at the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Quidditch match, it says: "They [Harry & Hermione] found seats in the topmost row of the stands." Later on, when Hagrid comes to take them to see Grawp, it says: "Apparently he [Hagrid] had squeezed his way all along the row behind." How can that be if Harry and Hermione were in the top row?
- On page 714 (American hardback), while Harry is vanishing an iguana for his practical Transfiguration exam, the book says that Hannah Abbot "lost her head completely at the next table and somehow managed to multiply her ferret into a flock of flamingos..." However, on the previous page, we are shown that the students were called in in alphabetical order: "Parkinson, Pansy-- Patil, Padma-- Patil, Parvati-- Potter, Harry." If they were all called alphabetically by last name, why are Abbot and Potter together?
- The cover illustration portrays Dumbledore with a normal-looking right hand, but the text makes it clear that it is Dumbledore's right hand and arm (p. 58) that are blackened and shriveled (p. 48), and that are still in such condition at the precise moment depicted by the cover illustration (p. 567).
- In the American edition, when Dumbledore and Harry enter Horace Slughorn's house, something "darkly red and glutinous was spattered over the wallpaper." Later, when asked what kind of blood it was, Slughorn explains, "On the walls? Dragon... My last bottle, and prices are sky-high at the moment." (p. 65) However, in Book 5 (OOTP), when Hagrid finally returns in Chapter 20, he is nursing his bloodied face with a green-tinged steak of dragon meat. "He picked up the steak and slapped it over the left side of his face. Greenish blood trickled down into his beard as he gave a soft moan of satisfaction." (p. 422)
- In the American Edition, page 188, Slughorn says, "One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis enough for twelve hours' luck. From dusk til' dawn, you will be lucky in everything you attempt."
But then on page 476, Harry says, "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twenty-four hours' worth..."
- On page 176 of HBP, UK edition, it states "Malfoy looked rather as he had done the time Hermione had punched him in the face." However, on page 216 of the UK POA, Hermione "...had slapped Malfoy around the face with all the strength she could muster."
- The Elder Wand was supposed to be unbeatable, but Dumbledore defeats Grindlewald to win it.
- In chapter nine, Hermione, Ron, and Harry escape the Burrow to Tottenham Court Road where they are followed to a small, shabby cafe by two Death Eaters. The Death Eaters are hit by spells by Harry and Hermione and they have to decide what to do with them. Harry suggests they just wipe their memories, and Hermione says she's never done this. BUT earlier in chapter six Hermione explains that she has modified her parents' memories and sent them to Australia to keep them safe.
Taken derectly from www.mugglenet.com