Harry Potter’s Magical World
Take spoon full of spells, add a pinch of adventure, a cup full of excitement, blend in some jinxes, a sprinkling of witches, wizards, gnomes and elves and here you are! A fun-filled magical adventure, that’s Harry Potter for you! Having grown up on a steady diet of children’s classics such as Aesop’s fables and graduating to Enid Blyton, children’s reading has evolved into newer realms today. J.K Rowling’s magical fantasy, Harry Potter has revolutionized children’s reading. Let’s take a peek into the magical world of witches and wizards. A figment of brilliant imagination, the Harry Potter series is genuinely a splendid piece of writing. For the uninitiated, here is the explanation of some important magical terminology -
Hogwarts - The only Magical School of Witchcraft and wizardry in the UK
Albus Dumbledore - The Principal of Hogwarts, an able and great wizard.
Gryffindor - Symbolized by the Lion, and the house to which Harry and his best friends Ronald Weasley and Hermonie belong.
Hufflepuff - House symbolized by a black badger.
Ravenclaw - House symbolized by a bronze eagle.
Slytherin - Symbolized by a silver serpent, Slytherin that has the dubious distinction of having produced the maximum number of wizards practicing dark arts.
Quidditch - A game played on broomsticks, where in catching of the snitch renders the win to a team.
The Forbidden Forest - A big forest that has many magical creatures in it and all students are barred entry into the forbidden forests.
Muggles - Non-magical people or ordinary people who are unaware of the magical world.
Knight bus - A three-tiered magical bus for the transport of stranded witches and wizards. Invisible to the muggle-eye the Knight bus can pass through muggle traffic.
Hogwarts Express - The train that takes students to Hogwarts and leaves from the 9-3/4th platform on London Station.
Lord Voldermort - The Dark lord who are not even named by the witches and wizards. The only person to have survived his wrath is Harry Potter.
Azkaban - The prison for punishing witches and wizards who are involved in bad magic that causes harm to others.
Dementors - Dementors are spirits who guard Azkaban. They are terrible, live on happy feelings. They can suck out happiness from inside you leaving you cold and scared.
Ministry of Magic - The Central body with different departments that regulates and controls all magical activities in the UK.
Divination - A subject taught at Hogwarts, which involves predicting the future.
Transfiguration - Also taught at Hogwarts, transforming one creature into another.
Potions - Taught by Professor Snape, potions include study and making magical potions, poisons and their antidotes.
Care of Magical Creatures - Taught by Professor Hagrid, it involves study and care of magical creatures.
Defence against the Dark Arts - A subject whereby the young witches and wizards are taught to defend themselves against the dark arts.
Herbology - Taught by Professor Sprout, Herbology involves the study of magical plants.
House-elves - Akin to slaves, house-elves do all the housekeeping work. The only difference being they like doing the work. To free them is their punishment.
O.W.Ls - Ordinary Wizarding Levels, an examination that the students need to take to go to the higher levels.
Hedwig - Harry’s owl, owls are used to deliver messages and even parcels to other witches and wizards staying far away.
Hogsmeade - The only all-magical village in UK, where Hogwarts students are allowed to spend time intermittently.
