@@cubedmelons876 this just made me so happy. Thank you! Especially because I imagine that he is getting things like tarts and cakes and not chocolate frogs or things you can buy in a shop.
Neville not being in the dormitory is noted in the book: “All the same, it wasn’t what you’d call a perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn’t back from the hospital wing).”
And Snape is not an outcast while he is at school?? He might get bullied by the Griffin doors, but it clearly states in the books he was getting into the dark arts with his gang of Slytherin friends.
@@kalebzerger301 It's a little murky. By his 5th year he was in with a gang of Slytherins, but there's nothing to indicate whether he was *friends* with them in a real sense, or just that school way where someone is just tolerated to hang out with people who are really friends
It amuses me that, to some degree, the climaxes of books 1 to 3 all hinge on Draco being a dick earlier in the story. If he hadn’t challenged Harry to a duel in this book, Harry and co wouldn’t have discovered fluffy and figured out that he was guarding the stone, if he hadn’t ridiculed Harry for getting his picture in the paper at Flourish & Blotts, then Lucius wouldn’t have had a chance to slip Riddle’s diary into Ginny’s cauldron, and if he hadn’t provoked Buckbeak into attacking him, then trio wouldn’t have snuck out to see Hagrid before the execution and ended up in The Shrieking Shack.
Seconds is in deed a real thing in real historical duels. Mostly they acted like judges and/or assistants to the duellers, but sometimes they too would fight in the duell.
Regarding Katie Bell, she is only a year older than Harry since she's in 7th year during Half-Blood Prince. Which means that during Sorcerer's Stone, she's a 2nd year. Since typically 1st years aren't allowed to try out for Quidditch, that means Wood must have somehow already had tryouts and just didn't find a seeker. They make such a big deal about Harry being the "youngest quidditch player in a century," so I can't imagine Katie made the team her 1st year.
That makes sense, although I wonder what they would do if Harry wasn't there then. As they need a seeker to play. I guess thay would do another round of tryouts?
Lee Jordan says in the commentary for the first match that Katie was just a reserve player the year before, and that she’s a close friend of Wood’s, so that explains both how she got in and that she wasn’t fully on the team the year before. Still seems people would have noted her. Probably JK hadn’t decided her age yet, maybe thinking she too was a 5th year if she was friends with Wood, or a third year like the rest. Could also be she was born late in the year so she didn’t start Hogwarts until she was 12, making her older than Harry when she made the team as reserve, but still a first year
Ben saying he feared for Harry expulsion when he was a kid. Takes me back. I love when Ben and Jay go back. And describe their thoughts, when they were first read the story by their dad. I know they have become experts over many reading and analyzations of each book and movie. But hearing they're first impressions. Is always really cool.
I can’t imagine every new student wants to sign up for quidditch. Like any other sports team in a really small school, the houses have a tiny pool of kids to choose from. Plus the first years are like 8th graders playing against seniors. That can be a HUGE gap physically, much less mentally. Try outs seem unnecessary unless there’s competition for a spot or a larger number of kids wanting to play than there are spots on the team, hence tryouts later in the series.
@@suzyq-zy216 Eh. In my middle school, I would say about 80-90% of the boys were signed up for football. In a school of maybe 600, they fielded 4 football teams. To field a quidditch team, you only need 1 student per year. It isn't outside the realm of possibility to think at least 3 per year would be interested in playing.
My kids went to a school that had 208 total students, K-12. That’s what I was basing my thoughts off of. I had over 700 kids in my class alone, so I couldn’t wrap my brain around no tryouts until I saw what happens in tiny schools 🤣
@@dilwindersingh-x7b I don't understand your comment. The original comment hasn't been edited so you are not correcting a spelling mistake. What are you talking about?
The Duel thing is the whole part with Snape and Lockhart. Where it's the proper dueling. Then Voldemort says bow to me Dumbledore wants you to do it right and have your manners. And flitwick is the duel master. I always think of it as a formal martial arts fight vs a street fight.
Draco's care packages were 100% made by Dobby. The Malfoy's probably told him to send regular packages so he took it as daily, because he cares and wants Draco to feel loved and turn out better.
@@forestgrump4723 at first I disagreed, but then I started to think about it, and the whole message of the series about the pure soul and love etc., and that the most respected people, Harry and Dumbledore, don't actually hate anyone. They worry and pity, but not hate. Would make sense that there would be a third such character, not to the least because 3 is a magical number
Another thing for the 'Malfoy is Voldemort's worst enemy' that I love is about Lucious. All of the horcuxes are super special objects with historical significance, plus Nagini, who is already mortal. Do you know which horcrux would have been the hardest to even find out existed? The diary. If Lucious didn't send the diary to school, who would have guessed Voldemort had a diary?
Fifth Slytherin boy is Theodore Nott. (we know this from the sorting). We know that his father is a Death Eater. (Mentions him at the graveyard in Goblet, pretty sure he’s at the Ministry in OOTP, and Blaise mentions in HBP that he wasn’t invited to the Slugclub because Slughorn isn’t interested in Death Eaters and their kids). I also assumed he was the Slytherin who can see the Thestrals.
I somehow always assumed (after Half blood Prince, ofc.,), that Blaise was the one who could see Thestrals, because his mum was notorious of snuffing out rich husbands one by one, and I somehow assumed that probably Blaise saw at least one of his stepfathers dying...
1:12:58 remember that dudley also ate the ton-tongue-toffee and was able to experience its effects, when mr weasley hotwired the floo powder network and the weasley family went through the dursley's electric chimney to pick up harry in book 4.
I don't think that it is *Stan* as a person that Harry is hyper-focused on. Yes, Harry doesn't like to see people treated unjustly and he identifies with those who are. But I think the real problem is that the Ministry is using Stan to claim that they're doing something when they really are not. It's the pretension of Fudge, and later Scrimgeour, and by extension, the Ministry as a body, that Harry has a real problem with. And THAT hill is very important to him, and should be to everyone. The Ministry spends a year under Fudge denying even the possibility that Voldemort is back, while targeting Harry and Dumbledore. Then, under Scrimgeour, they want Harry to be their poster-boy to make it look like they're taking competent action when they're not. Harry's conversation with Scrimgeour on Christmas at the Burrow I think is the key to understanding Harry's position here. On top of everything, as comes out in that conversation, they've kept Dolores Umbridge and she even gets a significant position by the next year. So, while concern for Stan being treated unjustly will certainly be a concern that Harry has, it's the Ministry pretending it's doing something effective when it absolutely is not, that is Harry's hill to fight on.
Thank you! They've talked about this a lot before. It's not that Harry likes Stan specifically. But it is so obvious that the death eaters wouldn't even let Stan in if they wanted. After the mass breakout, he's just another body to imperius. The point is they are clearly sending people to jail without a trial (again), like they did to Sirius. Meanwhile, Dolores has tortured kids, admitted to sending Dementors after Harry AND A MUGGLE, which not only would those carry life sentences but break international wizarding law, and is still employed.
I also always thought that it was much more about Ministry's doings than Stan himself. If I am not wrong, he even calls out Scrimgeour on it, when he deals out Dumbledore's testiment gifts. Like, Scrimgeour asks him again to fight alongside the ministry and Harry asks - have you already released Stan? I somehow remember it happening, correct me if I'm wrong.
And while its cannon-status may be somewhat in question, the Fantastic Beasts series clearly shows Jacob using/being affected by magical objects. So if muggles can, one would assume squibs can. And Arthur's job, "Misuse of Muggle Artifacts" is NOT about muggles using magic items. It's about wizards doing improper things with muggle artifacts. That's why he got in trouble for enchanting the car to fly.
@@PhilBagels But the reason it's illegal to modify muggle artifacts like that is because they might end back in muggle hands, and then problems ensue due to the added magic.
@@matt-thorn Maybe, but we don't see any cases of that happening. In any event, it's not about preventing muggles from using wands or portkeys or potions or other magical items.
@@PhilBagelswe do. Arthur Weasly mentions the shrinking keys. And in one of the other books he mentions a teapot attacking muggles. I think a wand would be useless however to a squib/muggle because it only serves to channel existing magic. And potions do work on muggles and squibs as well. They can also make them as madam figg presumably does
I don't think the question is whether magic works on muggles or not - it clearly does - but something more like could a muggle pull the sword of Gryffindor from the sorting hat or would they be sorted if they put on the hat? Also, as a complete aside, Mrs Norris isn't magical and Crookshanks is canonically not magical, so why can they see Hogwarts? 😡
I audibly gasped a couple times during the discussion on character mirroring and how Neville was maybe intended to make a quartet instead of a trio and especially at the Luna & Snape comparison... How many years I've read these books and listened to them without ever having these thoughts. Great content as always Ben & J!
Have you ever pondered the relationship between Squibs and cats/kneazles? Filch seems to have some degree of ability to communicate and coordinate with Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Fig does the same thing with her kneazles. She has one keep an eye on Harry in case something happens while Mundungus is supposed to be on watch because she doesn't trust him to not leave his post.
A very interesting point, but one I doubt they'll ever tackle as they seem to be laboring under the assumption that Hogwarts has two poltergeists rather than a squib caretaker.
When I was reading these as a kid I thought that it was exSPELLED (instead of expelled) and that it was a magic thing because it had the word “SPELLED” in it and it meant that you couldn’t do spells anymore. 😅
I mean... that thought isn't really entirely wrong either. Being expelled from hogwarts means having your wand snapped and being forbidden from using magic
Technically speaking, it's very unlikely that each house has the same number of students for a given year because the sorting hat chooses the house best suited to each student. If each house had the same number of students, it would mean that the sorting hat would choose the house for the first students, and as the list went on, it would need to try to even out each house to finally place the last student in the only house left. This would imply that the Weasleys would have all been sorted into Gryphondoor by luck.
It’s still luck they were all sorted into Gryffindor house regardless. But the Carlin brothers I believe talk about this very thing. How sorting works and if it would be possible that a huge influx of students ends up in one particular house, and the others aren’t as full.
For some reason I've always felt as if Hufflepuff would be the house with the most students, though my only real evidence for that is their general reputation within the story. Or maybe I'm just projecting because I'M a Hufflepuff and I like to think we would be more accepting of 'the outliers' as it were.
But it could magically get information about how many students are coming from the Book and Quill (or even information about them, we don't know), and then use some sort of fortune-telling. It is a Legilimens after all, why not also a Seer?
That would also make sense with how the Sorting Hat has claimed to never be wrong, it could've seen the future and known what was going to happen to the students
For the question of Muggles/Squibs using magical objects, if I remember correctly, in book 4 it is stated that portkeys are intentionally made to look like rubbish/trash so that Muggles will be less likely to pick them up, which may indicate that portkeys can teleport Muggles just like Wizards.
Related to your conversation about Harry being inately tallented at flying: I've heard a lot of other reactors make comments early in the series that they assume Harry is the best at everything, or the most powerful wizard, because of course he is, right? He's the title character, so he's going to be flawlessly great at everything. I always want someone to point out that this is absolutely not the case in this series. Harry is a great Gryffindor, but he's a decidedly average student. He struggles with things quite a bit throughout the series (I'm thinking summoning in Goblet), and while he gets acceptable grades, he's often taking shortcuts to get there. He and Ron are kind of bad influences on eachother. The only think Harry is naturally great at as far as first year goes, is simply Quiddich. That's it. It's so frustrating that this always gets missed, and I think that's largely due to the changes in the movies.
@@doppss Not sure I agree with that. The books go into plenty of detail about Harry getting detention and completely drowning in homework that he has neglected.
Just off the top of my head Harry: has no issues with breaking the rules, is a very average student, is terrible at occlumency (albeit some would say it was snape's fault but i don't believe that), has a temper, and really that's only scratching the surface
The severity of the consequences for rule/law breaking is insane in the HP world. The fact that getting expelled from Hogwarts leads to getting your wand snapped and virtually exiled from your community when you're underaged, is so harsh. Especially when home schooling is possible and magic just doesn't go away with the wand.
I think its presumed that the threat is meant to deter as well as *try* to ingrain the importance of controlling magic. As Fudge told the British Prime Minister "You see minister, the trouble is, the other side can you magic too" Not a perfect law, but that kind of runs through the entire Ministry (needing to be reformed after the war).
I think the wand snapping for Hagrid was because he hadn't taken his OWLS yet and thus wasn't qualified to carry a wand. He can't be trusted to put it on a shelf and never use it again, and a third year education just isn't enough to be competent, so they destroyed the wand. (I have a theory that this is why the Ministry is so hamfisted about Harry's "trial" before fifth year. Voldemort wanted desperately to be able to snap his wand before his OWLS at the end of the year.) Possibly Hagrid could have been accepted into a school in a different country and been allowed to buy a new wand upon admittance, but as a half giant convicted of a murder, getting accepted would be difficult. He would also need money to move countries, which he doesn't seem to have, and his dad has recently died, so no chance of homeschooling either. That's why they don't bother snapping wands of people in Azkaban. Those are qualified adults and would be allowed to continue practicing magic after their sentence and if they're in for life, they're in prison without access to the wand, so it isn't like there's some temptation to use it.
As for Slytherin girls there is Daphne Greengrass in their year, and we find out in the epilogue of book seven that Draco married her younger sister Astoria.
@@neonxvices I don't remember there being a character called Tracey Davis in the books. I've listened to them each night for 3 yrs... If there is somehow I've skipped over them. There's a Roger Davies from Ravenclaw in Harry's year, there's Traverse a Death Eater. No Tracy Davis to my knowledge
"We never get the impression the Dursleys did anything physically harmful" Errrm... Chamber of Secrets , Petunia tries to hit him in the face with a frying pan, and Vernon talks about flaying him to within an inch of his life. I'd class those as physically harmful.
In Goblet (American version printed and British audiobook) Dean is putting up a Westham FOOTBALL poster and Ron is still baffled by the stationary SOCCER players.
Real duels did exist (not anymore, as far as I know) for a long time, and it had a set of rules. As of Vikipedia : The traditional situation that led to a duel often happened after a perceived offense, whether real or imagined, when one party would demand satisfaction from the offender.[65] The demand was commonly symbolized by an inescapably insulting gesture, such as throwing a glove to the ground before the offender. Usually, challenges were delivered in writing by one or more close friends who acted as "seconds". The challenge, written in formal language, laid out the real or imagined grievances and a demand for satisfaction. The challenged party then had the choice of accepting or refusing the challenge. Once a challenge was accepted, if not done already, both parties (known as "principals") would appoint trusted representatives to act as their seconds with no further direct communication between the principals being allowed until the dispute was settled. The exact rules or etiquette for dueling varied by time and locale but were usually referred to as the code duello. In most cases, the challenged party had the choice of weapons, with swords being favored in many parts of continental Europe and pistols in the United States and Great Britain. It was the job of the seconds to make all of the arrangements in advance, including how long the duel would last and what conditions would end the duel. Often sword duels were only fought until blood was drawn, thus severely limiting the likelihood of death or grave injury since a scratch could be considered as satisfying honor. In pistol duels, the number of shots to be permitted and the range were set out. Care was taken by the seconds to ensure the ground chosen gave no unfair advantage to either party. A doctor or surgeon was usually arranged to be on hand. Other things often arranged by the seconds could go into minute details that might seem odd in the modern world, such as the dress code (duels were often formal affairs), the number and names of any other witnesses to be present and whether or not refreshments would be served. Your'e welcome
You know for a fact that Malfoy sent a note home when he saw Hedwig the first day saying, "Have Dobby pack me sweets everyday, I need to look better than Potter!"
draco advancing the plot for arry so much really makes me wonder about the what if scenario of what if draco and all other death eaters kids went to durmstrang school instead of hogwarts, how would it have effected harrys school life, cause i think it would have been massive difference
I honestly believe that in GoF at the QWC when the Death Eaters were harassing the muggles and Draco tells the trio to watch out for Hermione that it's a legitimate warning for them to watch out for Hermione.
@@skywraith6454 I also think it was meant sarcasticaly, but also I don't think he really wanted any harm on them, at least, not from the death eaters. As harsh as their relationship are, Drako doesn't want to harm anyone in a way Deatheaters do, he is just a mean bully, someone who only feels safe with his cronies around. I do believe it was a genious warning to them to stay away, while he in the same time enyojed being in close poximity to death eaters under the assumption his father would protect him.
@@skywraith6454 I think that's what we're supposed to think, but if you subscribe to the theory that Draco gave Hermione the page about the basilisk in CoS, and then consider how badly he faltered with killing with Dumblydore in HBP, and also how he could clearly tell that it was Harold in DH:P1 but wouldn't confirm it, I kiiiinda feel like there might be something there. I don't know, maybe I'm giving him too much credit and looking for rainbows on a cloudy day. LeShrug
43:00 Extended universe tells us that Charlie was in the same year as Nymphadora - so they just left the school when Harry joined. There are discrepancies in the idea, if he played Quidditch and which years though. But that's classic Rowling and her bad memory about dates. Not the first and not the last things she has been wrong about. It can be assumed that he left the team before his Newts, maybe to focus on his dragon studies. 43:43 Oh they still had a lot of help from their siblings and the protagonist of Hogwarts Mystery. Who had the map at least at some point.
I was re-listening some of the chapters, and i noticed here something you talk about 51:05 You literally mention that they talk about Dean and Seamus sleeping but skip where it says that Neville is still in the hospital wing, so they didn't need to check for him
Could just be poor memory but isn't her name Madam Hooch--not Professor Hooch? She may sit at the staff table in the great hall for feasts, but that could be out of courtesy and respect. She may very well just come to Hogwarts for a few lessons and games and then go home. Great episode as always boys
I'm a little surprised that you guys don't know that Charlie went to Hogwarts at the same time as Tonks, both born in 72/73ish which made them 7th years the year before Harry starts (1990). He's the 2nd child, and likely was in the team with at least Fred and George for his final 2yrs. Fun tidbits of school I guess haha
Ben and J, every time I go on youtube, I secretly hope some unscheduled content from you will pop up haha. Can hardly wait for new episodes of both SCB and the podcast
@1:05:50 Funny enough, in the video games, the Fat Lady opened up three different ways. Outward, like the book, Sideways in I think the CoS, and Inwards, like movies.
I have some personal insight on receiving letters from home and others noticing. When I was 18 I was working at a summer camp where I had no internet or phone access. The only kind of communication I had with home was to write letters and put them in the mailbox at the trading post and wait for the next time someone drove into town to mail them and pick up the mail at the postbox in town and bring it back to camp. I wrote home about three times a week because I was very home sick and my mom always wrote back in return. While she never sent me sweets she did send me newspaper clippings that she knew I would enjoy. Anyway one day one of the other staffers complained very loudly, “why does (my name) always get mail?”😩 I turned to him and ask, “do you write home to anyone?” He looked kind of dumb faced back at me and said no. “Well that’s probably why you aren’t getting any mail in return.” And then walked away. Honestly I had no idea that nobody else wasn’t getting mail or that these boys had even noticed that I always had mail but that’s because I tend to be oblivious to other people. So I can very well believe that Malfoy would notice that Harry wasn’t getting mail because he is very observant of Harry but I think maybe Malfoy is getting mail every day because he is also sending letters home to his parents often. It’s hard being away from home for the first time in your life and these kids are 11 years old. I was 18 and it was still hard being away from home for longer than a week which was the most I had been without family before that. That job had me away all summer. I imagine the Hogwarts students especially the first years are probably writing home a lot because of home sickness. So their parents probably write back often too. Harry doesn’t have parents to write home too unlike the others. He is the only orphan at the school that we know of. Everyone else has parents or other loving family members who took care of them except Harry. I really feel for Harry never getting mail when everyone else does. It’s a reminder that he is all alone in the world 😢
With the way Snape is dark and greasy yet Luna is so bright and sunshiny, they seem like the moon and sun comparison. Like 2 sides of a coin or ting and yang. It makes the name, “Luna”, even more ironic.
Interesting you bring up the possible size difference between Slytherin and the other houses due to the wizarding war. That possibly also contributed to them winning the house cup 7 years in a row prior to this.
Yeah I thought that too. With Snape trying to take points off every other house and looking for reasons to give slytherins students points even if there's only like an extra 2/3 students per year on the other houses it's a significant advantage
The fear of expulsion makes so much sense for kids in my opinion. I don't know about you guys but when I was a little kid in like elementary school, breaking rules was far scarier because you didn't know what the limits of rule breaking were. Yet when I hit high school, I knew what I could get away with and what I couldn't and broke rules a lot more. I can only.imagine the kids are going through the same thing. By Half Blood Prince, Harry and Co treat the rules like rough guidelines because they've been through so much, they understand the line a lot better
I always assumed that Quidditch tryouts were already held, but that every single person who tried out for seeker was terrible. As such, Wood was talking to McGonagall (because of course she is interested in the team), and he mentions that he has no idea what to do about a seeker. Then the next day, she sees Harry.
17:45 I believe Romilda Vane is also one of the Gryffindor Girls of their year. I believe Hermoine mentions her in OotP as someone who was skeptical Harry and Dumbles.
My head cannon is that Sally-Anne Perks is the 4th Gryffindor girl, but she leaves some time before year 5 as she's not in their OWL exam. We know home schooling has always been an option, so maybe one year Sally-Anne was kept home.
My head canon for Wood's willingness is that he had already held seeker tryouts and was completely unimpressed with the candidates and was just frustrated from their previous loosing streak and had even complained to McGonagle about it at some point after a class. So she knew he was looking for a seeker and since Wood would trust his head of house, especially considering how McGonagle is, he took her word for it. Plus...he's also Harry Potter.
18:30 Rowling has shared her notes, and she fully intended to have 40 students in Harry's year, and they were supposedly about as ethnically representative (and from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England) of the British Isles as a whole.
21:00 I think it's generally less common for girls to call each other by their surname, than it would be for boys. It is fun to think about some of these kids growing up together, though. Also, Charlie was born in 1972, meaning he graduated from Hogwarts in 1990.
As an addon to the question at the end of the video. Do you think muggles/squibs could travel by floo powder? So is it an spell you cast or is it more like a portkey?
I always figured they dont talk about the other flying lessons because Harry obviously tests out of them where as the other kids might need more practice but since its from harrys perspective we dont see it.
Thank you, Ben; I pretty much don't wanna go into a pet store ever again! LoL P.S. I enjoy y'all's deep dive into the series chapter by chapter. I look forward to it each week. Y'all are awesome! Thank you
9/17 chapters of the first book discussed, 8 to go. I messed up in the comments section of previous episodes by having 19 chapters instead of 17 because I misremembered how many chapters there were. Keep the amazing chapter discussions coming.
I can't wait for Sunday to come!!!! Really it has been a joy to listen to you guys go through each chapter and provide great insight and your thoughts about the storyline, the characters, and the chapter art. Even though I have followed you guys and seen all the Harry Potter videos for a very long time now, even then with this new "podcast" I am still learning something new with each video. Thanks for mentioning your spreadsheet where we can ask questions because there's been a bunch I want to know your thoughts on! As much as I know it will be a ton of work and commitment to keep this up till the very last chapter in Book 7, I really really hope you will because it is thought-provoking as well as comfort for me and I know others too!
To me, Dueling is like a magical sport, like fencing is to a sword fight wars... Remember, Flitwick was a champion duelist. In My headcanon, Bellatrix was a duelist too..
I don't think they could keep it in what was, ostensibly , a children's book series, but there is an implied history of physical violence from Uncle Vernon: when Dumbledore comes to collect Harry from the Dursleys', in Half-Blood, Harry stops a few steps from the bottom, coming down the stairs. because "long experience had taught him to stay out of arms reach of his uncle.,"
Thoughts while listening... Given the fact that a child who is magical, but suppresses it and does not learn to control their power can become something like obscurus, I think the threat of expulsion really wasn't as great as they claimed. I think it was mostly an empty threat unless you did something like breaking the statute of secrecy or murdering a fellow student. As far as the Dursley's physically abusing Harry, in addition to the smelting stick, there is also the reference by Vernon, when Harry is first told he is a wizard that it was something Vernon thought a good beating would get out of him. As far as Harry not actually having to try out for seeker, I always figured it was something that Wood was having a hard time finding in the first place. Like maybe he had tryouts and nobody was good at all. Additionally, given that McGonagall made comments about not wanting to have to look Snape in the eye after a previous quidditch loss, I could see her actually helping with trying to find a seeker. McGonagall mae not be much for showing favoritism in the classroom, but she sure as heck willing to show favoritism outside the classroom If she thinks it's justified . Have a biscuit potter. I have always liked the theory that a lot of the characters are mirrors of the characters in the generation of James, Lilly and snake. Neville, of course would be Peter pettigrew. Both are basically bumbling cowards who are put into Gryffindor and seemingly proof of the fact that the hat does make mistakes Where as Peter remained a coward who betrayed his friends and always hid behind the biggest bully, Neville used his friends as inspiration to become more courageous and even stood against them when they were in the wrong. As far as whether or not Neville was supposed to have been part of a quartet with them, I actually remember reading somewhere that that whole chapter was supposed to have also had Dean Thomas and maybe someone else. However, Rowling realized it got way too overcrowded with that many people. Just four was already pushing it. Since I have nowhere else to put this theory... In my head cannon, I think that Filch probably had a sort of frustrated fondness for Luna. I refuse to believe there was no point during her entire time at Hogwarts that he did not catch her petting. Mrs. Norris. Which would make her the only student to have ever been kind to the cat. As far as Fluffy getting excercise... Oh come on, everybody who knows him knows that Haggard is probably going up there and playing with fluffy. Concerning The Elder Wand, does it really lose duels for its master? The only cases we know of were a duel was actually involved is Harry V Voldemort, and the wand was loyal to its *true* master, regardless of who was holding it. Antioch Peverell became a great master of dueling, but the wand was stolen when he was killed in his sleep. So it didn't lose any duel for him. We don't actually know the details of Dumbledore V Grindlewald. Dumbledore may have managed to become the master in prior to the duel or maybe he found a way to take the wand in the middle of the fight. Unfortunately, we'll never see the full story play out since they're not making any more fantastic beasts films. Regarding Dumbledore's continued employment of the professor Benz, think about how much money he probably saved the school when he doesn't actually have to pay one of the teachers. That's a seriously top tier budgetary move. Snape just writing the instructions on the chalkboard and telling that students to just do it really goes in line with my theory that he should have been a textbook author instead of a teacher. The fact that the Bezoar was a solution to magical potions throughout history indicates that maybe they only work on magical poisons. Meaning that using a muggle style poison would be very crafty for a wizard to do if they want to be sure they're target is more likely to die, since wizards are not as likely to be versed in muggle potions and poison. It makes me ponder how useful a thorough knowledge of muggle potions aka chemistry might be to a wizard. Another thing to consider with Snape, did he ever actually want to be a teacher? It was really only under the dual commands of Voldemort to spy on Dumbledore and Dumbledore as his secret double agent. Really, his entire career was just because someone told him to. To add injury to insult, he probably didn't even like Hogwarts all that much. It's where he was constantly picked on and in one moment of rage betrayed the one person he truly cared about , causing him to lose them forever.
Hello! I'm Brazilian and I must say that I got the video about the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that you made by chance. At the time I thought "That was the best idea!" When I was a child, I loved creating theories about Harry Potter because the latest books hadn't been released yet and sharing them with my friends. These videos made me feel wonderfully nostalgic for Harry Potter. Thank you for the initiative! Then there's a problem: I've already marathoned all the videos and I want more!
About the Gryffindor portrait hole, it is described earlier as: "Caput Draconis - said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found themselves..."So yes, in the books it is definitely a literal circular hole through which you have to climb. For first-year students, since they are still short, it is obviously more difficult. Later, when Harry and his friends don't want the Fat Lady to know that they are out at night, Hermione opens the portrait from the outside, Harry sneaks out wearing the invisibility cloak, and they climb past each other. And so Ginny's complaints are understandable, at the age of 15 she might be able to climb into the common room alone and not need Dean's chivalrous behavior, especially since they are very much at the end of their relationship. Also later it is mentioned how weird looking McGonagall is when she enters the common room.
I think Hermione practices the full body bind after the night of the duel in order to use it on Harry and Ron if they try to sneak out after dark. This is why she now knows the spell to hit Neville with it later.
Even in the books, I feel like Squibs could use a Portkey. In Goblet they mention that the Portkeys have to look like everyday objects so Muggles don’t go picking them up. I take that to mean that there is a risk of a Muggle picking one up and then being Portkey-ed to wherever it was to take the wizards instead of them walking off with it because it is fairly easy to make a Portkey.
It could also be the case that you dont want to miss your "bus", if your portkey is scheduled for 8am to take you somewhere, and its located in another place, you dont want a muggle to snag your mode of transportation
@@thorthewolf8801 definitely, although I can’t make another bus, but if the boot wasn’t on the top of the hill in Goblet Arthur could *technically* make a new one.
Great episode, as always, but one question I had reading this chapter is about mounting brooms. Like in this chapter madam Hooch tells them to say 'up', to make their brooms fly into their hands, however, that is never mentioned again, when they mount their brooms. Is there a reason they only do it the first time?
Oh I love that, thats my new headcannon for Dumbledores plan, thats why nevels defence was even recognized for his bravery and rewarded with points, Dumbledore thought hed be with them and thats why the devils snare task existed
THERE'S A LINE IN GOF WHICH ADDRESSES MUGGLS PICKING UP PORTKEYS!! Doesn't Arthur say that they have to be rubbish objects so that "muggles don't go picking them up" ?
I love this podcast, it’s so interesting. It’s not Harry Potter related, but Ben’s comment about the escaping animals just made me laugh so much. I worked at a chain pet store over here as a teenager and the was 100% creatures running around the place 😂 we had canaries that lived in the rafters 😂
So happy with this podcast! Usually Sundays are these annoying days where I realise school is coming. Now they're fun little days where I can listen to y'all just discuss each chapter.
Wow, you guys are almost caught up with my commentated readings, and I'm a couple years into it.... Lol😂 Health issues... As these go on, I will be borrowing your points in my discussions, there have been things I wish I had mentioned.
Oh wow my Sundays can't come fast enough now ♥️♥️ thank you lads for this amazing brillaint podcast. I'm cancelling all my Sunday invites for the nxt how many yrs just so I'm home for this 🤣 can't wait for all the 7 books ♥️
Two things you could talk about next week are the story of Wizard Baruffino who ended up with a buffalo on his chest after saying "s" instead of "f" (though there is no "f" in Wingardium Leviosa), and the Housepoint-system, that makes absolutely no sense: you loose 50 points for beeing out of bed at night(this happens later in the book but still) but only get 10 for knocking out a mountain troll, who is classified as: Dangerous/requires expert knowledge/skilled wizards may handle(Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them)
10:07 Yes. Other copies have it written as “football” rather than “soccer”. I have the illustrated copy of Sorcerer’s Stone and while on the cover it is called Sorcerer’s Stone not Philosopher’s Stone, the text of the book itself is the British version not the American. So when it references the sport it does say: “Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about football.” There are actually more differences in this book than I realized in terms of the American word vs. the British word.
You have to include some form of danger when you have a character having an invisibility cloak on. Otherwise it makes it too easy for them to get around and there's no drama or suspense.
I always got the impression that the reason Harry was the youngest player in a century was because a regulation was issued a century ago that first years were no longer permitted to try out for Quidditch teams, and the reason such a regulation would be issued was likely a liability issue, such as an injury or casualty the first year sustained. Thus, it would be the student's underqualifications or incompetence rather than skill or talent that led to them being the last, which is why I find it unlikely for Dumbledore to be that "last student".
I noticed Harry's reaction to McGonagall asking Flitwick to borrow wood: I was always like dang, either the Dursley's are beating him off screen as it were, or Harry is going to some ROUGH public schools. I just assumed the Dursley's, because we do get the early mention that Harry made the mistake of calling Petunia mom once and got screamed at. If you're going to scream at a baby like that, probably you're possibly the kind of person who could hit a kid. And Vernon is just gruff and mean, so like, never though he wasn't beating Harry on some level? I am starting to realize that I may have some really dark thoughts on this franchise, though. XD oops.
Regarding your quote about Harry not being able to go 3 steps without being caught wearing the invisibility cloak. I think it could be down to when they didn’t have the cloak they were extra cautious. But the cloak gave them an unrealistic view. Maybe they got a bit cocky with the cloak thinking it alone could protect them/Harry? Where as in reality it was just an extra layer of protection. They should still have been extra cautious.
I'm so mad that yeah that Mrs fig could have given Harry a little bit of relief but told Harry not to tell the dursleys about it. Also could have sent an anonymous birthday present to him every year to make him feel like he was still love some way.
I like the reading that McGonagall needs to keep a stern face for the rest of the class, but there also is that thing when you seem angry because you are actually worried or afraid, so maybe she was just actually afraid Harry would hurt himself real bad and that's why she is angry until the initial chock passes.
Great video as always guys! Love the weekly reviews! But...I must say, I did NOT expect to learn about stock car racing, reminds me of Slytherins' Nimbus 2001s 😂 (And Bill is the oldest brother, I can't remember which book says this - maybe 4 via the visit to Egypt?)
Ooooooo, I love the Ender's Game connection! Great point. Have you guys read the whole main series and/or any of the other related Enderverse novels? One of my favorites, and I would be super excited if you guys ever did a theory video on that!
My favorite part of Hogwarts Legacy was walking around the castle and finding all the hidden gems everywhere. The passage behind the one eyed witch, the snake etched on the tap that is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, the mermaid in the prefect bathroom...but seriously though the castle in that game is breathtaking. I played that game for 76 hours and after you get to the castle I spent the first 20 hours just walking around and getting emotional because I couldn't believe that I was actually playing an open world Harry Potter game! It was an unreal experience to be running around Hogwarts at 35 years old!
It's strange that by the 5th book Harry states that "being a Dark wizard catcher was the only career he’d ever considered after Hogwarts." It makes no sense to me considering how much he likes Quidditch. Like, what about that is appealing to him, especially since how little he seems to read up on dark magic. Maybe it was the events of the 4th book that changed his mind, but to say he never considered playing Quidditch professionally seems strange.
Portkeys would definitely work on muggles not just the Jacob example but in Goblet when a port key is explained to Harry they are described as objects that muggles wouldn’t go picking them up.
Narcissa keeps having to send sweets daily because Crabbe and Goyle keep eating them all before Draco can get any. 😂
Lol I could see her going to see their mum's and telling them to control their kids
@@susantindall8711 exactly. And they definitely know each other because the fathers are all “old friends.”
Surely Dobby is the one sending the sweets. Perhaps on orders, perhaps not.
This is my new headcanon. Does Malfoy look like a dude who gorges on sweets daily?
@@cubedmelons876 this just made me so happy. Thank you!
Especially because I imagine that he is getting things like tarts and cakes and not chocolate frogs or things you can buy in a shop.
Neville not being in the dormitory is noted in the book:
“All the same, it wasn’t what you’d call a perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn’t back from the hospital wing).”
correction: I don't think Narcissa is packing any sweets. She's having Dobby do it while micro managing every little thing about it
And Snape is not an outcast while he is at school?? He might get bullied by the Griffin doors, but it clearly states in the books he was getting into the dark arts with his gang of Slytherin friends.
@@kalebzerger301 It's a little murky. By his 5th year he was in with a gang of Slytherins, but there's nothing to indicate whether he was *friends* with them in a real sense, or just that school way where someone is just tolerated to hang out with people who are really friends
Oh yeah, wrapping sweets is definitely house elf work, no way Narcissa is doing that herself while Dobby’s still around.
Lore accurate 😂
It amuses me that, to some degree, the climaxes of books 1 to 3 all hinge on Draco being a dick earlier in the story. If he hadn’t challenged Harry to a duel in this book, Harry and co wouldn’t have discovered fluffy and figured out that he was guarding the stone, if he hadn’t ridiculed Harry for getting his picture in the paper at Flourish & Blotts, then Lucius wouldn’t have had a chance to slip Riddle’s diary into Ginny’s cauldron, and if he hadn’t provoked Buckbeak into attacking him, then trio wouldn’t have snuck out to see Hagrid before the execution and ended up in The Shrieking Shack.
so true🤣
Seconds is in deed a real thing in real historical duels. Mostly they acted like judges and/or assistants to the duellers, but sometimes they too would fight in the duell.
Regarding Katie Bell, she is only a year older than Harry since she's in 7th year during Half-Blood Prince. Which means that during Sorcerer's Stone, she's a 2nd year. Since typically 1st years aren't allowed to try out for Quidditch, that means Wood must have somehow already had tryouts and just didn't find a seeker. They make such a big deal about Harry being the "youngest quidditch player in a century," so I can't imagine Katie made the team her 1st year.
That makes sense, although I wonder what they would do if Harry wasn't there then. As they need a seeker to play. I guess thay would do another round of tryouts?
Lee Jordan says in the commentary for the first match that Katie was just a reserve player the year before, and that she’s a close friend of Wood’s, so that explains both how she got in and that she wasn’t fully on the team the year before. Still seems people would have noted her. Probably JK hadn’t decided her age yet, maybe thinking she too was a 5th year if she was friends with Wood, or a third year like the rest. Could also be she was born late in the year so she didn’t start Hogwarts until she was 12, making her older than Harry when she made the team as reserve, but still a first year
Ben saying he feared for Harry expulsion when he was a kid. Takes me back. I love when Ben and Jay go back. And describe their thoughts, when they were first read the story by their dad.
I know they have become experts over many reading and analyzations of each book and movie.
But hearing they're first impressions. Is always really cool.
I think Wood probably had tryouts already but couldn’t fill the seeker position. So he was relieved to have Harry.
They definitely had tryouts because Katie Bell, a second year at that time, surely wasn't in the team in the previous year.
Right and there's like 5 - 10 new students to even pick from lol . He doesn't
Need try outs they know everyone.
I can’t imagine every new student wants to sign up for quidditch. Like any other sports team in a really small school, the houses have a tiny pool of kids to choose from. Plus the first years are like 8th graders playing against seniors. That can be a HUGE gap physically, much less mentally. Try outs seem unnecessary unless there’s competition for a spot or a larger number of kids wanting to play than there are spots on the team, hence tryouts later in the series.
@@suzyq-zy216 Eh. In my middle school, I would say about 80-90% of the boys were signed up for football. In a school of maybe 600, they fielded 4 football teams.
To field a quidditch team, you only need 1 student per year. It isn't outside the realm of possibility to think at least 3 per year would be interested in playing.
My kids went to a school that had 208 total students, K-12. That’s what I was basing my thoughts off of. I had over 700 kids in my class alone, so I couldn’t wrap my brain around no tryouts until I saw what happens in tiny schools 🤣
Parvati gets one more moment to shine later on in the series. In HBP, she and Harry clearly agree on their feelings on Ron and Lavender’s whole thing.
it's hogwarts not currywarts
@@dilwindersingh-x7b I don't understand your comment. The original comment hasn't been edited so you are not correcting a spelling mistake. What are you talking about?
@@jenniedarling3710 the patils don't need lot of moments to shine, it's not their story. watch some bollywood.
Charlie is seven years ahead of Ron, and Bill is nine. Charlie graduated the year before Harry and Ron started Hogwarts
The Duel thing is the whole part with Snape and Lockhart. Where it's the proper dueling. Then Voldemort says bow to me Dumbledore wants you to do it right and have your manners. And flitwick is the duel master.
I always think of it as a formal martial arts fight vs a street fight.
Draco's care packages were 100% made by Dobby. The Malfoy's probably told him to send regular packages so he took it as daily, because he cares and wants Draco to feel loved and turn out better.
It’s just part of his morning task, Make Breakfast, Clean the Kitchen, Send Draco’s Sweets, Clean the Bathroom…
I agree 100%. First thing I thought of.
Ew. Somehow Dobby, Draco and care just don't go together.
@@lingodelfo5415Dobby is sweet, I think he honestly cared for the Malfoys he just also hated being abused
@@forestgrump4723 at first I disagreed, but then I started to think about it, and the whole message of the series about the pure soul and love etc., and that the most respected people, Harry and Dumbledore, don't actually hate anyone. They worry and pity, but not hate. Would make sense that there would be a third such character, not to the least because 3 is a magical number
Another thing for the 'Malfoy is Voldemort's worst enemy' that I love is about Lucious. All of the horcuxes are super special objects with historical significance, plus Nagini, who is already mortal. Do you know which horcrux would have been the hardest to even find out existed? The diary. If Lucious didn't send the diary to school, who would have guessed Voldemort had a diary?
Not to mention the whole supposed elder wand thing. Be a dick, get your wand wringled out, cause Voldy's death
Fifth Slytherin boy is Theodore Nott. (we know this from the sorting). We know that his father is a Death Eater. (Mentions him at the graveyard in Goblet, pretty sure he’s at the Ministry in OOTP, and Blaise mentions in HBP that he wasn’t invited to the Slugclub because Slughorn isn’t interested in Death Eaters and their kids). I also assumed he was the Slytherin who can see the Thestrals.
Theo ❤ the ATYD version I mean of course 😂
@@victorialastofka1534there’s an ATYD version of Theo? And what does it say about me that I know what you’re talking about lmao
No, that was Pete.
I somehow always assumed (after Half blood Prince, ofc.,), that Blaise was the one who could see Thestrals, because his mum was notorious of snuffing out rich husbands one by one, and I somehow assumed that probably Blaise saw at least one of his stepfathers dying...
@@lindamazule2289 oh. That’s a really good point!
1:12:58 remember that dudley also ate the ton-tongue-toffee and was able to experience its effects, when mr weasley hotwired the floo powder network and the weasley family went through the dursley's electric chimney to pick up harry in book 4.
I don't think that it is *Stan* as a person that Harry is hyper-focused on. Yes, Harry doesn't like to see people treated unjustly and he identifies with those who are. But I think the real problem is that the Ministry is using Stan to claim that they're doing something when they really are not. It's the pretension of Fudge, and later Scrimgeour, and by extension, the Ministry as a body, that Harry has a real problem with. And THAT hill is very important to him, and should be to everyone. The Ministry spends a year under Fudge denying even the possibility that Voldemort is back, while targeting Harry and Dumbledore. Then, under Scrimgeour, they want Harry to be their poster-boy to make it look like they're taking competent action when they're not. Harry's conversation with Scrimgeour on Christmas at the Burrow I think is the key to understanding Harry's position here. On top of everything, as comes out in that conversation, they've kept Dolores Umbridge and she even gets a significant position by the next year. So, while concern for Stan being treated unjustly will certainly be a concern that Harry has, it's the Ministry pretending it's doing something effective when it absolutely is not, that is Harry's hill to fight on.
Thank you! They've talked about this a lot before. It's not that Harry likes Stan specifically. But it is so obvious that the death eaters wouldn't even let Stan in if they wanted. After the mass breakout, he's just another body to imperius. The point is they are clearly sending people to jail without a trial (again), like they did to Sirius. Meanwhile, Dolores has tortured kids, admitted to sending Dementors after Harry AND A MUGGLE, which not only would those carry life sentences but break international wizarding law, and is still employed.
I also always thought that it was much more about Ministry's doings than Stan himself. If I am not wrong, he even calls out Scrimgeour on it, when he deals out Dumbledore's testiment gifts. Like, Scrimgeour asks him again to fight alongside the ministry and Harry asks - have you already released Stan? I somehow remember it happening, correct me if I'm wrong.
Regarding the question at the end, I think Arthur's job exists purely because it's possible for muggles to interact with magical objects.
And while its cannon-status may be somewhat in question, the Fantastic Beasts series clearly shows Jacob using/being affected by magical objects. So if muggles can, one would assume squibs can.
And Arthur's job, "Misuse of Muggle Artifacts" is NOT about muggles using magic items. It's about wizards doing improper things with muggle artifacts. That's why he got in trouble for enchanting the car to fly.
@@PhilBagels But the reason it's illegal to modify muggle artifacts like that is because they might end back in muggle hands, and then problems ensue due to the added magic.
@@matt-thorn Maybe, but we don't see any cases of that happening. In any event, it's not about preventing muggles from using wands or portkeys or potions or other magical items.
@@PhilBagelswe do. Arthur Weasly mentions the shrinking keys. And in one of the other books he mentions a teapot attacking muggles. I think a wand would be useless however to a squib/muggle because it only serves to channel existing magic. And potions do work on muggles and squibs as well. They can also make them as madam figg presumably does
I don't think the question is whether magic works on muggles or not - it clearly does - but something more like could a muggle pull the sword of Gryffindor from the sorting hat or would they be sorted if they put on the hat?
Also, as a complete aside, Mrs Norris isn't magical and Crookshanks is canonically not magical, so why can they see Hogwarts? 😡
Arthur’s entire job is making sure magical artifacts don’t fall into muggle hands, because they’d cause chaos
I audibly gasped a couple times during the discussion on character mirroring and how Neville was maybe intended to make a quartet instead of a trio and especially at the Luna & Snape comparison... How many years I've read these books and listened to them without ever having these thoughts. Great content as always Ben & J!
Have you ever pondered the relationship between Squibs and cats/kneazles? Filch seems to have some degree of ability to communicate and coordinate with Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Fig does the same thing with her kneazles. She has one keep an eye on Harry in case something happens while Mundungus is supposed to be on watch because she doesn't trust him to not leave his post.
A very interesting point, but one I doubt they'll ever tackle as they seem to be laboring under the assumption that Hogwarts has two poltergeists rather than a squib caretaker.
When I was reading these as a kid I thought that it was exSPELLED (instead of expelled) and that it was a magic thing because it had the word “SPELLED” in it and it meant that you couldn’t do spells anymore. 😅
You are not alone with this thought x
I mean... that thought isn't really entirely wrong either. Being expelled from hogwarts means having your wand snapped and being forbidden from using magic
Makes a certain sense
Man, what a missed opportunity for SPELLing...
Technically speaking, it's very unlikely that each house has the same number of students for a given year because the sorting hat chooses the house best suited to each student. If each house had the same number of students, it would mean that the sorting hat would choose the house for the first students, and as the list went on, it would need to try to even out each house to finally place the last student in the only house left. This would imply that the Weasleys would have all been sorted into Gryphondoor by luck.
It’s still luck they were all sorted into Gryffindor house regardless. But the Carlin brothers I believe talk about this very thing. How sorting works and if it would be possible that a huge influx of students ends up in one particular house, and the others aren’t as full.
gryphondoor? what book series did you read ..
For some reason I've always felt as if Hufflepuff would be the house with the most students, though my only real evidence for that is their general reputation within the story. Or maybe I'm just projecting because I'M a Hufflepuff and I like to think we would be more accepting of 'the outliers' as it were.
But it could magically get information about how many students are coming from the Book and Quill (or even information about them, we don't know), and then use some sort of fortune-telling. It is a Legilimens after all, why not also a Seer?
That would also make sense with how the Sorting Hat has claimed to never be wrong, it could've seen the future and known what was going to happen to the students
For the question of Muggles/Squibs using magical objects, if I remember correctly, in book 4 it is stated that portkeys are intentionally made to look like rubbish/trash so that Muggles will be less likely to pick them up, which may indicate that portkeys can teleport Muggles just like Wizards.
I wonder what happens to a Muggle if they touch a potkey and end up somewhere unexpected?
Related to your conversation about Harry being inately tallented at flying: I've heard a lot of other reactors make comments early in the series that they assume Harry is the best at everything, or the most powerful wizard, because of course he is, right? He's the title character, so he's going to be flawlessly great at everything. I always want someone to point out that this is absolutely not the case in this series. Harry is a great Gryffindor, but he's a decidedly average student. He struggles with things quite a bit throughout the series (I'm thinking summoning in Goblet), and while he gets acceptable grades, he's often taking shortcuts to get there. He and Ron are kind of bad influences on eachother. The only think Harry is naturally great at as far as first year goes, is simply Quiddich. That's it. It's so frustrating that this always gets missed, and I think that's largely due to the changes in the movies.
Not to mention the books only talk about his achievements rather than his mistakes as a student
@@doppss Not sure I agree with that. The books go into plenty of detail about Harry getting detention and completely drowning in homework that he has neglected.
Just off the top of my head Harry: has no issues with breaking the rules, is a very average student, is terrible at occlumency (albeit some would say it was snape's fault but i don't believe that), has a temper, and really that's only scratching the surface
@@TheKabuto90 my opinion is that Harry is terrible at occlumency, but with a better teacher might have learn something at least
I think Snape filled in as referee for the second quidditch match to watch closely over Harry since he had been attacked during the first match.
Isn’t that said somewhere at the end of the book?
The severity of the consequences for rule/law breaking is insane in the HP world. The fact that getting expelled from Hogwarts leads to getting your wand snapped and virtually exiled from your community when you're underaged, is so harsh. Especially when home schooling is possible and magic just doesn't go away with the wand.
I think its presumed that the threat is meant to deter as well as *try* to ingrain the importance of controlling magic. As Fudge told the British Prime Minister "You see minister, the trouble is, the other side can you magic too"
Not a perfect law, but that kind of runs through the entire Ministry (needing to be reformed after the war).
Maybe they WANT to create obscurieals...
I think the wand snapping for Hagrid was because he hadn't taken his OWLS yet and thus wasn't qualified to carry a wand. He can't be trusted to put it on a shelf and never use it again, and a third year education just isn't enough to be competent, so they destroyed the wand. (I have a theory that this is why the Ministry is so hamfisted about Harry's "trial" before fifth year. Voldemort wanted desperately to be able to snap his wand before his OWLS at the end of the year.) Possibly Hagrid could have been accepted into a school in a different country and been allowed to buy a new wand upon admittance, but as a half giant convicted of a murder, getting accepted would be difficult. He would also need money to move countries, which he doesn't seem to have, and his dad has recently died, so no chance of homeschooling either.
That's why they don't bother snapping wands of people in Azkaban. Those are qualified adults and would be allowed to continue practicing magic after their sentence and if they're in for life, they're in prison without access to the wand, so it isn't like there's some temptation to use it.
As for Slytherin girls there is Daphne Greengrass in their year, and we find out in the epilogue of book seven that Draco married her younger sister Astoria.
She’s mentioned in the OWL scene, and I think Theodore Nott is mentioned there as well.
@@MatthewDoel32I believe Knott was introduced in their second year, Knott would be a first year in CoS
@@Martyn_Wolf no, actually, Nott was mentioned in the sorting along with Harry and the others
I think there's also Tracey Davis, not sure if she's in their year though
@@neonxvices I don't remember there being a character called Tracey Davis in the books. I've listened to them each night for 3 yrs... If there is somehow I've skipped over them.
There's a Roger Davies from Ravenclaw in Harry's year, there's Traverse a Death Eater.
No Tracy Davis to my knowledge
"We never get the impression the Dursleys did anything physically harmful"
Errrm... Chamber of Secrets , Petunia tries to hit him in the face with a frying pan, and Vernon talks about flaying him to within an inch of his life. I'd class those as physically harmful.
9:59 Can confirm it's "football team" in UK editions; apparently, the US editions also change other words, like "pavement" to "sidewalk", etc.
In Goblet (American version printed and British audiobook) Dean is putting up a Westham FOOTBALL poster and Ron is still baffled by the stationary SOCCER players.
William Arthur (Bill) is the oldest Weasley kid. Thank you for making Sunday laundry and various chores much easier!
The Bat Bogey Hex transfigures or partially transfigures ones boogers into Bats which then attack the victim
nasty!
Real duels did exist (not anymore, as far as I know) for a long time, and it had a set of rules. As of Vikipedia :
The traditional situation that led to a duel often happened after a perceived offense, whether real or imagined, when one party would demand satisfaction from the offender.[65] The demand was commonly symbolized by an inescapably insulting gesture, such as throwing a glove to the ground before the offender.
Usually, challenges were delivered in writing by one or more close friends who acted as "seconds". The challenge, written in formal language, laid out the real or imagined grievances and a demand for satisfaction. The challenged party then had the choice of accepting or refusing the challenge.
Once a challenge was accepted, if not done already, both parties (known as "principals") would appoint trusted representatives to act as their seconds with no further direct communication between the principals being allowed until the dispute was settled.
The exact rules or etiquette for dueling varied by time and locale but were usually referred to as the code duello. In most cases, the challenged party had the choice of weapons, with swords being favored in many parts of continental Europe and pistols in the United States and Great Britain.
It was the job of the seconds to make all of the arrangements in advance, including how long the duel would last and what conditions would end the duel. Often sword duels were only fought until blood was drawn, thus severely limiting the likelihood of death or grave injury since a scratch could be considered as satisfying honor. In pistol duels, the number of shots to be permitted and the range were set out. Care was taken by the seconds to ensure the ground chosen gave no unfair advantage to either party. A doctor or surgeon was usually arranged to be on hand. Other things often arranged by the seconds could go into minute details that might seem odd in the modern world, such as the dress code (duels were often formal affairs), the number and names of any other witnesses to be present and whether or not refreshments would be served.
Your'e welcome
You know for a fact that Malfoy sent a note home when he saw Hedwig the first day saying, "Have Dobby pack me sweets everyday, I need to look better than Potter!"
draco advancing the plot for arry so much really makes me wonder about the what if scenario of what if draco and all other death eaters kids went to durmstrang school instead of hogwarts, how would it have effected harrys school life, cause i think it would have been massive difference
I honestly believe that in GoF at the QWC when the Death Eaters were harassing the muggles and Draco tells the trio to watch out for Hermione that it's a legitimate warning for them to watch out for Hermione.
@@53prime i mean he did say that sarcasticly hoping she would get hurt which did work technically, draco cant succeed in ways he wants
@@skywraith6454 I also think it was meant sarcasticaly, but also I don't think he really wanted any harm on them, at least, not from the death eaters. As harsh as their relationship are, Drako doesn't want to harm anyone in a way Deatheaters do, he is just a mean bully, someone who only feels safe with his cronies around. I do believe it was a genious warning to them to stay away, while he in the same time enyojed being in close poximity to death eaters under the assumption his father would protect him.
@@skywraith6454 I think that's what we're supposed to think, but if you subscribe to the theory that Draco gave Hermione the page about the basilisk in CoS, and then consider how badly he faltered with killing with Dumblydore in HBP, and also how he could clearly tell that it was Harold in DH:P1 but wouldn't confirm it, I kiiiinda feel like there might be something there. I don't know, maybe I'm giving him too much credit and looking for rainbows on a cloudy day. LeShrug
43:00 Extended universe tells us that Charlie was in the same year as Nymphadora - so they just left the school when Harry joined. There are discrepancies in the idea, if he played Quidditch and which years though. But that's classic Rowling and her bad memory about dates. Not the first and not the last things she has been wrong about. It can be assumed that he left the team before his Newts, maybe to focus on his dragon studies.
43:43 Oh they still had a lot of help from their siblings and the protagonist of Hogwarts Mystery. Who had the map at least at some point.
I was re-listening some of the chapters, and i noticed here something you talk about 51:05 You literally mention that they talk about Dean and Seamus sleeping but skip where it says that Neville is still in the hospital wing, so they didn't need to check for him
Could just be poor memory but isn't her name Madam Hooch--not Professor Hooch? She may sit at the staff table in the great hall for feasts, but that could be out of courtesy and respect. She may very well just come to Hogwarts for a few lessons and games and then go home. Great episode as always boys
Im pretty sure Madam is an honorary title, like mr, mrs or professor, not a name.
@@thorthewolf8801 right, i meant it as a title that is obviously not Professor. Her name is Rolanda, i believe
After the Harry/Cho interaction, I 100% want to see videos of you two just reenacting scenes from the books.
I like to think the Fat Lady is just the ultimate homie and refuses to rat on Gryffindor students.
If Harry only knew his name was in the titles he would never think he would be expelled haha
Another Slytherin boy is Theodore Nott, who was described as being a clever loner and mostly kept to himself.
For some reason i was under the impression wood already had tryouts and didn’t find a good seeker
Harry finally listens to Hermione because Expelliarmus defeated Avada Kadavra. Expelled beats death
I'm a little surprised that you guys don't know that Charlie went to Hogwarts at the same time as Tonks, both born in 72/73ish which made them 7th years the year before Harry starts (1990). He's the 2nd child, and likely was in the team with at least Fred and George for his final 2yrs.
Fun tidbits of school I guess haha
Ben and J, every time I go on youtube, I secretly hope some unscheduled content from you will pop up haha. Can hardly wait for new episodes of both SCB and the podcast
@1:05:50
Funny enough, in the video games, the Fat Lady opened up three different ways. Outward, like the book, Sideways in I think the CoS, and Inwards, like movies.
I have some personal insight on receiving letters from home and others noticing. When I was 18 I was working at a summer camp where I had no internet or phone access. The only kind of communication I had with home was to write letters and put them in the mailbox at the trading post and wait for the next time someone drove into town to mail them and pick up the mail at the postbox in town and bring it back to camp. I wrote home about three times a week because I was very home sick and my mom always wrote back in return. While she never sent me sweets she did send me newspaper clippings that she knew I would enjoy. Anyway one day one of the other staffers complained very loudly, “why does (my name) always get mail?”😩
I turned to him and ask, “do you write home to anyone?” He looked kind of dumb faced back at me and said no. “Well that’s probably why you aren’t getting any mail in return.” And then walked away.
Honestly I had no idea that nobody else wasn’t getting mail or that these boys had even noticed that I always had mail but that’s because I tend to be oblivious to other people.
So I can very well believe that Malfoy would notice that Harry wasn’t getting mail because he is very observant of Harry but I think maybe Malfoy is getting mail every day because he is also sending letters home to his parents often. It’s hard being away from home for the first time in your life and these kids are 11 years old. I was 18 and it was still hard being away from home for longer than a week which was the most I had been without family before that. That job had me away all summer. I imagine the Hogwarts students especially the first years are probably writing home a lot because of home sickness. So their parents probably write back often too. Harry doesn’t have parents to write home too unlike the others. He is the only orphan at the school that we know of. Everyone else has parents or other loving family members who took care of them except Harry. I really feel for Harry never getting mail when everyone else does. It’s a reminder that he is all alone in the world 😢
With the way Snape is dark and greasy yet Luna is so bright and sunshiny, they seem like the moon and sun comparison. Like 2 sides of a coin or ting and yang.
It makes the name, “Luna”, even more ironic.
Interesting you bring up the possible size difference between Slytherin and the other houses due to the wizarding war. That possibly also contributed to them winning the house cup 7 years in a row prior to this.
Yeah I thought that too. With Snape trying to take points off every other house and looking for reasons to give slytherins students points even if there's only like an extra 2/3 students per year on the other houses it's a significant advantage
The fear of expulsion makes so much sense for kids in my opinion. I don't know about you guys but when I was a little kid in like elementary school, breaking rules was far scarier because you didn't know what the limits of rule breaking were. Yet when I hit high school, I knew what I could get away with and what I couldn't and broke rules a lot more. I can only.imagine the kids are going through the same thing. By Half Blood Prince, Harry and Co treat the rules like rough guidelines because they've been through so much, they understand the line a lot better
I always assumed that Quidditch tryouts were already held, but that every single person who tried out for seeker was terrible. As such, Wood was talking to McGonagall (because of course she is interested in the team), and he mentions that he has no idea what to do about a seeker. Then the next day, she sees Harry.
17:45 I believe Romilda Vane is also one of the Gryffindor Girls of their year. I believe Hermoine mentions her in OotP as someone who was skeptical Harry and Dumbles.
Isn't she younger? Like Ginny's year or even one below her. She's not Harry's year.
My head cannon is that Sally-Anne Perks is the 4th Gryffindor girl, but she leaves some time before year 5 as she's not in their OWL exam. We know home schooling has always been an option, so maybe one year Sally-Anne was kept home.
My head canon for Wood's willingness is that he had already held seeker tryouts and was completely unimpressed with the candidates and was just frustrated from their previous loosing streak and had even complained to McGonagle about it at some point after a class. So she knew he was looking for a seeker and since Wood would trust his head of house, especially considering how McGonagle is, he took her word for it. Plus...he's also Harry Potter.
18:30 Rowling has shared her notes, and she fully intended to have 40 students in Harry's year, and they were supposedly about as ethnically representative (and from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England) of the British Isles as a whole.
21:00 I think it's generally less common for girls to call each other by their surname, than it would be for boys. It is fun to think about some of these kids growing up together, though.
Also, Charlie was born in 1972, meaning he graduated from Hogwarts in 1990.
But Hermione is a girl. It's just that she's Muggleborn. So it can't be that.
Best series on UA-cam rn I’m so glad u guys are doing it
As an addon to the question at the end of the video. Do you think muggles/squibs could travel by floo powder? So is it an spell you cast or is it more like a portkey?
It less Stan himself, but Stan not getting due process rights was the hill for Harry. Stan became symbolic fight against corruption
I always figured they dont talk about the other flying lessons because Harry obviously tests out of them where as the other kids might need more practice but since its from harrys perspective we dont see it.
Thank you, Ben; I pretty much don't wanna go into a pet store ever again! LoL
P.S. I enjoy y'all's deep dive into the series chapter by chapter. I look forward to it each week. Y'all are awesome! Thank you
9/17 chapters of the first book discussed, 8 to go. I messed up in the comments section of previous episodes by having 19 chapters instead of 17 because I misremembered how many chapters there were. Keep the amazing chapter discussions coming.
I can't wait for Sunday to come!!!! Really it has been a joy to listen to you guys go through each chapter and provide great insight and your thoughts about the storyline, the characters, and the chapter art. Even though I have followed you guys and seen all the Harry Potter videos for a very long time now, even then with this new "podcast" I am still learning something new with each video. Thanks for mentioning your spreadsheet where we can ask questions because there's been a bunch I want to know your thoughts on! As much as I know it will be a ton of work and commitment to keep this up till the very last chapter in Book 7, I really really hope you will because it is thought-provoking as well as comfort for me and I know others too!
I look forward to this every week!! Thanks for such amazing content! 😊
To me, Dueling is like a magical sport, like fencing is to a sword fight wars... Remember, Flitwick was a champion duelist.
In My headcanon, Bellatrix was a duelist too..
I don't think they could keep it in what was, ostensibly , a children's book series, but there is an implied history of physical violence from Uncle Vernon: when Dumbledore comes to collect Harry from the Dursleys', in Half-Blood, Harry stops a few steps from the bottom, coming down the stairs. because "long experience had taught him to stay out of arms reach of his uncle.,"
Had an amazing time as always guys! Keep going! This is great! 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
Thoughts while listening...
Given the fact that a child who is magical, but suppresses it and does not learn to control their power can become something like obscurus, I think the threat of expulsion really wasn't as great as they claimed. I think it was mostly an empty threat unless you did something like breaking the statute of secrecy or murdering a fellow student.
As far as the Dursley's physically abusing Harry, in addition to the smelting stick, there is also the reference by Vernon, when Harry is first told he is a wizard that it was something Vernon thought a good beating would get out of him.
As far as Harry not actually having to try out for seeker, I always figured it was something that Wood was having a hard time finding in the first place. Like maybe he had tryouts and nobody was good at all.
Additionally, given that McGonagall made comments about not wanting to have to look Snape in the eye after a previous quidditch loss, I could see her actually helping with trying to find a seeker. McGonagall mae not be much for showing favoritism in the classroom, but she sure as heck willing to show favoritism outside the classroom If she thinks it's justified . Have a biscuit potter.
I have always liked the theory that a lot of the characters are mirrors of the characters in the generation of James, Lilly and snake.
Neville, of course would be Peter pettigrew. Both are basically bumbling cowards who are put into Gryffindor and seemingly proof of the fact that the hat does make mistakes
Where as Peter remained a coward who betrayed his friends and always hid behind the biggest bully, Neville used his friends as inspiration to become more courageous and even stood against them when they were in the wrong.
As far as whether or not Neville was supposed to have been part of a quartet with them, I actually remember reading somewhere that that whole chapter was supposed to have also had Dean Thomas and maybe someone else. However, Rowling realized it got way too overcrowded with that many people. Just four was already pushing it.
Since I have nowhere else to put this theory...
In my head cannon, I think that Filch probably had a sort of frustrated fondness for Luna. I refuse to believe there was no point during her entire time at Hogwarts that he did not catch her petting. Mrs. Norris. Which would make her the only student to have ever been kind to the cat.
As far as Fluffy getting excercise...
Oh come on, everybody who knows him knows that Haggard is probably going up there and playing with fluffy.
Concerning The Elder Wand, does it really lose duels for its master? The only cases we know of were a duel was actually involved is Harry V Voldemort, and the wand was loyal to its *true* master, regardless of who was holding it. Antioch Peverell became a great master of dueling, but the wand was stolen when he was killed in his sleep. So it didn't lose any duel for him. We don't actually know the details of Dumbledore V Grindlewald. Dumbledore may have managed to become the master in prior to the duel or maybe he found a way to take the wand in the middle of the fight. Unfortunately, we'll never see the full story play out since they're not making any more fantastic beasts films.
Regarding Dumbledore's continued employment of the professor Benz, think about how much money he probably saved the school when he doesn't actually have to pay one of the teachers. That's a seriously top tier budgetary move.
Snape just writing the instructions on the chalkboard and telling that students to just do it really goes in line with my theory that he should have been a textbook author instead of a teacher.
The fact that the Bezoar was a solution to magical potions throughout history indicates that maybe they only work on magical poisons. Meaning that using a muggle style poison would be very crafty for a wizard to do if they want to be sure they're target is more likely to die, since wizards are not as likely to be versed in muggle potions and poison. It makes me ponder how useful a thorough knowledge of muggle potions aka chemistry might be to a wizard.
Another thing to consider with Snape, did he ever actually want to be a teacher? It was really only under the dual commands of Voldemort to spy on Dumbledore and Dumbledore as his secret double agent. Really, his entire career was just because someone told him to.
To add injury to insult, he probably didn't even like Hogwarts all that much. It's where he was constantly picked on and in one moment of rage betrayed the one person he truly cared about , causing him to lose them forever.
Hello! I'm Brazilian and I must say that I got the video about the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that you made by chance. At the time I thought "That was the best idea!" When I was a child, I loved creating theories about Harry Potter because the latest books hadn't been released yet and sharing them with my friends. These videos made me feel wonderfully nostalgic for Harry Potter. Thank you for the initiative! Then there's a problem: I've already marathoned all the videos and I want more!
About the Gryffindor portrait hole, it is described earlier as: "Caput Draconis - said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found themselves..."So yes, in the books it is definitely a literal circular hole through which you have to climb. For first-year students, since they are still short, it is obviously more difficult. Later, when Harry and his friends don't want the Fat Lady to know that they are out at night, Hermione opens the portrait from the outside, Harry sneaks out wearing the invisibility cloak, and they climb past each other. And so Ginny's complaints are understandable, at the age of 15 she might be able to climb into the common room alone and not need Dean's chivalrous behavior, especially since they are very much at the end of their relationship. Also later it is mentioned how weird looking McGonagall is when she enters the common room.
Suuuper interesting point! Thanks for saying that it genuinely has changed how i read any time someone comes and goes in that common room
I think Hermione practices the full body bind after the night of the duel in order to use it on Harry and Ron if they try to sneak out after dark. This is why she now knows the spell to hit Neville with it later.
Been looking forward to this all week😊
Woke up, brew my coffee and waiting patiently for this video ☺️☺️☺️
That has become a lovely little Sunday morning tradition...
Even in the books, I feel like Squibs could use a Portkey. In Goblet they mention that the Portkeys have to look like everyday objects so Muggles don’t go picking them up. I take that to mean that there is a risk of a Muggle picking one up and then being Portkey-ed to wherever it was to take the wizards instead of them walking off with it because it is fairly easy to make a Portkey.
It could also be the case that you dont want to miss your "bus", if your portkey is scheduled for 8am to take you somewhere, and its located in another place, you dont want a muggle to snag your mode of transportation
@@thorthewolf8801 definitely, although I can’t make another bus, but if the boot wasn’t on the top of the hill in Goblet Arthur could *technically* make a new one.
This is amazing guys! Thanks for these! Enjoying them very much!😊😊😊😊❤❤❤
Great episode, as always, but one question I had reading this chapter is about mounting brooms. Like in this chapter madam Hooch tells them to say 'up', to make their brooms fly into their hands, however, that is never mentioned again, when they mount their brooms. Is there a reason they only do it the first time?
Oh I love that, thats my new headcannon for Dumbledores plan, thats why nevels defence was even recognized for his bravery and rewarded with points, Dumbledore thought hed be with them and thats why the devils snare task existed
@21:00 also I don’t know their blood status but, if they are “Pure Bloods” basically all of those families are related somehow.
THERE'S A LINE IN GOF WHICH ADDRESSES MUGGLS PICKING UP PORTKEYS!! Doesn't Arthur say that they have to be rubbish objects so that "muggles don't go picking them up" ?
That Cho situation is so sad, yet funny when you put it like that
I love this podcast, it’s so interesting. It’s not Harry Potter related, but Ben’s comment about the escaping animals just made me laugh so much. I worked at a chain pet store over here as a teenager and the was 100% creatures running around the place 😂 we had canaries that lived in the rafters 😂
I like how Vernon tries a hotel in Snape's home town: Coacworth.
So happy with this podcast! Usually Sundays are these annoying days where I realise school is coming. Now they're fun little days where I can listen to y'all just discuss each chapter.
Wow, you guys are almost caught up with my commentated readings, and I'm a couple years into it.... Lol😂 Health issues... As these go on, I will be borrowing your points in my discussions, there have been things I wish I had mentioned.
Oh wow my Sundays can't come fast enough now ♥️♥️ thank you lads for this amazing brillaint podcast. I'm cancelling all my Sunday invites for the nxt how many yrs just so I'm home for this 🤣 can't wait for all the 7 books ♥️
Two things you could talk about next week are the story of Wizard Baruffino who ended up with a buffalo on his chest after saying "s" instead of "f" (though there is no "f" in Wingardium Leviosa), and the Housepoint-system, that makes absolutely no sense: you loose 50 points for beeing out of bed at night(this happens later in the book but still) but only get 10 for knocking out a mountain troll, who is classified as: Dangerous/requires expert knowledge/skilled wizards may handle(Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them)
10:07 Yes. Other copies have it written as “football” rather than “soccer”. I have the illustrated copy of Sorcerer’s Stone and while on the cover it is called Sorcerer’s Stone not Philosopher’s Stone, the text of the book itself is the British version not the American. So when it references the sport it does say: “Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about football.”
There are actually more differences in this book than I realized in terms of the American word vs. the British word.
51:13 wouldn’t neville be in the hospital wing because of his injuries..? That’s what I thought.
You have to include some form of danger when you have a character having an invisibility cloak on. Otherwise it makes it too easy for them to get around and there's no drama or suspense.
I always got the impression that the reason Harry was the youngest player in a century was because a regulation was issued a century ago that first years were no longer permitted to try out for Quidditch teams, and the reason such a regulation would be issued was likely a liability issue, such as an injury or casualty the first year sustained. Thus, it would be the student's underqualifications or incompetence rather than skill or talent that led to them being the last, which is why I find it unlikely for Dumbledore to be that "last student".
I noticed Harry's reaction to McGonagall asking Flitwick to borrow wood: I was always like dang, either the Dursley's are beating him off screen as it were, or Harry is going to some ROUGH public schools. I just assumed the Dursley's, because we do get the early mention that Harry made the mistake of calling Petunia mom once and got screamed at. If you're going to scream at a baby like that, probably you're possibly the kind of person who could hit a kid. And Vernon is just gruff and mean, so like, never though he wasn't beating Harry on some level? I am starting to realize that I may have some really dark thoughts on this franchise, though. XD oops.
Regarding your quote about Harry not being able to go 3 steps without being caught wearing the invisibility cloak. I think it could be down to when they didn’t have the cloak they were extra cautious. But the cloak gave them an unrealistic view. Maybe they got a bit cocky with the cloak thinking it alone could protect them/Harry? Where as in reality it was just an extra layer of protection. They should still have been extra cautious.
I'm so mad that yeah that Mrs fig could have given Harry a little bit of relief but told Harry not to tell the dursleys about it. Also could have sent an anonymous birthday present to him every year to make him feel like he was still love some way.
I like the reading that McGonagall needs to keep a stern face for the rest of the class, but there also is that thing when you seem angry because you are actually worried or afraid, so maybe she was just actually afraid Harry would hurt himself real bad and that's why she is angry until the initial chock passes.
Great video as always guys! Love the weekly reviews! But...I must say, I did NOT expect to learn about stock car racing, reminds me of Slytherins' Nimbus 2001s 😂 (And Bill is the oldest brother, I can't remember which book says this - maybe 4 via the visit to Egypt?)
Ooooooo, I love the Ender's Game connection! Great point. Have you guys read the whole main series and/or any of the other related Enderverse novels? One of my favorites, and I would be super excited if you guys ever did a theory video on that!
My favorite part of Hogwarts Legacy was walking around the castle and finding all the hidden gems everywhere. The passage behind the one eyed witch, the snake etched on the tap that is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, the mermaid in the prefect bathroom...but seriously though the castle in that game is breathtaking. I played that game for 76 hours and after you get to the castle I spent the first 20 hours just walking around and getting emotional because I couldn't believe that I was actually playing an open world Harry Potter game! It was an unreal experience to be running around Hogwarts at 35 years old!
It's strange that by the 5th book Harry states that "being a Dark wizard catcher was the only career he’d ever considered after Hogwarts." It makes no sense to me considering how much he likes Quidditch. Like, what about that is appealing to him, especially since how little he seems to read up on dark magic. Maybe it was the events of the 4th book that changed his mind, but to say he never considered playing Quidditch professionally seems strange.
Portkeys would definitely work on muggles not just the Jacob example but in Goblet when a port key is explained to Harry they are described as objects that muggles wouldn’t go picking them up.