Harry Potter Theory

Lockhart. Umbridge. Quirrell. Dangerous werewolf. Imposter Professor. Were theyreally the best the Wizarding World had to offer?

For a magical school with a reputation like Hogwarts, it feels quite unusual that these people ever stepped in the castle, let alone TAUGHT actual students. But when it comes to the role of DADA professor, Hogwarts just can’t seem to get it right.

Or is it just that…Dumbledore can’t get it right?

Questions Answered / Topics Discussed

Why did Dumbledore keep hiring terrible professors at Hogwarts?

Why did Dumbledore hire Gilderoy Lockhart if he knew Lockhart was a fraud?

Did Dumbledore know the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was cursed?

Why did Voldemort curse the Defence Against the Dark Arts position?

Why could no Defence Against the Dark Arts professor last more than one year?

Did the DADA curse make it harder for Dumbledore to find good teachers over time?

Why did Dumbledore hire Quirinus Quirrell?

Why did Dumbledore hire Remus Lupin during the year Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban?

Did Sirius Black’s escape influence Dumbledore’s decision to hire Lupin?

Why did Dumbledore convince Alastor Moody to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts?

Why was Dolores Umbridge allowed to become Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?

Did Dumbledore know Umbridge would only last one year?

Why did Dumbledore refuse to give Snape the DADA job for so many years?

Why did Dumbledore finally make Snape Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in Half-Blood Prince?

Was Dumbledore deliberately using the cursed DADA position for other purposes?

Did Dumbledore value loyalty, experience and circumstance over actual teaching ability?

Why did Dumbledore hire questionable teachers like Trelawney, Hagrid and Professor Binns?

Was Gilderoy Lockhart’s appointment part of Dumbledore’s plan to expose him?

Did Voldemort’s curse weaken Defence Against the Dark Arts education at Hogwarts?

Did the DADA curse eventually lead to the creation of Dumbledore’s Army?

Who was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?

Who was the worst Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?

What happened to every Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in Harry Potter?

Why was the Defence Against the Dark Arts job considered cursed?

How much did Dumbledore really know about Voldemort’s curse?

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When the 94 school year began, like with any other year, all of the students gathered to the great hall at the beginning of term. This was an opportunity for Dumbledore and any professors to address the student body at the beginning of the year- announcing anything pertaining to the upcoming school year. And just like any other year, once again, a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher took over- which in this case was famed death eater Captor Alastor ‘Mad Eye’ Moody. He was in the business of capturing dark wizards, and business was booming. The prospect of having Alastor Moody teaching ‘defence against the dark arts’ was exciting-I mean, he was an expert after all, but at the same time there was something odd about Moody. From the moment he first enters the great hall, students are transfixed by him.

Topics Covered / Questions Answered

Why didn’t Dumbledore realize Mad-Eye Moody was fake?

Did Dumbledore know Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr.?

How did Barty Crouch Jr. fool Dumbledore for an entire school year?

How did Barty Crouch Jr. impersonate Mad-Eye Moody so convincingly?

Why didn’t Dumbledore recognize that Moody was acting differently?

How did Barty Crouch Jr. know so much about the real Moody?

Why was Barty Crouch Jr. such a convincing fake Moody?

What clues did Dumbledore miss about fake Moody?

What clues revealed that Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr.?

Why didn’t Snape realize Moody was stealing Polyjuice Potion ingredients?

Why didn’t Harry realize Barty Crouch Jr. was on the Marauder’s Map?

How close was Barty Crouch Jr. to being exposed?

Why did Barty Crouch Jr. take the Marauder’s Map from Harry?

Why did Barty Crouch Sr. try to warn Dumbledore?

How did Barty Crouch Jr. fool everyone at Hogwarts?

Did anyone suspect Mad-Eye Moody during Goblet of Fire?

Why did Dumbledore trust Mad-Eye Moody?

When did Dumbledore realize Moody was an imposter?

What mistake finally exposed Barty Crouch Jr.?

Why was the real Mad-Eye Moody kept alive?

How did Barty Crouch Jr. use Polyjuice Potion for an entire school year?

Could Dumbledore have discovered fake Moody sooner?

Why was Harry entered into the Triwizard Tournament?

Who put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire?

How did Barty Crouch Jr. manipulate the Triwizard Tournament?

Why did Voldemort need Harry for his return?

What was Voldemort’s plan in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?

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The most evil and powerful dark wizard of all time takes over your child's school. Are you sending them or not? That's probably the question many parents of Hogwarts students had to ask themselves in the beginning of Deathly Hallows. Pull your child out of their routine and deprive them of a chance at magical education..Or…Send them to a school that’s been taken over by a tyrannical dark wizard.

Excellent options.

Topics Covered:

Why students still went to Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows

Hogwarts under Voldemort explained

Voldemort takes over the Ministry of Magic

Compulsory Hogwarts attendance in Deathly Hallows

Why parents sent their kids back to Hogwarts

Why students didn’t stay home in year seven

Blood status checks at Hogwarts

Muggle-born Registration Commission explained

What happened to Muggle-born students in Deathly Hallows

Snape as Headmaster of Hogwarts

The Carrows at Hogwarts explained

Dark Arts lessons under Voldemort

Dumbledore’s Army in the Deathly Hallows

Snatchers and families in hiding

Dean Thomas and students who went on the run

Hogwarts homeschooling before Voldemort

Could students be sent abroad instead of Hogwarts

Death Eater control of Hogwarts

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lore explained

Wizarding World laws during the Second Wizarding War

Questions Answered:

Why didn’t students stay home after Voldemort took Hogwarts?

Why did parents still send their kids to Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows?

Was Hogwarts attendance mandatory under Voldemort?

When did Hogwarts become compulsory in Harry Potter?

Why couldn’t wizarding families homeschool their children in the Deathly Hallows?

Why couldn’t British students go to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts?

What happened if parents refused to send their child to Hogwarts?

Did Snatchers hunt families who kept their kids home from Hogwarts?

Why did Voldemort want every young witch and wizard at Hogwarts?

How did mandatory Hogwarts attendance help Voldemort control the Wizarding World?

What were blood status checks at Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows?

What happened to Muggle-born students who tried to return to Hogwarts?

Why didn’t Dean Thomas go back to Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows?

Who was Headmaster of Hogwarts after Dumbledore died?

What did Alecto and Amycus Carrow teach at Hogwarts?

How dangerous was Hogwarts during the 1997–1998 school year?

Which students returned to Hogwarts in Harry Potter’s seventh year?

What does Remus Lupin say about Hogwarts attendance in Deathly Hallows?

Why was Hogwarts safer to skip before Voldemort took the Ministry?

Did Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows?

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Felix Felicis doesn’t just make you more confident, at least not according to the way it is presented. It’s supposed to make the drinker lucky in all of their endeavours, and when Harry takes it we actually see that play out- accomplishing all sorts of things that had seemed completely out of reach beforehand.

But if potions like this can be brewed, the logical first question is: Why isn't it being used far more often?

Topics Covered:

Felix Felicis explained

Liquid Luck in Harry Potter

How Felix Felicis actually works

The rules and limitations of Liquid Luck

Harry Potter potion lore

Professor Slughorn and Felix Felicis

Harry using Liquid Luck in Half-Blood Prince

Why Felix Felicis is banned in competitions

Can Liquid Luck change the future?

Can Felix Felicis make you invincible?

Why wizards don’t use Liquid Luck all the time

The dangers of drinking too much Felix Felicis

How powerful is Felix Felicis?

Does Liquid Luck guarantee success?

Could Felix Felicis be used in battle?

How Liquid Luck affects the drinker’s decisions

Felix Felicis and free will

The limits of luck in the Wizarding World

Questions Answered:

What is Liquid Luck in Harry Potter?

What does Felix Felicis do?

How does Felix Felicis work?

Why is Felix Felicis so powerful?

Does Felix Felicis actually make you lucky?

Does Liquid Luck guarantee that you get what you want?

Can Felix Felicis change the future?

Can Felix Felicis prevent you from dying?

Could Voldemort have used Liquid Luck?

Could Felix Felicis be used in a duel or battle?

Why didn’t Harry use Liquid Luck more often?

Why don’t wizards constantly use Felix Felicis?

Why is Felix Felicis illegal in sporting events and competitions?

What happens if you drink too much Felix Felicis?

How difficult is Felix Felicis to make?

How long does Liquid Luck last?

Did Harry actually drink Felix Felicis before the Quidditch match?

Why did Harry use Felix Felicis on Slughorn?

Is Felix Felicis one of the most powerful potions in Harry Potter?

What are the limitations of Liquid Luck?

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Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re going to be discussing Frank and Alice Longbottom, otherwise known as the parents of Neville Longbottom. Specifically, we’ll be taking a closer look at their history—who they were, what they were like—and then shifting to what happened to them at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange and the other Death Eaters.

This is another one of those topics that the movies barely touch on, so if you haven’t read the books, there should be a lot of information for you here.

Topics Discussed:

The tragic history of Frank and Alice Longbottom

What happened to Neville Longbottom’s parents

Why Bellatrix Lestrange tortured the Longbottoms

Why the Death Eaters targeted Frank and Alice Longbottom

Frank and Alice Longbottom’s careers as Aurors

The Longbottoms during the First Wizarding War

Frank and Alice Longbottom in the original Order of the Phoenix

Voldemort’s disappearance after attacking Harry Potter

Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr.

The torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom

The Cruciatus Curse and its effects

Why the Longbottoms were tortured into insanity

What information the Death Eaters wanted from the Longbottoms

The trial of Bellatrix Lestrange and the other Death Eaters

Frank and Alice Longbottom at St Mungo’s Hospital

Neville Longbottom’s childhood and family history

Augusta Longbottom raising Neville

Neville visiting his parents at St Mungo’s

Alice Longbottom giving Neville sweet wrappers

How Neville’s parents shaped his personality and character

Neville Longbottom’s development throughout Harry Potter

Neville’s connection to the prophecy

Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter’s parallel childhoods

Harry Potter book details left out of the movies

Harry Potter lore, character history and Wizarding War explained

Questions Answered:

What happened to Neville Longbottom’s parents?

Why was Neville So BAD at Magic?

Why were Frank and Alice Longbottom tortured?

Why did Bellatrix Lestrange torture Neville’s parents?

Who tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom?

Were Neville’s parents killed?

Why did Neville’s parents go insane?

What did the Death Eaters want from Frank and Alice Longbottom?

Did Frank and Alice know where Voldemort was?

Why did Bellatrix believe the Longbottoms had information about Voldemort?

Were Frank and Alice Longbottom Aurors?

How powerful were Neville Longbottom’s parents?

Were Frank and Alice members of the Order of the Phoenix?

When were Neville’s parents tortured?

What happened after Voldemort disappeared in 1981?

Who was arrested for torturing the Longbottoms?

Why was Barty Crouch Jr. involved in the Longbottom torture?

What happened to Bellatrix Lestrange after the attack?

Where did Neville’s parents live after being tortured?

Could Frank and Alice Longbottom ever recover?

Why did Neville live with his grandmother?

Why did Neville hide what happened to his parents?

Why does Alice Longbottom give Neville sweet wrappers?

Did Neville’s classmates know what happened to his parents?

How did Neville’s parents affect his childhood?

Was Neville Longbottom also connected to Voldemort’s prophecy?

How was Neville’s childhood similar to Harry Potter’s?

Why is the Longbottom story much darker in the Harry Potter books?

What happened to Frank and Alice Longbottom after the Harry Potter series?

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