In ‘Order of the Phoenix,’ there’s a Wizarding World version of Cheerios called Cheeri-Owls.
If you look closely during one breakfast scene in “The Order of the Phoenix,” you can clearly see a Wizarding World version of the breakfast cereal Cheerios.
The end credits of ‘Goblet of Fire’ feature this magical disclaimer: ‘No dragons were harmed in the making of this movie.’
Baby Norbert the dragon was featured in “The Sorcerer’s Stone” as the pet Hagrid had to give up, but it wasn’t until “The Goblet of Fire” that we saw fully grown dragons as part of the Triwizard Tournament.
The Ministry of Magic’s access code is 6-2-4-4-2, which spells out m-a-g-i-c.
When Harry is summoned to the Ministry of Magic in “The Order of the Phoenix” for using magic outside school (he warded off a couple of dementors with a patronus charm), he is escorted by Arthur Weasley.
In ‘Prisoner of Azkaban,’ a wizard — played by the Stone Roses front man Ian Brown — is reading Stephen Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time.’
This wizard is pretty notable in this scene from the Leaky Cauldron — he’s stirring his coffee using magic, twirling his finger in the air while his spoon stirs the drink for him.
In ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,’ the inscription on the Mirror of Erised reads: ‘I show not your face but your heart’s desire.’
While most Potterheads know that “Erised” is “desire” spelled backward, you may have missed the inscription at the top of the mirror.
In ‘Goblet of Fire,’ we catch a shot of the Deathly Hallows symbol way before we even knew what they were.
Eagle-eyed viewers spotted this symbol of the deathly hallows way back in “The Goblet of Fire,” a full three movies before we were introduced to them.
In the ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ scene in which Neville gets a remembrall, he can’t remember what he’s forgotten — but it’s probably his robe, as he’s the only one not wearing one.
In this “Sorcerer’s Stone” scene, Neville receives a remembrall from his grandmother. A remembrall is a magical object with white smoke inside that turns red whenever the holder has forgotten something.
Severus Snape is still fighting for the good guys even when he duels McGonagall in ‘Deathly Hallows — Part II.’
Just before the Battle of Hogwarts, and just after Harry confronts Snape, Professor McGonagall steps in to defend her former student and duels Severus.
In ‘Goblet of Fire,’ the Beauxbatons students do a very familiar muggle dance: the Macarena.
The entrance of both the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students is one of the best scenes in “The Goblet of Fire,” at once entrancing us with its cool visuals and opening up the Wizarding World beyond Hogwarts.
In ‘The Half-Blood Prince,’ Slughorn’s feet give him away when he is disguised as an armchair.
Horace Slughorn was a great new addition to the Hogwarts teaching staff, but he was initially reluctant to join the team. To avoid visitors, he made his house (actually owned by muggles) look as if it were broken into.
Slughorn drinks a vial of liquid luck right before the Battle of Hogwarts in ‘Deathly Hallows — Part II.’
Slughorn is also part of another nice detail in “The Deathly Hallows — Part II.” Right before the Battle of Hogwarts, just before he, McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley, and the rest cast a protective shield around the castle, he drinks a vial of felix felicis — aka liquid luck.
In ‘Chamber of Secrets,’ Ron wears robes that are noticeably older and dingier than his peers’, probably because they were hand-me-downs.
Ron Weasley doesn’t come from a very well-off family, something Draco Malfoy crudely makes fun of in “The Sorcerer’s Stone.”
In ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,’ the actor who played Lord Voldemort is credited as ‘He Who Must Not Be Named.’
Ralph Fiennes played Voldemort in “The Goblet of Fire” onward, but we first see the dark lord in “The Sorcerer’ Stone,” where he was forced to live as part of Professor Quirrell, on the back of his head.
In ‘The Goblet of Fire,’ a reflection of Nagini slithering can be seen in the Warner Bros. logo.
While there’s a popular fan theory that the snake Harry set free in London Zoo in “The Sorcerer’s Stone” was actually Nagini, it’s not true.
In ‘The Half-Blood Prince,’ when we see Tom Riddle’s childhood bedroom, there’s a photo of the cave where he eventually hides his horcrux.
The flashbacks to Voldemort’s childhood are some of the most intriguing scenes in the film series. In “The Half-Blood Prince,” we get to see a younger Dumbledore meet Tom Riddle as a child (played by Ralph Fiennes’ actual nephew, Hero Fiennes).
There are also seven rocks on the windowsill in that bedroom, foreshadowing Riddle splitting his soul into seven horcruxes.
In the flashback to young Tom Riddle’s bedroom, we also see seven stones lined up — the number of horcruxes he eventually procured as Lord Voldemort, foreshadowing his descent into dark magic.
In ‘Deathly Hallows — Part II,’ Harry, Ron, and Hermione fight giant spiders, a troll, dementors, and a werewolf — all enemies they fought in the first three movies.
“The Deathly Hallows — Part II” concludes the “Potter” saga pretty perfectly, and it does so by flashing back to the first few entries in ways you may not notice at first.
In ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,’ you can see McGonagall’s name on the Quidditch trophy right next to James Potter.
Seeing Hermione soothe Harry’s Quidditch anxieties by showing him the name of James Potter, his dad, on an old Quidditch trophy is an emotional plot point in “The Sorcerer’s Stone.”
In the same cabinet, you can see Tom Riddle’s award for special services to Hogwarts right behind the Quidditch trophy.
In the exact same shot, you can also see another award behind James Potter and Minerva McGonagall’s Quidditch trophy. This one is an award for special services to Hogwarts school, and it belongs to Tom Riddle.
In ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,’ you can see Aunt Petunia dying Dudley’s old clothes gray for Harry’s school uniform, which was a scene in the books.
In the books, there’s a scene in which Aunt Petunia dyes her son Dudley’s old clothes gray so Harry can wear them as his school uniform. The clothes are huge on him, and this is one of many things the Dursleys do that shows their vile treatment toward Harry.
In ‘Chamber of Secrets,’ one of the options on Molly Weasley’s magical clock is ‘prison.’
The Weasleys’ house, The Burrow, is one of the most charming homes ever depicted in movies, introducing viewers and Harry to the magical quirks of a wizarding family’s household.
Another option on the clock is ‘dentist,’ even though dentists don’t exist in the magical world.
Dentists don’t actually exist in the wizarding world. We find this out in “The Half-Blood Prince” when Hermione explains to Professor Slughorn that her parents are dentists and Slughorn is perplexed, asking whether that is considered a dangerous profession.
In ‘Prisoner of Azkaban,’ Newt Scamander appears on the Marauder’s Map.
We first see Newt Scamander in 2016’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” played by Eddie Redmayne.
In ‘Goblet of Fire,’ Dobby briefly appears at the Quidditch World Cup camp.
While Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) officially appears in “The Chamber of Secrets,” and “The Deathly Hallows” parts one and two, he has unofficial cameo in the fourth film.
In ‘Order of the Phoenix,’ Sirius says ‘nice one, James’ when Harry disarms Lucius Malfoy, the same thing he said to Harry’s dad in an earlier flashback.
When Harry and Sirius take on death eaters at the battle of the Ministry of Magic, Harry disarms Lucius Malfoy. Sirius notes: “Nice one, James!”
Tom Felton’s then-girlfriend played his wife in the ‘Deathly Hallows — Part II’ epilogue.
The epilogue in “The Deathly Hallows — Part II” shows us Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco when they are all grown up and married with their own children.
In ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,’ Harry’s scar burns because Quirrell has his back to him, meaning Voldemort, on the back of Quirrell’s head, is facing him.
In “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” Harry catches Professor Snape glancing at him, and at the same time his scar burns. Initially, we think his scar is burning as a warning sign to watch out for Snape, but we later learn that Snape is the one trying to help him, while Quirrell is the real villain.
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