I’ve been reading Pottermore – again – because there is not enough Harry Potter in my life.

I know the website is not exactly easy to read or navigate, so I made a second compilation of interesting Pottermore facts to share with you!

This time I didn’t look for answers to unanswered questions, but instead highlighted funny and curious stories.

1. Dressing guidelines and the F.A.R.T.

Yes, because S.P.E.W. was not enough (the magical world comes up with the worst acronyms!). It is mentioned that the International Statute of Secrecy has some clear guidelines on dress for anyone that plans to coexist with Muggles. Naturally, this means that pointy hats and robes are forbidden since they would draw unwanted attention… It also means that wearing pants doesn’t feel as fresh and airy as wizard robes.

“Some members of the magical community go out of their way to break the clothing clause in the Statute of Secrecy. A fringe movement calling itself Fresh Air Refreshes Totally (F.A.R.T.) insists that Muggle trousers ‘stem the magical flow at source’ and insist on wearing robes in public, in spite of repeated warnings and fines.” -fragment from Pottermore.

2. McGonagall’s childhood

I think this story deserves to be read complete (it’s just a couple of pages long) so I won’t say too much! Her story starts with a witch and a muggle falling in love, getting married and having a baby. And it was not until the baby made her toys dance with magic that the mother decided to reveal to her husband that she was a witch.

“The family cat appeared to do her bidding before she could talk. Her father’s bagpipes were occasionally heard to play themselves from distant rooms, a phenomenon that made the infant Minerva chuckle. Isobel was torn between pride and fear. She knew that she must confess the truth to Robert before he witnessed something that would alarm him. At last, in response to Robert’s patient questioning, Isobel burst into tears, retrieved her wand from the locked box under her bed and showed him what she was. Although Minerva was too young.” -fragment from Pottermore.

3. Cornelius Fudge awarded himself an Order of Merlin

And it was First Class! Can you imagine a less suited wizard? I think Fudge was one of Harry’s antagonists from the very beginning. He was always misinforming the wizarding community to keep a fake safety.

“While nobody argued when Albus Dumbledore received his O.M. (First Class) for defeating the Dark wizard Grindelwald, there was a good deal of muttering in the wizarding community when Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, awarded himself an O.M. (First Class) for a career that many considered less than distinguished.” -fragment from Pottermore.

4. The Potter family’s fortune

Have you ever wondered why did Harry have so much money? It’s not that I don’t appreciate the fact that he was able to buy all those candies at the Hogwarts train and gain Ron’s heart through his stomach… But I always wondered how James and Lily got all their money, especially since they didn’t have a big family. Luckily, Pottermore answered my prayers (not-really-prayers) and revealed the origin of that big pile of money inside vault 687.

“The wizarding family of Potters descends from the twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, ‘the Potterer’, became corrupted in time to ‘Potter’. Linfred was a vague and absent-minded fellow whose Muggle neighbours often called upon his medicinal services. None of them realised that Linfred’s wonderful cures for pox and ague were magical; they all thought him a harmless and lovable old chap, pottering about in his garden with all his funny plants. His reputation as a well-meaning eccentric served Linfred well, for behind closed doors he was able to continue the series of experiments that laid the foundation of the Potter family’s fortune.” -fragment from Pottermore.

5. The Malfoy family and Elizabeth I

Apparently the Malfoys have always been elitists. Even in the old times, when wizards and Muggles coexisted more openly, they only respected the richest and most influential Muggle families. It doesn’t come as a surprise that Lucius Malfoy (the first) tried to marry the Queen of England and that said queen was – curiously – single for the rest of her life after rejecting him.

“Until the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the Malfoy family was active within high-born Muggle circles, and it is said that their fervent opposition to the imposition of the Statute was due, in part, to the fact that they would have to withdraw from this enjoyable sphere of social life. Though hotly denied by subsequent generations, there is ample evidence to suggest that the first Lucius Malfoy was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I, and some wizarding historians allege that the Queen’s subsequent opposition to marriage was due to a jinx placed upon her by the thwarted Malfoy.” -fragment from Pottermore.

Image credit: Pottermore

Have you read other interesting Pottermore facts? And did you know that they are releasing their archives as a series of e-books?? (I guess they realized their website was impossible to navigate) :p