12 “Harry Potter” Plot Holes That Are Hard to Spot for Both Wizards and Muggles

Joanne Rowling created an amazing world filled with so many details that they are hard to keep track of. But the movies and books have some confusing plot holes that make even the most attentive viewers and readers ask questions.

We at Bright Side have reread all the books and rewatched all the films and learned more about some of the most controversial moments. And in the bonus section, we’ll tell you what happened to the Dursleys, the family that raised Harry.

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The story starts on a “Tuesday.” But November 1 in 1981 was a Sunday.

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When Harry returns from Diagon Alley to Little Whinging, he gets on a train at London Paddington. But Little Whinging is in Surrey, which is south of London.

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In the first movie, Mrs. Weasley asks her children which platform the train was on. But wasn’t she supposed to know that? She was the one taking her children to the station every year. And the platform was always the same.

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Aunt Petunia was supposed to know that wizards weren’t allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. So there was no reason for her to be scared of Harry. The thing is, the prohibition appeared in 1875, long before Lily went to Hogwarts.

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In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry inflates his uncle’s sister. After that, he leaves the Dursley house. At the time, he thought he had left the house forever and would never come back. So he couldn’t call that place his home anymore. That being said, the protective spell was supposed to disappear then, and not in the last book.

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Here’s another date problem: Professor Trelawney says to Lavender that the thing she was scared of most would happen on Friday, October 16. But in 1993, October 16 was a Saturday.

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When Severus Snape replaced Lupin, he told Hermione that she had interrupted him for the second time. But it was actually the third time.

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In the fourth book, Harry writes Sirius a letter where he mentions that Dudley threw his PlayStation away. But PlayStation appeared in Europe only in September of 1995, and the book was set in 1994.

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In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Priori Incantatem caused Voldemort’s wand to show signs of all the spells in reverse order. There was a mistake here, Rowling admitted. James appeared before Lily even though it should’ve been vice versa.

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In the fifth book, the main characters organized Dumbledore’s Army. They gathered other students in Hog’s Head. A second-year student, Dennis Creevey, was also there. But he couldn’t have been because only 3-years and older are allowed into Hogsmeade.

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When Harry and his friends went to the Ministry of Magic, there were no members of the Order. It’s not clear why because, at the very beginning of the book, it was stated that they were there all the time. Maybe they just didn’t have enough people.

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Muggles can get into the magic world when accompanied by wizards. So we see Hermione’s parents meet Harry and Ron in Diagon Alley, and Petunia was on Platform 9 and 3/4 with Lily.

Bonus: What happened to the Dursleys?

In the Deathly Hallows, Harry’s uncle, aunt, and cousin left their house and went under the protection of the Order. But what happened to them later? Rowling shared some facts about their lives. It turns out that Dudley got married and had 2 children. Harry and Dudley probably stayed in touch because his cousin was on the list of people Harry was going to send Christmas cards to. Also, both Harry and Dudley’s children played together sometimes.

We don’t know much about Harry’s aunt and uncle beyond his aunt passing away sometime before 2020.

Do you have any questions for the creators of the Harry Potter movies and books?

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