This question originally appeared on Quora. 
By Yilise Lin, Harry Potter Fan
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first thing Snape asks Harry in Potions class is, "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
According to the Victorian Language of Flowers [1], asphodel is a type of lily meaning 'my regrets follow you to the grave,' and wormwoood means 'absence' and symbolizes bitter sorrow. The entire question has a hidden meaning of "I bitterly regret Lily's death."
[1] Victorian Language of Flowers:
Note: I did not discover this myself. I saw it in a Harry Potter fanfiction forum some years ago, back when I was a rabid HP Fan. Sadly, I do not remember the exact forum/location.
...
By Anubhav Agarwal, avid Potter fan
In the First Book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 12 - Mirror of Erised. Some smart people might have realized the Erised is just Desire backwards, but what they might have missed is the meaning of inscription carved on the mirror
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi
If you read it backwards it becomes
I show not your face but your hearts desire
In the Second Book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 - Dobby's Reward
"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" said the elf shrilly, gazing up at Harry, moonlight from the nearest window reflected in his orb-like eyes. "Harry Potter set Dobby free!"
"Least I could do, Dobby," said Harry, grinning. "Just promise never to try and save my life again."
In the seventh book, it is Dobby who rescues Harry from Malfoy Mansion and dies while doing so.
In the Fourth Book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 36 - The Parting of Ways
When Harry told of Wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger, however, Sirius let out a vehement exclamation and Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry started. Dumbledore walked around the desk and told Harry to stretch out his arm. Harry showed them both the place where his robes were torn and the cut beneath them.
"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my - my mother left in me - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."
For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second. Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.
Now this seemingly unimportant line was revealed clearly in Seventh Book, in King's Cross Chapter.
But if Voldemort used the Killing Curse," Harry started again, "and nobody died for me this time - how can I be alive?"
"I think you know," said Dumbledore. "Think back. Remember what he did, in his ignorance, in his greed and his cruelty."
Harry thought. He let his gaze drift over his surroundings. If it was indeed a palace in which they sat, it was an odd one, with chairs set in little rows and bits of railing here and there, and still, he and Dumbledore and the stunted creatures under the chair were the only beings there. Then the answer rose to his lips easily, without effort.
"He took my blood," said Harry.
So Dumbledore knew even at that instance that now Voldemort cannot kill Harry.
In the Sixth Book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Chapter 4 - Horace Slughorn
"If there is an attack," said Dumbledore, "I give you permission to use any counter-jinx or -curse that might occur to you. However, I do not think you need worry about being attacked tonight."
"Why not, sir?"
"You are with me," said Dumbledore simply. "This will do, Harry."
This line may look very ordinary, but it has a deeper meaning. At this point Dumbledore hand is burnt from the curse, that means he has the Resurrection Stone, Dumbledore's wand is the Elder Wand. And he insisted Harry to bring along the Invisibility Cloak. So actually, Dumbledore at that point had all the three deathly hallows. He was the invincible Master of Death.
I may have thought too much on Dumbledore's remark, but in any case at that point, all the three Deathly Hallows were accessible to Dumbledore, and he had the opportunity to become the Master of Death
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By Allen Barnett, Pre-med student and Harry Potter scholar. Excelling in one, passing in the other.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Harry and Dudley are attacked by Dementors.
After returning to the house:
"How many times do I have to tell you?" said Harry, temper and voice both rising. "It wasn't me! It was a couple of Dementors!"
"A couple of - what's this codswallop?" (Uncle Vernon)
"De - men - tors," said Harry slowly and clearly. "Two of them."
"And what the ruddy hell are Dementors?"
"They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban," said Aunt Petunia.
Two seconds of ringing silence followed these words before Aunt Petunia clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had let slip a disgusting swear word. Uncle Vernon was goggling at her. Harry's brain reeled. Mrs. Figg was one thing - but Aunt Petunia?
"How d'you know that?" he asked her, astonished.
Aunt Petunia looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Uncle Vernon in fearful apology, then lowered her hand slightly to reveal her horsy teeth.
"I heard - that awful boy - telling her about them - years ago," she said jerkily.
"If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you use their names?" said Harry loudly, but Aunt Petunia ignored him. She seemed horribly flustered.
Harry assumes 'that awful boy' is James Potter, when in fact, it is Severus Snape. We learn this in a flashback in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snape and Lily are talking about the wizarding world:
"Tell me about the Dementors again" (Lily Evans)
"What d'you want to know about them for?" (Severus Snape)
"If I use magic outside of school -"
"They wouldn't give you the Dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban, you're too -"
He turned red again and shredded more leaves. Then a small rustling noise behind Harry made him turn: Petunia, hiding behind a tree, had lost her footing.
"Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet...
JK Rowling is truly amazing. I remember reading Deathly Hallows all night when it came out: when I got to this part I was floored, had to go back and check in Order of the Phoenix.
[All images from Warner Brothers' Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II]
- What are the biggest plot holes and errors in Harry Potter?
- Was Snape's Patronus always a doe, or did it change from its original form when he fell in love with Lily? If so, what was his original Patronus?
- What could Dumbledore have been referring to when he said, "Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine."?