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Trope to be cut per TRS.
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* PumpkinSpiceEverything: Pumpkin Juice is apparently a favored beverage among wizards, and pumpkin pasties are a common food.
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* NeverTheObviousSuspect: This trope pops up more than once.
** Severus Snape is a sly, abusive teacher who has a clear affinity for the Dark Arts throughout ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone''. It turns out that [[spoiler:Snape is not only not the antagonist, he is actively protecting Harry from the antagonist.]]
** Draco Malfoy is a schoolyard bully who vocally supports the actions of the mysterious Heir of Slytherin in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. Harry and co. spend months investigating the connection between the two, but [[spoiler:it becomes obvious Draco has nothing to do with the Heir.]]
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' sees Harry suspect Snape and Malfoy yet again, this time of hatching several failed assassination plots from within Hogwarts. By this point, Harry's friends and allies are GenreSavvy enough to attribute his suspicion to his dislike for both people. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Harry is completely right about both, even if their situations are much more complex than Harry assumed.]]
** Severus Snape is a sly, abusive teacher who has a clear affinity for the Dark Arts throughout ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone''. It turns out that [[spoiler:Snape is not only not the antagonist, he is actively protecting Harry from the antagonist.]]
** Draco Malfoy is a schoolyard bully who vocally supports the actions of the mysterious Heir of Slytherin in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. Harry and co. spend months investigating the connection between the two, but [[spoiler:it becomes obvious Draco has nothing to do with the Heir.]]
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' sees Harry suspect Snape and Malfoy yet again, this time of hatching several failed assassination plots from within Hogwarts. By this point, Harry's friends and allies are GenreSavvy enough to attribute his suspicion to his dislike for both people. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Harry is completely right about both, even if their situations are much more complex than Harry assumed.]]
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a meritorical mistake
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* LuckySeven: Seven books, based on Harry's seven years in school. Seven Weasley children. Voldemort tries to split himself seven ways using himself + six horcruxes [[spoiler:(and doesn't quite succeed; the sixth one was accidental, in which he made Harry his sixth Horcrux)]]. This is {{foreshadow|ing}}ed in the ''Deathly Hallows'' film with the rock broken into seven pieces in young Tom's room. In-universe, seven is stated to be a very powerful magical number.
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* LuckySeven: Seven books, based on Harry's seven years in school. Seven Weasley children. Voldemort tries to split himself seven ways using himself + six horcruxes [[spoiler:(and doesn't quite succeed; the sixth one was accidental, in which he made He accidentally makes Harry his sixth Horcrux)]].seventh Horcrux.)]]. This is {{foreshadow|ing}}ed in the ''Deathly Hallows'' film with the rock broken into seven pieces in young Tom's room. In-universe, seven is stated to be a very powerful magical number.
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** Wizards also don't seem to have a method of communication as quick and easy as cell phones, or if they do, it's not shown in the books. The closest thing we see is the two-way mirror that appears at the end of Book 5, but this seems to be uncommon (it's the only one that appears in the series), and it only works between two people who each have to have one side of the mirror.
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* RedHerring: The first four books each have one:
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* RedHerring: The first four books each have haveat least one:
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** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]: [[spoiler:Hagrid]]
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** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]: [[spoiler:Hagrid]][[spoiler:Hagrid, Malfoy, Percy]]
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** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]: [[spoiler:Igor Karkaroff]]
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** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]: [[spoiler:Igor Karkaroff]]Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, Snape (again)]]
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* MugglesDoItBetter: Never demonstrated by direct comparison due to the extreme segregation of the wizards from the general population, but the most powerful, deadly, unforgivable curse in the wizard world has roughly the lethality of a small-caliber handgun, and whatever the wizards do to feed themselves and maintain quality of life can only support a population density so low that one school with a handful of instructors can train the entire wizard population of the british isles through every grade level at once. Even accounting for extended lifespans, that means the muggle technology overall is at minimum three orders of magnitude better than wizardry at keeping things running.
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* MugglesDoItBetter: Never demonstrated by direct comparison due to the extreme segregation of the wizards from the general population, but the most powerful, deadly, unforgivable curse in the wizard world has roughly the lethality of a small-caliber handgun, and whatever the wizards do to feed themselves and maintain quality of life can only support a population density so low that one school with a handful of instructors can train the entire wizard population of the british isles British Isles through every grade level at once. Even accounting for extended lifespans, that means the muggle technology overall is at minimum three orders of magnitude better than wizardry at keeping things running.
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** Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts are a running joke since ''Goblet of Fire''.
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* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: On a storytelling level. The spells that appear in the series are introduced as the characters fall into their skill level, and we don't see many of them in use and unidentified in the early books.
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They don't learn of Rita Skeeter until year five.
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* OddlyCommonRarity: Hermione says there were only seven Animagi registered with the Ministry during the entire century, but the trio encounters three unregistered Animagi within two years, which strongly implies that it is rather easy to conceal the ability, and the actual rarity is for the Animagi to be registered. Hermione is just law-obsessed and forgets that laws don't mean crap if they can't be enforced. It wouldn't be terribly surprising to find out it is the Wizarding equivalent of Speeding.
** They also hear about a fourth, although [[spoiler: he's been dead since the first chapter of the series]].
** They also hear about a fourth, although [[spoiler: he's been dead since the first chapter of the series]].
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* OddlyCommonRarity: Hermione says there were only seven Animagi registered with the Ministry during the entire century, but the trio encounters three two unregistered Animagi within two years[[note]]and learn of a third, now deceased[[/note]], and another within five years, which strongly implies that it is rather easy to conceal the ability, and the actual rarity is for the Animagi to be registered. Hermione is just law-obsessed and forgets that laws don't mean crap if they can't be enforced. It wouldn't be terribly surprising to find out it is the Wizarding equivalent of Speeding.
** They also hear about a fourth, although [[spoiler: he's been dead since the first chapter of the series]].Speeding.
** They also hear about a fourth, although [[spoiler: he's been dead since the first chapter of the series]].
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%%* OurCentaursAreDifferent
%%* OurFairiesAreDifferent
%%* OurFairiesAreDifferent
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%%* OurFairiesAreDifferent
* OurDwarvesAreDifferent: They're present, but mostly as background colour (much like vampires). In the second book, Lockhart somehow gets a bunch of dwarves to act as "cupids" on Valentine's Day. It's a toss-up who's less happy, the dwarves or the students.
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Fairies and pixies are generally viewed as household pests, and their excellent Muggle press is a source of some confusion to wizards.
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* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They're apparently accepted enough by wizard society for sweet shops to stock blood-flavoured lollipops.
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* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Voldemort's killing of Lily Potter was his downfall. By choosing to kill her when she wouldn't step aside, he lost his powers and physical body, created a new nemesis in Harry with the power to kill him and lost the loyalty of Snape. If he had simply stunned her, he could have killed Harry with no harm to himself and handed the unconscious Lily over to Snape and would have effectively won.
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* LivingIsMoreThanSurviving: Until the end of the series, Harry and Voldemort were both able to survive, but "neither can live while the other survives."
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* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: Rowling modeled the Black Family on the famous Mitford sisters:
** Bellatrix Lestrange's fanatical devotion to Voldemort is based on Unity Valkyrie Mitford who was obssessed with UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler and socialized in his circle in the 30s and was believed to have tried to attract the generally asexual Hitler, and was in Berlin when Hitler declared war on Britain, and was so broken that she tried to commit suicide, failed and sent back to England where she was committed to an asylum.
** Narcissa Malfoy is based on Diana Mitford who married Oswald Moseley of the British Union of Fascists (a marriage with Hitler and Goebbels as witnesses).
** Andromeda Tonks and Sirius Black are based on Jessica Mitford (one of Rowling's heroes), the family WhiteSheep who ran away from them to fight in the Spanish Civil War and became a lifelong leftist.
** Bellatrix Lestrange's fanatical devotion to Voldemort is based on Unity Valkyrie Mitford who was obssessed with UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler and socialized in his circle in the 30s and was believed to have tried to attract the generally asexual Hitler, and was in Berlin when Hitler declared war on Britain, and was so broken that she tried to commit suicide, failed and sent back to England where she was committed to an asylum.
** Narcissa Malfoy is based on Diana Mitford who married Oswald Moseley of the British Union of Fascists (a marriage with Hitler and Goebbels as witnesses).
** Andromeda Tonks and Sirius Black are based on Jessica Mitford (one of Rowling's heroes), the family WhiteSheep who ran away from them to fight in the Spanish Civil War and became a lifelong leftist.
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* PumpkinSpiceEverything: Pumpkin Juice is apparently a favored beverage among wizards, and pumpkin pasties are a common food.
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** Not counting the various backstories, the main and supporting characters who are KilledOffForReal in this series are overwhelmingly male, with the notable exceptions of [[spoiler:Hedwig]] (who isn't human), [[spoiler:Nymphadora Tonks]] (who is killed off-screen), and [[spoiler:Bellatrix Lestrange]] (a villain - and let's face it, [[MamaBear she absolutely had it coming]]), along with an unnamed German woman ([[WouldHurtAChild and her children]]) that Voldemort kills during his search for [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]].
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** Not The characterization part of this trope is averted, but the numerical part is played very straight - not counting the various backstories, the main and supporting characters who are KilledOffForReal in this series are overwhelmingly male, with the notable exceptions of [[spoiler:Charity Burbage]] (killed in the first scene she appears, but at least given decent characterization beforehand), [[spoiler:Hedwig]] (who isn't human), [[spoiler:Nymphadora Tonks]] (who is killed off-screen), and [[spoiler:Bellatrix Lestrange]] (a villain - and let's face it, [[MamaBear she absolutely had it coming]]), along with an unnamed German woman ([[WouldHurtAChild and her children]]) that Voldemort kills during his search for [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]].
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** The main and supporting characters who are KilledOffForReal in this series are overwhelmingly male, with the notable exceptions of [[spoiler:Hedwig]] (who isn't human), [[spoiler:Nymphadora Tonks]] (who is killed off-screen), and [[spoiler:Bellatrix Lestrange]] (a villain - and let's face it, [[MamaBear she absolutely had it coming]]), along with an unnamed German woman ([[WouldHurtAChild and her children]]) that Voldemort kills during his search for [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]].
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** The Not counting the various backstories, the main and supporting characters who are KilledOffForReal in this series are overwhelmingly male, with the notable exceptions of [[spoiler:Hedwig]] (who isn't human), [[spoiler:Nymphadora Tonks]] (who is killed off-screen), and [[spoiler:Bellatrix Lestrange]] (a villain - and let's face it, [[MamaBear she absolutely had it coming]]), along with an unnamed German woman ([[WouldHurtAChild and her children]]) that Voldemort kills during his search for [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]].
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* MenAreTheExpendableGender:
** The main and supporting characters who are KilledOffForReal in this series are overwhelmingly male, with the notable exceptions of [[spoiler:Hedwig]] (who isn't human), [[spoiler:Nymphadora Tonks]] (who is killed off-screen), and [[spoiler:Bellatrix Lestrange]] (a villain - and let's face it, [[MamaBear she absolutely had it coming]]), along with an unnamed German woman ([[WouldHurtAChild and her children]]) that Voldemort kills during his search for [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]].
** The fate of [[spoiler:Lavender Brown]] is left ambiguous but bleak in ''Deathly Hallows'', but she's given a proper DeathByAdaptation in [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows the film]]. The closest we get to a book-canon confirmation is from ''[[AllThereInTheManual Pottermore]]'', where her status is listed as "presumed dead".
** The main and supporting characters who are KilledOffForReal in this series are overwhelmingly male, with the notable exceptions of [[spoiler:Hedwig]] (who isn't human), [[spoiler:Nymphadora Tonks]] (who is killed off-screen), and [[spoiler:Bellatrix Lestrange]] (a villain - and let's face it, [[MamaBear she absolutely had it coming]]), along with an unnamed German woman ([[WouldHurtAChild and her children]]) that Voldemort kills during his search for [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]].
** The fate of [[spoiler:Lavender Brown]] is left ambiguous but bleak in ''Deathly Hallows'', but she's given a proper DeathByAdaptation in [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows the film]]. The closest we get to a book-canon confirmation is from ''[[AllThereInTheManual Pottermore]]'', where her status is listed as "presumed dead".
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Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane on the jinxed position
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* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: From the books alone, Voldemort's curse on the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher may or may not actually ''be'' a magical curse (although [[WordOfGod Rowling]] confirmed a jinx on the position), and some of it is down to a self-fulfilling prophecy because of the very rumour that it is cursed (Gilderoy Lockhart was the only applicant for that role during Harry's second year). All of the teachers meet their end in very different circumstances, only one directly influenced by Voldemort.
** Quirrell [[spoiler:turned out to be carrying Voldemort's spirit on the back of his head and died attempting to kill Harry]].
** Lockhart [[spoiler:was exposed as a fraud, not helped by the fact he was the only applicant, and had his memory erased by a damaged wand he was using]].
** Lupin [[spoiler:was fired (okay, technically resigned!) when his lycanthropy was exposed, presumably by Snape]].
** Moody [[spoiler:was actually Barty Crouch Jr. impersonating him, and had his soul removed by a Dementor after he was exposed trying to personally kill Harry]].
** Umbridge [[spoiler:pretty much turned the entire school against her and then insulted the wrong race of sentient beings, leading to a very undignified exodus]].
** [[spoiler:Snape had to flee Hogwarts after killing Dumbledore, but also in order to protect Draco Malfoy]].
** Carrow [[spoiler:was a Death Eater and sent to Azkaban after being defeated in the Battle of Hogwarts]].
** Quirrell [[spoiler:turned out to be carrying Voldemort's spirit on the back of his head and died attempting to kill Harry]].
** Lockhart [[spoiler:was exposed as a fraud, not helped by the fact he was the only applicant, and had his memory erased by a damaged wand he was using]].
** Lupin [[spoiler:was fired (okay, technically resigned!) when his lycanthropy was exposed, presumably by Snape]].
** Moody [[spoiler:was actually Barty Crouch Jr. impersonating him, and had his soul removed by a Dementor after he was exposed trying to personally kill Harry]].
** Umbridge [[spoiler:pretty much turned the entire school against her and then insulted the wrong race of sentient beings, leading to a very undignified exodus]].
** [[spoiler:Snape had to flee Hogwarts after killing Dumbledore, but also in order to protect Draco Malfoy]].
** Carrow [[spoiler:was a Death Eater and sent to Azkaban after being defeated in the Battle of Hogwarts]].
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** In ''Goblet of Fire'', Hermione the know-it-all recognizes the Dark Mark because she read about it in a book, ''The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts''. This is an obvious ShoutOut to William Shirer's all-time classic history of Nazi Germany, ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich''.
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* JustEatGilligan: [[http://www.cracked.com/video_18244_why-harry-potter-universe-secretly-terrifying.html Cracked]] pointed out that asking the Muggles for help in taking down Voldemort would have solved a ''lot'' of problems. Note that at the higher levels of politics, Muggles and Wizards know of each other as vaguely allies, despite the widespread dismissal of Muggles as being weak.
--> '''Michael''': We can shoot people with a thousand rockets... from space... with ''iPhones!''
** Is this before or after widespread use of Legilimency, Memory Charms, Polyjuice Potion, Confundus charms and the Imperius Curse play merry hell with...literally our entire government? Including the Nuclear Arsenals. ESPECIALLY THE NUCLEAR ARSENALS. Not to mention that if a bunch of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods intentionally break the masquerade this way, Voldemort and friends will have every word they ever spoke proven absolutely right, thus cementing their hold and vindicating their cause.
--> '''Michael''': We can shoot people with a thousand rockets... from space... with ''iPhones!''
** Is this before or after widespread use of Legilimency, Memory Charms, Polyjuice Potion, Confundus charms and the Imperius Curse play merry hell with...literally our entire government? Including the Nuclear Arsenals. ESPECIALLY THE NUCLEAR ARSENALS. Not to mention that if a bunch of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods intentionally break the masquerade this way, Voldemort and friends will have every word they ever spoke proven absolutely right, thus cementing their hold and vindicating their cause.
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* KillItWithFire: One of the few ways to [[spoiler:destroy a Horcrux]] is with the dark magic spell Fiendfyre, a.k.a. cursed fire, but the spell is so dangerous and hard to control that even ''Hermione'' says she wouldn't dare try it. And in ''Half-Blood Prince'', it's demonstrated that the Inferi are, if not destroyed, at least repelled by fire.
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* KillItWithFire: One of the few ways to [[spoiler:destroy destroy a Horcrux]] Horcrux is with the dark magic spell Fiendfyre, a.k.a. cursed fire, but the spell is so dangerous and hard to control that even ''Hermione'' says she wouldn't dare try it. And in ''Half-Blood Prince'', it's demonstrated that the Inferi are, if not destroyed, at least repelled by fire.
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* MugglesDoItBetter: Never demonstrated by direct comparison due to the extreme segregation of the wizards from the general population, but the most powerful, deadly, unforgivable curse in the wizard world has roughly the lethality of a small-caliber handgun, and whatever the wizards do to feed themselves and maintain quality of life can only support a population density so low that one school with a handful of instructors can train the entire wizard population of the british isles through every grade level at once. Even accounting for extended lifespans, that means the muggle technology overall is at minimum three orders of magnitude better than wizardry at keeping things running.
** The wizard world also hasn't even invented fiat currency, and their economy still runs on shiny rocks. Though the author might not realize exactly how inferior that makes them.
** The wizard world also hasn't even invented fiat currency, and their economy still runs on shiny rocks. Though the author might not realize exactly how inferior that makes them.
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** The Slytherins all left before the final battle. However, we later find out that a signifcant number of them lead by Slughorn actually did this in order to reach Hogsmeade and raise the alarm, before coming back ''with reinforcements''. There is debate as to whether this really counts, as Rowling only mentions it in an interview, and it is never hinted at in the books. In fact, Voldemort hints that many Slytherins joined him.
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** The Slytherins all left before the final battle. However, we later find out that a signifcant significant number of them lead led by Slughorn actually did this in order to reach Hogsmeade and raise the alarm, before coming back ''with reinforcements''. There is debate as to whether this really counts, as Rowling only mentions it in an interview, and it is never hinted at in the books. In fact, Voldemort hints that many Slytherins joined him.
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* LivingLegend: The Boy-Who-Lived. You-Know-Who/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names/Voldemort. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
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* LivingLegend: The Boy-Who-Lived. You-Know-Who/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names/Voldemort.You-Know-Who/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named/Voldemort. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
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* LaResistance: Dumbledore's Army, against the Ministry's interference at Hogwarts in ''Order of the Phoenix''; Potterwatch and the Order of the Phoenix, against Vlodemort's regime.
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* LaResistance: Dumbledore's Army, against the Ministry's interference at Hogwarts in ''Order of the Phoenix''; Potterwatch and the Order of the Phoenix, against Vlodemort's Voldemort's regime.
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* NemesisWeapon: Harry's [[MagicWand wand]] is one of two which share cores from the same phoenix. Whereas his is made of holly, a wood well-suited to his dangerous life, its brother, which went to Voldemort, is made of yew, a supreme material for DarkMagic. The connection between the wands makes them almost unable to defeat each other, and every showdown between Harry and Voldemort using them ends in a draw. Voldemort catches on to this late in the series and starts looking for a more powerful wand.
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** Nine and three-quarters: Kings Cross platform; length of school year in months (Sept 1-late June); Harry's exile from the wizarding world in years (1 Nov 1981-31 July 1991)
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** Nine and three-quarters: Kings King's Cross platform; length of school year in months (Sept 1-late June); Harry's exile from the wizarding world in years (1 Nov 1981-31 July 1991)
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** The Death Eaters believe in the superiority of [[WitchSpecies "pure blood"]], and will kill anyone they feel is inferior to them. Their leader, Voldemort, hates anyone not of pure wizard blood, yet he himself is not a pureblood; UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler viewed "Aryans," commonly portrayed as blonds with blue eyes, as the master race, yet he himself was brown-haired with brown eyes, and may have had a bit of Jewish ancestry. J.K. Rowling [[WordOfGod acknowledged]] the Death Eaters are supposed to represent the Nazis. In [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the fourth movie]], they're also symbolized as Klansmen--check out the KKK-inspired headgear, torches and "burning signal".///
to:
** The Death Eaters believe in the superiority of [[WitchSpecies "pure blood"]], and will kill anyone they feel is inferior to them. Their leader, Voldemort, hates anyone not of pure wizard blood, yet he himself is not a pureblood; UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler viewed "Aryans," commonly portrayed as blonds with blue eyes, as the master race, yet he himself was brown-haired with brown eyes, and may have had a bit of Jewish ancestry. J.K. Rowling [[WordOfGod acknowledged]] the Death Eaters are supposed to represent the Nazis. In [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the fourth movie]], they're also symbolized as Klansmen--check out the KKK-inspired headgear, torches and "burning signal".///
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** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]:
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** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]:Fire]]'':
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-->[[Literature/HarryPotter Main page]]\\
HarryPotter/TropesAToI\\
'''Tropes J to R'''\\
HarryPotter/TropesSToY
[[folder:J]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Many characters are of the sour, unpleasant variety.
** Special mentions go to the Dursleys, the Malfoys, Snape, Cormac [=McClaggen=], Percy Weasley, '''Dolores Umbridge''', and sadly, James Potter (from what we see in his youth during Snape's flashback).
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Too many instances to count.
* JoinOrDie: Standard operating procedure for the Death Eaters.
* JustEatGilligan: [[http://www.cracked.com/video_18244_why-harry-potter-universe-secretly-terrifying.html Cracked]] pointed out that asking the Muggles for help in taking down Voldemort would have solved a ''lot'' of problems. Note that at the higher levels of politics, Muggles and Wizards know of each other as vaguely allies, despite the widespread dismissal of Muggles as being weak.
--> '''Michael''': We can shoot people with a thousand rockets... from space... with ''iPhones!''
** Is this before or after widespread use of Legilimency, Memory Charms, Polyjuice Potion, Confundus charms and the Imperius Curse play merry hell with...literally our entire government? Including the Nuclear Arsenals. ESPECIALLY THE NUCLEAR ARSENALS. Not to mention that if a bunch of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods intentionally break the masquerade this way, Voldemort and friends will have every word they ever spoke proven absolutely right, thus cementing their hold and vindicating their cause.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:K]]
* {{Kappa}}: Kappas are one of the creatures Lupin teaches his class about in the third book, and they're described as looking like scaly monkeys with webbed hands that like to drown people. Snape incorrectly claims that they're native to Mongolia, whereas ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' correctly identifies them as a Japanese monster with a side note from Ron saying "Snape hasn't read this."
* KarmaHoudini: The Malfoys, who escape death and/or imprisonment due to their one redeeming quality: love and devotion to each other.
* KidDetective / AmateurSleuth: The PowerTrio. A big part of the books' structure (and their appeal) is that most of the plots are mysteries that Harry, Ron, and Hermione can solve ("What's hidden beneath the school?", "who is Slytherin's heir?", "who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire?", etc.), which is the main reason why three underage wizards can have any impact on the story at all.
* KillItWithFire: One of the few ways to [[spoiler:destroy a Horcrux]] is with the dark magic spell Fiendfyre, a.k.a. cursed fire, but the spell is so dangerous and hard to control that even ''Hermione'' says she wouldn't dare try it. And in ''Half-Blood Prince'', it's demonstrated that the Inferi are, if not destroyed, at least repelled by fire.
* KudzuPlot: All of the Harry Potter books (except ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'') end with some answers being revealed but also leave the reader asking several questions which will not be revealed until later books. Some questions that are asked in the first book aren't answered until the last book. Thankfully, they are all resolved in the end.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:L]]
* LaResistance: Dumbledore's Army, against the Ministry's interference at Hogwarts in ''Order of the Phoenix''; Potterwatch and the Order of the Phoenix, against Vlodemort's regime.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The effect of a Memory Charm on the recipient.
* LegendaryWeapon: The Sword of Godric Gryffindor, and the Elder Wand.
* LetterMotif: Marvolo, Morfin, and Merope Gaunt; Albus, Aberforth, and Ariana Dumbledore.
* LivingLabyrinth: Hogwarts is a labyrinthine castle said by some to be sentient. The most overt evidence is the staircases' tendency and alleged fondness for shifting around.
* LivingLegend: The Boy-Who-Lived. You-Know-Who/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names/Voldemort. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Seeing as it takes place at a boarding school and all. Let's see: The protagonist PowerTrio, about a baker's dozen worth of significant classmates, the entire Potter and Weasley families, about a dozen teachers (two of which are hardly ever shown, admittedly), another dozen guys from the Ministry of Magic, and about half a dozen on the antagonist side. And that's just for starters...
* LoopholeAbuse: There are certain things that magic simply cannot do, such as reawaken the dead (per the fourth book) or conjure money out of nothing. But with the help of magical artifacts such as the Resurrection Stone or the Philosopher's Stone, it is possible to summon the spirits of the dead (or something very similar to the spirits of the dead) or create gold out of lead or other cheap metals (which is practically the same thing as conjuring money out of nothing).
** In a more mundane example than fabulous wealth or defying mortality, when Ron complains that his mother can conjure fabulous feasts out of thin air, Henrmione tells him that food is one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration (presumably, currency is another). You can summon food if you know where it is, duplicate it if you have it, or transfigure food into different food, but not spontaneous generation. Oddly, this begs the question of whether only prepared food is subject to this, as it is presumably possible to create animals (like Hermione's birds in ''{{HBP}}'') or plants that are inedible unless prepared like cashew fruits (which have to be roasted extensively to get rid of the poison).
* LooseLips: You can trust Rubeus Hagrid with your life, you can even trust him with underage children, but you can't trust him with your secrets, through no malice of his own. ''Goblet of Fire'' has Bertha Jorkins, whose only known attribute is this due to her chronic tendency to gossip -- to her own cost.
* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Filch loves torturing misbehaving children, and misses the old days when he could hang kids from the rafters and hear them scream. A lot of that talk is probably wishful thinking (not that this is a huge improvement); Dumbledore seems to have hired Filch, and Dumbledore most likely did not allow thumb screws, chains, or any of the other implements Filch claims to miss. His paraphernalia could easily be left over from well before his time.
%%* LoyalPhlebotinum: Magic wands.
* LuckySeven: Seven books, based on Harry's seven years in school. Seven Weasley children. Voldemort tries to split himself seven ways using himself + six horcruxes [[spoiler:(and doesn't quite succeed; the sixth one was accidental, in which he made Harry his sixth Horcrux)]]. This is {{foreshadow|ing}}ed in the ''Deathly Hallows'' film with the rock broken into seven pieces in young Tom's room. In-universe, seven is stated to be a very powerful magical number.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:M]]
* MachiavelliWasWrong:
** Subverted by Voldemort. Despite having a legion of followers who seem utterly loyal, he is betrayed a few times by people who, despite being Slytherins, start to hate him for various reasons. [[spoiler:Snape, for example, betrayed him for over a decade; Regulus was willing to die to stop him; and Narcissa lied to him to protect her son]]. Not to mention that he [[spoiler:created his own worst enemy in Harry when he tried to kill him]]. Voldy clearly missed the part about "avoiding hatred".
** Played with by Dumbledore, whose philosophy of love and trust clashes with a number of his actions that are very manipulative indeed. His manipulation often does more harm than good, and Dumbledore acknowledges this, such as at the end of the fifth book.
* MacGuffinPersonReveal: Harry spends a book and a half looking for [[BigBad Voldermort]]'s [[SoulJar six Horcruxes]] before finding out [[spoiler:that Harry himself is the seventh]].
* MadeOfGood: A Patronus is a positive memory made manifest; unlike a person, it can't feel despair, so Dementors can't feed on it.
* MadeOfIndestructium: Implied of the Deathly Hallows. The [[spoiler:Invisibility Cloak's]] flawless state despite its ancient age is the first clue to its true nature, the fact that the same strike that destroyed [[spoiler:the Horcrux]] within the Resurrection Stone did nothing to impede its function as a Hallow, and the fact that the Elder Wand survived through the ages despite being constantly in the centre of violent conflicts all point to this.
** Any such implications are completely ignored in the films, where Harry [[spoiler: effortlessly snaps the Elder Wand in half]].
* MagicAIsMagicA: Followed fairly closely, mainly with the teleporting power; the reader is repeatedly told that it's impossible to teleport into or out of Hogwarts. In Book 7, we find out why this is perfectly in line with the rules. In Film 6, when Harry reminds him he's about to do something impossible, Dumbledore states "This is one of the benefits of being me."
** It's also explained, when they're doing their Apparition test, that the room in which they're practicing has temporarily had the blocking field suspended, but they're warned not to try it after the lesson's over.
* MagicalCamera: Photographs and paintings alike are animate and semi-sentient, due to some kind of special darkroom process.
* MagicalLibrary: The school library at Hogwarts.
* MagicCarpet: These are banned in Britain because they're defined as a {{Muggle}} artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Magical Objects, though they're apparently used by wizards in other countries.
* MagicHat: The Room of Requirement turns into whatever people need. For a more literal magic hat, there's the Sorting Hat, [[spoiler:from which the Sword of Gryffindor can be pulled by a true Gryffindor]].
* MagicMap: The Marauder's Map, showing everything and everyone on the Hogwarts grounds and giving insults to Severus Snape.
* MagicVersusScience: Electronics don't even work around Hogwarts, wizards are disdainful of Muggle technology, and most {{Muggles}} have no idea magic exists. Interestingly, although wizards can do most things much more quickly and efficiently with magic, there are a few cases where the wizard method just ''sucks'' compared to the Muggle method, most notably communication, where the wizards have nothing as effective as (albeit then-primitive) cell phones or Internet. They send letters by owl, which is better than the postal service, but nowhere near as good as an e-mail (and subject to getting owlnapped/eaten on the way). The closest thing they have to a phone is sticking your head in a magical fireplace, which is not portable like a cell phone. On the other hand, there are implications, primarily in ''Order of the Phoenix'', that owls can be teleported in emergencies.
** Subverted by one Arthur Weasley, who seems to be one of the few (along with Hermione, who was brought up in the Muggle world) who sees the usefulness of taking common Muggle inventions then enhancing them further with magic. Everyone else just thinks he's eccentric.
** Much of this is clearly intended to reflect the cultural differences between those who live entirely in Wizarding society and those who mingle in both. For example, by the end of the series Ron, [[spoiler: who is now married to Hermione, a Muggle-born]], has gotten a driver's license. However, a cultural bias can also develop in young wizards and witches because electronics do not work in Hogwarts, which is where they will spend a large chunk of their childhoods. Thus, even Muggle-borns who grow up in regular society may become distanced from it as they live for years with magic as the only "technology" available to them.
** There is also a legitimate question as to what is "magic" and what is "science". In the book ''Harry Potter and Philosophy'', one contributor, Gareth B. Matthews, observes:
--->'''Matthews:''' The natural assumption is that any subject that can be taught to students in such a way that their competence in this subject can be tested by examination is a science.
** This is further illustrated by the fact that it is frequently shown that magic, much like science, operates under comprehensible laws and that if performed correctly will produce a predictable result. If performed incorrectly (something often shown in the series) it will likewise produce an incorrect result. This is most explicitly demonstrated in the subject of Potions, where in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' Professor Snape states it unequivocally (emphasis added):
--->'''Snape:''' You are here to learn the subtle '''science''' and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic.
* MagicalSeventhSon: According to Creator/JKRowling, Ginny is the seventh child of a seventh child.
* MamaBear: Several, and they seem to be the bane of [[BigBad Voldemort's]] existence. Twice he's been undone by a mother trying to protect her son. [[spoiler:The first was Lily [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing]] herself for Harry, and the second is Narcissa Malfoy, who lies to him about Harry being dead for the chance to save Draco.]]
** Not to mention Molly Weasley:
--->[[PrecisionFStrike "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"]]
* {{Masquerade}}: The {{Muggle}} world is under the masquerade that magic does not exist.
* MasterApprenticeChain: Harry is given special lessons from Lupin, and uses it and more to train the DA.
* MasterRace: Many pureblood families of wizards view themselves this way; Voldemort, whose reasons for hating {{Muggles}} are much more personal in nature, [[ExploitedTrope plays on this]] to attract followers.
* MeaningfulName: There are many. Indeed, certain characters "just happen" to have names that relate to ''what'' they are, to the point of providing more astute readers with a possible {{spoiler}}.
** As an example, if you hated Dolores Umbridge, well, guess what? The author ''wanted'' you to feel that way. Dolores comes from Spanish, and it means "pains". Umbridge is pronounced just like the word "umbrage" (ˈʌm.brɪdʒ), and it means "feeling of anger or annoyance caused by something offensive". What an apt name!
** Remus Lupin: Romulus and Remus, twins who were raised by wolves; "lupine" = wolf-like. Asking for it.
*** As is Fenrir Greyback, who's named after a giant wolf of Myth/NorseMythology.
** Naturally, Sirius Black can turn into a black dog. His dog form is mistaken for a Grim, one of names for the Black Dog myth, which in some legends aids people (hint) but in many either brings or signals doom (i.e., they have a bad reputation). Similarly, "dog days" were named because the appearance of Sirius in Egypt coincided with the flooding of the Nile. Aaand "black dog" also refers to depression. He really didn't have a chance.
** Minerva is the Roman equivalent to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Minerva [=McGonagall=] is pretty smart herself.
*** On the same note, Hermione is the female version of Hermes, the messenger of the gods of Olympus, and also the god of knowledge.
** The Gaunts were a once powerful magical family, now reduced to squalor; "gaunt" means lean and haggard.
** Salazar Slytherin is associated with snakes, as his last name might suggest. His first name may be a reference to Antonio Salazar, the Portuguese dictator.
** Rowena Ravenclaw, and the house named after her, is associated with intelligence. The raven is one of the smartest birds there is.
** Luna Lovegood is quite spacey and moony.
*** Arguably her last name as well, when you consider how much she values her friends.
** "Malfoy" means "bad faith" in French.
** "Alastor" roughly means "avenger" in Greek. Alastor Moody seeks and captures criminal wizards.
** And {{Nag|a}}ini, of course.
** Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father. His first name means Lover of Aliens, literally, but the Lovegoods are strange people who love strange things.
*** Aliens as in unknown things, rather than extraterrestrials, by the way.
** The ominous thestrals sound much like the Old English word for darkness, "theostru."
** Ignotus Peverell: "ignotus" is Latin for "pardoned". Makes sense when you consider that he was [[spoiler: essentially pardoned by Death]].
** The list of meaningful names is almost as long as the list of characters in the series. Ol' J.K., it seems, just couldn't help but throw in the kitchen sink when it came to puns.
* MemoryWipingCrew: Obliviators, employed by the Ministry of Magic.
* MemeticBadass: In-universe example. Rumours about the incredible (and possibly dark) powers that Harry possessed were circulating before he'd even arrived at Hogwarts. And the PowerTrio are absolutely on the receiving end of this during ''Deathly Hallows'', when the Wizarding World is hearing stories about three high school students who [[spoiler:rescued prisoners from the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic itself, escaped Malfoy Manor (Death Eater HQ) from under the nose of Bellatrix Lestrange, and broke ''into'' Gringotts and escaped ''by stealing a dragon(!!!)'', on top of regularly pwning Death Eaters and repeatedly escaping from right under Voldemort's... umm... slits.]]
* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler:Sirius, Dumbledore, and Lupin. In that order.]]
* MindProbe: Legilimency is the art of probing into another person's head and reading their thoughts and emotions. It can be used in relatively harmless ways to detect lying and read surface thoughts, but deep searching can completely destroy the target's mind.
** The mental link between Harry and Voldemort potentially allows a two-way channel for either one to search the other's mind. However, whereas Harry can, if willing, look inside Voldemort's mind with relative ease and end up only a few nasty headaches worse for wear, Voldemort can't reach too deeply into Harry's mind without suffering unspeakable pain. Dumbledore theorizes that [[spoiler: Voldemort's unstable maimed soul is unable to come in contact with Harry's pure soul]].
* MindRape: Dementors are living embodiments of this, and it's why so many wizards are afraid of being sent to Azkaban, the wizard prison. This is also what will happen if you get on the wrong side of a Legilimens.
* MindYourStep: The staircases at Hogwarts have several stairs that your foot will sink through.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Implied to be the reason why Harry has more humility than his father had at the same age; growing up with his abusive Aunt and Uncle made him a better person. Though, this is carefully qualified because there are other cases where misery did not build character, namely the young Tom Riddle and Severus Snape who suffered bad childhoods and became jerkasses, with the latter undergoing HeelFaceTurn only after realizing he made a terrible mistake and even then not changing his genuinely unpleasant personality one bit.
** Dumbledore himself notes that Harry is exceptional for coming out of his childhood with the capacity to love that he imbibed from the memory and sacrifice of his GoodParents. And Harry himself mocks this concept when he tells Remus off for trying to abandon his family under the misplaced idea that his child is better off without his werewolf Dad.
** According to Creator/JKRowling, this trope is why Dumbledore lets Snape get away with being such an asshole to his students. ("Dumbledore believes there are all sorts of lessons in life ... horrible teachers like Snape are one of them!"). Dumbledore is perhaps the biggest example; his [[spoiler:youthful relationship with Grindelwald and the resulting death of his sister]] made him a [[TheAtoner lifelong atoner]] for an action he never forgave himself for.
* MisfitMobilizationMoment:
** In ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', Kreacher leads the house-elves employed at Hogwarts into battle against the Death Eaters.
** In ''Order of the Phoenix'', Harry, Ron, and Hermione are already-mobilized misfits, but they're joined by Neville (who TookALevelInBadass); Ginny, who up to that point was nearly an extra and only Ron's little sister; and Luna, Hogwarts's own {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
** The whole final battle is this for the good guys: Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, teachers and staff of Hogwarts, Grawp-the-giant, thestrals and hippogriffs, centaurs, house-elves, and probably others. Even the non-Junior Death Eater Slytherins led by LovableCoward Slughorn.
*** Just think of a good guy who's still alive by this point in the story. Any good guy at all, no matter how obscure. ''They show up''. [[note]]Okay, not some other very minor characters who get the shaft.[[/note]]
* MistakenForGranite: The guardian statue at the entrance to Dumbledore's study.
* MoeCouplet: Harry and Luna. Luna is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who hardly seems troubled by anything and helps her father run the magical equivalent of a tabloid magazine, whereas Harry becomes more [[HurtingHero traumatized as increasing numbers of his friends and loved ones die. Some of them right in front of him.]] Yet, Luna understands what losing a loved one feels like, enabling her to empathise with his grief over Sirius -- and Harry knows what being picked on feels like, so he naturally wants to help her out when people hide Luna's things and mock her behind her back. They serve as two sides of the same coin, and [[FanPreferredCouple some fans prefer them as a couple to Harry/Ginny]].
* MonochromeApparition: The ghosts in the books are described as 'pearly white', with the exception of Peeves. In the movies they are merely desaturated.
* MoralDissonance:
** Harry and others are seen using the so-called Unforgivable Curses in the last book. This could be chalked up to [[WarIsHell being in a war]], and using Unforgivable curses against Death Eaters was perfectly legal until in the previous war, when Barty Crouch, Sr. published a [[{{Outlaw}} writ of Outlawry]] against them. However, the Cruciatus curse (which causes mind-destroying pain) is used, despite it being less practical than either a killing curse or a simple stun.
** The way even good wizards like Arthur Weasley regard {{Muggles}}. Most wizards and witches (if they aren't Muggleborn) range from outright violence (on the Death Eater end) to a sort of paternalistic condescension (such as Arthur's case). And you can't help but be a little disturbed by the willingness to use things like [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Memory Charms]] on them to uphold TheMasquerade (especially after seeing what a really strong one does to Lockhart). Not to mention there was a war going on where Muggles were the ''targets'' and even the Prime Minister was kept almost entirely in the dark.
* MoralGuardians: The seemingly endless parade of whackos who insist that the books entice children into the occult and devil worship. Particularly jarring, considering [[ThePowerOfLove the actual]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship moral messages]] of the books.
* MorallyBankruptBanker: The goblins at Gringots.
* MoustacheDePlume: "J.K. Rowling" is a pseudonym forced upon the author, Joanne Rowling, because her publisher feared that young boys (the target audience) wouldn't read books written by a woman. Rowling didn't even have a middle name by then, so she used her grandmother's name, "Kathleen", in the pseudonym.
* {{Muggles}}: The TropeNamer.
* MuggleBornOfMages: A person who was born to magical parents but has no magical abilities themselves is known as a Squib. Notable examples include Filch (whose animosity towards the Hogwarts students is probably due to being this) and Mrs. Figg. Neville isn't one, but it took so long for his magical abilities to manifest that his family almost thought he'd be one.
* MultipleDemographicAppeal: A major factor in the series' runaway success.
* MundaneObjectAmazement: Justified by the insular nature of the wizarding community.
--> Mr Weasley: ''[to Harry]'' You've lived among Muggles; can you tell me exactly what is the function of a rubber duck?
* MundaneUtility: Several spells like ''Alohamora'', ''Accio'', and ''Reparo'' were initially designed for opening doors sealed by non-magical locks, summoning objects from great distances, and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin repairing broken objects]] (like [[RunningGag glasses]]), respectively.
%%* MysticalPlague: Lycanthropy.
%%* MythicalMotifs
[[/folder]]
[[folder:N]]
* {{Narm}}: Plenty of it in-universe, as we see practically the whole series through Harry's point of view. It gets lampshaded whenever the Dursleys have an emotional moment, usually coupled with some variant of the phrase "Harry suppressed the urge to laugh."
* NarmCharm: WordOfGod confirms that InUniverse, the Quibbler is "appreciated for its unintentional humour."
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: At length. The books contain a great deal of profanity being uttered, more often than not by [[SirSwearsALot Ron]], just filtered through a fairly tongue-in-cheek narration. To quote a few:
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]:
--->The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field.
--->Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley.
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'':
--->Frustration was running high and there was a certain amount of ill-feeling towards Wilkie Twycross and his three Ds, which had inspired a number of nicknames for him, the politest of which were Dog-breath and Dung-head.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName:
** The Death Eaters believe in the superiority of [[WitchSpecies "pure blood"]], and will kill anyone they feel is inferior to them. Their leader, Voldemort, hates anyone not of pure wizard blood, yet he himself is not a pureblood; UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler viewed "Aryans," commonly portrayed as blonds with blue eyes, as the master race, yet he himself was brown-haired with brown eyes, and may have had a bit of Jewish ancestry. J.K. Rowling [[WordOfGod acknowledged]] the Death Eaters are supposed to represent the Nazis. In [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the fourth movie]], they're also symbolized as Klansmen--check out the KKK-inspired headgear, torches and "burning signal".///
** And that's not even getting into the ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows seventh]]'' [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows book]], for most of which the PowerTrio are on the run in one of the most blatant parallels of Nazi-occupied Europe ever seen. The Ministry of Magic has become so corrupted from the inside by LesCollaborateurs that they essentially pass the Nuremberg Laws against Muggle-born wizards, and under the guidance of Umbridge are shown creating pamphlets touting purity of blood whose content and saccharine covers call to mind the publications of Julius Streicher. The various Death Eater minions inside the Ministry are dressed in khaki clothes, with red, white, and black armbands bearing the Dark Mark. The sign of [[spoiler:the Deathly Hallows]] has a history very similar to that of the swastika, as well--originally an innocent symbol, then used by wizard-supremacist Grindelwald, etched on walls by stupid pricks to get attention...
** Naturally, Grindelwald was defeated in 1945, of all years, and was banged up in a prison called Nurmengard (which sounds like Nuremberg, and has the very "Arbeit macht frei"-like slogan "For the Greater Good" carved over the gate). Fans have used this to speculate on [[{{Ghostapo}} whether Grindelwald actually had something to do with the rise of the Nazis themselves]]. Also, a lunatic, old loner as the last inmate of an incredibly guarded prison? That sounds like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hess Rudolf Hess.]]
*** Regardless, the possibility of a task force of wizards and muggles contributing to the Allied victory over the Nazis is invoked in-universe.
** The FilmOfTheBook of ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' shows a snippet of [[spoiler:Hermione's torture from the book, except instead of just hearing her disembodied screams, we also see Belatrix doing... something with the dagger in her hand to Hermione's arm. When we see her arm, we can see that Lestrange carved "Mudblood" into the inside of Hermione's forearm, much like how the Nazis tattooed numbers into the forearms of the Jews in concentration camps]].
** Polish translation of ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' explicitly calls those who hunt muggleborns and LaResistance for profit ''szmalcownicy''. RealLife ''szmalcownicy'' sold hiding Jews to the Nazis during [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo The War]].
*** Said Snatchers can also be compared to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen Einsatzgruppen]]'' that hunted Jews, ''inter alia'', in occupied Europe.
* NearDeathExperience:
** The effect of multiple magical curses/charms takes Harry about as near death as anyone can go without actually dying. Being the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse [[spoiler:twice]] is actually part of what makes him famous in the wizarding world, causing many to refer to him as "The Boy-Who-Lived".
** Voldemort also had a few, due to having a great magical insurance policy for awhile.
%%* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: The horcruxes.
%%* NeverASelfMadeWoman: The most prominent examples being Molly Weasley and Lily Evans, but Tonks and Fleur fall into this too later on.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** At one point in ''Half Blood Prince'', we see inside the memories of a Ministry official who was responsible for the arrest of a father and son who abused the daughter of the family, enabling her to go after the Muggle love of her life. All very well, right? Well, there's just one teensy-weensy problem -- said daughter happens to go on to become the mother of the most evil and maniacal wizard this century.
** Also in ''Half-Blood Prince'', we learn R.A.B. stole a PlotCoupon and replaced it with a fake and a taunting note, which forces the main characters to find it ''again'' later because R.A.B. didn't manage to destroy it. Especially annoying because of the circumstances of pointlessly gaining the fake.
* TheNineties: Excluding the opening chapter of the first book, various {{flashback}}s, and [[DistantFinale the epilogue at the end of book seven]], the entire series takes place over the course of this decade.
* NoEyeInMagic: Some of the spells in the series are like this.
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Book 1]], the main villain puts a spell on Harry's broom during a Quidditch game in an attempt to make him fall off and drop to his death. Hermione stops the spell by creating a fire, which startles him into breaking eye contact with Harry.
** In ''Chamber of Secrets'', the basilisk can kill someone just by looking them in the eye -- fortunately, the only people we see who have encountered it manage to not quite look it in the eye: they see it in a reflection, or through a camera lens, or through a ghost, so it doesn't ''quite'' kill them.
** There is also Legilimency, the ability to extract emotions and memories from a person's mind, which usually works via eye-to-eye contact. Dumbledore, Snape, and Voldemort are expert Legilimens, and scattered through the series (even before we know what Legilimency is) we can find instances where Harry feels that they can "read his mind." Almost a "missed" example, but once or twice, Harry does look away from their gaze; initially, the reader would just assume he felt uncomfortable under scrutiny -- [[{{Foreshadowing}} now we know better]].
* NoMoreLies: Eventually, Dumbledore realizes that hiding the truth from Harry will only hurt him in the end and tells him about Voldemort, such as he knows.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Unless a spell is specified to be permanent, it will expire with the caster's death. (This apparently does not apply to permanent curse-caused physical or mental damage.)
* NoOSHACompliance:
** Hogwarts is a rather dangerous place for kids. You would think that the parents would protest more often, but the only protests we ever see are when the Chamber of Secrets is opened and after a WoundedGazelleGambit by Malfoy in ''Prisoner of Azkaban''.
** In the usual course of things, there is only a little bit of danger (like the third corridor in our PowerTrio's first year), but when it gets ''really'' bad (like when the Chamber of Secrets opens, or during book 6 when Voldy is back) parents yank their kids out of school. (Ironically, once Voldemort shows up in Hogwarts in person, he waxes philosophical about his love for the place and offers the students a chance to go unharmed.)
** The Hogwarts Potions class doesn't have fume hoods over the cauldrons, nor does it require that the students wear goggles or gloves while brewing.
** Lampshaded repeatedly by the Podcast/{{Rifftra|x}}ckers for the movies.
-->"A safety measure failing? At ''Hogwarts''? Will wonders never cease!"
-->'''Kevin:''' So for this test [''Goblet of Fire''] they drowned four of their students?\\
'''Mike:''' ''[chuckling]'' No no no. They simply tied them up and tossed them into the water, which breaks no laws ''I'' can think of.
%%** The Department of Mysteries.
* NoSenseOfHumor: Percy Weasley "wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy." He does have a bit of a harshly sarcastic moment in ''Deathly Hallows'', though, which is remarked upon with astonishment by his siblings.
* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Several InUniverse examples:
** In ''Chamber of Secrets'', Lockhart is very happy when a fight breaks out at a book signing for his latest book.
** And then averted later in the series when the ''Daily Prophet'', Wizarding England's primary newspaper, does a massive (and successful) smear campaign on Harry and Dumbledore.
** Played straight in the fifth book, wherein the Ministry of Magic's propaganda campaign against Harry's story that Voldemort has returned is reversed when Umbridge bans a copy of ''The Quibbler'' that tells Harry's story about his encounter with Voldemort. The issue is then sold out and must be reprinted due to curiosity about why it was banned.
* NoTrueScotsman: The pureblood bigots are of the opinion that anyone who isn't a pureblood is inferior. Those purebloods who disagree are "blood traitors," i.e. not "true" purebloods.
* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: Detentions at Hogwarts often involve dangerous tasks, such as searching for an injured unicorn (running into whatever hurt it, and possibly needing to deliver a MercyKill) in the Forbidden Forest. Then there's the Umbridge/Carrows version of detention, which involves ColdBloodedTorture.
* NotUsingTheZWord: Zigzagged - in the books, reanimated bodies are called ''Inferi''. However, according to [[AllThereInTheManual Pottermore]], zombies actually do exist in the Potterverse, the primary difference being that, while Inferi can be enchanted to do one's bidding, zombies are merely mindless, shambling corpses.
* TheNounWhoVerbed:
** Harry is often called "The Boy-Who-Lived" as he was the only one to ever survive the Killing Curse or Voldemort.
** [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]] is often referred to as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "You-Know-Who", as people are afraid that [[SpeakOfTheDevil speaking his name might summon him]]. In the last book, he puts a "taboo" on his name such that everyone who speaks it can be located and protections around them fail, [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] the fear (because only his enemies would call him Voldemort) and also making it justified.
%%* NowOrNeverKiss: [[spoiler:Ron and Hermione.]]
* NumerologicalMotif
** Sevens: seven years, seven novels, seven subjects (to start with), seven Horcruxes, seven players on a Quidditch team, Harry [[spoiler:and Neville]] being born in the seventh month, seven Weasley children. The dedication for the seventh book is "split seven ways". The films take this further still; the number seven is on Harry's Quidditch robes.
** Nine and three-quarters: Kings Cross platform; length of school year in months (Sept 1-late June); Harry's exile from the wizarding world in years (1 Nov 1981-31 July 1991)
** Twelves: twelve subjects offered at Hogwarts (Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Defense Against Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Astronomy; Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, Runes, Arithmancy), twelve-a-side in the Dept. of Mysteries. Twelve uses of dragon blood.
** Primes: 17 sickles to the galleon, 29 knuts to the sickle, and of course all the sevens above.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:O]]
* OddlyCommonRarity: Hermione says there were only seven Animagi registered with the Ministry during the entire century, but the trio encounters three unregistered Animagi within two years, which strongly implies that it is rather easy to conceal the ability, and the actual rarity is for the Animagi to be registered. Hermione is just law-obsessed and forgets that laws don't mean crap if they can't be enforced. It wouldn't be terribly surprising to find out it is the Wizarding equivalent of Speeding.
** They also hear about a fourth, although [[spoiler: he's been dead since the first chapter of the series]].
* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: PlayedForLaughs with [[spoiler: Ron and Hermione]] before they actually start going out. PlayedStraight with [[spoiler: Harry and Cho (a mild version), Lupin and Tonks, and Snape and Lily]].
* OffstageVillainy: We hear Neville's accounts of the abuse [[SadistTeacher the Carrows]] have been dishing out to students during his seventh year, but never actually see any of it.
** Speaking of {{Sadist Teacher}}s, Dolores Umbridge, arguably the most evil non-Death Eater villain in the series, is seen threatening a few characters with the [[AgonyBeam Cruciatus Curse]] and the [[FateWorseThanDeath Dementor's Kiss]], but whether she ever actually subjects anyone to these things remains unknown.
* OlderIsBetter: The series' best magics and artifacts can generally be assumed to be ancient.
* OldMoney:
** The Malfoys, being the series's most visible {{Blue Blood}}s, have also been fabulously rich for generations and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections have connections]] in the highest echelons of government, business, and high society.
* OneHitKill: The ''Avada Kedavra'' spell.
* OnlyICanKillHim: Far too much. Mainly Between Harry and Voldemort.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Until Dumbledore calls him "Alastor", it doesn't occur to Harry that "Mad-Eye" isn't Moody's first name.
* OnlyTheKnowledgableMayPass: Gryffindors and Slytherins need a password to gain entry into their residences. Hufflepuff probably has similar security, we just never see it. Ravenclaw has a different arrangement, see the trope below.
* OnlySaneMan: Hermione tends to come across as this, sometimes due to ValuesDissonance between Muggles and wizards.
* OnlySmartPeopleMayPass:
** Ravenclaw Tower uses riddles instead of simple passwords before allowing students entry.
** In the first book, the safeguard that Snape creates for the Philosopher's Stone entails solving a logic puzzle.
* OnlyTheChosenMayRide: Hippogryphs choose whom they will allow to ride them. As Malfoy finds out, insulting one is a good way to get sent to the hospital.
* TheOrder: The Order of the Phoenix, introduced in... ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix''. The Death Eaters also count as an evil example.
%%* OurCentaursAreDifferent
%%* OurFairiesAreDifferent
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Only witches and wizards can become ghosts, and even then they have the choice to either "go on" (presumably this means to move on to the afterlife) or remain as ghosts in a "feeble imitation of life", as Nick puts it.
* OurLichesAreDifferent: Voldemort is a pretty straightforward example. He split his soul into [[LuckySeven 7 pieces]] with successive [[BloodMagic murders]], and stored each one inside a [[SoulJar Horcrux]]. When his Killing Curse backfired and killed him, he remained stuck in the mortal world as "less than a ghost," yet unable to die. Eventually, one of his followers helps him to create a new body (although whatever he then becomes, it is doubtful it can truly be called human), and he gets back in business.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: {{Justified|Trope}} because Inferi is taken from the Latin word for "Dead people".
* OutNumberedSibling: Ginny is the only girl in a family with seven children.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: According to their O.W.L. scores, both Harry and Ron are competent at their subjects (with several "Exceeds Expectations" in the core classes, plus one "Outstanding" for Harry in Defense Against the Dark Arts), but they're both overshadowed by Hermione (who got a lone "E" for Defense, and "Outstanding" for all the other classes she attended).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:P]]
* {{Panacea}}: The bezoar is an imperfect one. Unicorn blood will fix you at the cost of being cursed. Phoenix [[SwissArmyTears tears]] seem to work on anything with no catch.
* ParentalSubstitute: The Dursleys are a bad version of this, even though [[spoiler:they are the only ones who can truly protect Harry from Voldemort, because living with Petunia and Dudley, his only relatives who share his mother's blood, renews Lily's protection spell every year until Harry comes of age.]] The Weasleys, Sirius, and Lupin do a better job.
* {{Patricide}}: Several instances in the series:
** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', we learn that [[spoiler:Voldemort murdered his father and grandparents as soon as he discovered they were Muggles, and not the Wizards he imagined.]]
** At the end of the same book, we learn that [[spoiler:Barty Crouch, Jr.]] murdered his father. Then transfigured his body into a bone and buried it. [[spoiler:Barty]] makes much of how both he and [[spoiler:Voldemort]] had very disappointing fathers and the pleasure of killing those fathers. He also seems to regard Voldemort as a father substitute.
** Also, in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' we have a rare case of Matricide when it's revealed that [[spoiler:Ariana Dumbledore accidentally killed her mother Kendra]].
* PetMonstrosity: Hagrid kept a pet [[GiantSpider acromantula]] as a student, and hasn't really broken out of the habit by the time of the books (and probably never will).
* PinballProtagonist: Somewhat in the earlier books. This has been parodied to no end, with one work replacing Harry with a literal inanimate object.
** Some fans actually joke that Hermione should have been the protagonist, as for the first few novels she's the one who does the most stuff.
* PlotArmor: The trio has it in spades. The other characters [[AnyoneCanDie do not]], which is driven home quite strongly in the last book.
* ThePollyanna: Luna probably suffers more at the hands of her classmates than [[{{Wangst}} Harry]] does, but never complains or shows any signs of self-pity or even annoyance.
%%* PostVictoryCollapse: A lot.
* PlayfulOtter: Hermione's Patronus.
* PlotCoupons: Quite a few, most notably the Horcruxes.
* PlotInducedIllness: The Weasley twins develop a range of sweets that make one ill and test them on fellow students. Hermione is unamused and shuts them down. Well, [[RuleofFunny tries to]], [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption anyway]].
* PoliceAreUseless: The Ministry of Magic proves to be very ineffectual throughout the entire series, and often get in the way of the heroes. [[spoiler: This is exemplified best when Voldemort returns and they refuse to acknowledge that he's back, instead choosing to antagonize Harry and Hogwarts. Voldemort even keeps them around because they are more helpful than detrimental to him.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Umbridge and Voldemort (the latter being an {{Expy}} of '''''UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler''''' and the former an {{Expy}} of Margaret Thatcher). Indeed, all the villains.
%%* PopculturalOsmosis
* PortalCut: Apparition done poorly results in "splinching." This is where a person attempts to Apparate, but leaves a part of him- or herself behind. Not in a comical bloodless way, but in a "neatly sliced off" kind of way. Wizard healing is such that these kinds of injuries are curable within a day or two, but that leads to splinching being played almost as light comedy -- until it happens to one of the main characters.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Emphasized as extremely important throughout the series, which is one of the most strongly-played examples of this trope.
* PowerOfHate:
** The power of hate is explicitly said to be why Dumbledore is considered weaker (technically) than Voldemort. Voldemort, being fueled by hate, is willing to use BlackMagic like [[SoulJar horcruxes]] or curses. Dumbledore doesn't because he's still sane enough to realize [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity the cost of such power]].
** The first time Harry attempts an Unforgivable Curse against Bellatrix Lestrange, she brushes it off fairly quickly and tells him that righteous anger won't fuel an Unforgivable as well as genuine malice.
** This is also what drove Sirius Black out of Azkaban. Dementors could [[EmotionEater take out happiness]], but hate gave him direction while [[spoiler:knowing that he was innocent]] kept him sane.
* ThePowerOfLove: Alluded to throughout the series. It can protect a loved one from deadly curses and block mental magic.
* PowerTrio:
** Harry (ego), Ron (id), and Hermione (superego).
** And the secondary trio consisting of Neville (ego), Ginny (id), and Luna (superego).
* PragmaticVillain: Slytherins are repeatedly described as being cunning.
** An alternate interpretation of the declaration to hand Harry over to Voldemort in the last novel is that they are simply pointing out that there is no sense in ''everyone'' dying in order to protect Harry, when he's the only thing that Voldemort actually cares about.
** The Slytherins all left before the final battle. However, we later find out that a signifcant number of them lead by Slughorn actually did this in order to reach Hogsmeade and raise the alarm, before coming back ''with reinforcements''. There is debate as to whether this really counts, as Rowling only mentions it in an interview, and it is never hinted at in the books. In fact, Voldemort hints that many Slytherins joined him.
* PreMeeting: In the first five books, Harry always meets (or at least hears about) his new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher before school starts. And he already knew the sixth.
* PreviouslyOn: Chapter 1 (sometimes 2) is always a recap of "the story so far" for the benefit of new readers. Rowling stopped doing it after book five, figuring that [[TakeThat people stupid enough to start a book series in the middle deserved to get confused]].
* ProjectileSpell: Most spells seem to follow this trope. Even Avada Kedavra, which ignores any overtly magical shield, can be hindered by a suitably solid object.
* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: [[PlayingWithATrope Toyed with]] and {{inverted}} multiple times (see BecauseDestinySaysSo), but ultimately played straight. Although the Divination teacher Professor Trewlawney is usually portrayed as a massive fraud, shockingly, ''every genuine prophecy she makes throughout the series turns out to be (at least somewhat) correct.'' \\
\\
She only made two known real predictions in the books, though, which makes it hilarious when even her random mystical BS turns out to be true (like Lavender's rabbit dying, a student leaving her class, or Umbridge being in great danger). [[spoiler:She's also always predicting Harry's early demise. Nobody ever believes her. He dies in Book 7 at age 17. [[OnlyMostlyDead He does come back to life, of course.]]]]
* PropheticNames: Quite a few of the characters' names reflect some gained personality quirk or their adult job description, but no one ever remarks on this oddity. The allusions range from the blindingly obvious (a werewolf named Remus "lupine" Lupin) to the GeniusBonus-worthy (Voldemort's ruthless female fighter [[TheDragon and lieutenant]] is named Bellatrix "the Amazon warrior star" Lestrange).
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The so-called "Unforgivable Curses" are introduced in Book Four, wherein it's said casting one of them even once is a life-sentence in Azkaban. By Book Seven even the heroes are casting them with abandon, including the Cruciatus Curse, where you need to ''enjoy inflicting pain'' in order for it to work.
* PsychicBlockDefense: Occlumency is a whole discipline dedicated to this.
* PutOnABus: The story is set at a boarding school and features students from every year, meaning that at the end of every book characters graduate and stop hanging around Hogwarts. With the exception of Percy, Fred and George, who Harry sees during summer and winter breaks, graduated characters usually aren't seen again outside of cameos.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:R]]
* RaisedByHumans: Hagrid tries to raise Norbert(a). It doesn't work.
* RandomlyGifted: Being a wizard can run in families but also sometimes manifests in {{muggles}}, and magicless squibs can be born to wizards.
* RapidHairGrowth: At one point during his childhood, Harry's aunt cut off his bangs, almost shaving him except for the part that hides his scar. It looked ridiculous, but magically grew back before Harry's next school day.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Wizards live longer than Muggles. (Although members of the Black family seem to die relatively young.)
** It's implied that there are so few pure-blood wizards left that keeping the pure-blood line alive might have required some inbreeding somewhere along the line. That might have shortened the lifespan a bit.
** Nicolas Flamel and his wife, through the use of the Philosopher's Stone, reached the ages of around 665 and 658, respectively.
* ReinventingTheTelephone: Floo powder, patronuses (patroni?)...
* RedHerring: The first four books each have one:
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's Stone]]: [[spoiler:Snape]]
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]: [[spoiler:Hagrid]]
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]: [[spoiler:Sirius Black]]
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]: [[spoiler:Igor Karkaroff]]
* RedHerringMole: [[spoiler:Snape, who is actually a DoubleAgent and then a ReverseMole.]]
* RedIsHeroic: Red is one of the colors of Gryffindor, the Hogwarts House of the protagonists.
* {{Retcon}}: There are several details in the earlier books that were conspicuously changed for the later books; presumably, Rowling hadn't thought up certain events that far in advance. For example:
** The Weasly's pet rat familiar is, in fact, the cowardly Peter Pettigrew.
* RenownedSelectiveMentor: Harry has a much closer relationship with the headmaster, Dumbledore, than is usual for a student, to the point of the Professor being almost a surrogate (grand)father. In the sixth book Dumbledore even gives him special lessons.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: A snake is the motif for Slytherin House, the unpopular, "evil" house at Hogwarts, and for the Death Eaters. In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Book 2]], Harry [[spoiler:fights a [[ScaledUp giant venomous snake]]]]. Voldemort has obvious reptilian features and a [[RightHandAttackDog Right Hand Attack Snake]] named Nagini, who goes out to do his dirty work and is [[spoiler:one of his spirit vessels]]. Speaking Parseltongue is considered a mark of the Dark Arts. The only time snakes are ever portrayed in a truly sympathetic light is the incident with the harassed boa constrictor in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Book 1]]. However, after [[spoiler:the fall of the Death Eaters]], the snake is no longer an evil motif and plays the same role of symbolism for Slytherin House as the lion, eagle and badger do for the other Houses.
* RevengeFic:
** [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Tread carefully here]], for some shipping wars never die, but merely sleep in [[CosmicHorrorStory their house at R'Lyeh until the stars align]]. As the canon pairings became apparent, shippers for other couples (most famously, Harry/Hermione) started making massive numbers of {{Revenge Fic}}s targeting anyone in the way of said preferred couples -- the most popular targets being Ginny Weasley, and [[RonTheDeathEater a certain inadvertently Trope-Naming sibling of hers]].
** Molly also gets it on occasion, frequently as the mastermind (or at least the potion dealer) behind her kids' "trangressions". In fact, with a fanfic community of that size, nobody is safe...
** ''Fanfic/InThisWorldAndTheNext'' is a RevengeFic for ''all'' the Weasleys, as well as Dumbledore, Snape, the Dursleys and almost everyone else who's not Harry or Hermione.
** ''Fanfic/KnowledgeIsPower'' is this for Dumbledore and the Weasleys, of course.
* TheRival: Harry vs. Draco; James vs. Snape. Sirius later takes up James's position after his death.
* RummageSaleReject: Wizards who are inexperienced in blending in with Muggles will often end up as this. One wizard is mentioned as wearing a kilt and a poncho together, of all things.
* RunningGag: A few which span most of the series.
** Harry and Ron never bothering to read ''Hogwarts: A History'' and Hermione's indignant responses.
** Hermione figuring something out and running off to deal with it without adequately explaining to Harry and Ron what's going on, and Ron's indignant response (usually a LampshadeHanging).
*** Hermione running off to the library in general, which gets tons of lampshades and humorous references in the later books even when she's not actually doing it.
** The Dursleys humorously coming off worst when interacting with wizards, not that they don't deserve it. Becomes not-so-funny in and after the fifth book, though Dumbledore has a bit of fun with them before getting serious in the sixth.
** Harry having incredibly ridiculous dreams, with different aspects of his life zanily mashed together in one absurd package, which he naturally never remembers when he wakes up. Leads to MoodWhiplash in the fifth book when one such dream suddenly segues into a terrifying vision.
** Ron unintentionally offending Nearly Headless Nick with some tactless remark during the feast at the beginning of every year. Nick lampshades it in ''Half Blood Prince.''
** When the discussion is about Snape, and it involves adults and Harry, expect Harry to call him Snape, and the adult to respond with "''Professor'' Snape."
** Tiny Professor Flitwick seems to get knocked down and/or tossed across a classroom by a student's miscast Charm roughly once per school year.
** After the introduction of Luna Lovegood, fictitious beasts called crumple-horned snorkacks become one. Luna really believes in the existence of these creatures because her dad is the publisher of The Quibbler, a satirical tabloid that regularly publishes stories about the non-existent creatures. Other characters regularly joke about this, and Luna herself gets defensive, claiming they actually do exist. Oddly enough, this actually gets subverted in the seventh book, when a character comments that there wasn't any mention of the creatures in the latest issue of the magazine, because Luna's dad is publishing real stories about the resistance now.
[[/folder]]
HarryPotter/TropesAToI\\
'''Tropes J to R'''\\
HarryPotter/TropesSToY
[[folder:J]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Many characters are of the sour, unpleasant variety.
** Special mentions go to the Dursleys, the Malfoys, Snape, Cormac [=McClaggen=], Percy Weasley, '''Dolores Umbridge''', and sadly, James Potter (from what we see in his youth during Snape's flashback).
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Too many instances to count.
* JoinOrDie: Standard operating procedure for the Death Eaters.
* JustEatGilligan: [[http://www.cracked.com/video_18244_why-harry-potter-universe-secretly-terrifying.html Cracked]] pointed out that asking the Muggles for help in taking down Voldemort would have solved a ''lot'' of problems. Note that at the higher levels of politics, Muggles and Wizards know of each other as vaguely allies, despite the widespread dismissal of Muggles as being weak.
--> '''Michael''': We can shoot people with a thousand rockets... from space... with ''iPhones!''
** Is this before or after widespread use of Legilimency, Memory Charms, Polyjuice Potion, Confundus charms and the Imperius Curse play merry hell with...literally our entire government? Including the Nuclear Arsenals. ESPECIALLY THE NUCLEAR ARSENALS. Not to mention that if a bunch of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods intentionally break the masquerade this way, Voldemort and friends will have every word they ever spoke proven absolutely right, thus cementing their hold and vindicating their cause.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:K]]
* {{Kappa}}: Kappas are one of the creatures Lupin teaches his class about in the third book, and they're described as looking like scaly monkeys with webbed hands that like to drown people. Snape incorrectly claims that they're native to Mongolia, whereas ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' correctly identifies them as a Japanese monster with a side note from Ron saying "Snape hasn't read this."
* KarmaHoudini: The Malfoys, who escape death and/or imprisonment due to their one redeeming quality: love and devotion to each other.
* KidDetective / AmateurSleuth: The PowerTrio. A big part of the books' structure (and their appeal) is that most of the plots are mysteries that Harry, Ron, and Hermione can solve ("What's hidden beneath the school?", "who is Slytherin's heir?", "who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire?", etc.), which is the main reason why three underage wizards can have any impact on the story at all.
* KillItWithFire: One of the few ways to [[spoiler:destroy a Horcrux]] is with the dark magic spell Fiendfyre, a.k.a. cursed fire, but the spell is so dangerous and hard to control that even ''Hermione'' says she wouldn't dare try it. And in ''Half-Blood Prince'', it's demonstrated that the Inferi are, if not destroyed, at least repelled by fire.
* KudzuPlot: All of the Harry Potter books (except ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'') end with some answers being revealed but also leave the reader asking several questions which will not be revealed until later books. Some questions that are asked in the first book aren't answered until the last book. Thankfully, they are all resolved in the end.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:L]]
* LaResistance: Dumbledore's Army, against the Ministry's interference at Hogwarts in ''Order of the Phoenix''; Potterwatch and the Order of the Phoenix, against Vlodemort's regime.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The effect of a Memory Charm on the recipient.
* LegendaryWeapon: The Sword of Godric Gryffindor, and the Elder Wand.
* LetterMotif: Marvolo, Morfin, and Merope Gaunt; Albus, Aberforth, and Ariana Dumbledore.
* LivingLabyrinth: Hogwarts is a labyrinthine castle said by some to be sentient. The most overt evidence is the staircases' tendency and alleged fondness for shifting around.
* LivingLegend: The Boy-Who-Lived. You-Know-Who/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names/Voldemort. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Seeing as it takes place at a boarding school and all. Let's see: The protagonist PowerTrio, about a baker's dozen worth of significant classmates, the entire Potter and Weasley families, about a dozen teachers (two of which are hardly ever shown, admittedly), another dozen guys from the Ministry of Magic, and about half a dozen on the antagonist side. And that's just for starters...
* LoopholeAbuse: There are certain things that magic simply cannot do, such as reawaken the dead (per the fourth book) or conjure money out of nothing. But with the help of magical artifacts such as the Resurrection Stone or the Philosopher's Stone, it is possible to summon the spirits of the dead (or something very similar to the spirits of the dead) or create gold out of lead or other cheap metals (which is practically the same thing as conjuring money out of nothing).
** In a more mundane example than fabulous wealth or defying mortality, when Ron complains that his mother can conjure fabulous feasts out of thin air, Henrmione tells him that food is one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration (presumably, currency is another). You can summon food if you know where it is, duplicate it if you have it, or transfigure food into different food, but not spontaneous generation. Oddly, this begs the question of whether only prepared food is subject to this, as it is presumably possible to create animals (like Hermione's birds in ''{{HBP}}'') or plants that are inedible unless prepared like cashew fruits (which have to be roasted extensively to get rid of the poison).
* LooseLips: You can trust Rubeus Hagrid with your life, you can even trust him with underage children, but you can't trust him with your secrets, through no malice of his own. ''Goblet of Fire'' has Bertha Jorkins, whose only known attribute is this due to her chronic tendency to gossip -- to her own cost.
* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Filch loves torturing misbehaving children, and misses the old days when he could hang kids from the rafters and hear them scream. A lot of that talk is probably wishful thinking (not that this is a huge improvement); Dumbledore seems to have hired Filch, and Dumbledore most likely did not allow thumb screws, chains, or any of the other implements Filch claims to miss. His paraphernalia could easily be left over from well before his time.
%%* LoyalPhlebotinum: Magic wands.
* LuckySeven: Seven books, based on Harry's seven years in school. Seven Weasley children. Voldemort tries to split himself seven ways using himself + six horcruxes [[spoiler:(and doesn't quite succeed; the sixth one was accidental, in which he made Harry his sixth Horcrux)]]. This is {{foreshadow|ing}}ed in the ''Deathly Hallows'' film with the rock broken into seven pieces in young Tom's room. In-universe, seven is stated to be a very powerful magical number.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:M]]
* MachiavelliWasWrong:
** Subverted by Voldemort. Despite having a legion of followers who seem utterly loyal, he is betrayed a few times by people who, despite being Slytherins, start to hate him for various reasons. [[spoiler:Snape, for example, betrayed him for over a decade; Regulus was willing to die to stop him; and Narcissa lied to him to protect her son]]. Not to mention that he [[spoiler:created his own worst enemy in Harry when he tried to kill him]]. Voldy clearly missed the part about "avoiding hatred".
** Played with by Dumbledore, whose philosophy of love and trust clashes with a number of his actions that are very manipulative indeed. His manipulation often does more harm than good, and Dumbledore acknowledges this, such as at the end of the fifth book.
* MacGuffinPersonReveal: Harry spends a book and a half looking for [[BigBad Voldermort]]'s [[SoulJar six Horcruxes]] before finding out [[spoiler:that Harry himself is the seventh]].
* MadeOfGood: A Patronus is a positive memory made manifest; unlike a person, it can't feel despair, so Dementors can't feed on it.
* MadeOfIndestructium: Implied of the Deathly Hallows. The [[spoiler:Invisibility Cloak's]] flawless state despite its ancient age is the first clue to its true nature, the fact that the same strike that destroyed [[spoiler:the Horcrux]] within the Resurrection Stone did nothing to impede its function as a Hallow, and the fact that the Elder Wand survived through the ages despite being constantly in the centre of violent conflicts all point to this.
** Any such implications are completely ignored in the films, where Harry [[spoiler: effortlessly snaps the Elder Wand in half]].
* MagicAIsMagicA: Followed fairly closely, mainly with the teleporting power; the reader is repeatedly told that it's impossible to teleport into or out of Hogwarts. In Book 7, we find out why this is perfectly in line with the rules. In Film 6, when Harry reminds him he's about to do something impossible, Dumbledore states "This is one of the benefits of being me."
** It's also explained, when they're doing their Apparition test, that the room in which they're practicing has temporarily had the blocking field suspended, but they're warned not to try it after the lesson's over.
* MagicalCamera: Photographs and paintings alike are animate and semi-sentient, due to some kind of special darkroom process.
* MagicalLibrary: The school library at Hogwarts.
* MagicCarpet: These are banned in Britain because they're defined as a {{Muggle}} artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Magical Objects, though they're apparently used by wizards in other countries.
* MagicHat: The Room of Requirement turns into whatever people need. For a more literal magic hat, there's the Sorting Hat, [[spoiler:from which the Sword of Gryffindor can be pulled by a true Gryffindor]].
* MagicMap: The Marauder's Map, showing everything and everyone on the Hogwarts grounds and giving insults to Severus Snape.
* MagicVersusScience: Electronics don't even work around Hogwarts, wizards are disdainful of Muggle technology, and most {{Muggles}} have no idea magic exists. Interestingly, although wizards can do most things much more quickly and efficiently with magic, there are a few cases where the wizard method just ''sucks'' compared to the Muggle method, most notably communication, where the wizards have nothing as effective as (albeit then-primitive) cell phones or Internet. They send letters by owl, which is better than the postal service, but nowhere near as good as an e-mail (and subject to getting owlnapped/eaten on the way). The closest thing they have to a phone is sticking your head in a magical fireplace, which is not portable like a cell phone. On the other hand, there are implications, primarily in ''Order of the Phoenix'', that owls can be teleported in emergencies.
** Subverted by one Arthur Weasley, who seems to be one of the few (along with Hermione, who was brought up in the Muggle world) who sees the usefulness of taking common Muggle inventions then enhancing them further with magic. Everyone else just thinks he's eccentric.
** Much of this is clearly intended to reflect the cultural differences between those who live entirely in Wizarding society and those who mingle in both. For example, by the end of the series Ron, [[spoiler: who is now married to Hermione, a Muggle-born]], has gotten a driver's license. However, a cultural bias can also develop in young wizards and witches because electronics do not work in Hogwarts, which is where they will spend a large chunk of their childhoods. Thus, even Muggle-borns who grow up in regular society may become distanced from it as they live for years with magic as the only "technology" available to them.
** There is also a legitimate question as to what is "magic" and what is "science". In the book ''Harry Potter and Philosophy'', one contributor, Gareth B. Matthews, observes:
--->'''Matthews:''' The natural assumption is that any subject that can be taught to students in such a way that their competence in this subject can be tested by examination is a science.
** This is further illustrated by the fact that it is frequently shown that magic, much like science, operates under comprehensible laws and that if performed correctly will produce a predictable result. If performed incorrectly (something often shown in the series) it will likewise produce an incorrect result. This is most explicitly demonstrated in the subject of Potions, where in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' Professor Snape states it unequivocally (emphasis added):
--->'''Snape:''' You are here to learn the subtle '''science''' and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic.
* MagicalSeventhSon: According to Creator/JKRowling, Ginny is the seventh child of a seventh child.
* MamaBear: Several, and they seem to be the bane of [[BigBad Voldemort's]] existence. Twice he's been undone by a mother trying to protect her son. [[spoiler:The first was Lily [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing]] herself for Harry, and the second is Narcissa Malfoy, who lies to him about Harry being dead for the chance to save Draco.]]
** Not to mention Molly Weasley:
--->[[PrecisionFStrike "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"]]
* {{Masquerade}}: The {{Muggle}} world is under the masquerade that magic does not exist.
* MasterApprenticeChain: Harry is given special lessons from Lupin, and uses it and more to train the DA.
* MasterRace: Many pureblood families of wizards view themselves this way; Voldemort, whose reasons for hating {{Muggles}} are much more personal in nature, [[ExploitedTrope plays on this]] to attract followers.
* MeaningfulName: There are many. Indeed, certain characters "just happen" to have names that relate to ''what'' they are, to the point of providing more astute readers with a possible {{spoiler}}.
** As an example, if you hated Dolores Umbridge, well, guess what? The author ''wanted'' you to feel that way. Dolores comes from Spanish, and it means "pains". Umbridge is pronounced just like the word "umbrage" (ˈʌm.brɪdʒ), and it means "feeling of anger or annoyance caused by something offensive". What an apt name!
** Remus Lupin: Romulus and Remus, twins who were raised by wolves; "lupine" = wolf-like. Asking for it.
*** As is Fenrir Greyback, who's named after a giant wolf of Myth/NorseMythology.
** Naturally, Sirius Black can turn into a black dog. His dog form is mistaken for a Grim, one of names for the Black Dog myth, which in some legends aids people (hint) but in many either brings or signals doom (i.e., they have a bad reputation). Similarly, "dog days" were named because the appearance of Sirius in Egypt coincided with the flooding of the Nile. Aaand "black dog" also refers to depression. He really didn't have a chance.
** Minerva is the Roman equivalent to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Minerva [=McGonagall=] is pretty smart herself.
*** On the same note, Hermione is the female version of Hermes, the messenger of the gods of Olympus, and also the god of knowledge.
** The Gaunts were a once powerful magical family, now reduced to squalor; "gaunt" means lean and haggard.
** Salazar Slytherin is associated with snakes, as his last name might suggest. His first name may be a reference to Antonio Salazar, the Portuguese dictator.
** Rowena Ravenclaw, and the house named after her, is associated with intelligence. The raven is one of the smartest birds there is.
** Luna Lovegood is quite spacey and moony.
*** Arguably her last name as well, when you consider how much she values her friends.
** "Malfoy" means "bad faith" in French.
** "Alastor" roughly means "avenger" in Greek. Alastor Moody seeks and captures criminal wizards.
** And {{Nag|a}}ini, of course.
** Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father. His first name means Lover of Aliens, literally, but the Lovegoods are strange people who love strange things.
*** Aliens as in unknown things, rather than extraterrestrials, by the way.
** The ominous thestrals sound much like the Old English word for darkness, "theostru."
** Ignotus Peverell: "ignotus" is Latin for "pardoned". Makes sense when you consider that he was [[spoiler: essentially pardoned by Death]].
** The list of meaningful names is almost as long as the list of characters in the series. Ol' J.K., it seems, just couldn't help but throw in the kitchen sink when it came to puns.
* MemoryWipingCrew: Obliviators, employed by the Ministry of Magic.
* MemeticBadass: In-universe example. Rumours about the incredible (and possibly dark) powers that Harry possessed were circulating before he'd even arrived at Hogwarts. And the PowerTrio are absolutely on the receiving end of this during ''Deathly Hallows'', when the Wizarding World is hearing stories about three high school students who [[spoiler:rescued prisoners from the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic itself, escaped Malfoy Manor (Death Eater HQ) from under the nose of Bellatrix Lestrange, and broke ''into'' Gringotts and escaped ''by stealing a dragon(!!!)'', on top of regularly pwning Death Eaters and repeatedly escaping from right under Voldemort's... umm... slits.]]
* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler:Sirius, Dumbledore, and Lupin. In that order.]]
* MindProbe: Legilimency is the art of probing into another person's head and reading their thoughts and emotions. It can be used in relatively harmless ways to detect lying and read surface thoughts, but deep searching can completely destroy the target's mind.
** The mental link between Harry and Voldemort potentially allows a two-way channel for either one to search the other's mind. However, whereas Harry can, if willing, look inside Voldemort's mind with relative ease and end up only a few nasty headaches worse for wear, Voldemort can't reach too deeply into Harry's mind without suffering unspeakable pain. Dumbledore theorizes that [[spoiler: Voldemort's unstable maimed soul is unable to come in contact with Harry's pure soul]].
* MindRape: Dementors are living embodiments of this, and it's why so many wizards are afraid of being sent to Azkaban, the wizard prison. This is also what will happen if you get on the wrong side of a Legilimens.
* MindYourStep: The staircases at Hogwarts have several stairs that your foot will sink through.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Implied to be the reason why Harry has more humility than his father had at the same age; growing up with his abusive Aunt and Uncle made him a better person. Though, this is carefully qualified because there are other cases where misery did not build character, namely the young Tom Riddle and Severus Snape who suffered bad childhoods and became jerkasses, with the latter undergoing HeelFaceTurn only after realizing he made a terrible mistake and even then not changing his genuinely unpleasant personality one bit.
** Dumbledore himself notes that Harry is exceptional for coming out of his childhood with the capacity to love that he imbibed from the memory and sacrifice of his GoodParents. And Harry himself mocks this concept when he tells Remus off for trying to abandon his family under the misplaced idea that his child is better off without his werewolf Dad.
** According to Creator/JKRowling, this trope is why Dumbledore lets Snape get away with being such an asshole to his students. ("Dumbledore believes there are all sorts of lessons in life ... horrible teachers like Snape are one of them!"). Dumbledore is perhaps the biggest example; his [[spoiler:youthful relationship with Grindelwald and the resulting death of his sister]] made him a [[TheAtoner lifelong atoner]] for an action he never forgave himself for.
* MisfitMobilizationMoment:
** In ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', Kreacher leads the house-elves employed at Hogwarts into battle against the Death Eaters.
** In ''Order of the Phoenix'', Harry, Ron, and Hermione are already-mobilized misfits, but they're joined by Neville (who TookALevelInBadass); Ginny, who up to that point was nearly an extra and only Ron's little sister; and Luna, Hogwarts's own {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
** The whole final battle is this for the good guys: Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, teachers and staff of Hogwarts, Grawp-the-giant, thestrals and hippogriffs, centaurs, house-elves, and probably others. Even the non-Junior Death Eater Slytherins led by LovableCoward Slughorn.
*** Just think of a good guy who's still alive by this point in the story. Any good guy at all, no matter how obscure. ''They show up''. [[note]]Okay, not some other very minor characters who get the shaft.[[/note]]
* MistakenForGranite: The guardian statue at the entrance to Dumbledore's study.
* MoeCouplet: Harry and Luna. Luna is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who hardly seems troubled by anything and helps her father run the magical equivalent of a tabloid magazine, whereas Harry becomes more [[HurtingHero traumatized as increasing numbers of his friends and loved ones die. Some of them right in front of him.]] Yet, Luna understands what losing a loved one feels like, enabling her to empathise with his grief over Sirius -- and Harry knows what being picked on feels like, so he naturally wants to help her out when people hide Luna's things and mock her behind her back. They serve as two sides of the same coin, and [[FanPreferredCouple some fans prefer them as a couple to Harry/Ginny]].
* MonochromeApparition: The ghosts in the books are described as 'pearly white', with the exception of Peeves. In the movies they are merely desaturated.
* MoralDissonance:
** Harry and others are seen using the so-called Unforgivable Curses in the last book. This could be chalked up to [[WarIsHell being in a war]], and using Unforgivable curses against Death Eaters was perfectly legal until in the previous war, when Barty Crouch, Sr. published a [[{{Outlaw}} writ of Outlawry]] against them. However, the Cruciatus curse (which causes mind-destroying pain) is used, despite it being less practical than either a killing curse or a simple stun.
** The way even good wizards like Arthur Weasley regard {{Muggles}}. Most wizards and witches (if they aren't Muggleborn) range from outright violence (on the Death Eater end) to a sort of paternalistic condescension (such as Arthur's case). And you can't help but be a little disturbed by the willingness to use things like [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Memory Charms]] on them to uphold TheMasquerade (especially after seeing what a really strong one does to Lockhart). Not to mention there was a war going on where Muggles were the ''targets'' and even the Prime Minister was kept almost entirely in the dark.
* MoralGuardians: The seemingly endless parade of whackos who insist that the books entice children into the occult and devil worship. Particularly jarring, considering [[ThePowerOfLove the actual]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship moral messages]] of the books.
* MorallyBankruptBanker: The goblins at Gringots.
* MoustacheDePlume: "J.K. Rowling" is a pseudonym forced upon the author, Joanne Rowling, because her publisher feared that young boys (the target audience) wouldn't read books written by a woman. Rowling didn't even have a middle name by then, so she used her grandmother's name, "Kathleen", in the pseudonym.
* {{Muggles}}: The TropeNamer.
* MuggleBornOfMages: A person who was born to magical parents but has no magical abilities themselves is known as a Squib. Notable examples include Filch (whose animosity towards the Hogwarts students is probably due to being this) and Mrs. Figg. Neville isn't one, but it took so long for his magical abilities to manifest that his family almost thought he'd be one.
* MultipleDemographicAppeal: A major factor in the series' runaway success.
* MundaneObjectAmazement: Justified by the insular nature of the wizarding community.
--> Mr Weasley: ''[to Harry]'' You've lived among Muggles; can you tell me exactly what is the function of a rubber duck?
* MundaneUtility: Several spells like ''Alohamora'', ''Accio'', and ''Reparo'' were initially designed for opening doors sealed by non-magical locks, summoning objects from great distances, and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin repairing broken objects]] (like [[RunningGag glasses]]), respectively.
%%* MysticalPlague: Lycanthropy.
%%* MythicalMotifs
[[/folder]]
[[folder:N]]
* {{Narm}}: Plenty of it in-universe, as we see practically the whole series through Harry's point of view. It gets lampshaded whenever the Dursleys have an emotional moment, usually coupled with some variant of the phrase "Harry suppressed the urge to laugh."
* NarmCharm: WordOfGod confirms that InUniverse, the Quibbler is "appreciated for its unintentional humour."
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: At length. The books contain a great deal of profanity being uttered, more often than not by [[SirSwearsALot Ron]], just filtered through a fairly tongue-in-cheek narration. To quote a few:
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]:
--->The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field.
--->Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley.
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'':
--->Frustration was running high and there was a certain amount of ill-feeling towards Wilkie Twycross and his three Ds, which had inspired a number of nicknames for him, the politest of which were Dog-breath and Dung-head.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName:
** The Death Eaters believe in the superiority of [[WitchSpecies "pure blood"]], and will kill anyone they feel is inferior to them. Their leader, Voldemort, hates anyone not of pure wizard blood, yet he himself is not a pureblood; UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler viewed "Aryans," commonly portrayed as blonds with blue eyes, as the master race, yet he himself was brown-haired with brown eyes, and may have had a bit of Jewish ancestry. J.K. Rowling [[WordOfGod acknowledged]] the Death Eaters are supposed to represent the Nazis. In [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the fourth movie]], they're also symbolized as Klansmen--check out the KKK-inspired headgear, torches and "burning signal".///
** And that's not even getting into the ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows seventh]]'' [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows book]], for most of which the PowerTrio are on the run in one of the most blatant parallels of Nazi-occupied Europe ever seen. The Ministry of Magic has become so corrupted from the inside by LesCollaborateurs that they essentially pass the Nuremberg Laws against Muggle-born wizards, and under the guidance of Umbridge are shown creating pamphlets touting purity of blood whose content and saccharine covers call to mind the publications of Julius Streicher. The various Death Eater minions inside the Ministry are dressed in khaki clothes, with red, white, and black armbands bearing the Dark Mark. The sign of [[spoiler:the Deathly Hallows]] has a history very similar to that of the swastika, as well--originally an innocent symbol, then used by wizard-supremacist Grindelwald, etched on walls by stupid pricks to get attention...
** Naturally, Grindelwald was defeated in 1945, of all years, and was banged up in a prison called Nurmengard (which sounds like Nuremberg, and has the very "Arbeit macht frei"-like slogan "For the Greater Good" carved over the gate). Fans have used this to speculate on [[{{Ghostapo}} whether Grindelwald actually had something to do with the rise of the Nazis themselves]]. Also, a lunatic, old loner as the last inmate of an incredibly guarded prison? That sounds like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hess Rudolf Hess.]]
*** Regardless, the possibility of a task force of wizards and muggles contributing to the Allied victory over the Nazis is invoked in-universe.
** The FilmOfTheBook of ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' shows a snippet of [[spoiler:Hermione's torture from the book, except instead of just hearing her disembodied screams, we also see Belatrix doing... something with the dagger in her hand to Hermione's arm. When we see her arm, we can see that Lestrange carved "Mudblood" into the inside of Hermione's forearm, much like how the Nazis tattooed numbers into the forearms of the Jews in concentration camps]].
** Polish translation of ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' explicitly calls those who hunt muggleborns and LaResistance for profit ''szmalcownicy''. RealLife ''szmalcownicy'' sold hiding Jews to the Nazis during [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo The War]].
*** Said Snatchers can also be compared to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen Einsatzgruppen]]'' that hunted Jews, ''inter alia'', in occupied Europe.
* NearDeathExperience:
** The effect of multiple magical curses/charms takes Harry about as near death as anyone can go without actually dying. Being the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse [[spoiler:twice]] is actually part of what makes him famous in the wizarding world, causing many to refer to him as "The Boy-Who-Lived".
** Voldemort also had a few, due to having a great magical insurance policy for awhile.
%%* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: The horcruxes.
%%* NeverASelfMadeWoman: The most prominent examples being Molly Weasley and Lily Evans, but Tonks and Fleur fall into this too later on.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** At one point in ''Half Blood Prince'', we see inside the memories of a Ministry official who was responsible for the arrest of a father and son who abused the daughter of the family, enabling her to go after the Muggle love of her life. All very well, right? Well, there's just one teensy-weensy problem -- said daughter happens to go on to become the mother of the most evil and maniacal wizard this century.
** Also in ''Half-Blood Prince'', we learn R.A.B. stole a PlotCoupon and replaced it with a fake and a taunting note, which forces the main characters to find it ''again'' later because R.A.B. didn't manage to destroy it. Especially annoying because of the circumstances of pointlessly gaining the fake.
* TheNineties: Excluding the opening chapter of the first book, various {{flashback}}s, and [[DistantFinale the epilogue at the end of book seven]], the entire series takes place over the course of this decade.
* NoEyeInMagic: Some of the spells in the series are like this.
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Book 1]], the main villain puts a spell on Harry's broom during a Quidditch game in an attempt to make him fall off and drop to his death. Hermione stops the spell by creating a fire, which startles him into breaking eye contact with Harry.
** In ''Chamber of Secrets'', the basilisk can kill someone just by looking them in the eye -- fortunately, the only people we see who have encountered it manage to not quite look it in the eye: they see it in a reflection, or through a camera lens, or through a ghost, so it doesn't ''quite'' kill them.
** There is also Legilimency, the ability to extract emotions and memories from a person's mind, which usually works via eye-to-eye contact. Dumbledore, Snape, and Voldemort are expert Legilimens, and scattered through the series (even before we know what Legilimency is) we can find instances where Harry feels that they can "read his mind." Almost a "missed" example, but once or twice, Harry does look away from their gaze; initially, the reader would just assume he felt uncomfortable under scrutiny -- [[{{Foreshadowing}} now we know better]].
* NoMoreLies: Eventually, Dumbledore realizes that hiding the truth from Harry will only hurt him in the end and tells him about Voldemort, such as he knows.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Unless a spell is specified to be permanent, it will expire with the caster's death. (This apparently does not apply to permanent curse-caused physical or mental damage.)
* NoOSHACompliance:
** Hogwarts is a rather dangerous place for kids. You would think that the parents would protest more often, but the only protests we ever see are when the Chamber of Secrets is opened and after a WoundedGazelleGambit by Malfoy in ''Prisoner of Azkaban''.
** In the usual course of things, there is only a little bit of danger (like the third corridor in our PowerTrio's first year), but when it gets ''really'' bad (like when the Chamber of Secrets opens, or during book 6 when Voldy is back) parents yank their kids out of school. (Ironically, once Voldemort shows up in Hogwarts in person, he waxes philosophical about his love for the place and offers the students a chance to go unharmed.)
** The Hogwarts Potions class doesn't have fume hoods over the cauldrons, nor does it require that the students wear goggles or gloves while brewing.
** Lampshaded repeatedly by the Podcast/{{Rifftra|x}}ckers for the movies.
-->"A safety measure failing? At ''Hogwarts''? Will wonders never cease!"
-->'''Kevin:''' So for this test [''Goblet of Fire''] they drowned four of their students?\\
'''Mike:''' ''[chuckling]'' No no no. They simply tied them up and tossed them into the water, which breaks no laws ''I'' can think of.
%%** The Department of Mysteries.
* NoSenseOfHumor: Percy Weasley "wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy." He does have a bit of a harshly sarcastic moment in ''Deathly Hallows'', though, which is remarked upon with astonishment by his siblings.
* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Several InUniverse examples:
** In ''Chamber of Secrets'', Lockhart is very happy when a fight breaks out at a book signing for his latest book.
** And then averted later in the series when the ''Daily Prophet'', Wizarding England's primary newspaper, does a massive (and successful) smear campaign on Harry and Dumbledore.
** Played straight in the fifth book, wherein the Ministry of Magic's propaganda campaign against Harry's story that Voldemort has returned is reversed when Umbridge bans a copy of ''The Quibbler'' that tells Harry's story about his encounter with Voldemort. The issue is then sold out and must be reprinted due to curiosity about why it was banned.
* NoTrueScotsman: The pureblood bigots are of the opinion that anyone who isn't a pureblood is inferior. Those purebloods who disagree are "blood traitors," i.e. not "true" purebloods.
* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: Detentions at Hogwarts often involve dangerous tasks, such as searching for an injured unicorn (running into whatever hurt it, and possibly needing to deliver a MercyKill) in the Forbidden Forest. Then there's the Umbridge/Carrows version of detention, which involves ColdBloodedTorture.
* NotUsingTheZWord: Zigzagged - in the books, reanimated bodies are called ''Inferi''. However, according to [[AllThereInTheManual Pottermore]], zombies actually do exist in the Potterverse, the primary difference being that, while Inferi can be enchanted to do one's bidding, zombies are merely mindless, shambling corpses.
* TheNounWhoVerbed:
** Harry is often called "The Boy-Who-Lived" as he was the only one to ever survive the Killing Curse or Voldemort.
** [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]] is often referred to as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "You-Know-Who", as people are afraid that [[SpeakOfTheDevil speaking his name might summon him]]. In the last book, he puts a "taboo" on his name such that everyone who speaks it can be located and protections around them fail, [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] the fear (because only his enemies would call him Voldemort) and also making it justified.
%%* NowOrNeverKiss: [[spoiler:Ron and Hermione.]]
* NumerologicalMotif
** Sevens: seven years, seven novels, seven subjects (to start with), seven Horcruxes, seven players on a Quidditch team, Harry [[spoiler:and Neville]] being born in the seventh month, seven Weasley children. The dedication for the seventh book is "split seven ways". The films take this further still; the number seven is on Harry's Quidditch robes.
** Nine and three-quarters: Kings Cross platform; length of school year in months (Sept 1-late June); Harry's exile from the wizarding world in years (1 Nov 1981-31 July 1991)
** Twelves: twelve subjects offered at Hogwarts (Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Defense Against Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Astronomy; Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, Runes, Arithmancy), twelve-a-side in the Dept. of Mysteries. Twelve uses of dragon blood.
** Primes: 17 sickles to the galleon, 29 knuts to the sickle, and of course all the sevens above.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:O]]
* OddlyCommonRarity: Hermione says there were only seven Animagi registered with the Ministry during the entire century, but the trio encounters three unregistered Animagi within two years, which strongly implies that it is rather easy to conceal the ability, and the actual rarity is for the Animagi to be registered. Hermione is just law-obsessed and forgets that laws don't mean crap if they can't be enforced. It wouldn't be terribly surprising to find out it is the Wizarding equivalent of Speeding.
** They also hear about a fourth, although [[spoiler: he's been dead since the first chapter of the series]].
* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: PlayedForLaughs with [[spoiler: Ron and Hermione]] before they actually start going out. PlayedStraight with [[spoiler: Harry and Cho (a mild version), Lupin and Tonks, and Snape and Lily]].
* OffstageVillainy: We hear Neville's accounts of the abuse [[SadistTeacher the Carrows]] have been dishing out to students during his seventh year, but never actually see any of it.
** Speaking of {{Sadist Teacher}}s, Dolores Umbridge, arguably the most evil non-Death Eater villain in the series, is seen threatening a few characters with the [[AgonyBeam Cruciatus Curse]] and the [[FateWorseThanDeath Dementor's Kiss]], but whether she ever actually subjects anyone to these things remains unknown.
* OlderIsBetter: The series' best magics and artifacts can generally be assumed to be ancient.
* OldMoney:
** The Malfoys, being the series's most visible {{Blue Blood}}s, have also been fabulously rich for generations and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections have connections]] in the highest echelons of government, business, and high society.
* OneHitKill: The ''Avada Kedavra'' spell.
* OnlyICanKillHim: Far too much. Mainly Between Harry and Voldemort.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Until Dumbledore calls him "Alastor", it doesn't occur to Harry that "Mad-Eye" isn't Moody's first name.
* OnlyTheKnowledgableMayPass: Gryffindors and Slytherins need a password to gain entry into their residences. Hufflepuff probably has similar security, we just never see it. Ravenclaw has a different arrangement, see the trope below.
* OnlySaneMan: Hermione tends to come across as this, sometimes due to ValuesDissonance between Muggles and wizards.
* OnlySmartPeopleMayPass:
** Ravenclaw Tower uses riddles instead of simple passwords before allowing students entry.
** In the first book, the safeguard that Snape creates for the Philosopher's Stone entails solving a logic puzzle.
* OnlyTheChosenMayRide: Hippogryphs choose whom they will allow to ride them. As Malfoy finds out, insulting one is a good way to get sent to the hospital.
* TheOrder: The Order of the Phoenix, introduced in... ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix''. The Death Eaters also count as an evil example.
%%* OurCentaursAreDifferent
%%* OurFairiesAreDifferent
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Only witches and wizards can become ghosts, and even then they have the choice to either "go on" (presumably this means to move on to the afterlife) or remain as ghosts in a "feeble imitation of life", as Nick puts it.
* OurLichesAreDifferent: Voldemort is a pretty straightforward example. He split his soul into [[LuckySeven 7 pieces]] with successive [[BloodMagic murders]], and stored each one inside a [[SoulJar Horcrux]]. When his Killing Curse backfired and killed him, he remained stuck in the mortal world as "less than a ghost," yet unable to die. Eventually, one of his followers helps him to create a new body (although whatever he then becomes, it is doubtful it can truly be called human), and he gets back in business.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: {{Justified|Trope}} because Inferi is taken from the Latin word for "Dead people".
* OutNumberedSibling: Ginny is the only girl in a family with seven children.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: According to their O.W.L. scores, both Harry and Ron are competent at their subjects (with several "Exceeds Expectations" in the core classes, plus one "Outstanding" for Harry in Defense Against the Dark Arts), but they're both overshadowed by Hermione (who got a lone "E" for Defense, and "Outstanding" for all the other classes she attended).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:P]]
* {{Panacea}}: The bezoar is an imperfect one. Unicorn blood will fix you at the cost of being cursed. Phoenix [[SwissArmyTears tears]] seem to work on anything with no catch.
* ParentalSubstitute: The Dursleys are a bad version of this, even though [[spoiler:they are the only ones who can truly protect Harry from Voldemort, because living with Petunia and Dudley, his only relatives who share his mother's blood, renews Lily's protection spell every year until Harry comes of age.]] The Weasleys, Sirius, and Lupin do a better job.
* {{Patricide}}: Several instances in the series:
** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', we learn that [[spoiler:Voldemort murdered his father and grandparents as soon as he discovered they were Muggles, and not the Wizards he imagined.]]
** At the end of the same book, we learn that [[spoiler:Barty Crouch, Jr.]] murdered his father. Then transfigured his body into a bone and buried it. [[spoiler:Barty]] makes much of how both he and [[spoiler:Voldemort]] had very disappointing fathers and the pleasure of killing those fathers. He also seems to regard Voldemort as a father substitute.
** Also, in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' we have a rare case of Matricide when it's revealed that [[spoiler:Ariana Dumbledore accidentally killed her mother Kendra]].
* PetMonstrosity: Hagrid kept a pet [[GiantSpider acromantula]] as a student, and hasn't really broken out of the habit by the time of the books (and probably never will).
* PinballProtagonist: Somewhat in the earlier books. This has been parodied to no end, with one work replacing Harry with a literal inanimate object.
** Some fans actually joke that Hermione should have been the protagonist, as for the first few novels she's the one who does the most stuff.
* PlotArmor: The trio has it in spades. The other characters [[AnyoneCanDie do not]], which is driven home quite strongly in the last book.
* ThePollyanna: Luna probably suffers more at the hands of her classmates than [[{{Wangst}} Harry]] does, but never complains or shows any signs of self-pity or even annoyance.
%%* PostVictoryCollapse: A lot.
* PlayfulOtter: Hermione's Patronus.
* PlotCoupons: Quite a few, most notably the Horcruxes.
* PlotInducedIllness: The Weasley twins develop a range of sweets that make one ill and test them on fellow students. Hermione is unamused and shuts them down. Well, [[RuleofFunny tries to]], [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption anyway]].
* PoliceAreUseless: The Ministry of Magic proves to be very ineffectual throughout the entire series, and often get in the way of the heroes. [[spoiler: This is exemplified best when Voldemort returns and they refuse to acknowledge that he's back, instead choosing to antagonize Harry and Hogwarts. Voldemort even keeps them around because they are more helpful than detrimental to him.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Umbridge and Voldemort (the latter being an {{Expy}} of '''''UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler''''' and the former an {{Expy}} of Margaret Thatcher). Indeed, all the villains.
%%* PopculturalOsmosis
* PortalCut: Apparition done poorly results in "splinching." This is where a person attempts to Apparate, but leaves a part of him- or herself behind. Not in a comical bloodless way, but in a "neatly sliced off" kind of way. Wizard healing is such that these kinds of injuries are curable within a day or two, but that leads to splinching being played almost as light comedy -- until it happens to one of the main characters.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Emphasized as extremely important throughout the series, which is one of the most strongly-played examples of this trope.
* PowerOfHate:
** The power of hate is explicitly said to be why Dumbledore is considered weaker (technically) than Voldemort. Voldemort, being fueled by hate, is willing to use BlackMagic like [[SoulJar horcruxes]] or curses. Dumbledore doesn't because he's still sane enough to realize [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity the cost of such power]].
** The first time Harry attempts an Unforgivable Curse against Bellatrix Lestrange, she brushes it off fairly quickly and tells him that righteous anger won't fuel an Unforgivable as well as genuine malice.
** This is also what drove Sirius Black out of Azkaban. Dementors could [[EmotionEater take out happiness]], but hate gave him direction while [[spoiler:knowing that he was innocent]] kept him sane.
* ThePowerOfLove: Alluded to throughout the series. It can protect a loved one from deadly curses and block mental magic.
* PowerTrio:
** Harry (ego), Ron (id), and Hermione (superego).
** And the secondary trio consisting of Neville (ego), Ginny (id), and Luna (superego).
* PragmaticVillain: Slytherins are repeatedly described as being cunning.
** An alternate interpretation of the declaration to hand Harry over to Voldemort in the last novel is that they are simply pointing out that there is no sense in ''everyone'' dying in order to protect Harry, when he's the only thing that Voldemort actually cares about.
** The Slytherins all left before the final battle. However, we later find out that a signifcant number of them lead by Slughorn actually did this in order to reach Hogsmeade and raise the alarm, before coming back ''with reinforcements''. There is debate as to whether this really counts, as Rowling only mentions it in an interview, and it is never hinted at in the books. In fact, Voldemort hints that many Slytherins joined him.
* PreMeeting: In the first five books, Harry always meets (or at least hears about) his new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher before school starts. And he already knew the sixth.
* PreviouslyOn: Chapter 1 (sometimes 2) is always a recap of "the story so far" for the benefit of new readers. Rowling stopped doing it after book five, figuring that [[TakeThat people stupid enough to start a book series in the middle deserved to get confused]].
* ProjectileSpell: Most spells seem to follow this trope. Even Avada Kedavra, which ignores any overtly magical shield, can be hindered by a suitably solid object.
* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: [[PlayingWithATrope Toyed with]] and {{inverted}} multiple times (see BecauseDestinySaysSo), but ultimately played straight. Although the Divination teacher Professor Trewlawney is usually portrayed as a massive fraud, shockingly, ''every genuine prophecy she makes throughout the series turns out to be (at least somewhat) correct.'' \\
\\
She only made two known real predictions in the books, though, which makes it hilarious when even her random mystical BS turns out to be true (like Lavender's rabbit dying, a student leaving her class, or Umbridge being in great danger). [[spoiler:She's also always predicting Harry's early demise. Nobody ever believes her. He dies in Book 7 at age 17. [[OnlyMostlyDead He does come back to life, of course.]]]]
* PropheticNames: Quite a few of the characters' names reflect some gained personality quirk or their adult job description, but no one ever remarks on this oddity. The allusions range from the blindingly obvious (a werewolf named Remus "lupine" Lupin) to the GeniusBonus-worthy (Voldemort's ruthless female fighter [[TheDragon and lieutenant]] is named Bellatrix "the Amazon warrior star" Lestrange).
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The so-called "Unforgivable Curses" are introduced in Book Four, wherein it's said casting one of them even once is a life-sentence in Azkaban. By Book Seven even the heroes are casting them with abandon, including the Cruciatus Curse, where you need to ''enjoy inflicting pain'' in order for it to work.
* PsychicBlockDefense: Occlumency is a whole discipline dedicated to this.
* PutOnABus: The story is set at a boarding school and features students from every year, meaning that at the end of every book characters graduate and stop hanging around Hogwarts. With the exception of Percy, Fred and George, who Harry sees during summer and winter breaks, graduated characters usually aren't seen again outside of cameos.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:R]]
* RaisedByHumans: Hagrid tries to raise Norbert(a). It doesn't work.
* RandomlyGifted: Being a wizard can run in families but also sometimes manifests in {{muggles}}, and magicless squibs can be born to wizards.
* RapidHairGrowth: At one point during his childhood, Harry's aunt cut off his bangs, almost shaving him except for the part that hides his scar. It looked ridiculous, but magically grew back before Harry's next school day.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Wizards live longer than Muggles. (Although members of the Black family seem to die relatively young.)
** It's implied that there are so few pure-blood wizards left that keeping the pure-blood line alive might have required some inbreeding somewhere along the line. That might have shortened the lifespan a bit.
** Nicolas Flamel and his wife, through the use of the Philosopher's Stone, reached the ages of around 665 and 658, respectively.
* ReinventingTheTelephone: Floo powder, patronuses (patroni?)...
* RedHerring: The first four books each have one:
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's Stone]]: [[spoiler:Snape]]
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]: [[spoiler:Hagrid]]
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]: [[spoiler:Sirius Black]]
** [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]: [[spoiler:Igor Karkaroff]]
* RedHerringMole: [[spoiler:Snape, who is actually a DoubleAgent and then a ReverseMole.]]
* RedIsHeroic: Red is one of the colors of Gryffindor, the Hogwarts House of the protagonists.
* {{Retcon}}: There are several details in the earlier books that were conspicuously changed for the later books; presumably, Rowling hadn't thought up certain events that far in advance. For example:
** The Weasly's pet rat familiar is, in fact, the cowardly Peter Pettigrew.
* RenownedSelectiveMentor: Harry has a much closer relationship with the headmaster, Dumbledore, than is usual for a student, to the point of the Professor being almost a surrogate (grand)father. In the sixth book Dumbledore even gives him special lessons.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: A snake is the motif for Slytherin House, the unpopular, "evil" house at Hogwarts, and for the Death Eaters. In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Book 2]], Harry [[spoiler:fights a [[ScaledUp giant venomous snake]]]]. Voldemort has obvious reptilian features and a [[RightHandAttackDog Right Hand Attack Snake]] named Nagini, who goes out to do his dirty work and is [[spoiler:one of his spirit vessels]]. Speaking Parseltongue is considered a mark of the Dark Arts. The only time snakes are ever portrayed in a truly sympathetic light is the incident with the harassed boa constrictor in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Book 1]]. However, after [[spoiler:the fall of the Death Eaters]], the snake is no longer an evil motif and plays the same role of symbolism for Slytherin House as the lion, eagle and badger do for the other Houses.
* RevengeFic:
** [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Tread carefully here]], for some shipping wars never die, but merely sleep in [[CosmicHorrorStory their house at R'Lyeh until the stars align]]. As the canon pairings became apparent, shippers for other couples (most famously, Harry/Hermione) started making massive numbers of {{Revenge Fic}}s targeting anyone in the way of said preferred couples -- the most popular targets being Ginny Weasley, and [[RonTheDeathEater a certain inadvertently Trope-Naming sibling of hers]].
** Molly also gets it on occasion, frequently as the mastermind (or at least the potion dealer) behind her kids' "trangressions". In fact, with a fanfic community of that size, nobody is safe...
** ''Fanfic/InThisWorldAndTheNext'' is a RevengeFic for ''all'' the Weasleys, as well as Dumbledore, Snape, the Dursleys and almost everyone else who's not Harry or Hermione.
** ''Fanfic/KnowledgeIsPower'' is this for Dumbledore and the Weasleys, of course.
* TheRival: Harry vs. Draco; James vs. Snape. Sirius later takes up James's position after his death.
* RummageSaleReject: Wizards who are inexperienced in blending in with Muggles will often end up as this. One wizard is mentioned as wearing a kilt and a poncho together, of all things.
* RunningGag: A few which span most of the series.
** Harry and Ron never bothering to read ''Hogwarts: A History'' and Hermione's indignant responses.
** Hermione figuring something out and running off to deal with it without adequately explaining to Harry and Ron what's going on, and Ron's indignant response (usually a LampshadeHanging).
*** Hermione running off to the library in general, which gets tons of lampshades and humorous references in the later books even when she's not actually doing it.
** The Dursleys humorously coming off worst when interacting with wizards, not that they don't deserve it. Becomes not-so-funny in and after the fifth book, though Dumbledore has a bit of fun with them before getting serious in the sixth.
** Harry having incredibly ridiculous dreams, with different aspects of his life zanily mashed together in one absurd package, which he naturally never remembers when he wakes up. Leads to MoodWhiplash in the fifth book when one such dream suddenly segues into a terrifying vision.
** Ron unintentionally offending Nearly Headless Nick with some tactless remark during the feast at the beginning of every year. Nick lampshades it in ''Half Blood Prince.''
** When the discussion is about Snape, and it involves adults and Harry, expect Harry to call him Snape, and the adult to respond with "''Professor'' Snape."
** Tiny Professor Flitwick seems to get knocked down and/or tossed across a classroom by a student's miscast Charm roughly once per school year.
** After the introduction of Luna Lovegood, fictitious beasts called crumple-horned snorkacks become one. Luna really believes in the existence of these creatures because her dad is the publisher of The Quibbler, a satirical tabloid that regularly publishes stories about the non-existent creatures. Other characters regularly joke about this, and Luna herself gets defensive, claiming they actually do exist. Oddly enough, this actually gets subverted in the seventh book, when a character comments that there wasn't any mention of the creatures in the latest issue of the magazine, because Luna's dad is publishing real stories about the resistance now.
[[/folder]]
