Some of Alan Rickman’s diaries excerpts have been published, showing how the actor felt about his role as Snape. For fans, seeing an actor’s real feelings about one of their favorite stories can have a huge impact, either shattering their childhood ideas about these films or aligning perfectly with them.
With stories such as Harry Potter, where the fans grew up alongside the franchise, it makes sense that their perspective of the series is going to change throughout the years. As adults, fans have encountered many details about the story they didn’t notice as children and have taken a lot of these details to Reddit.
What Type Of Substance Mundungus Was Smoking
Mundungus Fletcher, the sketchiest member of the Order of the Phoenix, always carried with him a pipe that he was constantly smoking. Molly Weasley was always offended by it, and she kept reminding him to not smoke in her kitchen, but Mundungus didn’t really care.
Most readers probably thought Mundungus was simply smoking something similar to cigarettes, but it might have been something entirely different. Redditor cg8854 says, “it was wizard weed Mundungus was smoking out of that pipe…” The smoke is described as green and as having a weird odor, so this Redditor may be up to something.
When Fred And George Help Ron Make A Friend
At the beginning of the Sorcerer’s Stone, Fred and George introduce Harry and Ron before leaving to spend time with their friend Lee Jordan. What seems like a casual interaction between the siblings becomes a lot more when people read the scene as adults.
Even though Fred and George are known for being the most chaotic Weasleys, in this scene it’s obvious they care deeply about their youngest brother. Redditor Yellowlegoman_00 comments, “I’m fairly sure they stopped in primarily to help Ron make a friend.” This type of gesture it’s very heartwarming, especially coming from the twins.
A Uranus Joke
As everyone knows, Ron and Harry don’t really take their Divinations class seriously. So, when Lavender excitedly exclaims that she has Uranus in her chart, Ron asks “Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?”, one of the quotes that prove Ron is the funniest character in Harry Potter. Even though the book is intended for children, adults can find this type of joke around the series.
However, as a significant number of the fans were kids when they started reading the book, a lot of them didn’t actually get the joke. Redditor Yami_Wr0cek comments about this because they read the books in another language. They didn’t get the joke at first, but “when I learned English I retranslated it back in my head, and now it is my favorite joke in the series.”
The Goat Joke
In The Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore comments that his brother Aberforth got in trouble for practicing some “inappropriate” charms on a goat. A kid once asked Rowling what the joke meant, but she gave him a PG answer and said that “the joke worked on many levels” (via The Leaky Cauldron).
According to Redditor searchingformytruth, “the narrative is fairly clear in implying that Aberforth was having sex with his goats, hence the huge scandal at the time.” Even though this isn’t necessarily the truth, it’s one of the many viable interpretations of this joke. What’s certain is that Aberforth wasn’t just cleaning the goat, as Rowling stated in the same interview.
Grimmauld’s Place Pun
Fans of the Harry Potter books have come to expect many puns in the various names of places, spells, and other objects in the series. However, as children, most readers didn’t notice most of these jokes, so it’s a surprise to find so many of them as adults.
One of the puns that most people didn’t notice before they read the books as adults is the one in Grimmauld’s Place. Redditor hobokobo shared they only realized that this means “grim old place” after listening to the audiobook. It makes complete sense that’s what Sirius hated home would be called.
A Double Entendre
Phrases with double meanings are not uncommon in the Harry Potter books. Even though the books are intended for children, it’s obvious that J.K. Rowling left some interesting jokes for adults as well, probably when she realized the target of her books was a lot wider than she had initially realized.
Redditor sankarovzky posted one of the funniest Hermione quotes, “wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people’s,” which they read in a different light as adults. Since wands are phallic objects, they’re the perfect item for Hermione to make a direct critic of toxic masculinity.
Another Truth About Dementors
When everyone first read the Harry Potter books as kids, the Dementors were these scary creatures that sucked the happiness out of people and that were able to leave them in a catatonic state. Even though this is scary enough on its own, there’s a more interesting interpretation of these terrifying creatures.
Redditor Infinite-Lobster-946 comments that, when they were older, they realized that Dementors “are a representation of real life depression.” Thus, it makes sense why Dementors are creatures that take away happy memories and the will to live. Plus, it has a more powerful impact on those who have gone through something difficult in their lives, such as Harry. They can be defeated using the Patronus Charm, a spell that only works when the wizard thinks of a happy memory.
The Vanishing Cabinet Appearing Many Books Before It Became Relevant
The same cabinet that Draco spends most of the sixth book looking for appears way before in an innocuous paragraph in the Chamber of Secrets. This is proof of how well-thought these books are, and it’s always interesting for fans to find these little details when they re-read the series.
Redditor geekydorky spotted the hidden gem in the second book “when Harry is caught by Filch for dripping mud in the hallways, Nearly Headless Nick persuaded Peeves to drop a large black-and-gold cabinet over Filch’s office. Filch says, “that vanishing cabinet was extremely valuable!” Taking into account that Rowling wrote the sixth book many years after the second one, it’s truly impressive that the writer managed to include this type of detail.
Understanding The Gravity Of Certain Situations
Many times, children keep the most positive aspects of a book since they’re not old enough to understand the most complex and negative ones. The Weasley family, for example, is a portrayal of the difficulties people can endure, even in the magical world, but children simply see The Weasleys as a likable family of wizards (which is also true).
Redditor NICURn817 comments that they “missed really understanding some of the implications of the Weasleys being impoverished. Like people roast Ron for stuffing his face at the first feast – but then I’m thinking, this is probably the first time he’s been able to eat however much he wants until he’s full without needing to think of someone else not getting enough.” On top of that, adults notice the class criticism in the books, where families like the Malfoy control wizarding society and the Weasleys struggle to obtain positions of power in the Ministry of Magic.
Skittles Has Another Meaning Besides The Candy
A problem children from all over the world may face when reading the Harry Potter books is the different usages of English words. British English differs in many aspects from Canadian, American, and Australian English, which may lead to certain misinterpretations.
For example, Redditor six_digit_uin read the following phrase in Deathly Hollows “Harry dug in his knees, clutching as tightly as he could to the jagged scales as the wings opened, knocking the shrieking goblins aside like skittles,” as if Harry was comparing the Goblin with the candy, instead of “bowling pins.”
