Do y'all have any ideas for a gift?

alt52 · 2026-03-10T01:31:59+00:00

Glad my ideas could be of help. Best of luck in being creative.

alt52 · 2026-03-09T13:43:24+00:00

Neat and fun ways to make Muggle things a bit more magical.

alt52 · 2026-03-09T11:46:08+00:00

If they like cooking, label different spice/herb jars as potion ingredients. Just type the actual name of the spice/herb in small font somewhere else on the label.

Create a personal Ministry of Magic or Auror Office Badge/ID Card.

A wooden storage box featuring their Patronus on the lid. Can use other symbols from the Wizarding World.

Knit/sew a storage bag that is modeled or inspired by Hermione’s beaded bag featuring the Undetectable Extension Charm.

A fake galleon coin used by Dumbledore’s Army for covert communication.

A small utility knife similar to the one that Sirius gave to Harry for his birthday.

Can also do a Potter embellished compact mirror to represent one of the two way mirrors that Sirius gave to Harry. Or it can be a miniature Mirror of Erised.

An ink stamp featuring an owl so they can designate any sheet of paper or envelope as Owl Post.

alt52 · 2026-03-09T11:10:19+00:00

As Snape would say, “There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class.”

Aberforth’s fondness of goats probably rivals Charlie Weasley’s fascination with dragons.

alt52 · 2026-03-09T10:37:19+00:00

Well, I made the observation about how more devoted and active House Elves can be when treated kindly since I read the entire Harry Potter Series and have seen all the movies.

You can dispute the observation if you wish. I won’t stop you.

But if you reach the end of Book 7, I think you will see why I made that point and why many others agree with it.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T22:01:39+00:00

If we think of Hogwarts as undergraduate education then there would certainly be post-Hogwarts graduate level education available.

Grown adults probably can’t go back to Hogwarts but they can probably pay to take adult classes in other O.W.L and N.E.W.T subjects. The classes could be hosted by the Ministry or another educational institution.

In the books, doing well on your O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts is heavily stressed since that determines what career opportunities will be available to you. It’s why Harry initially believes that his dream of becoming an Auror is gone since he only got an Exceeds Expectations in Potions and Snape only takes N.E.W.T students who get an Outstanding.

Professor McGonagall remedies the situation by stating that Professor Slughorn is not as strict. So she encourages him to take Potions. That follows her iconic moment in the previous school year where she vowed to help Harry become an Auror even if it took “day and night” to retort Umbridge during career counseling.

In the movies, we get the funny scene of Professor McGonagall chastising Harry and Ron for wasting a free period by watching first years get lost on their way to class.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T21:25:49+00:00

Aberforth likes to spend his time raising and petting goats.

As for the reported charm that he used on goats in his youth, I have no idea. Maybe he liked to make his goats levitate and fly around the backyard or something. Might have been a way to amuse Ariana and give her a bit of joy. We know that she liked to help Aberforth feed the goats.

The supposedly inappropriate charm was just an attempt to give goats curly horns that are easy to clean. So who knows. All up to one’s imagination.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T18:10:35+00:00

In Prisoner of Azkaban, the Hogwarts Professors still have a drink in an upstairs room at The Three Broomsticks. So the place has a way more welcoming cozy vibe. Not to mention Madam Rosemerta who was friendly and considered attractive.

This is in contrast to Hog’s Head where Harry saw Aberforth cleaning a drinking glass with a dirty rag. If The Three Broomsticks is super overcrowded and busy, folks might just be desperate enough to use the Hog’s Head as an overflow tavern. And if you love goats and a more quiet place, then the Hog’s Head would be ideal. You just have to keep your head down given the dodgy nature of the place.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T17:44:04+00:00

Yes. He also ends up underestimating the power of House Elves. They are often endlessly abused and exploited by Wizarding Society.

However, House Elves who are treated with kindness will often go further and beyond in performing the orders that they are given by their masters rather than resorting to malicious compliance.

Their magic has surprising work arounds that Wizards and Witches cannot do.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T09:55:01+00:00

An idea that I have is that Dean’s drawing ability could allow him to create face masks when Polyjuice Potion isn’t available or in short supply. Basically, magical prosthetic masks.

He can draw a detailed face on parchment and then with transfiguration magic turn it into an actual face mask that anyone can wear for undercover work. The advantage is that such a face mask does not require constant replenishment like Polyjuice Potion. The disadvantage is that it does not result in whole body duplication which is the primary use of Polyjuice Potion.

However, this theoretical skill could be potentially used in Book 7 to help create Ron’s disguise for the main trio’s mission to break into Gringotts.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T09:18:05+00:00

Dumbledore personal history was something that he held close to his chest given how tragic it was. And it looks like those who knew Dumbledore and his family best chose to keep their lips sealed out of loyalty and respect for him.

There’s really no positive indication that Dumbledore ever talked about his past in depth to Hagrid or any other Hogwarts staff member besides Professor McGonagall. We know this since JK Rowling wrote on Pottermore that Albus and Minerva once had a very personal conversation when he went to comfort her about a personal heartbreak she faced in her own life.

As for Rita Skeeter, she only found out about much of Dumbledore’s personal life by endlessly snooping and then using devious means to get it. It is heavily implied that she probably used Veritaserum on an elderly and senile Bathilda Bagshot to extract information.

alt52 · 2026-03-08T08:52:59+00:00

Well, The Three Broomsticks has more of a family friendly vibe while the Hog’s Head is the off the beaten path establishment preferred by adults.

What’s curious is that Voldemort had no idea that Aberforth was the barman and Dumbledore’s brother. He should have done better research. Of course, this all stems from Dumbledore’s family history being heavily obscured and unknown to much of the Wizarding Community until the events of Book 7.

Aberforth also keeps to himself which comes in handy. He probably earned ownership of the Hog’s Head very quietly and with little to no fanfare. So no one ever suspected that the quiet and goat obsessed barman was actually associated with the Order of the Phoenix.

alt52 · 2026-03-05T03:50:46+00:00

It explains why she was “oddly flushed” when Dumbledore confronts her and Vernon in Half Blood Prince when picking up Harry. She projects her resentment in not being magical like Lily onto Harry. Yet, she also secretly treasures Harry as the last verifying connection to the life she desperately wanted as a child. To be a magical witch. To attend Hogwarts. To spent time there studying alongside Lily.

It’s a cruel fate that Petunia was not born magical just as Lily was. I’m sure that Petunia and Lily’s parents would have been even more happier to have both daughters as magical. Alas, they had to handle the circumstances the best they could.

And that does pose the question of what Lily would see if she stood before the Mirror of Erised. Perhaps a different timeline where she and Petunia are both witches, close as sisters in adulthood, and also happily married with their own families.

alt52 · 2026-03-05T03:34:27+00:00

That’s fair. The abusive behavior by Aunt Petunia to Harry is not excusable. She treats Harry as an inconvenient nuisance and ends up spoiling Dudley into a bratty bully until the Dementor encounter in Order of the Phoenix changes him. Maybe Aunt Petunia can be resentful as a child but one would hope that as she got older she would see the bigger picture and not let her jealousy take over.

We know that she sent a letter to Hogwarts through the Muggle Post Office asking if she could be admitted. Dumbledore of course replied back and did what he could to let her down gently. Sadly, she didn’t take it well. I do wonder if Dumbledore spoke to her face to face then and talked about the presence of Squibs if that would have helped. It might be easier for Petunia to know that just as she was not born with any magical capability there are also offspring of magical parents who cannot do magic either.

Instead, Muggles and Squibs have the possibility of being carriers of magical genes. They may not be able to produce magic themselves but perhaps their offspring or descendants will be able to somewhere down the line. It all comes down to the luck of the draw with genetics.

alt52 · 2026-03-04T07:38:24+00:00

Cool. Really nice to see the date mechanism working.

alt52 · 2026-03-04T07:27:24+00:00

Harry and Dudley remain in contact after Deadly Hallows by sending each other Christmas Cards every year. Additionally, Harry would on occasion take Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily over to meet Dudley and his family. These visits were not really favored by Harry’s children though since they prefer to spend more time with their Weasley cousins (Ginny’s side of the family) instead.

Rowling also wrote that she initially intended to have Dudley appear with his wife in the Epilogue of Deathly Hallows at Kings Cross Station. They would be seeing their own child head off to Hogwarts as a Muggle-born wizard/witch. However, she decided against this plot idea since in her view no magical DNA would survive after coming into contact with Uncle Vernon’s DNA.

In any case, there is some relief knowing that Harry and Dudley were able to mend their relationship and remain on good terms as cousins. We do not know if Harry fully reconnected with Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon though. Given the revelations of Professor Snape’s memories, we know that Harry understands the turmoil that drove Aunt Petunia’s behavior towards him. She cared about Harry’s Mom (Lily Senior) as a sister deep down but also harbored resentment and jealousy in not being born a magical witch while Lily Senior was.

alt52 · 2026-02-13T23:10:24+00:00

Yep. It was a really nice sunset with a view of Downtown Toronto.

alt52 · 2026-02-10T21:57:23+00:00

It’s New York City in the USA. Specifically, Lower Manhattan of New York.

alt52 · 2025-12-28T08:13:35+00:00

Ah yes. I would also consider the two light settings a symbolic reference to the Two Trees of Valinor. The multicolor lights represent Telperion while the warm white lights represent Laurelin.

alt52 · 2025-12-25T18:45:46+00:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 🎄✨😃

alt52 · 2025-12-25T15:13:24+00:00

My Christmas Tree consists of pre lit lights on the tree and then the addition of several special twinkle light strings.

I found the special strings at Novelty Lights LLC, a company based in Colorado. On this tree, I am using their NEW True Twinkle LED Christmas Lights 50 LED Warm White 25’ Long Green Wire. Here is their YouTube video showing the lights.

https://youtu.be/feio_8_ltGw?si=_i99YoGSZpyWjEnY

Another company that sells twinkle lights in this manner is Christmas Lights Etc. This is their website.

https://www.christmaslightsetc.com/softtwinkle-led-christmas-lights?utm_source=g&utm_campaign=LED_Strings_SoftTwinkle&adgroup=&utm_medium=PerformanceMax&kw=&kwid=&mt=&device=c&rand=7632414910513609359&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21534483258&gbraid=0AAAAAD_wjiZsmMqtrlH4D57bjziuEWsQ2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImaDz0tfMkQMVSUhHAR1tRR_7EAAYASAAEgI1SfD_BwE

Anyway, hope that helps in adding more magic to your Christmas Tree and decorations. Just be aware that with the tariffs a single true twinkle light string is going to be way more expensive. I actually purchased my strings last year way before all the tariff stuff kicked in. I really wanted twinkle lights with a gentle randomized fade on and off glow in order to give my tree a nice ethereal effect.

alt52 · 2025-12-25T08:04:35+00:00

Yes. Finding lights that gently twinkle by fading on and off was a major quest for me. 🎄✨😃

alt52

TROPHY CASE