Testing your Potter-osity

If you’re just wild about Harry (Potter), odds are that you know about his new movie, which opened in theaters Wednesday. And odds are you’ve read all the books, seen the other movies, played the games, tried the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, and so on and so on.

But how much do you really know about the minutiae of Harry Potter? Author J.K. Rowling worked an amazing amount of tiny detail into her saga. Take our quiz and see how you fare.

The answers are at the end, so be sure to scroll carefully - no peeking!

1. Which character died in 1492?
A. The Bloody Baron
B. Nearly Headless Nick
C. Wumtuzzle McFee

2. What did J.K. Rowling insist about the principal cast members for the Harry Potter films?
A. That they not have read the books
B. That they all be British
C. That they never improvise dialogue

3. What is Mad-Eye Moody’s first name?
A. Alastor
B. Oswald
C. It’s never revealed

4. Which character in the Harry Potter films was played by an actor who later starred in Doctor Who?
A. Severus Snape
B. Barty Crouch Jr.
C. Lucius Malfoy

5. Who was born on April Fools’ Day?
A. Luna Lovegood
B. Fred Weasley
C. Draco Malfoy
6. How many types of fouls are there in Quidditch?
A. 18, except on Tuesdays, when there are only 9
B. 700
C. Eleventy-six

7. What does “Dumbledore” mean in Old English?
A. Bumbling Fool
B. Stepladder
C. Bumblebee

8. Which animal is based on the mythological Cerberus?
A. Fang
B. Fluffy
C. Norbert

9. Which book did J.K. Rowling originally plan to call The Doomspell Tournament?
A. The Goblet of Fire
B. The Prisoner of Azkaban
C. The Order of the Phoenix

10. What is J.K. Rowling’s middle name?
A. Katherine
B. Kay
C. Trick question, she doesn’t have one

11. Which of the following is not a nickname for Lord Voldemort?
A. He Who Must Not Be Named
B. You Know Who
C. Old Whatsisnose

12. Which actor agreed to take a role in the movies only after his 11-year-old granddaughter threatened to never speak to him again if he turned it down?
A. Richard Harris
B. John Hurt
C. Michael Gambon

13. Which character’s name was taken from William Shakespeare?
A. Hagrid
B. Snape
C. Hermione

14. What is the 12th use for dragon’s blood?
A. To untoast marshmallows
B. An oven cleaner
C. A diuretic

15. Everyone knows a Muggle is a person with no magical ability, but what is a person who is nonmagical but has parents who are magical?
A. A Squib
B. A Glongle
C. An Unblood

16. How many siblings does Ron Weasley have?
A. Four older brothers, one older sister, one younger sister
B. Five older brothers, one younger sister
C. Three older brothers, one younger sister

17. Which of the following is not a real band that takes its inspiration from Harry Potter?
A. Harry and the Potters
B. Draco and the Malfoys
C. Hagrid’s Hat

18. Who was the original owner of the Sorting Hat?
A. Cormac McLaggen
B. Godric Gryffindor
C. The Fat Friar

19. What book was written by Kennilworthy Whisp?
A. Quidditch Through the Ages
B. The Necronomicon Ex Mortis
C. The Naturum Demonto

20. In a BBC interview, when did J.K. Rowling say she wrote the last chapter of the final book?
A. “As the Fed Ex truck pulled up to pick up the manuscript.”
B. “In something like 1990.”
C. “I still haven’t written the real last chapter. I’m saving that for the 20th-anniversary reissue.”

Answers:
1: B
2: B
3: A
4: B
5: B (so was his twin brother, George)
6: B
7: C
8: B
9: A
10: C (Joanne Rowling chose the middle initial K for Kathleen for her pen name but she doesn’t have a middle name.)
11: C
12: A
13. C (from “The Winter’s Tale”)
14. B
15. A
16. B
17: C
18: B
19: A
20: B

Your Score:
1-5: Muggle! Step away from the wand!
6-10: Background extra at the school
11-15: Sidekick to one of the heroes
16-19: Head of the class
20: You should teach at Hogwarts
21+: Mudblood cheater!

Clodfelter is a staff writer at The Winston-Salem Journal.