Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised | Philosopher's Stone

[@sebastianacacia7621]

I just noticed that Ben and J have sweaters of their initials like Fred and George get on Christmas, and at the beginning of this episode, they introduced themselves as Bonathan and Jen in the same way as Gred and Feorge 😂

[@carolinpetersen6894]

I noticed it when Ben called himself "Jen" (I missed when J said "Bonathon"). Just now thinking that it would've been super funny if he went full "Jenjamin".

[@SierraMascara28]

Thank you! I was wondering why they did that 😂

[@ThreadBomb]

Shoot, I should not have skipped the beginning.

[@occheermommy]

And their sweaters are switched to the one they said.

[@racheldoescreativity]

they also are wearing each other's favorite colors, which I guess is because the j sweater would be j's and vice versa

[@hufflepom]

Maybe Snape herded Harry towards the correct classroom per Dumbledore’s request. Like “Severus please chase invisible Harry towards this specific room. You can’t get him in trouble, don’t ask questions. Do it for Lily. Thanks.” 😂

[@isaiahpinkerton3445]

I laughed at first because it seems like the mildly manipulative/ endearing thing that Dumbledore would do. It just occurred to me that Harry and Snape would have the same vision of Lily in the mirror.

[@GubbiGap]

I'm just imagining that conversation and that sounds hilarious xD

[@hufflepom]

@@isaiahpinkerton3445 stop. I’m getting teary and it isn’t from the onions I just chopped!

[@hufflepom]

@@GubbiGap I love it. How do you think that it would go?

[@GubbiGap]

@@hufflepom Here’s what I think would happen: Dumbledore tells Snape the plan and Snape just goes “really? That’s your plan?” with an annoyed voice and Dumbledore goes “remember you promised to do anything right? This is part of that deal” and when Snape hesistates Dumbledore says “do it for Lilly” and Snape just sighs and rolls his eyes as he leaves Dumbledore’s office

[@CarlosAlexDanger]

Theory about Hagrid dragging in trees. Hagrid was like "We'll give every kid their own tree!" and before anyone could tell him that it's unnecessary, he was already chopping trees down

[@Eshandist]

I've always looked at Hagrid's work like this, not that he needed to do the manual labor around the grounds because...you know...magic, but because he WANTS to give back to the school and specifically to Dumbledore, however secondary theory, what if he's secretly using his wand to make his labor easier without anyone else knowing so his work isn't as hard to do and he can do more of it? Case in point, what if he used his wand to make the trees light, so he can get them inside in a timely manner?

[@PhilBagels]

@@Eshandist Also, he's half-giant, so carrying trees is not nearly as difficult for him as it would be for someone without giant blood.

[@firestar4430]

​​​​@@Eshandist We know he uses magic for some jobs. He's secretly enlarging the pumpkins in Chamber of Secrets with his umbrella. J and Ben think Dumbledore was able to repair Hagrid's broken wand (since he was master of the elder wand), but I don't think Dumbledore disguised it. I think Hagrid personally came up with the idea of putting it in the umbrella since he clearly has an interest in woodworking (making the flute for Harry).

[@tekbox7909]

@@firestar4430 I mean repairing and disguising it are two different things so both theories can be true

[@firestar4430]

@@tekbox7909 Yeah, I was building on their theory, not invalidating it! It's a good one.

[@WKP1996]

In Sweden the mirror and chapter is called "Mörd spegeln" if you replace the ö with o it's translated murder mirror. "Mörd" backwards is Dröm which is translated to Dream. Starting to have tradition to listen to the pod as I prepare food for the week. Also, if you couldn't tell, I'm from Sweden.

[@corgimom5626]

Yay Sweden! I love to hear about other people’s experiences reading/ listening in other countries.

[@WKP1996]

@@corgimom5626 Yeah, some words are fun that they are unique for the language. Some words that comes to mind are Squib = Ynk, Philosopher's Stone = De Vises Sten (The stone for the wise), Deathly Hallow = Dödsrelik (Death relic), O.W.L. = G.E.T. (Goat) Acronym for Grund-Examen i Trollkonst (Basic Degree in Socery/Magic), N.E.W.T. = F.U.T.T. (closest is "futting", very little) Acronym for Fruktansvärt Utmattande Trollkarls Test (Terribly Exhausting Wizarding Test).

[@robfab5204]

​@@WKP1996cool!!

[@CalypsoRaven618]

That's amazing!

[@CalypsoRaven618]

@@WKP1996 "Terribly Exhausting Wizarding Test" Ha! that made me laugh.

[@driaLOVES]

I really like that these keep getting longer. lol Goblet is gonna be like 3 hour episodes

[@corgimom5626]

Hey! And we would gladly listen to 3 hour episodes

[@sue-ellenlightbody2337]

Yaaaaaaay another episode of Bonathon and Jen. Now I have Snape Snape Severus Snape DUMBLEDORE in my head 😂 An Australian 50c piece has 12 sides, Ron would love it.

[@Brentonius_III]

I've never understood our coins 😅 why is $2 and 5c similar size as the smallest and 50c is huge 😂😂

[@vorobuh_the_1]

We do need someone at SCB to take the books from J and Ben after they finished reading and make a quiz out of everything they highlighted as Trivia for JvsBen

[@madisonbaron6670]

Omggggg yes!

[@billysmith5409]

I love that J and Ben use the Potter Puppet Pals voices for Snape and Dumbledore.

[@hufflepom]

In Goblet Molly says that she got Harry green dress robes to match his eyes. My head canon is that is also the reason why his jumper is green. In the film Harry gets a blue jumper and Dan Radcliffe has blue eyes. I like to think that change was to keep with the matching the eyes thing. 😊

[@ThreadBomb]

So Ron has red eyes?

[@henryguillen806]

​@@ThreadBomb he's secretly a vampire. Obviously

[@hufflepom]

@@henryguillen806 does he suggest the blood lollipop for Harry or is that Hermione? I can’t remember.

[@henryguillen806]

@@hufflepom Hermione rejected them, so Ron probably suggested it.

[@hufflepom]

@@henryguillen806 so Ron= vampire I guess lol

[@bradleyjamieson7718]

I lost both my parents in my 20s so Harry looking into the mirror of Erised is easily the saddest moment in the whole series. In that moment I literally just want to pick lil Harry up, give him a big hug and tell him everything is going to be okay. The Dursleys really were awful to him. As for Hagrid and the trees. I like to think a lot of the things Hagrid does could be achieved using magic but Dumbledore is like "Nah let Hagrid do it," because otherwise what reason would he have for hiring him? I love Dumbledore's plan by the way! It really does make sense. I found that as a child I adored Dumbledore, but then as a teen / young adult I started to hate how manipulative he seemed, now even older, you can see a lot of the wisdom in his choices and why things had to be a certain way. It somewhat mirrors Harry's feelings towards the man too. He did name Albus after him after all....

[@sheamardis7409]

It has always been my head cannon that Dumbledore was testing Harry. He wanted to see what Harry would see in the mirror to assess his character so he could make his plan. For after all what if Harry had sought something else. I think dumbledore's plan would have been a lot different, if, when Harry looked in the mirror he saw what Ron saw because he sought Glory and fame whether than his family.

[@yamahakid450f]

Do you also spell 'canonical' with two 'N's?

[@TenThousandDoors]

It's also fair to say that Ron wanted those things because he already had all of his basic needs met, whereas Harry did not. Ron already had a family that loved him, three meals a day, and all of the basic necessities provided by loving parents. He has the freedom to want more than he has, whereas Harry's basic needs weren't met growing up. He often went hungry, felt completely alone, sometimes accidentally using magic to meet the needs he did not have met (safety, bodily autonomy), and was sort of set up from the beginning to see family in the mirror.

[@mistv901]

Ron wanted to be recognized as special and important by his family, because he often felt overlooked. At the time, he thought those things might do so. That's rather different than what you are implying about his character.

[@ThreadBomb]

-cannon- canon

[@kitjune9333]

@@mistv901oh Ron definitely wanted fame and recognition for himself. He had a family that loved him and instead of appreciating it, he kept griping about them being poor.

[@amywilson7540]

I have long had a theory that one of the reasons Dumbledore made Ron a prefect is because he remembered what Ron saw in the Mirror of Erised.

[@jettstocken8205]

That’s a great point

[@EmilyCheetham]

Growing up I always saw the invisibility cloak of made of something similar to silk. Silk can fold up pretty small for instance. But because of the magic from death embed in it it made it fairly indestructible.

[@sawanna508]

Me too.

[@gssci]

41:30 Ron has heard of Invisibility Cloaks before! He grew up hearing the Tales of Beetle the Bard and it makes sense the Hallows were a big topic of discussion between the Weasley siblings :) You can sort of tell by the way he discusses the tale of the three brothers with the other members of the trio in DH.

[@JahanMisra]

Imagine if Harry showed up to the 2nd task in Scuba gear because he and Hermione couldn’t find a magical solution. Also i’m pretty sure the screaming book can’t have horcruxes in it because Dumbledore removed them from the library and kept them in his office

[@corgimom5626]

I have always said that! “Accio scuba equipment!”

[@occheermommy]

They discuss it in the book but decide it was too far to have it zoom across the countryside.

[@mellow3995]

A "looking back on" video after each book talking about the major events that happened, favourite moments and things to look forward to in the next book could be a good idea.

[@LyonelGhecko]

Hey, on the part about the Dursleys never showing Harry a picture of his parents; Lily and James probably didn't have a single picture in which they weren't moving. James being pureblood and lily being in the magical world since 11 to me says they never used a muggle camera, and the Dursleys hate magic.

[@audreybourgeois4626]

Petunia should have pictures of her and Lily when they were kids before Hogwarts, but you're right, James would have no stationary ones and there would be very few after Hogwarts. Perhaps there are a few family portraits for Christmas cards or something. Either way, the Dursleys don't seem to reminisce, especially since it seems there are no grandparents or cousins on either side of the family. On Dudley's birthday, there is a mountain of presents, but not a single one from anyone besides his parents. Harry talks about being left out of Christmas, but there is no one celebrating but the three Dursleys. Harry mentions no relatives at all besides Aunt Marge.

[@keeferbigmick7943]

Dumbledore saw socks in the mirror because his sister knitted a pair for him every Christmas. Seeing a pair of socks would mean that she was alive and well. Cmon guys this is your theory.

[@tinas_hotdog_sophie]

I am so with Ben: There was nothing better than coming home from a day spent in the snow, being put in the bathtub and then pyjamas even tho it was only 4 pm and hot chocolate with dinner.

[@occheermommy]

That is something I have literally never experienced in my life!!! I grew up in California and while I visited Pennsylvania often as a kid it was usually in summer once I could remember. If it happened as a kid I would have been like 2. We used to ski in the winter but we always traveled to the snow and were so busy skiing that I never remember spending a day playing in the snow. I have taken my kids to play in snow though and grandkids now.

[@SierraMascara28]

Could the mirror have started as a qilen? You guys were talking about how it looks like it was transformed from an animal, and that animal is one that can already see inside your heart.

[@jessknight456]

Wow such a cool thought!

[@SierraMascara28]

@@jessknight456thank you! I think it works well, especially with their theory that Hogwarts was transformed from a dragon.

[@Patrickcide]

I actually think when he said "You will be ready to confront it" what Dumbledore meant was the crippling longing of those who have passed. The feelings and emotions necessary for Harry to walk into the forest, as it ended, would have been impossible without first learning to walk forward instead of stare behind.

[@brycesagner4497]

One of my favorite headcanons is after the Battle of Hogwarts Neville sends Molly a list of students’ names that don’t have family and she makes them all sweaters with their first initial for Christmas. The ones with F have tear stains.

[@jaspermooren5883]

Here we go! My favorite podcasters, Bonathan and Jen!

[@everybodyloveshigh5s]

I wonder if actually Petunia's hatred in magic is because it took her sister away, first to Hogwarts, then to marriage, and then to her death. And she was never able to define or express her feelings so she just turned them to disgust and hatred

[@davidlegare5021]

Petunia hated magic because she didn't have it.

[@taylorhagen3916]

These always annoy me because it feels like an excuse for her abusive behavior

[@mjm3091]

​​​​@@taylorhagen3916to be fair Rowling clearly wrote the more logical justifications after first book. It's clear she wanted to just write those evil monsters for Harry to live with and didn't care if it made sense. For me it's super visible in the way she describes them - focusing on their physicality to insult them. All the descriptions of how wide/thin they are and stuff. She made them bigoted and never looked back. Which kinda sucks, cause it would be nice to see the idea that it was coping mechanism for Petunia or that it was directly effect of the Horcrux on their unprotected Muggle bodies (and it only lifted after Harry started going to Hogwarts).

[@TheElliexbellie]

a quick british note that crumpets and english muffins are for sure 2 different breads that you can have for breakfast or as a snack ~crumpets are this chewy type bread that have holes on the top (excellent for melting butter into) ~ english muffins are more traditional texture of bread that are small and circular, you can get them at mcdonald's i think haha

[@streamingwong5195]

This podcast is oddly stress relieving for me. I am forced to travel a lot (mostly on Sundays and Mondays) and have already encountered two highly stressful travel incidents in the past few months. This podcast often becomes the sole silver lining of those Sundays/Mondays

[@orangetuxedoman]

Five Stars!! I'm in love with this Show, I've started reading The saga again because of this show, I just wanted to add about the mirror, Harry completely falls victim to the mirror in Chapter 12, I know you guys were very busy with the big plan, and I wanted to here your thoughts on this, Harry loses to the mirror as a lesson on how it works, I feel Dumbledore has to be in the room each time because how easily the mirror holds your attention. Additionally, Ron knew immediately that the mirror was bad news.

[@robertgronewold3326]

My personal theory on the cloak is that it is woven from both demiguise and thestral hair, which is why it's so unique and perfect.

[@vinnyl264]

Wouldn’t people have seen death then see the thestral hair though?

[@robertgronewold3326]

@@vinnyl264 Depends on how clever the Peverell magic was. There are quite a few spells on the cloak.

[@NerdyBernie66]

What if the child of the second brother was a daughter? She then marries someone with the last name Slytherin. They have a son and name him Salazar. Perhaps the second brother had a pet snake that is still alive, and that is how young Salazar finds out about and obtains the resurrection stone. Even better if the second brother also creates parceltoungue as well and enchants his bloodline with inherent knowledge of the language.

[@occheermommy]

I could be wrong but I think the founders were alive a few hundred years before the Peverells. I am not sure. I just feel like they were alive somewhere between 13-1500 but again not sure. I know they always say the school was founded 1000 years ago about.

[@NerdyBernie66]

@jessicabaum9370 He would have to have it out of wedlock because the Gaunt family is supposed to be descendants of the second brother which is why they have the ring at all.

[@parth17bhatia]

1:00:59 Harry subconsciously knows who Lilly is because she looks the same as she did when he was a baby. However, he can't recall what Lilly (or James) looks like. 1:16:01 I always thought that Dumbledor wanted to be free of his burden. For instance, we learn that a sock can help a house elf to be free of his/her family that they are serving. If we look deeper into this, ever since the Death of Ariana, Albus Dumbledor has been serving the greater good. He fought and successfully defeated & captured Grindelwald. He stopped Voldemort's reign of terror in the first wizarding war thanks to his knowledge of the prophecy. Even though he has achieved so much, he still feels like a prisoner of his past. So, if he gets a pair of socks, he can be a free man (like an elf). If the whole book were 1 episode and the book is Order of the Phoenix. But amazing as always. What a wholesome way to end the weekend!

[@corgimom5626]

That is a super interesting take. The socks response has always puzzled me.

[@barborastanclova]

I feel like McGonagall punished Fred and George. Snape hates Quirell and I feel like he would let the twins annoy him.

[@christopherwareham8955]

What if the lost child of Cadmus is somehow a child of Cadmus and the inverted boggart, that Cadmus was so horrified he trapped the boggart in a mirror forever, and set to work on a different way to bring his love back. Definitely want a series to answer the many Peverell mysteries

[@MadHymek323]

* Wasn't prepared for J to just casually discuss both Potter Puppet Pals AND A Very Potter Musical (two of my biggest obsessions) within the first 3 minutes of the video but okay sure

[@mariehope322]

Definitely just did what they said... went to bed with this playlist on and woke up to it not done 💕😴 so cozy!

[@deelaneenn6677]

my favorite parts of this is all the time you guys get to spend together as family and how respectful you are to eachother.

[@EileenNestman]

As far as "kids don't go that far"... eeegh. I knew a girl in high school who lost her mom to cancer and a kid tried to pull a "your mom" joke on her the NEXT WEEK. She broke his nose, he was shunned after that.

[@streamingwong5195]

This podcast is oddly stress relieving for me. I am forced to travel a lot (mostly on Sundays and Mondays) and have already encountered two highly stressful travel incidents in the past few months. This podcast often becomes the sole silver lining of those Sundays/Mondays

[@harrypotteranddisneyfan5800]

Probably one of the most important chapters in the first book. One of my favorites tbh. I love this podcast so much wish it could be everyday.

[@Fabio-Jose-DragonKing]

Love your content guys! (Daniel here)❤❤❤❤

[@nehasharma5931]

Heyyyy Brothers!!! You guys are really AMAZING!!! You guys have no idea just how much your podcasts mean to me.. This has become my new bedtime ritual.. ❤️❤️❤️ I go to bed every night with your chapter podcasts ON, and it makes me feel soo happy and connected.. Makes me feel less lonely.. I'm really grateful from the bottom of my heart ❤️❤️..thank you!! 🙏🏻

[@madalynnr9940]

I've got a theory for the second task that the reason Harry couldn't find anything in the library is because he was the last one to figure out the clue and most likely Fleur checked out all the books with the information. You can tell the order in which the champions figured out the clue as Cedric first since he and Fleur used the same charm and Cedric is unlikely to remove the information from the library, and then in January Krum is seen swimming in the lake.

[@jamesgames1738]

Love how jay and Ben are very clearly Amazing dads

[@AndrewJGaming]

To be fair, Hermione does go home every summer. But yes she literally spends Christmas with her family twice between the age of 11 and 18.

[@hufflepom]

I am pretty sure that it is mentioned that they don’t ask Madam Pince about Flamel because they didn’t want to blow their cover.

[@TheToneBender]

I assume the Peverell brothers are after the founders, because Ignotus' grave is in Godric's hollow. So I assume Godric had a town named after him and later on Ignotus got buried there.

[@sonjaimmonen6610]

"Being in the snow is exhausting" Couldn't help but laugh and nod, as I was listening to this while riding my bike to work in -20°C/-4°F

[@occheermommy]

With regards to the snowballs in the back of Quirells head, we need a skit of his and Voldomort’s conversation later that evening. “Why did you let them keep doing that?” Why didnt you Avada Kadavra them. I notice none hit you in the face” I mean we could have a lot of fun with this.

[@wjhdtyqbc324]

Bonathon and Jen are fabulous as usuall:)

[@pawmom2693]

You two are absolutely fabulous!!! I love this new series you are guys are doing. It’s my Sunday morning drive to church listen. Today’s really made me think how odd it was that Harry had never been shown pictures of his mom and dad. I really hadn’t thought of it before. Thank you for all of your content!!

[@Girly_Plop]

“Dumbledores Bootcamp” has me dead 😂😂

[@amywilson7540]

Ron would have grown up hearing the Story of the Three Brothers, so he would have been at least familiar with the concept of an invisibility cloak, although he wouldn't have realized that this was THE cloak from the story.

[@DownundaThunda]

I laughed so hard at the intro. That's a great reference you two. XD

[@jknappmxrider]

This made me think... If Harry's parents seem to be actually THERE(albeit their spirits) when looking into the mirror, could it be because of the stone inside the mirror? Bringing them forward like he does with the stone in the final movie

[@mariaana6710]

Love the fanficing with the Founders! Really, when you end this chapter weekly in four year, you can do a podcast audiobook series for your Founders canon!

[@ccs5592]

Harry Potter Puppet Pals forever! DUMBLEDORE!

[@junipermeisje6300]

I have made many fires with kids, and baked many ‘just bread’ on sticks over the fire. If you want to keep it healthy, it’s either bread or chestnuts. :) (I’m from the Netherlands)

[@tylerj.o.7470]

The thestrals idea is pretty cool. What if the stone was made out of a thesstal's eye or bone Which would give the Ability to see the dead since you can only see them after witnessing death. And using thestrals to also create the cloak and wand

[@sarahclarke1550]

English muffins actually aren’t the same as crumpets. I had never had (or even heard of) an ‘English muffin’ as a Brit until I went to the US. Do you guys have a PO Box? I could send you some crumpets to try. They are great with honey (if J can ever find it 😅)

[@Questerer]

I always feel like Hargrid is wanting to help out so much that he would do tasks the manual way even though other teachers could do them using magic. “Professor Dumbledore I like to help out during the Christmas decorations. May I setup the Christmas trees?

[@tjrs1618]

What if Mr. Weasley had the Cloak when Ron was younger and THE Cloak was the only frame of reference Ron had and thought they all looked like that.

[@mrfelipehurtado]

Guys! THEORY INCOMING! i had never thought about this before, but, when thinking about the parallels between the first book and the seventh, setting up things that will come full circle by the end of the story, and, obviously there is the philosophers's stone in book one, being a A STONE and in the last one a STONE also arrives through a complicated medium, maybe, just maybe the case could be made that something beloning to each of the three brothers is present when dumbledore and harry meet for their first time alone in front of the mirror, the elder wand, the invisibility cloak and the mirror representing the second brother. with that in mind i think ALSO that maybe just maybe there could have been a particular use mixing the resurrection stone and the mirror, could it be that the mirror was intended to actually encase the resurrection stone? how did dumbledore come about that use of the mirror? could it be that just like harry takes something from the other side the second brother could bring someone back? could it be that when he is told to have killed himself he actually entered into the mirror? could it be that a resurrection stone looked through a mirror is actually the opposite? if both created by the same person wouldn't they have some combined usage? thanks for the videos !!! have a great week! @mrfelipehurtado @fohhats

[@stevenbrodie404]

Does anyone else notice how Bonathan and Jen really sound like those super carlin boys?

[@lauramarschmallow2922]

14:55 um actually... you don't use "vingardium leviosa" on christmas trees. For christmas trees you use "mobiliarbus"!

[@SafiyyahMoosa]

Hi guys. I am absolutely loving this content and it’s my Sunday evening ritual to listen to the podcast now. This episode was by far my favourite and love how you went into the details of how the mirror of erised could have been created. If Tom Riddle was a descendant of Cadmus, as well as a descendant of Salazar, doesn’t that mean that Salazar was a descendant of Cadmus as well. (Or Cadmus was a descendant of Salazar, depending on age). I’m so intrigued to see if you guys can find a link between the two.

[@xxChox]

I think there was a passage somewhere about Dumbledore taking all books about Horcruxes out of the library when Tom Riddle left the school. So the screaming book Harry opens in the forbidden library can't be about Horcruxes

[@politenonparticipant4859]

Interesting fact: Snape never at any point in the books awards Slytherin any points.

[@andrewlang3903]

Ron’s chess abilities don’t show his ability to fight the unknown, but to fight the set, the known, the predictable, the limited.

[@TheNoteblockLizard]

Huh ... I had to do a pause while listening to Dumbledore's description of how the mirror works and that "the happiest man would see himself exactly how he is" .... and it made me curious as to what Lockhart would have seen in the mirror ... or Umbridge for that matter ... You know what, just your guy's thoughts in general on most of the main characters would be an interesting discussion to hear at some point :)

[@Leviticus_Prime]

I also noticed the plot hole where the second brother wasn't married. And no children are mentioned that he has descendants. I have a theory that he and the girl are already having a child before she died. Or perhaps she died during child birth. So he had at least one child with her, But she was killed before they could marry. The son survived and was likely raised by his uncle, and kept the ring.

[@Yii699]

A couple of things still listing to this as I type. My favorite outa pocket Dumbledore statement is after Rita skeeter wrote the article about hagrid in goblet and they finally get hagrid to open the door and Dumbledore is there and Harry calls Rita skeeter a cow he apologized to Dumbledore and he says "I've gone temporarily deaf Harry" Also if everyone was doing hagrids job for him he wouldn't have a job and a reason to stay at Hogwarts My favorite Fred and George quote is when they tell Mrs Weasley, Ron was made a prefect and she says "That's everyone in the family" And one of the twins say I think George "What does that make me and Fred next door neighbors" Every time I hear Stephen Fry I die I have to go back and look at the pocket stuff but I think stuffing the invisibility cloak I think he's sticking it into a pocket in his school robes wich I assume is larger than a pants pocket and if it's a light material like silk you can 100 percent stuff that into a pocket wouldn't be comfortable

[@kimgrod]

Movie HPs hair ... recall reading/hearing in an interview that Radcliffe's hair wouldn't stay sticking up (I find hard to believe)

[@j.a.shawkins7640]

I have ALWAYS thought that the Mirror of Erised is both amazing and delightful, and absolutely terrifying. Because there's a couple of different ways to 'waste away,' and none of them are good. Because you can just literally sit in front of the Mirror, let it consume you-quick aside, I wonder if it has any affect on the Mirror, how many folks waste away in front of it?-or you can have that sudden confirmation, like Jen-sorry, BEN-says, and then allow THAT to consume your waking thoughts, never being able to focus on anything else. And your deepest desire doesn't have to be a good thing: even Ron's vision in the Mirror is belying his inferiority complex he'll struggle with later. Like, I dunno. Boggarts are fear-I have a pretty good handle on things that scare me. Patronus is just an animal that you don't get to chose, so that'd be cool, and probably says a lot, but meh, you know? Animagus? Again, no choice. Still cool. But the deepest desire? Man....that's a lot.

[@MelanieNLee]

Hi! Although you didn't post this podcast on Christmas Eve like you thought you would, you did post it on the First Sunday of Advent 2023. So I was happy, when preparing to go to church online, to see your Christmas-themed podcast coming up. Concerning Cadmus Peverell: We don't know how old the brothers were when they met Death on the bridge. Possibly Cadmus had lost his fiancée a few years back and had since married another woman and had children. However, when Death presented Cadmus with the Resurrection Stone, and Cadmus conjured up his lost fiancée, he emotionally or physically abandoned his wife and children to be with this spectral image of his true love. When he died, perhaps his surviving brother gave the stone to Cadmus' wife or child, or Cadmus' family may have found it themselves.

[@jaspermooren5883]

I feel like Hagrid takes the trees in, just because he likes doing it. A lot of people like doing manual labour to some extend. I mean it's objectively easier to use a chainsaw to cut down wood, yet a lot of people still use axes, just because they like doing it that way. There's a certain pride in 'honest' work, and I totally can see Hagrid being a person that has that kind of worldview. I mean basically all sports is more or less an unnecessary amount of exhaustion, people still like doing it anyway. Not everything in the world is about things being easy and effortless.

[@JoseMendoza-lz4ym]

Didn't Dumbledore remove all books on horcruxes after Riddle graduated?

[@Blixthand]

When the first few Swedish editions were printed the mirrored writing was not widely know, and the translator did not figure it out, so it is just called Erised and the text is the backwards English. I remember being 10 first time I saw they had changed it, when a classmate borrowed a newer print from the library. It is to this day my least favorite change in the translation, and I do have some problems with the Swedish translation in general, because they changed "desire" to "dream". Maybe this was because it was the easiest to make a readable backwards reading word out of, but the problem is that the backwards of the Swedish word for dream is basically the same word as murder, meaning it now reads as if the name is "The Murder Mirror", which is considerably less mysterious and more sinister sounding than Erised. I guess it's not totally off brand since people waste away in front of the mirror, but the mirror itself don't kill anyone, so the name just feels weird, even if you do know the secret of the backwards writing. Imagine Dumbledore walking up to Harry saying "Oh, you've found The Murder Mirror". Excuse me what? You have a mirror that murders people and don't even have it behind a locked door unlike that huge dog that you actually warned us might kill us? I have no interest what so ever to keep dealing with this mirror if it's going to murder me.

[@adamrabe3105]

Absolutely loved that the Weasley Twins were hitting Voldemort in the face with those snow balls. Those Scottish winters are brutal, so finding some whimsy with snowballs to the Dark Lord's face is always welcome.

[@plotholedetective4166]

Three brothers come to a river where many have died trying to cross it but they do not seek to cross. With them is a woman heavy with child and her water has broken. The three brothers do their best to be midwives but the mother dies in child birth. They burry her there under a magic elder tree and return each year so she can look down on her son. After many years the child is grown and the brothers make one last trip to the grave together just the three of them return to the river where they met death. There under the shade of the elder tree was a dying thestral, the first ever seen by wizard kind. His wings became the invisibility cloak, his hair was used as a wand core with the elder trees wood, and the resurrection stone was the bezor in his stomach. From that day on only one brother would return to the grave.

[@kalebzerger301]

Harry is the half blood who is the chosen one and needs to battle the dark one. Hermione is the Muggle born who knows how to do things and is smart. Ron is the one raised by wizards and what he brings to the table is knowing how the wizard world works, Ron may not know how to do everything but her Hermione doesn't have context for all the things she knows. So I would say the three of them all bounce off of each other that way

[@mistv901]

Totally agree. Also Ron has a very logical and strategic mind. There are at least 2 times in the books Hermione freezes because she can't choose the right spell to use in the heat of the moment. Ron is street smart and can take both his and Hermione's knowledge and use it to find an out of the box solution; like going to the Chamber to get the basilisk fangs. Just saying.

[@KingOfMelos]

I can see two reasons why Ron recognized the cloak. 1st (most likely) the universe and the Deathly Hallows wasn't thought of yet. 2nd, we know that there are legends of the Hallows. Other invicibility cloaks might just look similar because they're made to replicate the "original" cloak

[@jeffersongeeslin5398]

My head cannon/theory on harry found the mirror is that dumbledore confounded harry after leaving the library. We don’t see much from Harry’s POV on the journey to the room, it seems like we are suddenly in the corridor with mirror room. Then the next day Harry has trouble remembering how to get there and it’s only when he sees the suit of armor that he remembers where it is cause that is where the confundus charm wears off the night previously. So in essence Dumbledore lead him there via confundus like Snape gave Mundungus the 7 Harry’s plan in book 7

[@Tsamane]

Though the Dursleys wouldnt show a picture either way, they most likely didnt have any photos of Harrys parents to show him even if they were willing.

[@maja-kehn9130]

I'm sure Petunia had childhood pictures of Lily from their parents.

[@xtremecj9302]

I am not certain about this, but I believe in Hogwarts Legacy Sebastian Sallow shows a book with that description and reveals it is enchanted to look more useful than it really is.

[@Hollyw00dReject]

The Resurrection Stone: “A bezoar, taken from the stomach of a Thestral, that will return you, invisible to most, from some deaths.”

[@TheToneBender]

To be fair, I don't think the Dursley's explicitly withheld a picture from Harry. They just didn't own one. I those days you didn't simply snap a pic. You'd have to bring a camera and you only had limited film. And with how infrequently they interacted with the Potters, and with their dislike for them and not wanting to have a picture of "those kinds of people" around and have guests ask who they are, I doubt they'd have taken pictures (Lily for sure did take pictures, though). Though Petunia probably did have some old pictures of Lily she could have shown Harry.

[@specteractual1]

Slytherin was in love and had a kid with a muggle something happened and that's what made him hate muggles

[@raya.b]

I believe your case that the Invisibility Cloak is made of thestral hair, but if it truly is one of a kind, how has no one ever tried making one that way?

[@antoniocalado7101]

I got the book on the night of my 11th anniversary and got instantly hooked. I finished reading it at about 4 am that same night. But I read it in portuguese and it was an early edition so most magic world specific words didn't have a translation yet. For instance, house names were the same as in english, instead of the now used (and awful, by the way) Sonserina, Grifinória and so on. So the mirror of erised, though the word for desire in portuguese is "desejo", was still called "espelho de erised". For a long time I thought it must be a real english word, somehow related to "erased" and it showed alternative realities that had been erised from the world 😅. Even after Dumbledore's explanation, I think I only realized the true meaning when I watched the movie. Kid brains are weird

[@kylestout7008]

I fully support the theory that Cadmus made the mirror and the stone. In fact, I believe that he would have the mirror in his workshop/study or whatever as he's working on the stone as his lost fiance encourages him. Then after he uses the stone to bring her back and she disappears, it's much more permanent than he wanted and she can no longer appear in the mirror. This final instance of losing her is too much for Cadmus

[@audralahrhpdoorks]

So one of the things I love most about the theory that the second Peverell brother made the mirror of Erised, is that it puts Dumbledore directly on the skill level of the Peverell brothers. The second brother creates the mirror by trapping a boggart in a mirror. Dumbledore figures out a way to encase the stone within the mirror. I don’t know that another wizard of the time could have deduced enough about the mirror and its inner workings to even think it possible. Dumbledore must have known the inner workings of that mirror intimately to even be able to figure out how to get the stone in it to begin with. It’s just fascinating to me that you’ve found such a strong parallel between them. 😊

[@neverfoundland6424]

Fun fact: 50 pence coins have on one side christmass motive, which is probably reason why Dursleys send 50 pence and not for example 1 Pound bill:)

[@ClareBearCB]

Crumpets and English muffins aren't the same thing.. they aren't even slightly close 😂 every time you talk about food stuff from the UK I want to send you some to try 😂

[@atleastdecent3810]

They mentioned A very Potter musical that is a dream come true

[@Orgeifex]

The first sentence of this chapter, refers to Hogwarts as a living thing in which is clear evidence to the Dragkn theory!

[@nathlack6170]

Even the wizarding world knows the power of Boffo!

[@FatherBlood-ne3cx]

I am listening to this podcast, and the number one thing that just hit me. What If the reason why Salazar Slytherin hated muggles and doesn’t trust them is because he fell in love with one and they betrayed me. ??

[@Eeli9]

I have a theory that there isn't muggle borns. Their parent or parents would just be squibs.

[@heylolp9]

What a beautiful Sunday, right as this released It started snowing outside

[@stephaniepage4334]

I hope that j.k do a book about peverell brothers,henry potter or fleamont potter?

[@wombatstho4122]

I wonder if Dumbledore uses the Room of Requirement here, and requires the room to be one that Harry will find?

[@carolinpetersen6894]

That's a really cool theory, but the library is nowhere near the seventh-floor corridor where the Room entrance is. How would it work? The Room can change based on your needs, but it's always in the same place.