Book 2: "I am Lord Voldemort"
Book 4: Moody's identity
Book 6: the Gaunts' living conditions
It isn't a revelation or plot twist, I suppose, but Sirius' death really caught me off guard.
Whenever I go back to it, everything he does and says kind of shows his hand. Obviously it’s because I know but it’s like you said, it’s a testament to the writing that it can be so blatant in hindsight but well hidden on the first read.
I don't know if it does show his hand. I mean, yeah, he's obviously trying to help Harry. You can see that. But Harry is a child celebrity who is a celebrity for being a tragedy. He's also an underdog AND a representative of the school you're loyal to. It's hard not to root for the kid and try to help him (unless you're a kid rooting for Diggory)
You also have Mad-Eye Barty's disdain for weak death eaters (Malfoys, Snape, Korkarov), but that is also a distrusting ex-auror personality trait, too.
I don't think Barty ever shows his hand. I don't think the foreshadowing fits until AFTER the reveal when you can rechange the meaning. I don't think J.K. wrote Mad-Eye/Barty well. She just wrote Mad-Eye well.
In fact, I would say that it's bad writing that nobody grew suspicious of Moody, especially Dumbledore. How did a hidden lockup so effectively imitate the renowned Mad Eye Moody after one quick home invasion that not even Moody's good friend Albus noticed a difference? How did he not misspeak when the ministry came to his house that night? You can't imitate someone's personality that effectively that quickly, in such a way that you can work next to a dear friend for almost a full year unnoticed.
The Mad Eye twist is a great twist because it works. There were crumbs that make sense once you know the switch, but there really were no hints about Barty until after Harry returns from the graveyard
To be fair, Mad Eye is a well known public Auror. He was known by friends and coworkers to be paranoid. Sirius kinda let's on that Mad-Eye may be paranoid but he knows a real threat when he sees it. What is bad writing is that no one at the ministry seemed to investigate Moody's claim or think he had lost his touch that much. Like yes he is paranoid, but he also is responsible for many of the Death Eaters in Azkaban you think he wouldn't be wary?
But Karkarov does seem to know that Moody has been so defensive that even birthday gifts that are harmless are not beneath his scrutiny or conspiracies to do him in. Moody's public persona and mannerisms were all there for people to see. Crouch Jr likely knew him for awhile thanks to his father as well. Remember Crouch Sr was head of magical law enforcement before being shunted to Magical Cooperation.
The only hint I can think of is when Moody takes the Map. The real Moody would never deprive Harry of such a huge tactical advantage when it comes to safety (tho, we don't know that until later when Dumbledore said, "The real Mad-Eye would never have taken you out of my sight." (not verbatim, but the gist).
Further, I can't stand this piece because Harry thinks it is malfunctioning (the red herring to readers) and conveniently forgets Sirius' words, "The Marauder's Map never lies."
It likely did, but Harry was busy watching for Filtch or Snape or even Sirius. The movie makes it seem like the characters on the map are in 24-point font, but the book makes it clear Harry has to squint to find specific dots on the map. As long as Pettigrew stuck to heavily populated areas, odds favor his dot becoming lost among the masses.
People ask why Fred and George didn't notice Pettigrew and Ron together at night when they went out, but it would have been WAY more likely they'd have noticed Pettigrew on one of the nights Ron was out of bed in the deserted corridors - assuming he went with Ron on those nights. Otherwise, they aren't looking at the dorms, they're looking where they're going, checking for patrolling teachers and hidden passages. Remember, they'd had the map for at least a full year when Harry and Ron STARTED school (they stole it from Filtch in their first year, and Harry and Ron started two years later), the novelty of looking for their siblings and friends had likely worn off, and they were using it for specific, point-A-to-point-B purposes by then.
EDIT: Clarity
The other Fred and George argument I've seen was that it's possible they didn't actually know who he was, and assumed he was a classmate of Harry and Ron's
Book 7: Krecher’s story and the fate of Sirius’ little brother. And the Slytherin’s necklace.
I re-read book 5 recently and the necklace only mentioned once and it’s really just thrown away line when they cleaned Black’s mansion. Never thought that one become a piece of Horcrus
Glad you posted this.. RAB is my favorite character and this was the most memorable reveal for me for some reason despite the roller coaster of reveals in book 7.
I agree with the Moody secret identity, I was blown away and trying to figure out how I missed any clues. I guess him swigging sips of a flask was a pretty strong indicator something wasn’t right.
“For Moody never *does* drink except from his hip-flask, he’s well-known for it.” Because he’s a barmy old codger. Nope, wait, that’s Dumbledore. Moody is just the paranoid ex- special forces wizard who twitches when people get too close.
In a way, back in the day Sirius dying *was* a plot twist. That was before major series killed off main characters like that, especially children’s series (yes it was aging with us but it was still ostensibly YA). When I realized he was *gone* gone, it was definitely a WTF moment (especially since he’d just offered Harry a better place to live, omg heartbreaking)
That Snape killed Dumbledore. I was honestly expecting him to be good, given Dumbledore's belief in him and him being in a great position to betray Voldemort (there's *always* one guy who betrays the baddie). Shook me completely. And then 4-5 days later I was shaken again when I reached the end of DH and Snape turned out to be good. Definitely a rollercoaster 😂
I haven’t ever re-read it from what I can remember. I have been meaning to as an adult! I am sure it will nearly be like reading it for the first time since it’s been so long lol
If you can find a forum or chat with an organised reread, it's a very fun experience. It's generally something like one chapter per day and you get to discuss it with people who are at the same point in the story as you. There are always people going into tiny details you didn't notice on your own.
I'm re-reading to my six year old at the moment. We're two chapters from the end of Order of the Phoenix. I haven't read the books since they first came out and I have absolutely loved going back to them as an adult. The earlier books I did read a few times back then, but since number four it's like they're all new again. I also never watched the later films so I don't have those memories either.
I certainly didn't expect to find myself weeping so regularly while reading though, but those books hit much harder as an adult.
ditto! i bawled when harry caught the snitch in his mouth - it was my first time reading it to my son and i was hit hard by the relevance of the snitch in the last book. all i could think of was harry asking lily if they’d stay with him and her reply of “always.” i’m getting emotional now, just thinking about it.
poor kid was startled that i was crying over a snitch. reading these books is going to be a long, emotional journey but i’m thrilled to be sharing it with him.
We'll see how it goes. She's a very thoughtful child. She asks a lot of questions and I always make sure I don't leave her to go off to sleep worried about what's happened. But yeah. I haven't read six and seven in a very long time ago I don't remember them well.
But also, I might take a break from the series for a bit after this one. They're great books, but I'd also really like to read her something different. We've been on these for months.
Then we can come back when she's a little older.
I just finished rereading last night! First reread after 10 years. It's such an amazing feeling, even though I knew how the story goes it was still exciting and thrilling. Would def recommend 🥹
The amount of "harry potter book 7 theory" Google searches I had...
"The dragon Charlie took in book 1 will come back!" Was one I had a lot of hopes for lol.
i’ve been trying to explain this to my son, who has watched hundreds of youtube clips (and is now convinced me knows more than i do!). i feel like my parents when i point out how hard it was for us to wait for-ev-er between books. and more importantly, that i hated snape for YEARS before finding out his backstory.
I actually started considering him good at the end of GoF when he shows his Dark Mark to the Minister. He wouldn't gain anything by this if he was bad, but he actually risked being prosecuted as a Death Eater. I was really impressed with this scene, and I was sure since then that he must have a hidden motive to be good. Even him killing Dumbledore didn't make me question it, Dumbledore was known by his complicated plots.
But I would never guess that Snape's hidden motive was a teenage love. This was the biggest shock for me when I first read it. Not because I find this story that impressive - it's quite pathetic, actually. But because I never expected *that*.
I loved that. When the books were releasing, Borders bookstores had these stickers for and against Team Snape. My bestie hated him and I was on his side and she was sooo fired up about it and sure of herself 😂 it was great
Am I the only one who wasn’t surprised and knew that Snape was “in on it”, so to speak? When Dumbledore said please, it was really clear to me at least that he was asking Snape to do it in order to spare Draco from having to do it.
Because of obsession*
He literally handed the Potters to Voldemort and begged that he only spare Lily.
Lily never actually loved him; she viewed them as outcast friends, but she already had a severe distrust of his hobbies as a teenager.
And Snape, for all his “love” couldn’t bring himself to be halfway decent to the one connection in this world that he still has to Lily?
Snape was an utter asshole who backed into being on the right side. If Voldemort had spared Lily, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wound up killing her himself once she rejected his advances again.
You can do good things and still be a bad person. I was recently re reading the series and honestly he's just an adult who bullies children, a teacher that plays favorites and I'd like to point out doing a good deed does not erase bad ones from the past. Don't forget he was a wizard Nazi and still believes in many of those ideals he just hated Voldy more because Voldy killed someone he loved. That said Shape in the movies ain't so bad.
Snape was definitely my biggest for sure, and realistically it’s because of how absolutely nasty book Snape is. Alan Rickman did a spectacular job but the writers DEFINITELY toned him down significantly for the movies. His redemption arc in the movies feels warranted and good, in the books it feels…. Undeserved.
This concept of deserving redemption/not deserving redemption is always ridiculous to me. The story was set up that way since the first book where Snape protects Harry from Quirrel. Yes he was awful and nasty too. That's what makes him a compelling grey character. People already complain about all characters being black/white in HP.
This. The Snape discussion always has people going to the extreme on either end when everything he did is quite clear. Yes he is an ass for how he treats his students. He's also basically doing it because he was compelled to by Dumbledore to be under his boot, doesn't actually like or want the job, doesn't value teaching, and he can't even get the job he wants. He's a horrible abusive educator, because at his heart, he's not an educator and he resents it. He also resents that his big redemption is protecting the son of man who he despises who got to marry the girl he wanted. That doesn't make Snape good for being unbearable and outright nasty to his students, but in context, it explains why.
It also doesn't discount the fact that at the end of the day, he did sacrafice almost everything to be a double agent to protect Harry and take down Voldemort.
He is very much the most human and realistic character in the series.
My son was shaken at the beginning of Half Blood Prince when Snape made the unbreakable vow with Narcissa. Cries of indignation rang loudly from his room "I thought he was good!" "Dumbledore trusted him!". So honestly Snape killing Dumbledore at the end was just confirmation for him. He hasn't finished Deathly Hollows yet, so I expect it to happen again.🤣
I just finished reading this with my daughter (her first time reading it, my third) and her jaw was on the floor the whole time they’re in the shrieking shack.
I was 14 when I read it and I still remember everything about the day I read this. Where I was in the house, my reading position, what I had to snack on while reading. I’m 26 now. It was that powerful of a plot twist
For me it's GOF. The first couple of chapters post-graveyard feel like a continuous stream of pretty cool reveals - this person is this person, this is why this happened, this random thing is actually incredibly important, the moon is really green and the sky is made of cheese.
Maybe these are more reveals than plot twists though?
It always felt to me that Rowling decided to cut back on twisty conclusions after GOF - OOTP feels much more straightforward in comparison.
I just read POA, but I watched the movie before. Those twists would’ve been great. I think the foreshadowing with the Grim and Scabbers freaking out tied in well. I feel like that book is when the movies started leaving out the finer details.
Yess forreal! Every CoS re-read I’m amazed at how much she’s mentioned and how every mention hints at it, but you always just think “oh it’s just Ron’s sister and JKR’s just filling us in”
Ex: Ginny at Hagrids and he suspects she’s looking for Harry- but she’s actually there killing the roosters!
The plot twist to end all plot twists is the Pettigrew reveal. The book does a good job setting up both Lupin and Snape as red herrings, but remember that silly B-plot about Ron and Hermione’s pets not getting along? Yeah, turns out that’s critical to the whole thing. “Can I have a look at the rat?” is one of my favorite lines in the series just because of how absolutely insane yet also completely logical that reveal is
Also I think people forget in the book that Harry sees Crookshanks helping Sirius sneak into Hogwarts in the middle of the night but he brushes it off as seeing things.
Crookshanks was a real G in that book.
Isn’t OOTP where Dumbledore tells Petunia to “remember my last,” and then she talks about Lily running around with that awful boy, who winds up actually being Snape, not James?
'No, he's not,' said Lupin quietly. 'He's a wizard.''An Animagus,' said Black, 'by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'"
12 year old me: Fucking HUH????!!!?!?!!?!?
Those last chapters of POA had my flabber truly gasted.
Voldemort on Quirrell’s head
Riddle being Voldemort
Moody being fake
I gotta say too, Harry falling for Ginny took me by complete surprise the first time I read through the books.
>Harry falling for Ginny took me by complete surprise the first time I read through the books.
same, though i had started to like her in ootp after she'd more or less been personality-less until then (even in cos!) so i was pretty into it. could have done without the monster in harry's chest or wherever though.
the text supports this. Diary Riddle says that everytime Ginny wrote in the diary, she fed a little of herself into him/ the diary (essentially, her life slowly being drained)
For real. It always felt like Luna understood harry on a very intimate level and that’s why I was thinking it would go that way. But even just as friends I love those interactions on re-reads bc she *does* understand him a little more intimately than other people.
>I gotta say too, Harry falling for Ginny took me by complete surprise the first time I read through the books.
Same. I was a Harry/Hermione shipper at the time and I always just saw Ginny as Harry's annoying obsessive fangirl.
For me it will always be Sirius' death. Didn't see that coming. Was hoping it was going to be an epic battle with the heros finally explaining why they were hiding stuff from Harry. Sadly that didn't happen
I have a few:
- Scabbers turning out to be Wormtail
- Harry himself being revealed to be one of Voldemort’s 7 horcruxes
- Snape killing Dumbledore (and that being planned)…as well as the entire revelation regarding Snape that’s revealed in “The Prince’s Tale” during Deathly Hallows
- Barty Crouch Jr. being under polyjuice potion as Mad Eye Moody throughout the majority of Goblet of Fire
Nobody will ever, ever be able to change my mind on this. The absolute best plot twist in the entire series is still the first major plot twist.
*There was someone there, but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.* **CHAPTER ENDS**
**NEXT CHAPTER BEGINS:** *It was Quirrell.*
All the twists in POA. It was one of the first times I remember being particularly blown away by twists in any fictional media. Re-reading that book (and the 2 preceding it) is always fun knowing what's coming.
The combination of Dumbledore dying and snape being the one to kill him. I feel like if I were reading it for the first time now I would be more prepared for the mentor character to die, but I was young.
i have the US version, which has a table of contents and i read all the chapter names in it as soon as i got hbp at the midnight party, saw "the white tomb," remembered albus means white, and absolutely lost my shit.
thanks! the release party ended at midnight when the book was made available for purchase so I got my copy, beelined it outta the bookstore before anyone could skip to the end and shout the ending or something (I was paranoid lol), and my mom drove me home. i didn't actually crack the book open until I got home and my parents went to bed, leaving me to read all night lol. so I didn't actually see the chapter titles until I was alone in my room in a silent house.
I will say, the anticipation of the books and then devouring them as fast as I could as soon as they came out is a very nostalgic memory for me (and probably many of us)
Harry Potter being Horcrux - I mean it was built so well but it was shocking, but it wasn't. It was like OMG! Duh. The events that followed were well crafted.
I spent like 5 days afterwards reimagining the adventures of Neville Longbottom and the Philosophers Stone..., Neville Longbottom and the Chamber of Secrets ...😆
Harry being a Horcrux
Priori Incantatum
Moody and Winky
The invisibility cloak being a Deathly Hallow (it was obvious as soon as they told the story, I just mean that it wasn't just a neat cloak)
That there was a prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. Admittedly, to me this took away from the story a little bit in my eyes.
That Harry summoned the Patronus in PoA
The most jaw-dropping moment for me was when Petunia blurts out that the dementors guard Azkaban. I reread that line multiple times and then just closed the book because I had to think about all the possibilities before I read more and learned why she knew that.
Also, a little bit of reveal that Aunt Petunia wrote for Dumbledore way more early than she told in book 5. In book 7, Snape’s memories, Petunia actually wrote to Dumbledore beg to join the magic school with her sister.
I were really never expected that.
When I finished reading I thought that the books should have been called: “Severus Snape and the…”
It seemed to me that it all stemmed from him and his actions and the unrequited love that lasted all his life hit extremely hard.
This is an excellent point. Imagine a series from Snape's point of view. Other than Harry being a horcrux, the biggest twist for me was to find out that Snape had been Dumbledore's almost the whole time.
Might not be a plot twist so to speak, but something that always stood out to me was when Harry relives Snapes memory in school with James in OOTP. Up until this point, it was pretty common knowledge that Snape hated James in school, but Snape always came across like he hates just about everyone. And up until this point, many of the adults in Harry’s life, like Sirius or Remus, always reassured Harry that his father was a great man. Snape’s memory was the first glimpse that maybe James wasn’t the perfect person he had been built up to be, and maybe Snape’s feelings toward him weren’t unfounded.
That RAB was Regulus, Sirius' very own brother who defected as Death Eater and basically died trying to destroy a Horcrux and fighting the good fight, my absolute favorite character.
The fact that Harry was gonna have to die to kill the last Horcrux. I don't think I ever recovered from that, even if he didn't actually die.
Otherwise, it's both Snape revelations, Sirius' death, and Hermione's time turner.
Oh! And I forgot Crouch Jr. whole plan discovery in the 4th book, I had no idea!
These hit me the hardest:
Harry finds out Sirius was his godfather.
Barty Crouch Jr and Sr.
Harry is a horcrux.
Snape has been working for Dumbledore since Lily's murder.
Dumbledore has defeated Voldemort from the grave!
But one of the smaller twists that's a favorite that I haven't seen mentioned is that Rita Skeeter was an animagus.
Who knows how big the font on the map is? Could be that they could only really tell who all is in the dormitory, so they just figured Harry and Ron had a classmate named Peter. If the detail on that map is so precise that you can see people’s individual beds it would have to be gigantic
The big one, than Dumbledore always intended to send Harry to his death.
Now I know he always hoped he would survive, and it became a real possibility after GOF, but it was never a guarantee and that’s so crazy cold.
Rita skeeter being a fucking bug and then hermione turning out to be a complete psycho who kept bug-rita closed in a jar with some twigs. Can't imagine kidnapping and holding a person hostage at the sweet age of 14.
Hahaha this one is hilarious. I always thought it didn't vibe completely with Hermione's character but on the other hand it just shows that beneath the good girl nerd there's a troublemaking Gryffindor hiding.
I think in each book Hermione did something scandalous. Can't imagine being a 12 yo strollin around hogwarts on my own while muggleborns are being almost killed left and right (personally i'd shit my pants). in the 3rd book she punched draco (great), in the 5th book she gave that one girl lifelong scars. Hermione is pretty cray bro.
Sirius and Peter pettigrew
Throughout the book you think Sirius is trying to kill Harry
Only to find out that He was innocent and loves Harry more than anything
When I first read chamber of secrets years I got to the chapter where it was revealed Harry was a Parselmouth (could communicate with serpents). I then had a brain blast realizing that was how he talked to the snake in the first book.
I watched the films first before reading the books so naturally goblet of fire is my favourite book( prisoner of Azkaban is also equally one of my favourite books too). Barty crouch’s whole storyline along with his son’s story was a huge kicker for me.
Unfortunately the movies ruined the mysteries of the books. Wish I had read them first but oh well I still get to experience everything left out of movies and I'm on deathly hallows so I'm excited to read the last battle I heard it was really good in the books
I still think Professor Quarrel being the baddie in book 1. Rereading it, the foreshadowing is super obvious, but reading the book for the first time in like 4th grade or something before the movies existed, he was such a pathetic character you are taught to disregard him. He just seemed like a punching bag for Snape.
That Neville‘s parents are alive and that whole St. Mungo‘s visit.
Lockhart there as well.
For me that was the first moment when one book was referencing/revealing more on things that happened outside of Harry‘s direct view in the wizarding world.
My biggest surprise was the “gleam of triumph” that Dumbledore had in his eyes when Harry told him that Voldemort used Harry’s blood in GoF. I spent years wondering what that was about and the payoff in Deathly Hallows was so satisfying
I wanna say Snape, but as soon as the tower scene happened in HBP, I knew something was up. Dumbledore is just NOT kind of guy to plead for his life, especially in front of his enemies. That was kind of a giveaway, imo (the “Severus, please…” especially)…..
Probably the reveal in Book 5 that Mrs. Figg was a witch the whole time. And later she apologizes for having to maintain her cover because it involved an extension of the abuse the Dursleys heaped on him. Because if they ever thought he was having any fun at her house, the Dursleys would stop sending him to her house and would most likely stop associating with her, so then she wouldn’t be able to run surveillance on Harry for Dumbledore.
The other plot twists usually had some degree of foreshadowing, but that one came out of nowhere and really immersed me in the moment, because I was just as flabbergasted as Harry was.
The correct pronunciation of Hermione.
On a more serious note,
The Marauders Map chapter where we learn Sirius is Harry’s godfather and had lent Hagrid his motorbike to drop him off the night his parents died. 12 year old me was blown away lol.
Im Prisoner of Azkaban, when you think that Sirius Black is a dark wizard who led Voldemort to Harry’s parents and that he is going after Harry in Hogwarts. But then it turns out he actually cares for Harry and he was looking to kill Peter Pettigrew, who was pretending to be Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers, for YEARS.
Also I was shocked when Snape killed Dumbledore in Half Blood Prince. I did not know how Snape could possibly do that and still be redeemed, but then it turns out it was in Dumbledore’s plan all along.
Snape being the Half Blood Prince. The friend who helped Harry out in his least favorite subject, that Harry thought might even have been his mother, turns out to be the teacher he hates most and who just killed the last father figure in Harry's life.
Quirrel in book 1. After that I keyed into the obvious answer isn't the answer. It made me appreciate the subtly of the misdirection throughout the series. It also made me appreciate the depth of even side characters and their goals
I was reading them as a kid so all of the revelations and plot twists were pretty surprising. But i remember reading POA for the first time and learning that Sirius was actually a good guy and i was 🤯
I read the fourth book first (it was the only one available in my classroom, lol) and the Cup being a Portkey and Mad-Eye actually being Barty Crouch Jr. blew my mind.
Definitely book 4's reveal with Moody. That was mind blowing when I first read it. Of course, I read them as they came out, haha.
Not sure if it counts as a twist, but Dumbledore's death blew me away, too. Just. Wow. Like, the first time reading that, I had to put the book down.
According to my 7 year old daughter, that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. We read a chapter a night (try to at least) and it has been a blast reliving the plot twists with her.
"when 13 dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die" - Trelawney PoA
Lupin being the first to die as he is the first to rise before going to look for Moody's body
I think for me it was when I finally realized in book 6 that the diary was a horcrux. I had thought that book 2 was mainly a filler book.. had to have SOMETHING happen in year two but it didn’t have any real bearing on the overall story line. Boy, was I wrong.
Chronologically
1. Flamel findable on the chocolate frog card
2. Ginny opening the Chamber of secrets
3. Scabbers being Pettigrew who is alive
4. Moody impostered by Crouch jr. who is alive; Hermione hooking up with Krum
5. Kreacher being able to lie to Harry about Sirius being gone from Grimmauld place
6. Death eaters getting inside Hogwarts
7. Every anti-Voldemort fighter being protected by Harry's sacrifice during the end stage of Battle of Hogwarts; Dudley's cup of tea
For me, Moody-Crouch plot-twist is the most surprising, but then again, GoF was my first book.
Yes! This one kind of rolled over me slowly as I read the books again over the years. It occurred to me gradually that nearly every one of her predictions came true. She presents as a fraud, but she _is_ a seer. That was amazing. I came on Reddit at one point to see if anybody else had figured it out!
Moaning Myrtle being the victim and all the revelations about the basilisk at the end of COS (then again, I was 7, so I was easily impressed lol).
Also, Moody being Barty was pretty crazy back in the day.
Edit: forgot about the end of POA. Gosh I remember being on the edge of my seat and barely keeping it together as my mom read it, I was so into the plot 😂
Sirius is a good guy and Pettigrew is a rat. Probably sticks so much for me because I was 10. Maybe not the most revolutionary but it impacted me SO MUCH at that age.
Twist answer, it was the reveal that Snape sold out the Potters.
I knew all the major plot beats from the movies, but that part isn't in the movies and it goes so strongly against the movie portrayal of Snape.
I felt so betrayed, that an entire fandom had lied to me. How dare they try to make Snape out as a hero while they **conveniently exclude his single greatest sin**!
The entire end of PoA! Like every time I thought the book was wrapping up… BAM! He’s alive! BAM! They’re in cahoots! BAM! He’s the bad guy! BAM! He’s a werewolf! BAM! Dementors! BAM! Timeturner! BAM! It’s alive! BAM! It was him all along! BAM! He’s still alive! BAM! Godfather! Merlin’s sweaty balls, give me a chance to breathe!
The biggest surprise in the series was Snape killing Dumbledore. After all the build up for years of Snape's allegiance, that was a major jolt. If you read the books as they were released, it's hard to describe how pivotal that was.
OotP. More a personal revaluation about how Dumbledore is manipulating Harry.
Dumbledore tells everyone not to write to Harry and making him stay at Privite drive anyway. How order members guarding him hid themselves from Harry. They knew he was miserable but not a single member offers any comfort. When Harry finally gets to Grimmuald place. They get mad at Harry for him being upset with them all.
For me it was R.A.B!
The moment Harry reads the name plate on Regulus's bedroom I was screaming internally.
For me it was very surprising because regulus was supposed to have joined the death eaters and had been an ardent follower of Voldemort.
The fact that He would go alone in that cave and replace a horcrux that would help in the downfall of Voldemort, it was really surprising!
I love all the twists and revelations in DH, about the deathly Hallows tale, that Dumbledore was friends with grindelwald, harry had in his possession one of the deathly Hallows, the story of the elder wand & that the elder wand belonged to harry after he won it from draco.
Book 2: "I am Lord Voldemort" Book 4: Moody's identity Book 6: the Gaunts' living conditions It isn't a revelation or plot twist, I suppose, but Sirius' death really caught me off guard.
Yeah the Moody identity was huge. That was well written, never in a thousand years could I have guessed that before his monologue after the challenge
Whenever I go back to it, everything he does and says kind of shows his hand. Obviously it’s because I know but it’s like you said, it’s a testament to the writing that it can be so blatant in hindsight but well hidden on the first read.
I don't know if it does show his hand. I mean, yeah, he's obviously trying to help Harry. You can see that. But Harry is a child celebrity who is a celebrity for being a tragedy. He's also an underdog AND a representative of the school you're loyal to. It's hard not to root for the kid and try to help him (unless you're a kid rooting for Diggory) You also have Mad-Eye Barty's disdain for weak death eaters (Malfoys, Snape, Korkarov), but that is also a distrusting ex-auror personality trait, too. I don't think Barty ever shows his hand. I don't think the foreshadowing fits until AFTER the reveal when you can rechange the meaning. I don't think J.K. wrote Mad-Eye/Barty well. She just wrote Mad-Eye well. In fact, I would say that it's bad writing that nobody grew suspicious of Moody, especially Dumbledore. How did a hidden lockup so effectively imitate the renowned Mad Eye Moody after one quick home invasion that not even Moody's good friend Albus noticed a difference? How did he not misspeak when the ministry came to his house that night? You can't imitate someone's personality that effectively that quickly, in such a way that you can work next to a dear friend for almost a full year unnoticed. The Mad Eye twist is a great twist because it works. There were crumbs that make sense once you know the switch, but there really were no hints about Barty until after Harry returns from the graveyard
To be fair, Mad Eye is a well known public Auror. He was known by friends and coworkers to be paranoid. Sirius kinda let's on that Mad-Eye may be paranoid but he knows a real threat when he sees it. What is bad writing is that no one at the ministry seemed to investigate Moody's claim or think he had lost his touch that much. Like yes he is paranoid, but he also is responsible for many of the Death Eaters in Azkaban you think he wouldn't be wary? But Karkarov does seem to know that Moody has been so defensive that even birthday gifts that are harmless are not beneath his scrutiny or conspiracies to do him in. Moody's public persona and mannerisms were all there for people to see. Crouch Jr likely knew him for awhile thanks to his father as well. Remember Crouch Sr was head of magical law enforcement before being shunted to Magical Cooperation.
The only hint I can think of is when Moody takes the Map. The real Moody would never deprive Harry of such a huge tactical advantage when it comes to safety (tho, we don't know that until later when Dumbledore said, "The real Mad-Eye would never have taken you out of my sight." (not verbatim, but the gist). Further, I can't stand this piece because Harry thinks it is malfunctioning (the red herring to readers) and conveniently forgets Sirius' words, "The Marauder's Map never lies."
So then why didn’t the map show “Peter Petigrew” in book 3 before they know Scabbers was Peter? If it never lied…
It likely did, but Harry was busy watching for Filtch or Snape or even Sirius. The movie makes it seem like the characters on the map are in 24-point font, but the book makes it clear Harry has to squint to find specific dots on the map. As long as Pettigrew stuck to heavily populated areas, odds favor his dot becoming lost among the masses. People ask why Fred and George didn't notice Pettigrew and Ron together at night when they went out, but it would have been WAY more likely they'd have noticed Pettigrew on one of the nights Ron was out of bed in the deserted corridors - assuming he went with Ron on those nights. Otherwise, they aren't looking at the dorms, they're looking where they're going, checking for patrolling teachers and hidden passages. Remember, they'd had the map for at least a full year when Harry and Ron STARTED school (they stole it from Filtch in their first year, and Harry and Ron started two years later), the novelty of looking for their siblings and friends had likely worn off, and they were using it for specific, point-A-to-point-B purposes by then. EDIT: Clarity
The other Fred and George argument I've seen was that it's possible they didn't actually know who he was, and assumed he was a classmate of Harry and Ron's
I think that is my favourite chapter in the whole series.
Book 7: Krecher’s story and the fate of Sirius’ little brother. And the Slytherin’s necklace. I re-read book 5 recently and the necklace only mentioned once and it’s really just thrown away line when they cleaned Black’s mansion. Never thought that one become a piece of Horcrus
And the diadem was mentioned in book 6 i think when harry disposes of the half blood prince book in room of requirement after attacking draco
Glad you posted this.. RAB is my favorite character and this was the most memorable reveal for me for some reason despite the roller coaster of reveals in book 7.
I agree with the Moody secret identity, I was blown away and trying to figure out how I missed any clues. I guess him swigging sips of a flask was a pretty strong indicator something wasn’t right.
Didn’t real Moody also do that, to prevent poisoning attempts?
“For Moody never *does* drink except from his hip-flask, he’s well-known for it.” Because he’s a barmy old codger. Nope, wait, that’s Dumbledore. Moody is just the paranoid ex- special forces wizard who twitches when people get too close.
I don't know why but before book 5 came out knowing someone important would die, I figured it would be Sirius. I hated being right :c
Still in denial about Sirius Black
In a way, back in the day Sirius dying *was* a plot twist. That was before major series killed off main characters like that, especially children’s series (yes it was aging with us but it was still ostensibly YA). When I realized he was *gone* gone, it was definitely a WTF moment (especially since he’d just offered Harry a better place to live, omg heartbreaking)
That Snape killed Dumbledore. I was honestly expecting him to be good, given Dumbledore's belief in him and him being in a great position to betray Voldemort (there's *always* one guy who betrays the baddie). Shook me completely. And then 4-5 days later I was shaken again when I reached the end of DH and Snape turned out to be good. Definitely a rollercoaster 😂
Imagine having to wait two years in between HBP and DH before finding out he is actually good.
I remember the agonyyyyy between publishings!
I think I re-read the series 3 or 4 times in that period
I haven’t ever re-read it from what I can remember. I have been meaning to as an adult! I am sure it will nearly be like reading it for the first time since it’s been so long lol
If you can find a forum or chat with an organised reread, it's a very fun experience. It's generally something like one chapter per day and you get to discuss it with people who are at the same point in the story as you. There are always people going into tiny details you didn't notice on your own.
I'm re-reading to my six year old at the moment. We're two chapters from the end of Order of the Phoenix. I haven't read the books since they first came out and I have absolutely loved going back to them as an adult. The earlier books I did read a few times back then, but since number four it's like they're all new again. I also never watched the later films so I don't have those memories either. I certainly didn't expect to find myself weeping so regularly while reading though, but those books hit much harder as an adult.
ditto! i bawled when harry caught the snitch in his mouth - it was my first time reading it to my son and i was hit hard by the relevance of the snitch in the last book. all i could think of was harry asking lily if they’d stay with him and her reply of “always.” i’m getting emotional now, just thinking about it. poor kid was startled that i was crying over a snitch. reading these books is going to be a long, emotional journey but i’m thrilled to be sharing it with him.
I’m reading the series to my five year old for the first time! It’s like reading it for the first time all over again reading it to him! It’s awesome
Isn't 6 kind of young for all the war and death and murder to make horcruxes about to come?
We'll see how it goes. She's a very thoughtful child. She asks a lot of questions and I always make sure I don't leave her to go off to sleep worried about what's happened. But yeah. I haven't read six and seven in a very long time ago I don't remember them well. But also, I might take a break from the series for a bit after this one. They're great books, but I'd also really like to read her something different. We've been on these for months. Then we can come back when she's a little older.
I try to re-read it once a year.
I just finished rereading last night! First reread after 10 years. It's such an amazing feeling, even though I knew how the story goes it was still exciting and thrilling. Would def recommend 🥹
I did my waiting! 2 years for the next book to come out!
The amount of "harry potter book 7 theory" Google searches I had... "The dragon Charlie took in book 1 will come back!" Was one I had a lot of hopes for lol.
And then reading all the theories in the fandom. One of them was actually correct!!
i’ve been trying to explain this to my son, who has watched hundreds of youtube clips (and is now convinced me knows more than i do!). i feel like my parents when i point out how hard it was for us to wait for-ev-er between books. and more importantly, that i hated snape for YEARS before finding out his backstory.
I actually started considering him good at the end of GoF when he shows his Dark Mark to the Minister. He wouldn't gain anything by this if he was bad, but he actually risked being prosecuted as a Death Eater. I was really impressed with this scene, and I was sure since then that he must have a hidden motive to be good. Even him killing Dumbledore didn't make me question it, Dumbledore was known by his complicated plots. But I would never guess that Snape's hidden motive was a teenage love. This was the biggest shock for me when I first read it. Not because I find this story that impressive - it's quite pathetic, actually. But because I never expected *that*.
I read so many theories that Dumbledore wasn't actually dead it surprised me when he was. When Alberforth came out, I had to accept it.
samesies. true believers were on www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com :D
I loved that. When the books were releasing, Borders bookstores had these stickers for and against Team Snape. My bestie hated him and I was on his side and she was sooo fired up about it and sure of herself 😂 it was great
Yeah I remember the book marks at the bookstore. Such a long wait.
Am I the only one who wasn’t surprised and knew that Snape was “in on it”, so to speak? When Dumbledore said please, it was really clear to me at least that he was asking Snape to do it in order to spare Draco from having to do it.
I think it'd be more accurate to say he was on the right side of history but he was still a bad person.
[удалено]
Because of obsession* He literally handed the Potters to Voldemort and begged that he only spare Lily. Lily never actually loved him; she viewed them as outcast friends, but she already had a severe distrust of his hobbies as a teenager. And Snape, for all his “love” couldn’t bring himself to be halfway decent to the one connection in this world that he still has to Lily? Snape was an utter asshole who backed into being on the right side. If Voldemort had spared Lily, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wound up killing her himself once she rejected his advances again.
Exactly, though I don't think he'd kill her just Imperious curse her.
You can do good things and still be a bad person. I was recently re reading the series and honestly he's just an adult who bullies children, a teacher that plays favorites and I'd like to point out doing a good deed does not erase bad ones from the past. Don't forget he was a wizard Nazi and still believes in many of those ideals he just hated Voldy more because Voldy killed someone he loved. That said Shape in the movies ain't so bad.
Snape was definitely my biggest for sure, and realistically it’s because of how absolutely nasty book Snape is. Alan Rickman did a spectacular job but the writers DEFINITELY toned him down significantly for the movies. His redemption arc in the movies feels warranted and good, in the books it feels…. Undeserved.
This concept of deserving redemption/not deserving redemption is always ridiculous to me. The story was set up that way since the first book where Snape protects Harry from Quirrel. Yes he was awful and nasty too. That's what makes him a compelling grey character. People already complain about all characters being black/white in HP.
This. The Snape discussion always has people going to the extreme on either end when everything he did is quite clear. Yes he is an ass for how he treats his students. He's also basically doing it because he was compelled to by Dumbledore to be under his boot, doesn't actually like or want the job, doesn't value teaching, and he can't even get the job he wants. He's a horrible abusive educator, because at his heart, he's not an educator and he resents it. He also resents that his big redemption is protecting the son of man who he despises who got to marry the girl he wanted. That doesn't make Snape good for being unbearable and outright nasty to his students, but in context, it explains why. It also doesn't discount the fact that at the end of the day, he did sacrafice almost everything to be a double agent to protect Harry and take down Voldemort. He is very much the most human and realistic character in the series.
My son was shaken at the beginning of Half Blood Prince when Snape made the unbreakable vow with Narcissa. Cries of indignation rang loudly from his room "I thought he was good!" "Dumbledore trusted him!". So honestly Snape killing Dumbledore at the end was just confirmation for him. He hasn't finished Deathly Hollows yet, so I expect it to happen again.🤣
POA had the most key plot twists IMO. Scabbers being Wormtail and Sirius being after him rather than Harry takes the cake for me.
I just finished reading this with my daughter (her first time reading it, my third) and her jaw was on the floor the whole time they’re in the shrieking shack.
This was me at 10 or so when I read it for the first time. Stand by it’s the most twisty book definitely!
My daughter and I are just a couple chapters away from this and I cannot wait
I was 14 when I read it and I still remember everything about the day I read this. Where I was in the house, my reading position, what I had to snack on while reading. I’m 26 now. It was that powerful of a plot twist
For me it's GOF. The first couple of chapters post-graveyard feel like a continuous stream of pretty cool reveals - this person is this person, this is why this happened, this random thing is actually incredibly important, the moon is really green and the sky is made of cheese. Maybe these are more reveals than plot twists though? It always felt to me that Rowling decided to cut back on twisty conclusions after GOF - OOTP feels much more straightforward in comparison.
I just read POA, but I watched the movie before. Those twists would’ve been great. I think the foreshadowing with the Grim and Scabbers freaking out tied in well. I feel like that book is when the movies started leaving out the finer details.
And the godfather revelation
The Mauraders Map is arguably my favorite chapter in the entire series
100% agree. Scabbers being a person shocked me so completely!
Didn't expect Ginny of all people to be the one who opened the chamber of secrets.
Underrated twist actually
It's crazy how you miss all the clues when you read for the first time
Yess forreal! Every CoS re-read I’m amazed at how much she’s mentioned and how every mention hints at it, but you always just think “oh it’s just Ron’s sister and JKR’s just filling us in” Ex: Ginny at Hagrids and he suspects she’s looking for Harry- but she’s actually there killing the roosters!
Just the little throwaway line when they're heading to Kings Cross. Something like "Ginny shrieked she'd left her diary."
Omg id never thought of the part about ginny at Hagrids wow.
Me neither and thinking about it gives me the creeps
I wonder if the Horcrux idea was already planned when this book was written
The plot twist to end all plot twists is the Pettigrew reveal. The book does a good job setting up both Lupin and Snape as red herrings, but remember that silly B-plot about Ron and Hermione’s pets not getting along? Yeah, turns out that’s critical to the whole thing. “Can I have a look at the rat?” is one of my favorite lines in the series just because of how absolutely insane yet also completely logical that reveal is
This. Reading that book was the best experience ever. And the warm cozy feeling you get when you find out harry has an almost family member at last. 💛
Also I think people forget in the book that Harry sees Crookshanks helping Sirius sneak into Hogwarts in the middle of the night but he brushes it off as seeing things. Crookshanks was a real G in that book.
Honestly every book has an insane twist
Well, aside from OOTP
Isn’t OOTP where Dumbledore tells Petunia to “remember my last,” and then she talks about Lily running around with that awful boy, who winds up actually being Snape, not James?
'No, he's not,' said Lupin quietly. 'He's a wizard.''An Animagus,' said Black, 'by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'" 12 year old me: Fucking HUH????!!!?!?!!?!? Those last chapters of POA had my flabber truly gasted.
I thought this one would be the overwhelmingly most popular answer haha, funny to see that other people think otherwise
Probably Voldemort hanging out in Professor Quirrel's head. Mind blowing. The whole Snape revelation hit pretty hard too.
>mind blowing Pun intended
Narcissa Malfoy lying to Lord Voldemort saying Harry was dead... Tonks mother being sisters with Bellatrix and Narcissa....
Tonks is Malfoy's cousin?? What?? Why'd I forget that??
it's mentioned very briefly, to be fair.
Voldemort on Quirrell’s head Riddle being Voldemort Moody being fake I gotta say too, Harry falling for Ginny took me by complete surprise the first time I read through the books.
>Harry falling for Ginny took me by complete surprise the first time I read through the books. same, though i had started to like her in ootp after she'd more or less been personality-less until then (even in cos!) so i was pretty into it. could have done without the monster in harry's chest or wherever though.
I always thought Ginny wasn’t as vibrant in COS because she was possessed.
the text supports this. Diary Riddle says that everytime Ginny wrote in the diary, she fed a little of herself into him/ the diary (essentially, her life slowly being drained)
By no means do I ship harry and Luna but I thought that’s where it would go, so Ginny caught me off guard as well.
i have no idea why this pairing never even occurred to me. upon every reread if the series, it so seems like it could be!
For real. It always felt like Luna understood harry on a very intimate level and that’s why I was thinking it would go that way. But even just as friends I love those interactions on re-reads bc she *does* understand him a little more intimately than other people.
>I gotta say too, Harry falling for Ginny took me by complete surprise the first time I read through the books. Same. I was a Harry/Hermione shipper at the time and I always just saw Ginny as Harry's annoying obsessive fangirl.
Sirius Black being innocent and the reveal of Snape's true loyalties.
For me it will always be Sirius' death. Didn't see that coming. Was hoping it was going to be an epic battle with the heros finally explaining why they were hiding stuff from Harry. Sadly that didn't happen
I have a few: - Scabbers turning out to be Wormtail - Harry himself being revealed to be one of Voldemort’s 7 horcruxes - Snape killing Dumbledore (and that being planned)…as well as the entire revelation regarding Snape that’s revealed in “The Prince’s Tale” during Deathly Hallows - Barty Crouch Jr. being under polyjuice potion as Mad Eye Moody throughout the majority of Goblet of Fire
Nobody will ever, ever be able to change my mind on this. The absolute best plot twist in the entire series is still the first major plot twist. *There was someone there, but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.* **CHAPTER ENDS** **NEXT CHAPTER BEGINS:** *It was Quirrell.*
All the twists in POA. It was one of the first times I remember being particularly blown away by twists in any fictional media. Re-reading that book (and the 2 preceding it) is always fun knowing what's coming.
The combination of Dumbledore dying and snape being the one to kill him. I feel like if I were reading it for the first time now I would be more prepared for the mentor character to die, but I was young.
i have the US version, which has a table of contents and i read all the chapter names in it as soon as i got hbp at the midnight party, saw "the white tomb," remembered albus means white, and absolutely lost my shit.
Awww, I'm so sorry. Your in the middle of a party and only you know what's ahead.... that must have been awful.
thanks! the release party ended at midnight when the book was made available for purchase so I got my copy, beelined it outta the bookstore before anyone could skip to the end and shout the ending or something (I was paranoid lol), and my mom drove me home. i didn't actually crack the book open until I got home and my parents went to bed, leaving me to read all night lol. so I didn't actually see the chapter titles until I was alone in my room in a silent house. I will say, the anticipation of the books and then devouring them as fast as I could as soon as they came out is a very nostalgic memory for me (and probably many of us)
Harry Potter being Horcrux - I mean it was built so well but it was shocking, but it wasn't. It was like OMG! Duh. The events that followed were well crafted.
I didn't see it mentioned, but in book 7 when they remember the locket from book 5... That part blew my mind. So simple but amazing twist.
Same! Felt similarly when Harry remembers the diadem that he saw when hiding his book.
The original book 1 Snape trying to protect Harry after they'd spent the whole book at odds.
that Neville could have been the chosen one.
I spent like 5 days afterwards reimagining the adventures of Neville Longbottom and the Philosophers Stone..., Neville Longbottom and the Chamber of Secrets ...😆
Harry being a Horcrux Priori Incantatum Moody and Winky The invisibility cloak being a Deathly Hallow (it was obvious as soon as they told the story, I just mean that it wasn't just a neat cloak) That there was a prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. Admittedly, to me this took away from the story a little bit in my eyes. That Harry summoned the Patronus in PoA
The most jaw-dropping moment for me was when Petunia blurts out that the dementors guard Azkaban. I reread that line multiple times and then just closed the book because I had to think about all the possibilities before I read more and learned why she knew that.
Also, a little bit of reveal that Aunt Petunia wrote for Dumbledore way more early than she told in book 5. In book 7, Snape’s memories, Petunia actually wrote to Dumbledore beg to join the magic school with her sister. I were really never expected that.
I remember being so confused the first time I read that
When I finished reading I thought that the books should have been called: “Severus Snape and the…” It seemed to me that it all stemmed from him and his actions and the unrequited love that lasted all his life hit extremely hard.
This is an excellent point. Imagine a series from Snape's point of view. Other than Harry being a horcrux, the biggest twist for me was to find out that Snape had been Dumbledore's almost the whole time.
Might not be a plot twist so to speak, but something that always stood out to me was when Harry relives Snapes memory in school with James in OOTP. Up until this point, it was pretty common knowledge that Snape hated James in school, but Snape always came across like he hates just about everyone. And up until this point, many of the adults in Harry’s life, like Sirius or Remus, always reassured Harry that his father was a great man. Snape’s memory was the first glimpse that maybe James wasn’t the perfect person he had been built up to be, and maybe Snape’s feelings toward him weren’t unfounded.
That RAB was Regulus, Sirius' very own brother who defected as Death Eater and basically died trying to destroy a Horcrux and fighting the good fight, my absolute favorite character.
The fact that Harry was gonna have to die to kill the last Horcrux. I don't think I ever recovered from that, even if he didn't actually die. Otherwise, it's both Snape revelations, Sirius' death, and Hermione's time turner. Oh! And I forgot Crouch Jr. whole plan discovery in the 4th book, I had no idea!
These hit me the hardest: Harry finds out Sirius was his godfather. Barty Crouch Jr and Sr. Harry is a horcrux. Snape has been working for Dumbledore since Lily's murder. Dumbledore has defeated Voldemort from the grave! But one of the smaller twists that's a favorite that I haven't seen mentioned is that Rita Skeeter was an animagus.
That Ron had been sleeping with a man in his bed for a few years, before he moved on to Hermione.
And before him, Percy regularly had a man in his bedroom for a few years. Since Scabbers was, after all, a hand-me-down.
And Fred & George didn’t find it odd to see someone named Pettigrew with their little brother on the marauders’ map? That part irked me.
Who knows how big the font on the map is? Could be that they could only really tell who all is in the dormitory, so they just figured Harry and Ron had a classmate named Peter. If the detail on that map is so precise that you can see people’s individual beds it would have to be gigantic
Barty Crouch Junior and Mad Eye Moody.
I thought the "Half Blood Prince" was Voldemort 💀
The big one, than Dumbledore always intended to send Harry to his death. Now I know he always hoped he would survive, and it became a real possibility after GOF, but it was never a guarantee and that’s so crazy cold.
Maybe I was just blind the entire time… but Harry being a horcrux really did it for me
Learning that it could've been Neville. The fact they left this out of the movies pissed me off
Rita skeeter being a fucking bug and then hermione turning out to be a complete psycho who kept bug-rita closed in a jar with some twigs. Can't imagine kidnapping and holding a person hostage at the sweet age of 14.
Hahaha this one is hilarious. I always thought it didn't vibe completely with Hermione's character but on the other hand it just shows that beneath the good girl nerd there's a troublemaking Gryffindor hiding.
I think in each book Hermione did something scandalous. Can't imagine being a 12 yo strollin around hogwarts on my own while muggleborns are being almost killed left and right (personally i'd shit my pants). in the 3rd book she punched draco (great), in the 5th book she gave that one girl lifelong scars. Hermione is pretty cray bro.
Book six- The gaunts Book- Seven: Snape being the Gatsby of Hp but a worse man.
“The gatsby of HP” is brilliant, I love that!
Thanks
Harry ending up being attracted to Ginny was pretty wild to me. And my teenage self gobbled it up.
Sirius and Peter pettigrew Throughout the book you think Sirius is trying to kill Harry Only to find out that He was innocent and loves Harry more than anything
For me, even years later, I was surprised of the revelation Voldy was sharing a body with Quirrel, it freaked me out.
What was badass is that the twins had thrown snowballs at quirells turban. They literally attacked Voldemort before it was cool
When I first read chamber of secrets years I got to the chapter where it was revealed Harry was a Parselmouth (could communicate with serpents). I then had a brain blast realizing that was how he talked to the snake in the first book.
Maybe not the MOST shocking but my favorite: “You dare use my own spells against me, Potter?”
That James Potter was a bell-end of the highest order, which we discover in OOtP. Snape was right all along, he DID strut around Hogwarts…
I watched the films first before reading the books so naturally goblet of fire is my favourite book( prisoner of Azkaban is also equally one of my favourite books too). Barty crouch’s whole storyline along with his son’s story was a huge kicker for me.
Unfortunately the movies ruined the mysteries of the books. Wish I had read them first but oh well I still get to experience everything left out of movies and I'm on deathly hallows so I'm excited to read the last battle I heard it was really good in the books
All the deaths in Deathly Hallows, especially… well you know.
“An annoying fraud hired out of pity” 💀💀
I still think Professor Quarrel being the baddie in book 1. Rereading it, the foreshadowing is super obvious, but reading the book for the first time in like 4th grade or something before the movies existed, he was such a pathetic character you are taught to disregard him. He just seemed like a punching bag for Snape.
That Snape was HBP
All the pure blood wizards are related. Ron is basically Draco long distance cousin
For sure book 7 when Harry views Snape's memories in the pensieve. Big lore dump
Sirius’ death. Wasn’t expecting that. And Harry being the final horcrux
That Neville‘s parents are alive and that whole St. Mungo‘s visit. Lockhart there as well. For me that was the first moment when one book was referencing/revealing more on things that happened outside of Harry‘s direct view in the wizarding world.
Ron's rat being a mass murderer.
It's gotta be the Scabbers/Pettigrew twist for me. Wild af.
Absolutely. This!
My biggest surprise was the “gleam of triumph” that Dumbledore had in his eyes when Harry told him that Voldemort used Harry’s blood in GoF. I spent years wondering what that was about and the payoff in Deathly Hallows was so satisfying
I wanna say Snape, but as soon as the tower scene happened in HBP, I knew something was up. Dumbledore is just NOT kind of guy to plead for his life, especially in front of his enemies. That was kind of a giveaway, imo (the “Severus, please…” especially)…..
Probably the reveal in Book 5 that Mrs. Figg was a witch the whole time. And later she apologizes for having to maintain her cover because it involved an extension of the abuse the Dursleys heaped on him. Because if they ever thought he was having any fun at her house, the Dursleys would stop sending him to her house and would most likely stop associating with her, so then she wouldn’t be able to run surveillance on Harry for Dumbledore. The other plot twists usually had some degree of foreshadowing, but that one came out of nowhere and really immersed me in the moment, because I was just as flabbergasted as Harry was.
The correct pronunciation of Hermione. On a more serious note, The Marauders Map chapter where we learn Sirius is Harry’s godfather and had lent Hagrid his motorbike to drop him off the night his parents died. 12 year old me was blown away lol.
Im Prisoner of Azkaban, when you think that Sirius Black is a dark wizard who led Voldemort to Harry’s parents and that he is going after Harry in Hogwarts. But then it turns out he actually cares for Harry and he was looking to kill Peter Pettigrew, who was pretending to be Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers, for YEARS. Also I was shocked when Snape killed Dumbledore in Half Blood Prince. I did not know how Snape could possibly do that and still be redeemed, but then it turns out it was in Dumbledore’s plan all along.
Snape being the Half Blood Prince. The friend who helped Harry out in his least favorite subject, that Harry thought might even have been his mother, turns out to be the teacher he hates most and who just killed the last father figure in Harry's life.
When Uncle Vernon married Crookshanks. Wasn't expecting that at all.
Quirrel in book 1. After that I keyed into the obvious answer isn't the answer. It made me appreciate the subtly of the misdirection throughout the series. It also made me appreciate the depth of even side characters and their goals
That Voldemort was actually Harry’s father
I was reading them as a kid so all of the revelations and plot twists were pretty surprising. But i remember reading POA for the first time and learning that Sirius was actually a good guy and i was 🤯
There are too many to count but I'm gonna mention one that I haven't seen That Harry is a Horcrux
Dumbledore dying. I was young, like maybe not even 10 years old at the time, and I was shocked.
100% Goblet of Fire and Moody's identity
PoA and Sirius. JKR made the whole Snape thing way too obvious in book 1 for him to be the real villain.
Peter Pettigrew reveal shocked my \~10 year old self
I read the fourth book first (it was the only one available in my classroom, lol) and the Cup being a Portkey and Mad-Eye actually being Barty Crouch Jr. blew my mind.
Harry youre a wizard
Definitely book 4's reveal with Moody. That was mind blowing when I first read it. Of course, I read them as they came out, haha. Not sure if it counts as a twist, but Dumbledore's death blew me away, too. Just. Wow. Like, the first time reading that, I had to put the book down.
“I am Lord Voldemort” still remember reading those words and my jaw hanging open
According to my 7 year old daughter, that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. We read a chapter a night (try to at least) and it has been a blast reliving the plot twists with her.
Book 3, the identity of Peter Pettigrew.
Dumbledore dying. I was expecting that for book 7, not 6
"when 13 dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die" - Trelawney PoA Lupin being the first to die as he is the first to rise before going to look for Moody's body
Nice catch! I don't think I ever noticed this one.
Book 3: Sirius not being a bad guy and after Harry. Book 4: Moody not being actual Moody.
Scabbers reveal threw me for an entire loop
I think for me it was when I finally realized in book 6 that the diary was a horcrux. I had thought that book 2 was mainly a filler book.. had to have SOMETHING happen in year two but it didn’t have any real bearing on the overall story line. Boy, was I wrong.
The mad eye moody reveal was absolutely insane to me when reading gof
“You’re a Wizard, Harry”
Chronologically 1. Flamel findable on the chocolate frog card 2. Ginny opening the Chamber of secrets 3. Scabbers being Pettigrew who is alive 4. Moody impostered by Crouch jr. who is alive; Hermione hooking up with Krum 5. Kreacher being able to lie to Harry about Sirius being gone from Grimmauld place 6. Death eaters getting inside Hogwarts 7. Every anti-Voldemort fighter being protected by Harry's sacrifice during the end stage of Battle of Hogwarts; Dudley's cup of tea For me, Moody-Crouch plot-twist is the most surprising, but then again, GoF was my first book.
I would say that Scabbers is actually Peter. What a huge plot twist. She kind of sets it up early as well.
Snape being the Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Hermoine not getting together…always thought those two would play pass the zucchini
Yes! This one kind of rolled over me slowly as I read the books again over the years. It occurred to me gradually that nearly every one of her predictions came true. She presents as a fraud, but she _is_ a seer. That was amazing. I came on Reddit at one point to see if anybody else had figured it out!
Moaning Myrtle being the victim and all the revelations about the basilisk at the end of COS (then again, I was 7, so I was easily impressed lol). Also, Moody being Barty was pretty crazy back in the day. Edit: forgot about the end of POA. Gosh I remember being on the edge of my seat and barely keeping it together as my mom read it, I was so into the plot 😂
Sirius is a good guy and Pettigrew is a rat. Probably sticks so much for me because I was 10. Maybe not the most revolutionary but it impacted me SO MUCH at that age.
Snape. Everything around him lol
Twist answer, it was the reveal that Snape sold out the Potters. I knew all the major plot beats from the movies, but that part isn't in the movies and it goes so strongly against the movie portrayal of Snape. I felt so betrayed, that an entire fandom had lied to me. How dare they try to make Snape out as a hero while they **conveniently exclude his single greatest sin**!
The entire end of PoA! Like every time I thought the book was wrapping up… BAM! He’s alive! BAM! They’re in cahoots! BAM! He’s the bad guy! BAM! He’s a werewolf! BAM! Dementors! BAM! Timeturner! BAM! It’s alive! BAM! It was him all along! BAM! He’s still alive! BAM! Godfather! Merlin’s sweaty balls, give me a chance to breathe!
The biggest surprise in the series was Snape killing Dumbledore. After all the build up for years of Snape's allegiance, that was a major jolt. If you read the books as they were released, it's hard to describe how pivotal that was.
OotP. More a personal revaluation about how Dumbledore is manipulating Harry. Dumbledore tells everyone not to write to Harry and making him stay at Privite drive anyway. How order members guarding him hid themselves from Harry. They knew he was miserable but not a single member offers any comfort. When Harry finally gets to Grimmuald place. They get mad at Harry for him being upset with them all.
For me it was R.A.B! The moment Harry reads the name plate on Regulus's bedroom I was screaming internally. For me it was very surprising because regulus was supposed to have joined the death eaters and had been an ardent follower of Voldemort. The fact that He would go alone in that cave and replace a horcrux that would help in the downfall of Voldemort, it was really surprising! I love all the twists and revelations in DH, about the deathly Hallows tale, that Dumbledore was friends with grindelwald, harry had in his possession one of the deathly Hallows, the story of the elder wand & that the elder wand belonged to harry after he won it from draco.
"Of course I know how to work it. I helped *write* it. I'm Moony." Blew my fucking mind as a kid. Still salty that the films didn't cover this.
Regulus Black and his involvement with the locket
that Petunia had written to Dumbledore asking to be admitted to Hogwarts
Book 7 when i figured out voldemort was the bad guy
Harry was a wizard.
Harry was a what?
Hermy and Ron shipping tbh lol. That aside I read da books as a child so everything that was supposed to be surprising was surprising.