There are always some continuity failures in the HP books, that we all love and think are quite funny. Also they show that JKR is only human. These are some i've found, but feel free to post your own.

Please put the page #.

Page 176:

I heard somewhere (on the official site, I believe) that Filius is Professor Flitwick's first name.

Yes, as with many huge projects, there are bound to be continuity errors. Respectfully, I don't believe it is polite to J.K. to point them out, though I think she is probably used to it. There have been some rather serious ones in the series she has had to correct, for example, the order James and Lily came from Harry's wand.

As for the difference between a slap and a punch, maybe we can talk to Dobby about that (his knobbly little fist knocking out Kreacher's teeth).

But how could Kreacher insult Harry if Dobby couldent insult the Malfoys? Is Kreacher really Harrys?

I noticed one early actually re-reading C.O.S, Percy takes 5 points from Ron but in O.O.T.P, Hermione says prefects can't take points from pupils.

But hey indeed, we are only human and the books are amazing, slight errors or not!

When DD is drinking the potion and passes out, Harry uses reenervate to try and wake him up. In the others, the spell is enervate.

i am sorry if anyone stated this.
if unforgivable curses can't be blocked, how come when harry used the crucio curse on snape, snape just blocked it with the flick of his wand. in OotP, harry uses the same curse against Bellatrix, and it hit's her, but it doesn't last long. how could snape have blocked the curse?

How I answer a few of these

Pg 485 when Slug had the wine tested by a house elf, so the mistake would not happen again like it happen to your friend Rupert,
why didnt he say Ron.
~~Slug was horrid with names, unless there was a Celebrity involved. There's actually a thread about this elsewhere.

in OotP, harry uses the same curse against Bellatrix, and it hit's her, but it doesn't last long. how could snape have blocked the curse?
~~There is a certain skill level and malice involved in the proper use of the Unforgivables. And Harry does not yet fully possess these.

When DD is drinking the potion and passes out, Harry uses reenervate to try and wake him up. In the others, the spell is enervate.
~~Guess that's why it didn't work properly, huh.

Even if Harry was not experienced Snape should not have been able to block it.

Has anyone noticed that there are actually first years participating in the Quidditch-tryouts? I thought that it was said in PS that first years were not allowed to play Quidditch at school and that Harry was an exception?

i hate pointing out jk's mistakes. i always feel bad.
in HBP, chapter 3, page 38, it says:
"The misty fug his breath had left..."
shouldnt it be 'fog' ??
or is 'fug' an old english term??

Just to clear something up: the fake Mad-Eye Moody says in Goblet of Fire that the Avada Kedavra curse is unblockable, but the other two are not. Harry blocks the Imperius Curse on two occasions in the fourth book - it's just a matter of willpower.

thank you Mr beaver, For bringing us back on topic.

This is not a descussion on the unforgivable curses, or Kreacher!

Also, please put the book version you're using, (US childrens, British/Canada Cildren's, Us adult, british Adult...)

Kayleemalfoy you're right I just looked back into GOF and it doesnt ever state that crucio is unblockable. Now I don't understand why Bellatrix didn't block it. She sounds like a pretty darned powerful witch to me, she should have been able to block Harry's curse.

Stupefy writes; "I noticed one early actually re-reading C.O.S, Percy takes 5 points from Ron but in O.O.T.P, Hermione says prefects can't take points from pupils."

In one interview, JKR pointed out that prefects can take points from their own house, but not others. This is why Percy can take 5 points from Ron.

Kingsley writes: "Has anyone noticed that there are actually first years participating in the Quidditch-tryouts? I thought that it was said in PS that first years were not allowed to play Quidditch at school and that Harry was an exception?"

I don't have my SS/PS in front of me, but I believe that Ron stated that "First years never make the house team." -- Not that first years can't make the house team. Apparently, they can try out, but the are not likely to make it.

i feel bad for rowling when we all point out her mistakes. we should all give her credit for writing these books. i mean she has to be a genius to be able to come up with all these stories with numerous twists.

^ just a comment!

First year can try-out for quidditch try-outs, never mentioned a rule against it, it's just, as a first year, most are just learning to fly, so i doubt that any of them will know how to play, or be remotely good at quidditch

On page 419, Harry is sitting in bed at Hogwarts and decides to call on Kreacher to tail Draco. He calls Kreacher's name and Kreacher and Dobby apparate into his room and wrestle at the foot of the bed. I didn't think anyone could apparate within Hogwarts, including Dumbledore. That's why he walked to Hogsmeade to apparate to the cave with Harry, right?

I assume I missed something rather than blame it on J.K. I will not argue that she's the smarter of the two of us.

No you didnt miss anything but I think apparating is different for house-elves. Their power is one we really don't understand yet, maybe we'll get more in the 7th book. I think they should be able to apparate because it will help them get around the castle faster.

I dont know where it is,and some-one might have ssaid it but,one time Harry said,in Book 6......

"do you think..do think that well,she (Tonks) might have...loved Sirius?"

but JKR has said that Tonks is realated to Sirius,she said it in book 5!

For Quidditch first years cant have their own broom sticks but are aloud to try out for the teams

I'll admit it isn't sporting to go looking through the books for errors, but it is kind of fun.

1) Here is a silly little mistake (unless this is another one of those British terms.

On page 63 of the US adult version (when Harry & Dumbledore enter Slughorn's residence: "...something darkly red and glutinous was spattered over the wallpaper." I find it hard to believe that the dragon's blood was glutinous -- I'll bet it should have been gelatinous.

2) A second error (I may be wrong on this one). On page 161 of the US edition, Snape takes 70 points from Harry & points out that this is the earliest that any house has been negative. However, at the end of Ootp, Snape tried to take points from Harry for fighting, but he couldn't because they were already at zero.

3) Where is the extra OWL for Hermione? She took 11 OWLS, Ron & Harry took 9. Instead of Divination, Hermione took Arithmancy & Runes -- that's only 10.

glu·ti·nous ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gltn-s)
adj.
Of the nature of or resembling glue; sticky

Hope that clears that one up for you Realbullet! It is language thing!

I simply hate pointing out mistakes...because i know that 99% of the time i'll be the one making the mistake...besides i'd say that JKR is brilliant to even come this far...imagine the amount of minute details cramped in her head...revolving around her magical world!!! She's a human...we sometimes forget...and human's make mistakes!!!

Slughorn had no interest in Ron, and obviously did not care to learn his name. That also happens in COS with different people, when Binns is talking about the chamber. Both Slughorn and binns are terible with names, as Binns calls Harry 'perkins' in Ootp.

I also found a mistake. I am rereading all the books and I noticed when Hagrid first meets Harry he says that Harrys parents were headboy and headgirl at Hogwarts. In OotP though, Lupin says that his father was never even made a prefrect. As far as I know you can't be a Headboy without first have being a prefrect.

dpthcrge writes "In OotP though, Lupin says that his father was never even made a prefrect. As far as I know you can't be a Headboy without first have being a prefrect."

Somewhere in OotP someone points out that you can be head boy without being a Prefect first (& they use James Potter) as the example.

If you're trying to prove a point, please use facts and give the page number.

Example: The only unforgivable curse that can't be blocked is Avada Kadavera , Page 191 Gof, Canadian edition.

I know that it is may seem impolite to point out mistakes, however, I would also think J.K., would feel slightly honored that so many of us have read the books multiple times that we notice things like that.

One I would like to point out is:

In GF (U.S. Paperback, p. 177) during the sorting hat's song, the sorting hat says: " 'Twas Gryffindor who found the way, He whipped me off his head" but in HBP (U.S. Hardcover p. 505) Dumbledore states "I am confident, however, that the only known relic of Gryffindor remains safe." Dumbledore pointed his blackened fingers to the wall behind him, where a ruby-encrusted sword reposed within a case.


MOD EDIT: Refer to post below yours. I have added your second post here...

I would like to add another oversight that I found when rereading 6.

When Slughorn shows them the bottle of Felix Felicis he says it's "enough for twelve hours' luck." (p. 188, US Hardcover) However later when Harry is about to use it to question Slughorn (p. 476, US hardcover) Harry says, "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twenty-four hours worth,"

Hi mates!
Purrsgirl, could you please check the forum rules? Double posts are not allowed. If you want to add or delete anything, just click on the 'edit' button on the top right corner of the post and you can modify it. If you need anything, prefects and mods are here to help, and we'll do everything we can to help you.

O.K. This is my first post, so if I'm doing something wrong, please point it out I noticed that on page 316 (of the hardcover Canadian Edition) Harry looks in the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making, and sees that it was nearly 50 years old. He says that neither is father, nor his father's friends were at Hogwarts 50 years ago. But on page 563, Snape confesses that he is the Half-Blood Prince, and was'nt Snape in the same year as James and friends at Hogwarts?

I'll answer you: many people think that it was Snape's mother book, which Snape got from her later.

Don't have my book with me but.....Harry has to do tryouts for the Quidditch Team. When telling Katie Bell that she does not need to try out for the team but is already on it she tells him that it'd a bad move on a captain's part to rely on old teammates and to pick people based on friendship. Up until the 6th year it has been the original team with no tryouts with the exception of 5th year when they had to replace Wood, but Angelina only had tryouts for that position. She requested the original teammates be there to help pick feel people out.

I also noticed that Hermione took the apparation test, which was only avliable to people who turn 17 on or before April 21. But on page 47 of PoA, (Softcover Canadian Editon) Hermione says her birthday is in September. But I think it that something will happen at the next set of apparation tests, something that J.K.R. wanted only Ron and Harry to attend, and not Hermione, which could be one reason why her birthday was changed.

But if you'll remember, Hermione was almost 12 when she started Hogwarts. So there's no mistake there. She'd have already been 17.

To attend Hogwarts you have to be eleven before the first of September. Therefore, when Hermione, Ron and Harry started at HOgwarts they were all eleven and Hermione turned twelve right after starting there. The year befire she would have been still ten and therefore she couldn't attend Hogwarts yet. JK has explained this in her site.

how can a house-elf apparate to Harry's side in the hospital wing, and once again in the common room when apparation is impossible in Hogwarts?