Harry Potter Turns 44: Unveiling 8 Hidden Truths About His Life

Harry James Potter was born on 31 July 1980, at Godric’s Hollow in the West Country, England, only hours after his future classmate Neville Longbottom. Around this time, a prophecy regarding a boy born at the end of July with the power to defeat Voldemort was stated to wizards.

Happy Birthday Harry Potter!!

Here are some interesting facts about Harry’s character that you bet you did not know!

1. Harry lost his ability to speak to snakes!
In The Chamber of Secrets, we learned that Harry could speak to snakes, or ‘Parseltongue’, which he wasn’t too pleased about as it made him even more similar to his nemesis Voldemort.  What not everyone knows though, is that Harry lost this power after Voldemort was destroyed. J.K. Rowling confirmed this in an interview in 2007, talking about Harry still speaking Parseltongue, “he loses the ability, and is very glad to do so.” 

2. Harry and Hermione almost got together!
There has been a lot of debate with Harry Potter fans about whether Ron and Hermione should have gotten together. J.K. Rowling also wasn’t sure if that was the right call!  In an interview, she said she wished she had got Harry together with Hermione instead. She stuck to her original plan, but she always had doubts.

3. Harry was technically a high school dropout.
In an interview in 2007, J.K. Rowling explained that Harry and Ron didn’t graduate from Hogwarts. Naturally, Hermione did – after the Battle of Hogwarts, she went back to school and aced her NEWT exams before heading off to the Ministry of Magic to work with Harry and Ron.

4. Hedwig was a symbol of Harry’s childhood.
When Hedwig, the adorable and clever pet owl that gave Harry so much comfort, is killed by accident in The Deathly Hallows, it felt pretty harsh. Why did Hedwig have to die? According to J.K. Rowling, Hedwig’s sudden death is symbolic of the end of Harry’s childhood – “The loss of Hedwig represented a loss of innocence and security. She has been almost like a cuddly toy to Harry at times. Voldemort killing her marked the end of childhood.”

5. Harry gets his own chocolate frog card!
Most famous witches and wizards end up with a chocolate frog card, and who is more famous than Harry Potter?  Not only does Harry get one in the end, but Ron and Hermione do too.

6. Harry and J.K. Rowling share the same birthday!
J.K. Rowling’s birthday is July 31st, 1965, and Harry Potter’s birthday is July 31st, 1980.

7. He’s named after one of Rowling’s old neighbours
Back in 2000, Rowling talked about the origins of Harry’s name in an interview for Scholastic. “‘Harry’ has always been my favourite boy’s name,” said Rowling, “so if my daughter had been a son, he would have been Harry Rowling. Then I would have had to choose a different name for ‘Harry’ in the books, because it would have been too cruel to name him after my own son. ‘Potter’ was the surname of a family who used to live near me when I was seven years old and I always liked the name, so I borrowed it.”

8. He almost had his own musical written by Michael Jackson
It’s true! J.K. Rowling said herself that Michael Jackson tried to convince her to turn her Harry Potter novels series into a full stage musical. Rowling ended up turning Jackson down.