When someone says the word wizard, some people might think of Merlin, or Gandalf, but many people think of Harry Potter.
J.K. Rowling came up with her first ideas for Harry Potter when her train from Manchester to London was delayed in 1990. While it is a popular rumor that she often wrote parts of her first book on napkins, it is indeed only a rumor.
The first book in her series was titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone which came out on June 26, 1997. Over the next ten years, Rowling would release another six books in the Harry Potter series.
It was also announced a few years after the release of the first book that the books would be adapted to film.
The movie series began in 2001 when Warner Bros. distributed the first movie titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The cast included Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger.
The original series was a massive success for Warner Bros. and spanned a total of eight movies with the new trilogy Fantastic Beasts currently being released.
While Daniel Radcliffe looked the part of Harry Potter, there were some elements that were changed from the books.
Between the book and the movies, there are some things you might not know about the body of the boy who lived.
With that said, here are the 20 Crazy Details About Harry Potter’s Body.
His Scar Is Connected To Voldemort’s Emotions
Everybody knows about Harry Potter’s scar and how he got it.
The lightning bolt scar is one of his most prominent features. The scar was of course given to him when Lord Voldemort took his parents’ lives and made Harry an orphan.
Harry is instantly recognized when wizards see it except for the time it was covered up by his long hair in The Goblet of Fire.
Some people may think that Harry’s scar warns him of danger like Spider-Man’s spidey sense, but that isn’t always the case.
Harry’s scar burns because it is linked to Voldemort’s emotions.
That being said, Voldemort’s strong emotions are often linked to danger, so one could argue that his burning scar is somewhat of a foreshadowing to danger.
His Eyes Were Blue In The Movie For A Reason
It’s said several times in the movies that Harry has his mother’s eyes, but that isn’t completely true.
While in the books Rowling gave both Harry and his mother green eyes, the filmmakers seemed to drop the ball on this detail.
Filmmakers initially had Radcliffe wear green contact lenses for The Sorcerer’s Stone, since he had blue eyes, but he had an extreme reaction to the lenses and couldn’t wear them.
Rowling was consulted on the importance of his eye color. She responded by saying that it didn’t matter that much as long as they matched the actress who played Lily Potter to Radcliffe’s eye color.
Geraldine Somerville certainly has blue eyes. However, Ellie Darcey-Alden, who plays the younger Lily Potter is clearly shown with brown eyes.
Tom Riddle Thought He and Harry Looked Alike
While there are a lot of similarities between Voldemort and Harry Potter, not very many people would agree that they look alike.
Harry often recognized the similarities he shared with Voldemort but appearance wasn’t one of them.
In the book version of The Chamber of Secrets, Riddle compares himself with Potter when he says, “There are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike.”.
While Harry may not look like an older version of Tom Riddle, they did somewhat look alike when they were both teenagers.
He Is Shorter In The Movies Than In The Books
While it is never specifically stated in either the books or movies how tall the characters are, it is clear that the movie version of Harry was quite shorter than the book version.
Ron was always described as being the tallest one of the trio, followed by Harry, and then Hermione.
It’s fair to say that Harry Potter was somewhere around six feet tall in the books, but Daniel Radcliffe was around five feet five inches.
The filmmakers couldn’t possibly know how tall Radcliffe would grow to be, and frankly, it’s not crucial to the plot of the movies.
That being said, its still an interesting difference between the books and the movies.
He Is Nearsighted
It’s hard to miss the fact that Harry wears glasses. They are big and round, and they often have to be fixed by Hermione.
Even though it’s obvious that Harry wears glasses, it might not be widely known that he is nearsighted.
People who are nearsighted have trouble seeing things that are far away, which means that they must wear glasses for most of the day.
Harry isn’t often seen without his glasses, which indicates that he is indeed nearsighted rather than farsighted.
There are several passages in the books such as, “Harry opened his eyes blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. He could see the fuzzy outlines of Mrs. Weasley and Bill,” which further proves that Harry is nearsighted and not farsighted.
His Scar Had To Be Reapplied Thousands Of Times In The Movies
Harry’s scar is one of his iconic features, but obviously, Daniel Radcliffe didn’t actually have a scar in real life.
This meant that a fake scar had to be applied to his forehead not hundreds, but thousands of times over the course of the eight movies.
It’s reported that the lightning scar was applied around 5,800 times on Daniel Radcliffe and his stunt doubles.
This may seem like a crazy amount of time spent on putting a scar on someone’s forehead, but Harry’s scar was crucial to the plot.
Also for continuity purposes, the scar had to be put in the same spot for around ten years while the movies were filmed.
He’s Survived Avada Kedavra Twice
Avada Kadavra, otherwise called The Killing Curse, is one of the three Unforgivable Curses.
When cast, the intended target will likely fall victim to the spell since shield charms do not work against it. The only way to avoid the curse is by dodging or blocking it with another object.
The most effective protection from the curse, though, is sacrificial protection. The curse was used to take both James and Lily Potter’s lives in 1981.
At this time, there was also an attempt on Harry’s life, but through the power of his mother’s love, he was able to survive the spell.
Voldemort again seemingly takes Harry’s life in the Forbidden Forrest, however, Harry is able to come back to life since Voldemort was not the true owner of the Elder Wand.
He Inherited Some Of Voldemort’s Skills
Harry may have been one of the most powerful wizards of his time, but he inherited some of these skills from his biggest enemy.
Harry notices the similarities between him and Voldemort often and wonders why he wasn’t put into Slytherin.
At the end of The Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore tells Harry that some of Voldemort’s powers were transferred to him when Voldemort gave Harry his scar.
While Harry is able to speak Parseltongue because of Voldemort, it is revealed that Harry is a true Gryffindor since he was able to pull Godric Gryffindor’s sword from the sorting hat.
However, once Voldemort’s soul was eradicated from Harry’s body, he lost these powers.
He Once Grew Gills
Having to compete in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament was quite the ordeal for Harry Potter.
During the second task, the Champions had to swim into the Black Lake in order to rescue people who were taken by the merpeople.
The contestants each had their own unique way of breathing underwater, including transfiguration, the bubble charm, and Gillyweed.
Potter used Gillyweed, which caused him to grow gills and webbing in between his fingers and toes. The technique proved a success, as he survived the task and rose to the surface with both Ron Weasley and Gabrielle Delacour.
Thankfully the effects of the Gillyweed wear off after about an hour, otherwise, Harry would have looked very strange for the rest of the series.
He Can Talk To Snakes
It may be widely known that Harry can talk to snakes, but that doesn’t make it any less crazy.
Harry is first seen speaking Parseltongue to a boa constrictor in the first movie when the Dursley family go to the zoo for Dudley’s birthday.
His skill is elaborated in The Chamber of Secrets when Harry speaks to a snake during Dueling Club making everyone think that he is the heir of Slytherin.
Being a Parselmouth may have turned some of his classmates against him initially, but the skill came in handy more than once.
Harry was even able to speak Parseltongue in order to open the Chamber of Secrets when Ginny Weasley had been taken.
His Mind Is Connected to Voldemort’s
Legilimency is the magical term for having the ability to invade someone’s mind. People who have this ability are called Legilimens.
Harry and Voldemort’s minds were in a way connected since they could see each other’s thoughts, but Voldemort kept his thoughts private by using Occlumency.
Harry would often see visions of what Voldemort was seeing, but only because the Dark Lord was trying to lure him into a trap.
Since Voldemort could invade Potter’s mind, Professor Snape trained Harry in the art of Occlumency.
Voldemort was also known to use Legilimency in order to interrogate people and to create visions that would cause people to go crazy.
At one point, Voldemort was even able to seemingly possess Harry by using this skill.
He Was A Horcrux
Ever since the prophecy was revealed in The Order of the Phoenix, fans knew that between Harry and Voldemort, “neither could live while the other survives.”
Harry obviously comes out victorious, but Voldemort could have had a better chance of winning if he knew that Harry himself was one of his Horcruxes.
A shred of Voldemort’s soul was latched to Harry ever since the night he survived Avada Kedavra, which was part of the reason why ending Harry meant the end of Voldemort.
Voldemort didn’t know that he had accidentally created another Horcrux with Harry when he cast Avada Kedavra, since the spell destroyed one of his final Horcruxes, which led to his demise.
His Hands Were Able to Destroy Professor Quirrell By Simply Touching Him
While Thanos needed all six of the Infinity Stones to turn people to ash, all Harry Potter needed was his hands - well, his hands, and his mother’s love.
Near the end of The Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry and Dumbledore have their first inspirational discussion where Dumbledore explains to Harry how he was able to defeat Professor Quirrell and harm Voldemort.
Since Harry’s mother sacrificed herself in order to save him, Harry had an invisible mark on his skin - love.
Quirrell couldn’t bear to have Harry touch him because of his mother’s love, and in turn, he disintegrated before Harry’s very eyes.
If only love could have saved all of those fallen Avengers.
Daniel Radcliffe Was Allergic To Harry’s Glasses
While the movie version of Harry not having blue eyes may not have been a huge deal, seeing a Harry without glasses wouldn’t have gone over as well with fans.
Besides his lightning scar, Harry’s big circular glasses are what he is known for.
While his glasses are iconic, Radcliffe was allergic to them in the first movie. The specs had given the actor a rash and caused rings of whiteheads to form around his eyes.
After realizing that the allergic reaction was caused from the nickel in the glasses, Radcliffe’s future glasses were made out of hypoallergenic materials.
Daniel Radcliffe’s body clearly did not like it when he tried correcting his vision when it didn’t need correcting.
He Got Good Quidditch Genes From His Father
It’s revealed early on in both the movies and books that Harry is skilled with a broomstick. While Muggles may use brooms for sweeping up dirt, witches and wizards use them to fly around and play a game called Quidditch.
Even though he goes against the orders of Madam Hooch, Harry flies on his broomstick in order to get Neville’s remembrall back from Malfoy.
Professor McGonagall sees Potter’s skills with a broomstick and introduces him to Oliver Wood so that he can join Gryffindor’s Quidditch team.
While Harry is no doubt skilled, he gets it from his father.
Hermione explains that the skill of Quidditch is in Harry’s blood since his father was also a Seeker when he attended Hogwarts.
Harry’s Arm Was Healed By Phoenix Tears
Going into the Chamber of Secrets was no doubt a risky and dangerous choice for Harry.
He luckily came out alive, but not before he was almost eaten by a giant snake called a Basilisk. While he ends up slaying the giant creature, he is wounded by the snake and injected by its venom.
Thankfully for Harry, Fawkes was close by and was able to heal Harry’s arms with its tears. Phoenixes tears have healing properties, so they were able to save Harry’s life.
Fawkes had been Dumbledore’s companion for several years and came in handy when the Basilisk attacked Harry.
Fawkes not only blinded the beast, but it also brought Harry the Sorting Hat from which he pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
He Presumably Has Multiple Scars
Over the course of his time at Hogwarts and during the years he battled Voldemort, Harry ran into a lot of danger.
While he always seemed to come out on top, he no doubt got banged up over the years.
His lightning bolt scar may be his most recognizable scar, but it’s unlikely that it’s his only one.
Harry would have gotten a scar from his Basilisk bite if not for Fawkes, but Nagini more than likely gave him a scar after she bit him at Godric’s Hollow. Hermione may have treated it by putting Dittany on the injury, but he still probably has a scar on his forearm.
Dolores Umbridge’s black quill that she used to torture Harry also likely gave him a nasty scar on his left hand.
He Inherited His Parents Dueling Skills And His Father’s Mischief
Harry is no doubt a very bright wizard. He seems to do well in school and probably would have graduated near the top of his class if he had finished school.
James and Lily Potter met at Hogwarts and are both thought to have been very intelligent and good duelers.
This clearly got passed down to their son, since Harry is often seen to have incredible dueling skills.
While his parents’ smarts got passed down to him, James’ mischief also seemed to get passed down. This is referenced multiple times, since Harry often walks the corridors at night and breaks the school rules on a regular basis.
He’s Incredibly Agile
There are many characteristics that pertain to Harry Potter, and the word “agile” certainly fits into that mold.
Harry is shown to be incredibly agile throughout the books and movies at multiple points. Most importantly, Harry is very agile when it comes to playing Quidditch.
Playing the sport requires a great deal of strength and endurance, but Harry’s position-the seeker- also requires him to move quickly and easily.
If Harry wasn’t agile, he wouldn’t have been able to stand on his broom and successfully leap for the Golden Snitch.
Being agile is also the skill of a dueler.
Harry certainly would not have gotten very far in his fight against Voldemort if he wasn’t agile, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
He Was Prone To Fainting In Front Of Dementors
The Dementors are frightening magical creatures that feed off of people’s happiness and can suck people’s souls from their body.
J.K. Rowling’s battle with depression inspired the Dementors, which she described as, “just a sort of coldness and an inability to believe that you will feel happy again or that you could feel light-hearted again.”
Given that their appearance is basically a corpse wrapped in a black cloak, it’s easy to understand why anyone would faint in front of one.
That being said, Harry seemed to be the only student who fainted at their appearance.
After training with Professor Lupin, however, Potter learned the Patronus charm and the creatures didn’t have a huge effect on his body anymore.
Are there any other facts about Harry Potter and his body we missed? Let us know in the comments!
