Archive of 20 Questions

Julia H. - Sep 24, 2009 1:25 pm (#2053 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? Yes.
2. Is it an object? No.
3. Do we see it in the first three books? No.
4. Does it belong to Harry? No.
5. Is it alive? No.
6. Is it at Hogwarts? Yes.
7. Is it a wizard/witch? No.
8. Is it a place? Yes.
9. Is it part of the fabric of Hogwarts? Yes.
10. Is it a specific classroom? Yes.
11. DADA classroom? No.
12.The one that Firenze uses? Yes!!!
13. Is it a classroom taught by a female professor?
14. Is it Snape's potions laboratory/dungeon?
15. Does it have walls which have no specific place or width?

PAH, Solitaire and Orion, thanks for the questions, but Legolas has already guessed the answer. It is indeed the classroom that Firenze uses. Congratulations, Legolas!

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legolas returns - Sep 27, 2009 7:47 am (#2109 of 2994)
Edited Sep 27, 2009 8:48 am

1. Is it a person? No
2. Is whatever it is magical? Yes
3. Do we see him/her/it at Hogwarts? No we don't see it there but that does not mean that people in Hogwarts don't know about it.
4. Is it some sort of object? No
5. Is it an abstract concept? No. Nothing obscure
6. If not a person or thing, is it a place, then? No
7. Is it a creature of some description? No
8. Is it a simple concept, then, rather than an abstract, obscure one? Not a concept at all.
9. Is it a spell? No. but some magic is involved.
10. Is it a plant? No
11. Is this magical whatsit an event? Yes (think loosely). Each instance you could call a sort of event e.g more than one person takes part. In order for the event to take place there has to be a degree of planning.
12. Do these 'instance[s] you could call a sort of event' happen in all the books? No
13. Is it the Sorting? I know it happens each year, but we do not see it in all books. It’s not the sorting because that happens every year regardless of whether you see it or not. You are correct in assuming that some of the events happen "off camera". There is a full description of one of the instances.
14. Is it an Exam? No. We have a number of exams described.

Perhaps you should look to another angle. There are many questions normally asked that have not been asked. They may point the way.

15. Is Dumbledore somehow involved in these magical 'instance[s] you could call a sort of event'? This is not possible.

As a hint refer to 12 and 15

16. Is this an event in which Harry has participated? He did not actively participate but he was aware and experienced it. Participation and experiencing of the answer are two separate things.
17. Does this event break any wizarding laws? Given the answer to Q18 I would say yes. The law could be broken without the MOM being aware. The MOM would be furious and I am sure that there would be laws against it. [/b]
18. Does this instance/event happen in the last book? Yes
19. Is the event a negative one, from Harry's viewpoint? No, completely the opposite it makes him feel good.
20. Are any Hogwarts faculty involved in this event? Current staff members may have experienced it but they were not directly involved. A former member of staff was involved.
21. Were there Muggle witnesses to this event? No, none were involved.
22. So we see this at the Burrow? We the reader do not read about it at the Burrow but they would have been in full knowledge of the answer to this 20 question quiz. The Weasley family would have experienced it at the Burrow but active participation at the Burrow I assume would have been stopped by Mrs Weasley.
23. Do we see it at the Malfoy mansion? No. Voldemort and his death eaters being there would have prevented it.
24. Was it the wedding of Tonks and Remus? No. Voldemort mentioned the wedding.
25. Do Harry, Ron and Hermione all witness this event in DH? Yes they experience it. They have the same reaction and it lightens the mood.
26. Is the full description given in DH? Yes. There is a nice long passage in the book describing what you are looking for.
27. Is it Kreacher's transformation from angry House-Elf to loyal Harry supporter? No, although that would be a nice 20 question
28. Is it the birth of Teddy Lupin (or the celebration when Lupin brings the news)? No
29. Is it the Potterwatch programme? Yes it is, congratulations Azi.

Looking forward to your 20 question riddle Azi.

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azi - Sep 28, 2009 10:11 am (#2146 of 2994)
Edited by Potteraholic Sep 28, 2009 1:43 pm

1. Is it magical? Yes
2. Is it a person? Yes
3. Is it a Hogwarts student? Not at the time of the books.
4. Are they still living at the end of the books? As far as we know, but we are never specifically told.
5. Is it someone who is/was a DE? Not as far as we know.
6. Is this a male? Yes.
7. Are they on the 'good' side? We are never told.
8. Do we see him in more than one book? Yes.
9. Is this someone Harry gets introduced to? Yes.
10. Are they introduced in GoF? No.
11. Is the introduction in OotP? No.
12. Is it Xenophilius Lovegood? No.
13. Tom the Barman? No.
14. Are they in books 1-3? Yes.
15. Is it Professor Lockhart? No.
16. Is it Aberforth Dumbledore? No.
17. Do we ever see him at Hogwarts? No, but working out where we see him would make it easier to guess.
18. Is it someone Harry meets in Diagon Alley, like Florean Fortescue? Hm ... that is two questions, isn't it? Okay ... is it Florean Fortescue? No, not Florean, and for the record we don't see him in Diagon Alley!
19. Do they meet on the Knight Bus? Yes!
20. Ernie Prang?

Correct Legolas!

Edited to insert the full list of questions asked, with their answers, into the final post of this game, which originally included just the winner's name and the answer.

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legolas returns - Sep 29, 2009 10:52 pm (#2173 of 2994)

1. Is it a place? No
2. Is it a person? No
3. Is it a thing? Not and object
4. Is it an abstract idea or concept? Yes
5. Is it a Dark idea or concept? No
6. Is it a spell? No
7. Is it a concept that is taught in class? No
8. Do we "see" it in the first three books? Yes
9. Is this abstract idea/concept associated with a Hogwarts student? Yes
10. Is this concept central to the plot of a specific book or the series? Yes. It is one of many strands that is central to the series
11. Is it a title or position? (i.e., Professor, Secret Keeper, Quidditch Seeker) No
12. Is it the personal attitude of a protagonist? No
13. Is it something the "good side" actively tries to achieve? No
14. Is this not-Dark-but-not-"good" concept associated with Harry? Yes
15. Is it a life debt? Yes. Congratulations Solitare!

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Solitaire - Oct 1, 2009 9:12 pm (#2191 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? No.
2. Is it a person? No.
3. Is it an object? Yes.
4. Is it at Hogwarts? Sometimes.
5. Does this object belong to an adult? No.
6. Is this non-magical object owned by a student? Yes.
7. Do we see Harry with this object? Yes.
8. Do we see anyone besides Harry with it? No.
9. Is this non-magical object at 4 Privet Drive? Sometimes.
10. Harry's glasses? Yes! Congratulations, PAH!! It is, indeed, Harry's glasses. I think you've set a record!
11. Is it an article of clothing?
12. Does Harry use this object for school classes?

Sorry, Freshwater and Shepherdess. Those were good guesses, too!

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Potteraholic - Oct 4, 2009 9:47 am (#2233 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? No.
2. Is it a person? No.
3. Do we see it/him/her in the first three books? No.
4. Do we see it/him/her at Hogwarts? Yes.
5. Is it an object? Yes.
6. Would the object fit in a school bag? Yes , probably.
7. Is it owned by a student? Yes.
8. Is it owned by Harry? No.
9. Is it owned by a Gryffindor? No.
10. Is it owned by a girl? Yes.
11. Is it owned by a teacher? No.
12. Is it allowed at Hogwarts? Yes.
13. Is it owned by Luna? No.
14. Is it owned by a Ravenclaw other than Luna? No.
15. Is it supposed to harm other people? No.
16. Is it owned by a Hufflepuff? No.
17. Is it Penelope Clearwater's mirror. The one she uses to check for the Basalisk? No. See Q #14. Penelope Clearwater is a Ravenclaw, no?
18. Does it belong to Pansy? No.
19. Is the girl it belongs to Harry's year? No.
20. Is this female student enrolled in Beauxbatons? Yes.
21. Do we see this in the last book? No.
22. Does it belong to Fleur? Yes.
23. (thinking of thing that she wraps her head in to keep warm)? No.
I treated Q #22 as 2 separate questions since the answer was not the same for each part of the question.

24. Is it the silver robes she wears for the Yule Ball? (I think they're silver ...) YES!
"Fleur... looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin..." (GoF, ch. 23)

Congratulations, Solitaire! The next game is yours!

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Solitaire - Oct 11, 2009 10:26 am (#2287 of 2994)
Edited by Potteraholic Oct 11, 2009 1:01 pm

1. Is it magical? If left to itself, no.
2. Is it a Witch/Wizard? No.
3. Is he/she/it in more than one book? While we do see it in other settings, we see it only once handled in this particular way.
4. Is it alive? No.
5. Is it an object? Yes.
6. Is it a concept? No. (See #5)
7. Is it immaterial? No, it is definitely material.
8. Is it a location? No.
9. Do we see it "handled in this particular way" in any of the first three books? No.
10. Do we see it "handled in that particular way" in any of the last three books? Yes.
11. Does this object undergo any kind of transformation in the series? Not a transformation, exactly. It just "behaves" a bit differently than usual, in this particular instance.
12. Is at Hogwarts? Not this time.
13. Is it a muggle artifact bewitched to serve a certain purpose? Yes, some bewitched Muggle artifacts are most certainly involved.
14. Is it the Snitch that Harry was left? No, I'm sorry.
15. Is it "handled in this particular way" by someone on the good side? Yes, absolutely!
16. Is it a rare object? No.
17. Do we see it in Godric's Hollow? No.
18. Is it the Sword? No.
19. Is combined of several objects? Actually, there are a few of these objects with something else included.
20. Is it in DH? No.
21. Do we see this object in London? Hm ... not in London, no.
22. Do we see it above London? No.
23. Flying Motorbike? No.
24. Is the object larger than an armchair? No.
25. Hmmm, is it found under London? No, not in, above, or under. You need a different preposition.
26. Is it just outside London? Yes!
27. Is this the evil cup of Tea that damages Harry? No, but I think you might be on the right track.
28. Is it the puking pastilles used to send the Ministry maintenance man home so that Ron can impersonate him? No.
29. Do we see them in OoP? No, which means ...
30. Do they belong to an adult? Yes.
31. Is it Slytherin's locket that LV turned into a horcrux? No.
32. Is the owner a male? I believe so, yes.
33. Is it the glasses of mead that DD had banging into the Dursleys' heads during his visit to #4 Privet Dr? Congratulations, Freshwater! Yes, it is indeed the bouncing glasses of mead! Regarding question #19, there was more than one glass, and there was also the mead. I'm telling you ... sometimes even I had a hard time! (Remember that my books are all packed away, and I cannot get to them.)

Okay, the next game is yours!

Edited to insert the full list of questions asked, with their answers, into the final post of this game, which originally included just the winner's name, the answer, and an accompanying message.

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freshwater - Oct 16, 2009 5:10 am (#2329 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? Yes.
2. Is it a touchable object? Yes.
3. Is it a witch or wizard? No.
4. Does it belong to a Hogwarts student? No.
5. Do we see it at Hogwarts? No.
6. Do we see it in the first 3 books? Correction!!! No, we do not. Sorry.....
7. Does it belong to a female? No....it does not belong to any one person.
8. Do we see it in more than one book? Yes.
9. Do we see it at Hogsmeade? No.
10. Do we see it in either of the last two books? Perhaps it is seen in DH, but it is not used in DH.
11. Does it make an appearance in book 5? Yes, it does.
12. Is this object used by an adult? Yes...but we don't see that in book 5. Yikes! Sorry, but we DO see this object used by an adult in book 5.
13. Do we see this object in Diagon Alley? No.
14. Do we see it in Knockturn Alley? No.
15. Do we see it in PS? No.
16. Do we see it in GoF? No.
17. Do we see it in London? YES!
18. Is the person we see with this object a DE? No.
19. Do we see this at the Ministry of Magic? Yes.
20. Can it fit in your pocket? No.
21. Do we see it used by Arthur? Yes, we do.
22. Is used by Harry? Yes, it is.
23. Is it used by Dumbledore? I don't believe that we see it used by DD, although it might have been.
24. Is it part of security in the MoM? No....not security exactly....
25. Is it the phone booth entry to the Ministry of Magic? YES, it is!

Congratulations, Victoire Weasley! The 20 questions game is now yours!

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Victoire Weasley - Oct 18, 2009 1:50 pm (#2350 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? YES
2. Is it an object? YES
3. Is it seen at Hogwarts? YES
4. Do we see it/him/her in more than one book? SEEN IN ONLY ONE BOOK, BUT MENTIONED IN OTHERS.(Can't recall how many others, one for sure, I'll check)
5. Is it human? NO
6. Is it seen in PS? YES
7. Does it belong to a student? NO
8. Was this magical object purchased in Diagon Alley? NO (Assumption as we're not really told.)
9. Is it part of Hogwarts itself? IT COULD BE.(Not part of the building itself, walls, foundation, etc.)
10. Is this magical object used by a student? YES
11. Is it something that is used in one of the classes? NO
12. Is harry the student who uses it? YES
13. Is it somewhere behind the trapdoor with Fluffy over it? NO, THEN YES.
[b]14. Is it the Mirror of Erised? YES!!
15. Do we see anyone besides Harry use it? YES

Congrats Julia, it is indeed the Mirror of Erised. (I answered 15 anyway, because it was posted.) The 20 questions now belongs to you.

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Julia H. - Oct 20, 2009 8:25 am (#2379 of 2994)
Edited Oct 20, 2009 9:25 am

1. Is it magical? YES.
2. Is it a person? NO.
3. Is it an object? YES.
4. Is it seen at Hogwarts? NO.
5. Is it found in only one book? YES.
6. Does it belong to a student? YES.
7. Does it belong to Harry? YES.
8. Is it smaller than a football? I DON'T KNOW. It may or may not be smaller than a football.
9. Is it in DH? YES!
10. Is it the moleskin pouch that Hagrid gives to Harry? NO.
11. Is it worth a lot of money? I DON'T THINK SO.
12. Does the object appear multiple times in DH? NO.
13. Do we see anyone besides Harry using this object? HARRY IS NOT ALONE WHEN HE USES IT - OTHERWISE NO.
14. Does this object make its first appearance in the first 6 chapters of DH? NO.
15. Does Harry use this object when he and Hermione are alone, during the time Ron is away from them? YES.
16. Is it the wreath that Hermione conjures beside the Potters grave? YES!!!

Congratulations, Legolas! The hangman is yours!

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legolas returns - Oct 29, 2009 10:56 am (#2449 of 2994)

1. Is it a place? No
2. Is it magical? Something about it is magical.
4. Is it an animal? No
5. Do we see it in more than one book? No WE don't.
6. Is it a person? No
7. Is it bigger than a penguin? Penguins can vary so much in size. I have seen really small and cute Blue Penguins that are around 30-40cm in height. Emporer penguines can reach up to 1.2m tall. So you would probably be looking for not quite a fully grown Blue Penguin in terms of the length. Other dimensions may vary.
8. Is it particularly ugly? The item was viewed with distate by one group but I could not describe such an item as ugly. To another it would be a wonderful thing so would have a beauty of its own.
9. Do we see it in "real time" in the book(s)? Yes
10. Is it a dark object? Yes but the owner/one who posses it is not necessarily a dark Witch or Wizard.
11. Is it found at 12 Grimmauld Place? No not the location it was originally found in, but it may have passed through Grimmauld Place.
12. Is it found in London? No not the location it was originally found in, but it may have passed through London.
13. Is it seen in one of the last three books? Yes
14. Is it a wand? No
15. Is it a form of furniture? No-too big. See the answer to the Penguin question
16. Does it belong to one of the Malfoys? No but something similar might
17. Do we see it in DH? Yes
18. Is it the hair of Bellatrix that Hermione uses? No, but you have got the correct idea in things changing location
19. Is it the locket that Harry and DD found in the basin in the cave....the one that Regulus had left there after removing the horcrux locket? No. The item never belonged to a Black
20. Is it a Horcrux? No
21. Is it the Vanishing cabinet that Draco repaired? No see Q7 for size
22. Does a DE use it? Hmm how do I answer this? Depends on who you include as part of the death eater group.
23. Does it get destroyed or otherwise neutralized in the story? No but it is used to great effect.
24. Is it something that remains with one character? Yes when we read about it stays with one character but they are not the owner. More than one person has used the object since it was first made.
25. Is it Draco's wand --Hawthorne, I think?-- that Harry "won" the allegience of when he disarmed Draco? Not a wand
26. Is the character this dark object stays with Severus Snape? he never has it, but if he did possess a similar object he would be able to rightly argue to the OOP why he should be allowed to have it.
27. Is this dark object used by LV? It was.
28. Is it a wizard in the form of a little person such as Prof. Flitwick? A pint-sized DE? No, the item is not alive
29. Do we ever see this object at Hogwarts? WE don't see the object at Hogwarts but a passage in the book confirms that it was found in Hogwarts.
30. Is this item something that can be worn on a person? Not an item of clothing.
31. Regarding #24 & 27, is Voldemort the character we see this item with in real time? No
32. Does this item show up in any book besides DH? No [/b]
34. Is this mysterious object found in the first 10 chapters of DH? Yes
35. Was this mysterious object mentioned in Dumbledore's will? No
36. Was this object found in chapters 6-10 of DH? Yes
37. Do we see it in more than one chapter in the book? No
38. Is Harry the character who has this item in real time? No
39. Does this object have the function of finding things out? Yes
40. Is it Secrets of the Darkest Arts? Yes you are correct, congratulations.

On Potterwatch Voldemort was called Chief Deatheater hence my answer to the death eater question. In terms of whether the book was ugly or not I decided that a book could not be ugly. Hermione pulls a face when she gets the book out. I answered two questions on location saying that the book might have passed through a certain area. I am pretty sure that Hermione would have packed the book.

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Julia H. - Nov 5, 2009 2:12 pm (#2536 of 2994)

1. Is it a person? No.
2. Is it magical? Yes.
3. Is it an abstract idea? Yes, I think that is the correct category.
4. Is it something to do with Dark Magic? No.
5. Do we see it in more than one book? Yes.
6. Is it an animal? No.
7. Is it a place? No.
8. Is it a spell of some kind? No.
9. Is it an ability? No.
10. Is it an event? No.
11. Anything to do with love? Not in particular.
12. Does it have anything to do with Snape? Yes, just as Dryleaves says.
13. Is it an activity? No.
14. Can whatever this is be found in all the books? No.
15. Is it a thought of some kind? No, it is an abstract concept which has material manifestation.
16. Do we see this in the first three books? Yes.
17. Does this abstract concept which has material manifestation have anything to do with Legilimency and/or Occlumency in a non-ability sort of way? No.
18. Do we see/hear of this abstract concept in the last three books? Yes.
19. Is it connected with any other character? Yes, absolutely.
20. Is it a memory? No.
21. Does Harry think this thought or experience whatever it is? Well, Harry thinks about and experiences this abstract concept but it is not as abstract as a thought. It has a more physical form of existence.
22. Is this concept the idea of unrequited love? No, it is a very different type of concept.
23. Is it the concept of a patronus being generated by happy thoughts? No.
24. Is it a name? No (but it is something that has a name).
25. Is it something like a prophecy? No, not at all.
26. Is it an illness? No, it is abstract in a different way.
27. Is it something like a life debt? No, it is not quite so abstract.
28. Is Voldemort involved in any way? I don't think we see him in direct contact with the answer on the pages of the books.
29. Does it have anything to do with Snape and his potion-making? It has a little to do with Snape but nothing with potion-making.
30. Is it to do with Memories? No, at least not more than anything that can be remembered.
31. Is Dumbledore involved in any way? Yes.
32. Is it to do with death? No.
33. Is it in all 3 of the first 3 books? No. LOL, that is a really appropriate 33rd question!
34. Do we see this concept in GoF? Yes.
35. Have Dumbledore and Snape talked about this abstract concept together, in the same place, in the same conversation? No.
36. Do we see this in OotP? Yes.
37. Do we see it in HBP? Yes.
38. Does it have a non-magical equivalent in the Muggle world? Yes.
39. Does it have something to do with a magical technique? [b]If "magical technique" means 'a way of doing magic' (such as "non-verbal" or "wandless"), then the answer is no. If "magical technique" means 'doing something in a magical way', then the answer is yes.
40. Have Ron and Hermione 'seen' this thing? Yes.
41. Is it something to do with blood status? No.
42. Does this abstract concept first appear in PS/SS? No.
43. Does this have anything to do with prejudice? No.
44. Does this abstract concept first appear in CoS? Yes.
45. Does this abstract concept first appear in the second half of CoS? No.
46. Does this abstract concept appear in CoS, chapters 7, 8, or 9? No.
47. Are chapters 4, 5, or 6 of CoS any of the ones where this abstract concept first appears? Yes.
48. Does this abstract concept have anything to do with travelling with/by Floo powder? Yes, this abstract concept has a lot to do with said activity.
49. Does it have anything or everything to do with Apparating? Well, it depends on how broadly we are willing to interpret "anything". Perhaps for our present purposes no is the better answer.
50. Is it the Floo network? Yes! Congratulations, Orion!


Thanks for the questions, HH and Legolas. Orion has already guessed the answer.

PAH, I did worry a bit that not everybody would agree about the category of the Floo Network; but it seemed pretty much like an abstract concept to me (with "material manifestation", as I said, in the form of many fire-places), as the network itself cannot be seen or touched or described by adjectives referring to physical appearance. I find it similar to the Internet or a telephone network. (BTW, the concept of "thing" is more and more mysterious to me...)

Well done, Orion! I look forward to your puzzle!

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Orion - Nov 8, 2009 9:13 am (#2569 of 2994)
Edited by Potteraholic Nov 13, 2009 12:47 pm

1. Is it a person? NO.
2. Is it someone/something/somewhere magical? NO.
3. Is it a thing? IN THE BROADEST SENSE, YES.
4. Is it a place? NO.
5. Is it an organization? NO.
6. Is this non-magical thing (in the broadest sense), found in London? NO.
7. Is this mystery thing found at Hogwarts? YES.
8. Is it a spell? NO.
9. Is this thing tangible? NO.
10. Do we see this in the first three books? YES.
11. Do we see it the last three books? NO. MAYBE IN PASSING.
12. Does Harry get into "real-life" contact with this mysterious thing? YES.
13. Do we see it in all of the first three books? NO. I GUESS NOT.
14. Do we see it in the first book? YES.
15. Is it commonly found? NO.
16. Do we first see this non-magical thing in the Great Hall? YES!
17. Does this non-magical, intangible thing belong to a student? NO.
18. Does this thing that is found at Hogwarts have a deeper connection with education? NO.
19. Does this thing have anything to do with an activity? YES.
20. Does it have anything to do with the Sorting Hat/Ceremony? NOT DIRECTLY.
21. Does this belong to Dumbledore? NO. IT’S NOT HIS OWN.
22. Does it belong to Neville e.g Rememberall? NO.
23. Does it have anything to do with, or is it, the singing of the school song?

PAH, correct, or almost correct, because it is the School Song itself, so you're the winner! Congratulations! I'm looking forward to your new 20 Questions. I knew you had it when you asked the question with the Great Hall.

Edited to add ALL previous questions into this game's concluding post in order to have a complete record of questions asked for the Archives.

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Potteraholic - Nov 10, 2009 9:16 am (#2600 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? Yes.
2. Is it living? Yes.
3. Is it a person? Yes.
4. Is it a Dursley? No.
5. * Is this live Muggle a male? Yes. This person is a male, but NOT a Muggle.
6. Is this magical male alive when Harry starts his first year at Hogwarts? No.
7. Is this magical male involved with Hogwarts? Yes.
8. Are they on the Dark side as oppossed to pro-Harry? No.
9. Is this magical male dead when Harry starts his first year at Hogwarts? Yes.
10. Is this no-longer-alive magical male a Hogwarts ghost? No.
11. Is he on a portrait? No.
12. For all we know, has this man been dead for such a long time that Dumbledore cannot have seen him alive? No.
13. Does this dead person turn up in person and act and talk in the books? No.
14. Is it one of his [Harry's] father's generation? Yes, close enough.
15. Is the man part of the Order of the Phoenix? Yes.
16. Edgar Bones? No.
17. Is it Gideon/Fabian? Hmmm... it depends, on which one you're asking about.
18. Fabian? YES!!!

* NOTE: This question was asked before the answer to Question #1 was changed to Yes.

** Before folks think my answers to either #6 or #9 contradict the answer to #2, which I had difficulty answering without leading people astray, I consider a person to be in the 'is it living?' category, whether s/he is alive or dead, since it was never an inanimate object or abstract concept. Hope that makes sense.


You are evil Potteraholic *huff*. ~ legolas

legolas, some may call it evil... I call it being precise! Congrats! Looking forward to your mystery ____________ !

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legolas returns - Nov 12, 2009 11:09 am (#2653 of 2994)

1. Is it a place? No
2. Is it magical No
3. Is it an object? Yes
4. Is it at Hogwarts? No
5. Does it belong to Harry? No
6. Is it found in 4 Privet Drive? No
7. Is it bigger than a bread box? No
8. Is it found in any wizarding place, eg. a home or place of business? Yes
9. Is it found in a residence? No, but it could be.
10. Does this non-magical object belong to a student? No, at the time we see it belongs to the maker.
11. Do we see it in the first three books? Yes
12. Do we see it in DH? No
13. Does it have anything to do with a Weasley? Not really, a Weasley mentions one as a kind of throw away question.
14. Do we see it in all of the first three books? No
15. Is the maker a male? I am really not sure.
16. Does the maker have a shop in Diagon Alley? No
17. Is it a particular specimen of a commonly found object? No, I would say it was rather a specialised item.
18. Do we see it in a shop? Yes
19. Do we see it in CoS? No
20. Do we see it in a shop in Diagon Alley? No
21. Do we see it in a shop in Hogsmeade? Yes
22. Do we see it in Zonko's Joke Shop? No
23. Do we see it in a shop that sells any foodstuffs or beverages? It depends which one you mean.
24. Do we see it in a shop that sells any foodstuffs? Yes
25. Is this non-magical object something that is eaten? Yes
26. Do we see it at Honeydukes? Yes
27. Is chocolate an ingredient in this non-magical edible item? No
28. Does this non-chocolate non-magical edible item contain a person's name in its name (e.g. Drooble's Best Blowing Gum)? No
29. Do we see this 'rather specialized' non-magical, non-chocolate, edible item during Harry's first visit to Honeyduke's? Yes
30. Jelly Slugs? No
31. Is it Sugar Quills? No, nothing as mainstream as this.
32. Is it blood-flavoured lollipops? Yes. Congratulations!

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azi - Nov 13, 2009 9:00 am (#2678 of 2994)
Edited by Potteraholic Nov 13, 2009 12:48 pm

1. Is it magical? Yes.
2. Is it a person? No.
3. Is it living? Yes.
4. Does it live in the forest at Hogwarts? No.
5. Is it at Hogwarts at all? It has been at Hogwarts, but is not exclusively found at the school.
6. Is it a plant? No.
7. Is it a pet animal? No. I would not want to keep it as a pet!
8. Is it a house elf? No.
9. Is it a beast of any kind? I guess you could call it that, although the word 'beast' seems a bit extreme.
10. Is it Nagini? No.
11. Is it furry? No.
12. Is the answer a species (rather than an individual creature)? Yes.
13. Does it live in the water? Yes.
14. Is it a grindylow?

Correct, PAH! Take it away!

Edited to insert the full list of questions asked, with their answers, into the final post of this game, which originally included just the winner's name and the answer.

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Potteraholic - Nov 14, 2009 4:56 am (#2697 of 2994)

1. Is it magical? Yes.
2. Is it a person? No.
3. Has it ever been seen in a Pensieve memory? No.
4. Is it an object? Yes.
5. Does it have an owner? Yes.
6. Is it an especially valued possession of its owner? Yes.
7. Does it belong to a student? Yes.
8. Does it belong to a male student? Yes.
9. Does the student to whom it belongs ever use it? Yes.
10. Does the student to whom it belongs ever use it in the context of a class? No, not that I'm aware of.
11. Is it a Quidditch item? Yes.
12. Harry's Nimbus 2000? Yes, indeed!

Congratulations, legolas! On to the next game!

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legolas returns - Nov 15, 2009 2:43 pm (#2721 of 2994)

1. Is it a concrete thing, that can be seen and touched? Yes, but its not made of concrete.
2. Is whatever it is magical? No, I don't think it is.
3. Is it at Hogwarts? No
4. Is it in a wizarding place? Yes
5. Does it belong to an individual? No, More than one individual owns it/them.
6. Is it something in the Ministry? No
7. Can this non-magical item be purchased in Diagon Alley? I am not sure where the item was/were originally purchased.
8. Is it first seen in a wizarding home? Yes, in and around the home
9. Do the Weasleys own it? No, not their style at all
10. Is it found in the kitchen of a wizarding home? No
11. Is it small enough to fit into a pocket? No, Grawp’s pockets may not be big enough
12. Would this non-magical item be more likely be owned by a child, as opposed to an adult? No
13. Is this non-magical thing alive in any way, meaning plant or animal? Yes
14. Is it a useful object? Yes
15. Is it owned by a Death Eater? Yes
16. The white peacocks at Malfoy Manor? Congratulations! You are correct.

Looking forward to your 20 questions Potteraholic.

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Potteraholic - Nov 17, 2009 3:30 am (#2745 of 2994)

1. Is it a person? No.
2. Is it magical? No.
3. Is it seen in the first 3 books? Yes, if not always directly.
4. Is it owned by Harry? No.
5. Is it seen in all of the first three books? Yes, if not always directly.
6. Do we see it in any of the other four books? Yes, but not directly.
7. Is it a thing? No.
8. Is it an abstract concept? No.
9. Is it a place? Yes.[b]
10. Is it a public place? [b]No.
11. Is it somewhere where a Muggle might go? I do not know how to answer this question with a simple 'Yes' or 'No'. Hmmm... hardly any Muggles would purposely go to this place.
12. Is it a somewhere like a vault in Gringotts? No, it is not a vault in Gringotts. (See Q #2)
13. Is it the cupboard under the stairs? YES, it is!

Congrats, legolas! Looking forward to your puzzle!

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legolas returns - Nov 20, 2009 12:36 am (#2789 of 2994)

1. Is it a thing? No
2. Is it a person? No
3. Is it magical? In certain ways it is
4. Is it found in all seven books? No
5. Is it an abstract concept? No
6. Is it a place? No
7. Is it alive? No
8. Is it an event? No
9. Is it an activity? It's not an activity in itself but it aids a certain activity
10. Is it found in CoS? No
11. Is it a date? No
12. Is it a memory? No
13. Is it found in one of the last three books? No
14. Is it a spell? Yes
15. Is it dark? No
16. Is this spell used in the first book? No
17. Is Harry the first one we see who uses this spell? Yes
18. Does Harry first use this spell in PoA? No
19. Does Harry first use this spell in GoF? Yes
20. Is it a spell of transfiguration? No
21. Does Harry use this spell in any of the Triwizard Tournament tasks? Yes
21. Is it Accio Firebolt!? No
22. Is it "Relashio"? No
23. Does Harry use this spell more than once in GoF? Yes
24. Impedimenta!? or... No
25. Point Me/4-Point Spell? Yes, congratulations!

To clarify what I meant by Q3-A person/creature is magical but a spell is the manifestation of the magic (Is that a pedantic answer or what?). I guess I had that division in my head and was trying to move you away from the creature/person sort of thing to something else. All I seem to have done is confuse people more. Sorry. The spell does work.

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Potteraholic - Nov 23, 2009 1:08 pm (#2835 of 2994)
Edited Nov 23, 2009 2:01 pm

1. Is it magical? No.
2. Is it a person? No.
3. Is it an abstract concept? No.
4. Is it alive? Yes.
5. Is it a creature? Yes.
6. Is it a plant? No.
7. Is it a dangerous creature? No.
8. Is the creature a pet? Yes.
9. Is it cuddly and cute (thinking of a pygmy puff or something similar)? Yes, but it's not a pygmy puff.
10. Do we see this creature at Hogwarts? No.
11. Is it one of Mrs. Figg's critters? No.
12. Does it have 4 legs? No.
13. Does Harry ever see this creature in real life? No.
14. Is it in a shop in Diagon Alley? No.
15. Pigwidgeon? No. (Hasn't Harry seen Pigwidgeon in real life, being Ron's owl?)
16. Is it mentioned in the seven books? -OR- (revised version) Do we see this pet in any of the books (some creatures are only listed in Fantastic Beasts)?
Yes, this pet is 'in any of the books' and to my knowledge, it not listed listed in Fantastic Beasts. (I do not have that book here, but have checked the Lexicon.)
17. Does it have wings? Yes.
18. Is it a Snitch? (not the metal one). No.
19. Is this cuddly, non-magical pet with wings owned by a Wizard? No.
20. Do we see this winged pet in a memory? No.
21. Is this non-magical, cute and cuddly pet that has not been seen by Harry in real life a kind of bird? Yes.
22. Is this non-magical, cute and cuddly pet bird that has not been seen by Harry in real life seen in the first book? No.
23. Do we see it in CoS? No.
24. Does this non-magical, cute and cuddly pet bird that has not been seen by Harry in real life belong to a Muggle? Yes.
25. Bungy the budgie, the talented water skiing bird? Yes!!!

Bungy, the water-skiing budgie, is mentioned on the television news in Ch 1. of OotP, while Harry is lying in the flower bed outside the Dursleys' living room, under the open window.

Onto your mystery _________, legolas!

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legolas returns - Nov 29, 2009 10:49 am (#2886 of 2994)

1. is it a person? No
2. Is it a touchable, tangible thing? Yes, you can touch it
3. Is it magical? No
4. Is it an abstract concept? No
5. Does it belong to an adult? Yes
6. Is it an object? Yes, but not perhaps in the way you mean
7. Does it belong to a male? Yes, in part
8. Does it belong to a magical person? No
9. Does it belong to a Muggle? Yes
10. Is it a household item? Yes, sort of
11. Does it belong to a married couple? Yes
12. Is it an object that the owners can keep for months or longer? Yes
13. Is this item only a part of a larger item? Yes
14. Does this thing belong to the Dursleys? Yes
15. Does this thing that belongs to the Dursleys appear in PS/SS? No
16. Does this Dursley possession appear in CoS? Yes, It appears in COS
16. Do we see it in HBP? No
17. Is the larger item that this object is a part of portable? No, not portable
18. Is this thing found on the first floor of the Dursley residence? Yes, it is found on the floor you walk off the street
19. Is this thing found in the Dursley's kitchen? No
20. Is it something Petunia uses? Yes, but all the Dursleys use this item
21. Is it one of Dudley's? See the previous question
22. Is this thing found in the Dursley's living room? No
23. Is it the TV set? No
24. Is this thing found on the floor in the Dursley residence where all the bedrooms are located? No, the level below
25. Is it the Dursleys' dessert that Dobby levitated and dropped? No, you can't eat it
26. Is it inside the house at all? Yes
27. Is it the dining room window through which the Ministry owl flew to deliver a letter to Harry that got dropped on Mrs. Mason's head? No
28. The hall carpet? No
29. A table in the lounge? No
30. The hall mirror? No
31. Does Harry ever make use of this thing? Yes, everyday he uses it after he moves out of the cupboard under the stairs
32. Does Mr. Weasley ever use this thing? No, but some of his sons have
33. Is it the creaking bottom stair? Yes it is. Congratulations!

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Julia H. - Dec 4, 2009 11:28 am (#2942 of 2994)

1. Is it a person? No.
2. Is it magical? No magical properties are mentioned.
3. Is it alive? No.
4. Is it an object? Yes.
5. Would a Muggle be able to purchase the object in question in a Muggle shop? No.
6. Is this object, with no magical properties mentioned, owned by a Hogwarts student? No.
7. Is this object owned by any one person at all? Yes.
8. Has a student come into contact with the item even though they does not own it? Yes.
9. Is this object owned by an adult? This is a difficult question. I could say "yes", but I could also say that "own" is not the best word to describe what I mean, regarding that adult.
10. Is it shop-bought? In essence, no.
11. Is it some kind of container? No.
12. Is the adult who uses, or whatever verb fits better than 'owns', this object a Hogwarts staff member? Yes.
13. Is the item in question something that was owned by someone originally and is now in different hands. I was thinking something like Gryffindors sword? Yes, we can say that it was owned by someone originally and now it is in different hands. Not Gryffindor's sword though.
14. Do we see this object in GoF? No.
15. Is the adult in whose hands this object once was a male Hogwarts professor, at one time or other? Yes.
16. Do we see this object in DH? In a broad sense of the word, yes.
17. Is Dumbledore the one who owned?/used?/safeguarded the thing in question? Yes.
18. The Deathstick? No.
19. Is it a book? No.
20. Do we see this object, in a more narrow sense of the word, in any book? No.
21. Did it live in Dumbledore's office? I'm not sure about "live", but it can be assumed that the object spent some (rather short!) time in Dumbledore's office.
22. Is it pretty? I suppose it looks neat, but we get no specific details. "Pretty" is probably not the word to describe it.
23. Do we first 'see' this object, in a broad sense of the word (see), in the first half of DH? No.
24. Did a wizard create this object? Yes.
25. Is it an object that he kept on the table? It is likely that the object was on his desk at one point, but it is not specifically mentioned. I doubt that it was actually "kept" there.
26. Do we first 'see' this object, in a broad sense of the word (see), in chapters 18 to 28 of DH? No.
27. Does it have a metal element? I don't think so.
28. Do we first 'see' this object, in a broad sense of the word (see), in chapters 29 to 33 of DH? Yes.
29. Is it the lost diadem of Helena Ravenclaw? No.
30. Do we first 'see' this object, in a broad sense of the word (see), in and odd-numbered chapter in DH? Yes.
31. Is it Dumbledore's kind reply (i.e. letter) to Petunia Evans' request to be allowed to attend Hogwarts? Yes! The answer is indeed Dumbledore's letter to Petunia! Congratulations!

Thanks for the question, Solitaire (I hope you are feeling better now) but PAH has already guessed the answer.

Some of the questions were difficult to answer (again!) - especially the ones concerning the ownership of the letter. I think it belongs to Petunia, as it was written for her, but perhaps it could be argued that it was Dumbledore's property at first, and anyway, I did not want to block the Dumbledore-related questions by simply saying that the object was not his. I also know that goblins would probably say it was Dumbledore's all along and Petunia only "borrowed" it. But we did not get to Petunia at all.

All in all, well done, PAH! I look forward to your puzzle now!

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Potteraholic - Dec 10, 2009 2:46 pm (#2985 of 2994)
Edited Dec 10, 2009 3:57 pm

Update #15, The Final One

1. Is it an object? Yes.
2. Do we see it/him/her in the first three books? No.
3. Is it magical? No.
4. Is it bigger than a hand? No, not really.
5. Does it have a practical purpose in the context of everyday life (Muggle or magical)? Yes.
6. Is it a dark object? No.
7. Is it owned by a male character? Yes.
8. Does it have movable parts? No.
9. Is it owned by an adult? No.
10. Is the owner a Witch or Wizard? Yes, a wizard. (See Q #7)
11. Does this Wizard attend Hogwarts? Yes.
12. Is his name Harry Potter? Yes.
13. Does it appear in book 7? No, *not that I know of.
14. Is this object ever used by Ron or Hermione? No, *again, not that I know of.
15. Is this object given to Harry by another Wizard? No.
16. Is it something that the Dursleys gave Harry? No.
17. Is it a fond memory of something or somebody? No.
18. Is the item shop bought? In essence, no. (I'm using an answer given in the last game.)
19. Is it borrowed? No.
20. Is it something Harry has found somewhere? No.
21. Is it home-made? Yes.
22. Is it the calender he [Harry] made to count down the days until school started? No.
23. Is it edible? No.
24. Does Harry acquire this object in CoS? No.
25. Is the object given to Harry by a witch? No.
26. Is the answer the pair of socks Dobby made for Harry for Christmas in GoF? YES!!!

Note: Q #21 just establishes that this object is home-made but not who it was made by.

Congrats, Julia! Looking forward to your puzzle!

P.S. I must admit, I had a little chuckle when I answered Q #4, since a foot, covered by a sock, is not really that much bigger than a hand.

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Julia H. - Dec 13, 2009 1:46 am (#18 of 2867)

1. Is it a person? No.
2. Is it an abstract concept, specifically something that cannot be touched? No.
3. Is it magical? Yes.
4. Is it alive? No.
5. Is it mentioned in any of the first three books? No.
6. Is it an object? Yes.
7. Is it mentioned in any of the last 3 books? Not that I can recall - but it is possible.
8. Is it small enough to carry on one's person? Yes.
9. Does one of the trio own it? Yes.
10. Is the owner a male? Yes.
11. Does Harry own it? No.
12. Is this object mentioned in the first half of GoF? Yes.
13. Was the object a gift? No.
14. Is this magical object that belongs to Ron mentioned while the trio is staying at the Burrow? No.
15. Is the object shop-bought? Yes.
16. Does this magical object have anything to do with Quidditch? Yes.
17. Was this shop-bought item bought in a proper shop, like in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, as opposed to a salesman at the Quidditch World Cup? No.
18. Is it the collectible figure of Viktor Krum Ron buys at the Quidditch World Cup? Yes!!! Congratulations, PAH!

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LOL, I interpreted "shop-bought" as opposed to "home-made" or "found in nature" but the clarification was a good idea. I look forward to the next game.