Archive of Riddles

Julia H. - Nov 19, 2008 8:16 am (#54 of 2996)

Recycling the old guesses was the best decision, SSS! That was exactly what I meant when I asked you to "reconsider something". The answer is indeed the magical mirrors, more precisely the Mirror of Erised, the foe-glass and Harry's two-way mirror.

Here is the explanation:

The Mirror of Erised

To find and lose what you have missed
Harry can see his family at last but he must give up dreaming in front of the mirror soon.

To get what you don't want to keep
Harry can find the Philosopher's Stone in the mirror because he is not looking for it with the purpose of keeping it for himself.

The foe-glass

Trio moving ahead in mist
Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape in Fake-Moody's foe-glass, approaching as foggy shapes.

True image of what is down deep
In Moody's office, Snape looks at his own image in the foe-glass. The fact that he appears there indicates his true allegiance.

Harry's two-way mirror

From hand to hand and eye to eye
In OotP, Harry gets the mirror from Sirius; in DH, he can see Aberforth's eye in a fragment of the mirror.

One of many, half of a pair
The mirror has been broken into many small pieces and Harry uses only one of these many pieces. The mirror has a pair, so Harry's mirror is only "half a pair".

Summary: Three of our kind, we do not lie
Though a false face we seem to wear.

These magical objects look like Muggle mirrors at first sight but they don't do what Muggle mirrors do. If you expect to simply find your reflection in them, you may conclude that they lie ("false face"). However, if you know how they work, you will find they tell you the truth.

Well done, SSS, the next riddle is yours!

Swedish Short-Snout - Nov 21, 2008 9:19 am (#74 of 2996)

You're right, Pesky! The answer is Marietta Edgecombe.

I am the daughter of the ruler of fire
Her mother works at the Floo Network Office and helped Fudge control the fires of Hogwarts.

and a companion of the fire's end
Cho Chang, the human hosepipe.

Many are those who seek to catch me
Seekers wants to catch the snitch.

but two of them wants to catch my friend
Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory, both Seekers, likes Cho.

Congratulations, Pesky! Looking forward to your riddle.

PeskyPixie - Dec 10, 2008 10:23 pm (#336 of 2996)

Yes, the answer to the riddle is ambition! Congratulations to both Julia and Columbine Fairy, although Julia did post the correct response first.

Daddy Had It Till He Lost It,
Anger, Anguish, Shame. => 'Daddy' is none other than Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. It has been discussed on some threads that he is a father figure to several of his students. Dumbledore was highly ambitious until the day when he and Grindelwald fought and one of the two killed Ariana. Dumbledore lost his great ambitions in that event of anger and suffered 'anguish' and 'shame' for the rest of his life.

Sonny Boy Then Picked It Up,
"I Want Respect And Fame!" => Well, one of Dumbledore's 'sons' is Severus Snape who was very ambitious; he was ambitious enough to join the Death Eaters to get 'respect' and 'fame'; we all know the tragic consequences of his youthful ambition.

A Thief Or An Enigma? Either Way
He Clasped It Near. => 'Vol'de mort is the 'thief' of death (although the Lexicon has a different interpretation), 'Riddle' is the 'enigma' (get it? riddle=enigma ); as both Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort, this is one wizard who never loses his grip on ambition. (EDIT: freshwater, you were right that the thief and enigma are the same being!)

Ah, Now Look Who's Found It!
We No Longer Need To Fear. =>this refers to Harry; we know that he has enough ambition to belong in Slytherin, however, he channels ambition in a way in which it benefits others. Of course, other characters do this as well, but only after they experience some form of personal loss; Harry is the one who does not automatically think of using ambition for only himself.

Hint 1: Who is Daddy? Who's his Son? Who's the Thief and who the Enigma? =>If you'd have figured it out things would have been easier ... or maybe not. Sorry for my trademark Dobbyesque hint.

Hint 2: Everyone has an inner snake. =>trying to get everyone thinking of Slytherin, the House noted for great ambition.

Hint 3: Closet Slytherins, two of you! =>Dumbledore and Harry could both belong in Slytherin (for different reasons), Riddle and Snape were fortunate enough to actually be in Slytherin (). Once again, I'm trying to get you to think of who the people described in the riddle are, and also to focus on Slytherin House which prizes ambition.

Hint 4: What is missing from the following list? => blue, badger, silver, courage, green, red, eagle, black, bronze, lion, toil, snake, yellow, gold, intelligence, => I've listed the colours, animals and traits of each Hogwarts House with the exception of the Slytherin trait. Once that's figured out it's only a matter of time before someone realizes that 'ambition' fits the riddle.

Julia H. - Jan 7, 2009 3:26 pm (#677 of 2996)

A WINNER at last!!! Congratulations, Verity, it is indeed the Unbreakable Vow! Did I not tell you that you won't need another hint? And now the explanation (and confession of tricks):

By his will and by my might
Snape takes the vow by saying I will three times. That is "his will" and the "might" is of course the magical power of the vow.

He is mine till his last breath
Snape ("he") has to fulfill the vow until Dumbledore's ("his") death. So the second trick is that "he" and "his" are not co-referential this time.

In the dark and in the light
This line has two interpretations: One is the physical darkness (it is night and dementor-mist is outside) and the light of the flames of the vow. Another interpretation refers to the allegiances of the two people the vow concerns: Draco, on the dark side, and Dumbledore, on the light side.

Gifts of mine are life and death.
Life for Draco and death for Dumbledore. These are "gifts" because Draco wants to live and Dumbledore wants to die the way the vow promises.

Who or what am I?

We know that now...

Hint 1: But where is the eye?
Here is a simple homophone trick. "Eye" stands for "I". Where is it? Well, Snape says I will but in the riddle only the word "will" is mentioned - I wanted to address the fact that the quote is not complete and that is the origin of all the "eye-hints".

Hint 2: Three eyes, in fact.
Snape says I will three times...

Hint 3: An eye is missing from the riddle.
By his "I will"... should be the beginning of the first line. That is where you could "squeeze in" another "I".

Hint 4: Three times.
The three parts of the vow again.

Thanks for your patience and untiring guessing, everyone! Well done, Verity, and now I look forward to your next riddle.

Verity Weasley - Jan 9, 2009 2:15 pm (#683 of 2996)

Well that took a lot longer than I thought, but yes, you are correct of course Orion. It is Ron Weasley. I'm sure no explanation is really necessary, but I've provided one anyway!

Not
the last nor the first,
This just points out that Ron is neither the oldest or the youngest of the Weasley clan.

I'm
the middle in reverse.
This refers to the second line. The middle word of the second line is 'nor' - reverse that and you have 'ron'

Who or what am I?

See, I said it was simple! Your turn to do a riddle now Orion.

Orion - Jan 17, 2009 7:02 am (#772 of 2996)
Edited by Potteraholic Apr 10, 2010 5:17 pm

The riddle below was originally posted in post #770 on Jan 17, 2009. I moved it here so that the riddle and its solution could be viewed in one post in the 'Potty Games: Riddles Archive'. ~ Potteraholic, Apr 10, 2010.

My time on this earth was quite short
And greeted with many a snort.
I think I was cute
And that he was rude.
Well, de mortuis and so forth.

Yes, HH11, it's Ferret Malfoy! Congratulations!

HungarianHorntail11 - Jan 23, 2009 8:39 am (#865 of 2996)
Edited Jan 23, 2009 9:46 am

Yay! Yes it is, Julia!!

Seeking some sustenance? =>Food is sustenance.

Do take if you please =>It is there for those to help themselves to it. (Please also rhymes with cheese.)

I'm soft and fluffy =>Soft and furry green mold on the outside.

A bit heady, perhaps =>Heady = pungent. There is also a play on words: Heady/head cheese; and with the next line…

Which is odd because that is what our company lacks. =>Guests at NHN's deathday party were headless.

See, now wasn't that easy???

Thanks to all who guessed and take it away, Julia!

Julia H. - Jan 24, 2009 4:28 am (#889 of 2996)

First and last, Dryleaves, LOL!

Yes, the answer is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

The explanation:

Lakes of snow and ice, swans in moonlit night
Albus: This line is meant to evoke the concept of white.

For a cup to find, seeker, noble knight
Percival, the knight seeking the Holy Grail.

Kingdom of the wild;
Wulfric: Its etymology is 'the wolf's kingdom or power'.

Changes in the brain
Brian: The Lexicon gives a different explanation but I think a good reason to call Dumbledore "Brian" is that Brian is an anagram of brain.

Gentle wings to fly, to collect, to gain.
Dumbledore: A bee.

Congratulations, Dryleaves! The riddle is yours!

Dryleaves - Jan 30, 2009 4:04 am (#963 of 2996)

It is! Yes, Julia, the answer to the riddle is indeed Ripper.

I was a source of joy and glee
The Dursleys were laughing when Ripper had chased Harry up a tree.

Of humiliation and shame
This was of course very humiliating to Harry.

Almost a source of sympathy
This is one of the memories Snape sees during an Occlumency lesson and there is a little, tiny possibility of sympathy between Harry and Snape, but of course, that doesn't really happen after all.

When somebody asked from where I came
Snape asks Harry: "To whom did the dog belong?"

But how could I’ve been that, with my violent name?
Well, the name Ripper makes you think of violence.

Congratulations, Julia! It's your turn to do the riddle again!

Julia H. - Feb 5, 2009 12:14 am (#1039 of 2996)

Yes! Shadow, you've got it indeed! The answer is Luna's hat shaped like a lion-head, the one she wears during a Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch game in OotP. Well, done!

The explanation:

I am brave and strong
This clue was intended to make you think of a lion and of Gryffindor's symbol.

Worthy of my kind
The hat can roar quite like a real lion.

Although in this case
I admit I find
Myself in a place
Where I don't belong.
The symbol of Gryffindor House on a Ravenclaw's head...

Hint: Terrifying... or ridiculous?
When the hat roars, several students jump, scared. Still a lion-hat can also be funny. It is also referred to as "Luna's ludicrous hat".

Hint 2: She wanted to feed me... but she did not have time.
Luna wanted to make the lion chew up a snake but she did not have enough time to do it before the game.

Hint 3: My side won... and lost its heroes.
The game was won by Gryffindor but afterwards Harry and the twins were banned "for life" by Umbridge.

Hint 4: I am what a sphinx lacks but a sphinx has everything that I lack.
A sphinx has a lion-body but a woman's head, i.e., it lacks a lion-head. Our lion-head, however, does not have a lion-body. I said the image you should think of was the opposite of a sphinx: Well, Luna wearing the hat... lion's head, woman's body.

Congratulations, MAMS! I look forward to your riddle now.

me and my shadow 813 - Feb 7, 2009 5:02 pm (#1093 of 2996)

YAY! YOU'VE GOT IT VERITY!

Here's the summary...

offering demons at The start,
Running with killers in the end;
might Seem left Out,
still, honoured with clout;

Pleased to meet YOU ~ care to attend?

Clue #1: A non-HP reference, inserted in the last line properly will lead to an exact word for help with line one

- hope you guess my name LUCIFER'S DRUM?
Devil's Snare...

- offering demons at the start
'We've had Sprout’s, that was the Devil's Snare –' (PS)

- running with killers in the end
'He was roused by Professor Sprout who was thundering past wearing earmuffs and carrying' - (DH)

* Mandrakes are lethal to humans.

- might seem left out
Isn’t this one obvious? *sniff*

- still, honoured with clout
Head of House, Madam Pomona is.

- pleased to meet you ~ care to attend?
'I feel that if a single pupil wants to come, then the school ought to remain open for that pupil.' - Our lovely Pomona's infamous line and moment in the spotlight.

Added Rhyme was a clue: of course all ended in '-out'

*thinking CAPS*: Capitalised letters (and YOU = u) in riddle spelled out S-P-R-O-(you)U-T

Clue #1: Rolling Stones (stone=earth) song reference Sympathy for the DEVIL. Green typeface= plant. LUCIFER'S (DEVIL'S) DRUM (SNARE).

Well, there you have it.

Congratulations, Verity!

Verity Weasley - Feb 9, 2009 1:49 pm (#1137 of 2996)

The answer is not Tonks, Legolas.

Orion, that is not a stupid guess at all. In fact it is correct! The answer is indeed the Brockdale Bridge!

I helped you go from here to there,
Well, that's what a bridge does!

Now I won't take you anywhere.
The bridge was broken, snapped in two, so it won't take you anywhere anymore.

There was no trust without the tea,
Take the T from trust and you're left with rust. The Muggle PM had to answer questions about rusted rigging, but there was no rust on the bridge.

Innocent victims fell with me.
Over a dozen cars fell to the river below when the bridge snapped in two.

I was so young, it's such a shame,
The bridge was less than 10 years old.

But Voldemort must take the blame.
That's pretty self-explanatory!

Who or what am I?

Congratulations Orion! Take it away.

Orion - Feb 14, 2009 11:56 am (#1226 of 2996)

Yay, Julia! It's Dusty! The explanation:

I am proof of neglected duties Did Kreacher do anything at all at 12 GP?
And of a duty duly performed. Snape killing Dumbledore.
Terrifying - or laughable? Depends on whether you find Freddie Krueger funny or not.
Or lovable? (Opinions differ) The great Dumbledore debate rages on.
I am not the last time you see me. After Dusty, there are the following Dumbledore appearances in DH: the portrait, the Pensieve memory, the portrait in the Pensieve memory (a portrait once removed ), an after-death-vision (King's Cross), an appearance in a book and in a newspaper, and probably some more that I have forgotten.

Hint: They should get rid of me, but eckeltricity doesn't work here. Hoover, hoover, Dusty gone.

Another hint: She drives anybody crazy except me because I have no ears. Walburga.

Another hint: The "I® in the last line, is, naturally, not identical with the "me"® in the last line. I, Dusty, me, Dumbledore.

And another hint: Cough, cough. Cough, dust, cough.

And another hint: The other person in here has the same form of appearance as I have in another form of appearance, but not in here. Walburga is a portrait, too.

And yet another hint: Many forms of appearance of "me" turn up in the books. Only one of them is the right answer. All of these appearances, with the exception of one, turn up after the "me" in the last book. The one exception is the living and breathing Dumbledore.

Another free gratis hint: Where does eckeltricity most probably not work? And what could the eckeltricity be good for? In 12 GP, for hoovering.

Very simple hint because I have the feeling that my other hints are not very good at all ... in the wind, all we are is ... in the wind... ...dust...

And another hint because it just dawned on me: There's a Running gag No. 1 somewhere in the riddle. Find him! There is a Severus Snape hidden in the second line because apparently I'm not capable of making a Snape-free riddle.

Julia H. - Feb 19, 2009 4:43 am (#1297 of 2996)

Yes, Dryleaves, it is Halloween! The riddle is solved. Congratulations!

Just after I posted the riddle, you mentioned Halloween on the Snape-thread and then I thought that line of discussion could speed up the solving of the new riddle... It was Orion who first made guesses in the right direction, and later Verity's guesses of Christmas and Harry's birthday were quite close.

But the answer is Halloween. Here is the explanation:

To be your guest again I will return
Halloween is celebrated every year.

To receive my due: the food and the play.
A reference to the usual celebrations.

But this kindness I do not always earn
In the HP books, Halloween often turns out to be quite disastrous.

More than what you give I may take away.
The Halloween of 1981 is a day of great loss to Harry, the whole Potter family and their friends, as well as to Voldemort.

I won't make you glad when I always bring
The same unwanted gifts.
To Snape, every Halloween must be a day of bad memories and dark thoughts, as the anniversary of Lily's death.

But a surprise
- I have a few - may be a nasty thing.
Such as an ugly Troll or the petrified Mrs Norris - unpleasant Halloween surprises for the Trio, the whole of Hogwarts, for Filch...

A friend or a foe? I won't make you wise.
Halloween in PoA: Sirius fighting his way into Gryffindor Tower with a knife through the portrait of the Fat Lady. They think he is a foe but in fact he is a friend.

Time may make you forgive me for the past
And regard my visit as something good.
Nick's "deathday" is Halloween but, after 500 years, he is apparently looking forward to celebrating it.

When I bring a gift that you want at last
I can be generous. More than I should.
The Halloween in GoF brings Fleur, Cedric and Viktor something they hope for (the Goblet chooses them to be champions) but it also brings the same gift for Harry, which is more than what should happen (even if Harry did have some dreams about becoming a champion).

Hint: I am also known to have brought double disappointment.
Double disappointment for Quirrell (Quirrellmort), as he himself says:

"... not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly..."

Hint: The clues in the riddle refer to the characters below (the list is not complete and the names are randomly ordered): Harry, Snape, the Triwizard champions, Sirius, Voldemort, the Trio, one of the ghosts.

See the explanation of the clues.

So, once again, congratulations, Dryleaves! I look forward to your next riddle.

Dryleaves - Feb 21, 2009 7:29 am (#1330 of 2996)

Not so wild a guess at all, Julia, as the answer to the riddle is indeed Eileen Prince. (Sorry, Orion, Merope is not such a bad guess either, but not the right one this time.) Congratulations!

Here is the explanation:

I’m the spat on commander
Eileen was the Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones team, and gobstones spit a disgusting fluid on the loser (and I guess she must have lost at some time at least).

A border I crossed
She married a Muggle and thus you can say that she crossed the border between the wizarding world and the Muggle one.

Not the first one to run
She is not Running Gag #1, that is her son.

Still my title I lost
When she married, she changed her name from Prince to Snape.

How grave consequences
A sinister, severe son, named Severus.

Of my warrior life!
Her marriage, as she and her husband are fighting constantly.

My remains were altered
She left her Potions book. It was inherited by her son, who made changes to it.

By nails, rope and knife
For example spells that can make toe-nails grow, hang people upside down and cut them.

Hint: The crossing and the loss happened when I made an alliance
Refers to her marriage.

Well, Julia, it looks like it is your turn to make a riddle again. I look forward to it!

Julia H. - Feb 22, 2009 12:09 pm (#1372 of 2996)

LOL, MAMS, you don't need to spend more time figuring out the answer to the riddle... While Percival Dumbledore is not the answer, the Moon is! (Strange though it may seem...) Congratulations! It's your turn again!

The explanation:

Some adore me
That's a non-HP clue. (Think of poets, lovers and other romantics.)

even though
Some consider me a foe
The moon is Lupin's boggart.

Some my secrets want to know
People who examine planets and stars to find out the future... a reference to Divination.

Some await my call to go.
The Marauders can't wait to run again under the full moon. (There you go, Dryleaves, James Potter lurking in the riddle still.)

If it's reason proud to be -
Two kids get named after me.

"Moony" and Luna.

me and my shadow 813 - Feb 24, 2009 9:16 pm (#1448 of 2996)

Congratulation, shepherdess! The Hogwarts Crest is correct!

Here is the summary ...

six tongues have I,
4 creature tongues + Latin (motto) + English (‘Hogwarts’ which is not always used in the crest, as stated in clue #2)

ten feet of great and good;
10 feet of our noble Founders’ Symbols: 4 Lion + 4 Badger + 2 Eagle + a snake has no feet

and stars amongst
a term best understood;
The motto (term) is wise advice and contains the constellation ‘Draco’

I lead the way,
to who or what or where?
I’ll show myself:
just open and I’m there
The crest appears at the very front of every (Bloomsbury/Raincoast) book in our series. I was not aware until just hours ago that it does not appear in every edition/country’s book!

Well, hopefully that wasn’t as twisted as my previous riddle...

Take it away shepherdess!

legolas returns - Mar 1, 2009 1:24 pm (#1572 of 2996)

Congratulations MAMS you are correct.

I affect living creatures in a different manner.
Butterbeer makes Winky get very drunk and she passes out. It does not have nearly such a bad effect on Wizards/Witches

A cure-all (it has been seen after an extraordinary range of situations) and a curse
(Depending on your point of view). Harry is given some after fighting a Dementor, Harry and the Weasleys are given some when they arrive at Grimmauld Place after Mr. Weasley is bitten, Lupin brings some to Grimmauld Place. He carries some for a couple of days while trying to escape from Death Eaters. Gryffindors celebrate winning at Quidditch by drinking butterbeer. House elves are embarrassed by Winky’s drinking.

Hidden and seen as slightly depraved.
One individual hides another individual but they can be found if you know where to look (ROR). Look for the reason for the hiding and what was done when they were hidden. Dobby hides Winky in the ROR and finds a cure for butterbeer drunkeness.

Frequently messy but this is disregarded.
The mess is made by Humans and is accidental but it is frequently noted. Harry gets covered in butterbeer when hiding under the table in the Three Broomsticks. Harry spits out a mouthful when Lupin tells him about the Dementor's Kiss. It gets slopped around generally.

Hint 1 - Part of me can be used as a toy. Crookshanks plays with a butterbeer cork.

Hint 2 - Fashionistas may raise an eyebrow to part of me. This is the same part used as a toy but in this case it’s used in a different manner. Luna wore a string of butterbeer corks as a necklace. She did not wear it to the Slug Club Christmas Party.

Hint 3 - More than one species use the item involved in the riddle. Lines one and two refer to more than one species.

Hint 4 - I am not a human or being

Hint 5 - The table may not be fully laid but who didn't fully lay it is not the most important thing. The missing item is with someone but the reason for the item being missing is important. Winky gets tidily wrapped up in a Tablecloth after drinking too much butterbeer.

Hint 6 - There are some that could always be relied upon to get a lot of the item involved at short notice care of some wanderers. The twins get some in for a party care of the knowledge of MWPP.

me and my shadow 813 - Mar 2, 2009 2:39 pm (#1616 of 2996)

Yes! Julia, the correct answer is the Unicorn. Here is the summary:

I’m in other forms but have only one,
Parts of me are found in wands and potions.
apparent to all I choose only some;
I am seen (apparent) by everyone; it is apparent (well-known) I prefer to be around women.

Part of me when contained will move through the air,
My tail hair is contained within wands.

in others I flow, perhaps it is rare;
My body parts are used in potions but are expensive and coveted.

A flow part of me can be seen it is true,
but only by one who cares not what they do.

My blood is seen by those who kill me for personal gain. Firenze gave us the details.

Clue: I am valuable and in ways resemble the values you require to acquire mine.

I begin my life gold and turn silver. My hooves are ‘golden’ and my horn is silver. Silver sickles and gold galleons are *required to acquire* my body parts.

Clue: I become the opposite colour of these characters ... do not assume line 2 is referring to line 1.

--> ‘These characters’ <-- you are viewing are black. I become pure white.

Great run everybody! Julia, I look forward to your riddle.

Julia H. - Mar 12, 2009 12:54 am (#1810 of 2996)

It is guess Nr. 49, just one guess short of 50, and it is correct! Congratulations, Dryleaves! The answer is indeed Percy's photo of Penelope Clearwater.

The explanation:

The Faithful Truth I represent
The photo "represents" Penelope Clearwater. My subjective "translation" of Penelope's name: Penelope in mythology is the symbol of faithful wives. Clearwater reminds me of "truth" because Veritaserum, the Truth Potion, looks like pure water. I know it is far-fetched, that is why I hinted at Potions...

- Two school subjects you might recall -
Advice that you need your knowledge of two different subjects - Muggle Studies (for Greek mythology and Homer) and Potions (for Veritaserum) to solve the first line.

Early into hiding I went
Photo Penelope was hiding under the frame ("early" because it happened in the morning).

'Cause I was flawed due to a fall.
Because her nose went all blotchy after Ron (allegedly) had dripped tea on the photo. (The "fall" is the dripping of the tea drops.)

Am I vain or was it a shame?
Regarding the hiding because of a blotchy nose.

Where I could not long keep my name
I. e., in the Leaky Cauldron, where all this happened... (Nobody could keep clear water in a leaky cauldron for long.)

Someone else vain angry became
Percy was furious. (Percy is rather vain.)

The first for Tom should be to blame.
T for Tom... which this time should be read as "tea". The line means: 'The tea should be to blame.' (I stole Verity's T/tea pun and reversed it. Verity said "tea" when she meant 'T', and I hinted at "T" when I meant 'tea'.) Tom is also a hint to direct your attention to the Leaky Cauldron.

Hint 1: The purpose of the second line is simply to help to solve the first line. You need to make the necessary associations. (They may be far-fetched.) The subjects to study are Muggle Studies and Potions.

Explains the second line...

Hint 2: Being Julia, I'm giving you this non-HP hint now:
"Uh, how do you spell your first name?" "T-O-M."
The answer to Julia's question is the hint.
The quote is from the movie "Being Julia", and its purpose was to call your attention to the letters in Tom.

Hint 3: Do not assume that the sixth line refers to something that happened in the past.
It's only hypothetical.

Hint 4: I confess I'm obscure... or maybe not. There is one thing about me that should be clear to anyone who wants to solve the riddle.
Penelope's photo is an obscure motif in HP, however, clear is one of the antonyms of obscure and the one thing that should be "clear" is the water, of course.

Hint 5: A certain Muggle-born Gryffindor would probably be interested in me.
Colin Creevy is interested in photography and is fascinated by magical photos.

Hint 6: "Faithful Truth" stands for the name of a person and is based on subjective associations - but I think Professor Charity Burbage and Professor Severus Snape or Professor Horace Slughorn could help you with these free associations.

No need to explain now...

Hint 7: Though the riddle is long, my story is quite short. It can be found in a book which is named after someone or something mentioned some time ago among the guesses.

Sirius is the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Hint 8: No Slytherins are mentioned in the clues of the riddle.

A hint because of "Tom" (the Tom of the Riddle is not Tom Riddle) and also because I noticed you tended to look for "someone vain" among the Slytherins.

Well done, Dryleaves! Looking forward to your riddle now...

Dryleaves - Mar 18, 2009 3:36 am (#1916 of 2996)

Yes!

Congratulations, Julia! The Draught of Living Death is the correct answer to the riddle.

Against against
You should stir the potion counter-clockwise (against), but according to the Half-Blood Prince, you should add a clockwise stir after every seventh counter-clockwise stir (against against).
Through the sad mist
The steam that emanates from the cauldron during the brewing is bluish.
What map to follow
Libatius Borage’s instructions from the book, or the Half-Blood Prince’s added notes.
through the trees that twist?
Wormwood is one of the ingredients.

Twice the first
The potion is mentioned on Harry’s first Potions class ever and is the first potion he brews with Slughorn as Potions teacher.
Once one of three
It is the answer to one of three questions Snape asks Harry during the first Potions class.
I’m the final, but false
when you get to me
The ready potion is a sleeping potion so strong that it resembles death, but you don’t die, you only fall into heavy sleep.

Hint 1: Think about the trees - what do they do? They twist, they wriggle, they squirm, they...
Many trees may constitute a wood. The trees worm ---> wormwood

Hint 2: Use a weapon in the right way
Use the flat side of a silver dagger to squeeze the juice out of the Sopophorous Bean.

Hint 3: Against may be enough, but against against may be even better
The result gets better with the extra clockwise stirs (see above).

Hint 4: I’ll spill the beans: there are not only trees, there is a flower as well, or at least the opposite side of it
Refers to first the juice from the Sopophorous Bean, then to the adding of powdered root of asphodel (=a plant) into an infusion of wormwood.

Hint 5: First time -part of an unfair test; second time - with royal help you’ll reach the rest
Refers to Snape’s questions to Harry during the first Potions class and to the help Harry gets from the Half-Blood Prince when brewing this sleeping potion (rest).

Congratulations, Julia!

I look forward to your riddle!

Julia H. - Mar 21, 2009 2:28 pm (#2020 of 2996)

Now, that's a funny situation! You have been approaching the correct answer step by step - and in the end, two of you solve the riddle! Professor Snape was five minutes quicker - congratulations! ...But I foretold that Orion, a constellation herself, would help to solve the riddle.

The answer is indeed the Black sisters - Andromeda, Narcissa and Bellatrix. The explanation:

Light from the earth,
Narcissa is the fair-haired, fair-coloured sister ("light") and is named after Narcissus - either a mythological character or a flower - an "earthly" thing.

dark from the skies
The dark-haired, dark-eyed sisters (Bellatrix and Andromeda) are named after celestial objects.

Dark are the lights,
First names of stars ("lights") and of a brightly coloured flower but the surname is "Black", at least in the beginning.

downward is rise
Reference to the Black family tree, whose "root" is at the top and which grows downwards.

Leaves for hatred,
Bella and Narcissa are "leaves" of the family tree because they accept the ideology of hatred and exclusion.

leaves for pure love
Andromeda, however, leaves the family and the family tree because she loves Ted Tonks.

One from below, two from above.
The first line again, only specifying that one sister has the "earthly" name and two have "celestial" names.

One is to shed,
After the Battle of Hogwarts, poor Andromeda will shed a lot of tears...

one is to fall
...Bella will be dead...

One is to find dearest of all.
... and Narcissa will eventually find her precious Draco.

Hint: Light and dark may lead you to the right spot (but they can also mislead you).
Thinking of stars and darkness (Black) certainly helps, but "light and dark" may be misleading because we usually associate them with "good and bad" here.

Hint 2: Watch out for the homonyms.
Leaves - leaves.

Hint 3: The answer is written in the stars ...
The next hint would have been: ... and found in some plants... but you did not need it.

Congratulations, MAMS, and I look forward to your riddle.

me and my shadow 813 - Mar 22, 2009 10:34 am (#2042 of 2996)

YES! Julia, the answer is the boat in the Cave!

Here is the summary:

Three is the number of times I recall
playing my part, and although I am small
my part is large for one cannot
get by without my aid. Oh, rot
is not the thing that you must fear
though those who should is why I’m here.
The boat protects you from Inferi: those who should rot.

They came after I came to be;
once evil had a use for me.
Voldy made the enchantments and then went there with Kreacher.

Next was a familiar one;
a foe of evil too had come
along to play a part so well
the foe himself couldn’t even tell.
Kreacher (a familiar one, who had been there before) along with Regulus, whose actions greatly helped Harry.

And finally the ending came
with those who came and went the same.
DD and Harry are the visitors who came and left together.

The evil one did show again
but didn't really need me then.
When Voldy went back to the cave, he was flying by then and probably didn’t bother to raise the boat.

Great job, Julia! I look forward to your riddle!

Julia H. - Mar 28, 2009 2:07 pm (#2096 of 2996)

OK, the riddle is solved. Great guesses all, but Dryleaves found my answer to the riddle: Chocolate. Congratulations!

The explanation:

I'm not in the mine, I'm not in the vault
Well, it's true...

If you don't like me, it is not my fault
Most people like chocolate, I think.

You won't miss me in the magical shops
Go to Honeydukes and you can't miss the various kinds of chocolate there.

We will meet before the great serpent stops
In CoS, the Hogwarts Express is described looking like a "scarlet snake" when Harry and Ron watch it from the flying car. Chocolate is sold on the train (Chocolate Frogs, for example).

When you miss the light, in the time of cold
You will find I'm worth a lot more than gold.
When Dementors are near, chocolate is the only thing that cures "Dementor-depression". "Gold" also refers back to the first line.

Hint 1: What's in a name? Not everything is what it is called.
Trying to warn you about the "serpent".

Hint 2: Follow the serpent ... (But don't let it mislead you. The tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, for example, is in the wrong direction.)
"Follow the serpent" is a reference to the scene where the train is compared to a snake (Harry and Ron follow the train). "Don't let it mislead you" warns you that it's not a real snake. The tunnel to the Shrieking Shack is in the wrong direction because the "serpent" is not Nagini and because you need another tunnel (the one leading to Honeydukes) to take you to the answer, i.e. chocolate.

Hint 3: Magical Me may not be very different from Non-Magical Me.
Chocolate exists in the Muggle world as well. Magical chocolate is equipped with a few extras, but chocolate is chocolate everywhere.

Well done, Dryleaves!

Dryleaves - Apr 4, 2009 9:48 am (#2171 of 2996)

I see there was no need to clarify anything, as I cross-posted with Freshwater and she had the right answer: Yes, it is McGonagall's animagus form of a tabby cat. Congratulations!

I am stranger than I seem
It looks like an ordinary tabby cat, but is in fact a wizard, who is an animagus

Think of water, ice and steam
Different forms of the same thing: McGonagall and the tabby cat are the same, but different forms. And then there is her Patronus, which looks like her animagus form.

Seen when looking for the way
Vernon sees a cat with a map. The cat is also reading the street signs.

Asked to leave, but I did stay
Vernon tries to shoo the cat away, but it doesn't move, just gives him a stern look.

It’s quite impressive what I do
Usually McGonagall's transformation is met with applause from her students

But Death outshone me, that is true
But when Trelawney has predicted the death of Harry in the previous class, the students are not very concentrated and does not fully appreciate her transformation

Hint: I see through a pattern, and through the pattern you may see me
In her cat form McGonagall has a pattern around her eyes, that looks just like her glasses and thus you may recognize her.

Hint 2: A Muggle might think of an owl, but I'm different
One of the symbols of the goddess Minerva is an owl, but this is a cat.

Hint 3: Water has been given (as one of the guesses below), but the answer is ice
One of the guesses was McGonagall, but I was specifically thinking of her animagus form.

Congratulations, Freshwater! The next riddle is yours!