Top 10 Harry Potter Fan Theories

The Wizarding World can be a complicated place. Welcome to WatchMojo. Today, we’ll be counting down the "Top 10 Harry Potter Fan Theories."

For this list we are focussing on the wildest, most-thought provoking fan theories related to the Harry Potter universe. So, wands at the ready, this is going to be interesting. Oh yes, and spoiler alert.

We’ve probably all heard this at some point, but what if Hogwarts never existed? What if it was all in Harry’s head and he never left the cupboard under the stairs? Given, this is a popular, throwaway theory, but in this case, it totally makes sense. A young boy, constantly isolated and mistreated by his aunt and uncle—why wouldn't he create a fantasy world of friends and adventures he was never allowed to have? The weird thing is, even J.K. Rowling has come out and admitted that this isn't the most ridiculous theory. Wow, that’s depressing.

#9: George Weasley is Willy Wonka.

Although there’s no evidence of George hiding golden tickets in chocolate bars, this is still an intriguing theory—and it’s primarily fuelled by the fact that George uses a Time-Turner to travel to a different era and create a new life for himself. Combine that with his pioneering talent for wacky sweets and the fact that he loses an ear—remember, Wonka struggles to hear out of one ear. There’s also an unknown wizardry as to how some of Wonka’s inventions work. I wonder if everything in Wonka’s office is split in two in homage to George’s brother Fred?

#8: Ginny won Harry over with a love potion.

It’s no secret that many Potter fans were unhappy with the Harry and Ginny love story, with many feeling it came out of nowhere. Well, what if it did? Maybe Ginny slipped Harry a love potion to win his affection. Love potions are mentioned throughout Harry Potter, but particularly around the time of The Half Blood Prince, where Harry and Ginny’s romance blossoms. Even Molly Weasley, Ginny’s mum, admits to using one in the past. Could this be why Harry suddenly feels jealous of Ginny kissing Dean? Or why he feels the need to promptly pursue her?

It’s commonly thought throughout both the books and films that only Harry or Voldemort can live, with Sybil Trelawney’s prophecy stating “either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.” But surely this means that if Voldemort is dead and Harry is alive, there isn’t anyone who can actually kill Harry—therefore, Harry is effectively immortal? One might think, wow, the legendary wizard will live forever and have many other wild adventures. Sadly, if this is the case, he’d never get to be reunited with his mum and dad in the afterlife.

Now that might sound like some kind of badass tattoo, but it stems from "The Tale of the Three Brothers” as told in The Deathly Hallows. And although the tale is known to parallel the stories of Voldemort, Snape, and Harry, it is Death’s involvement that is particularly interesting. Believed to be representative of Dumbledore, Death is instrumental in the demise of two of the brothers, a.k.a. Voldemort and Snape. Death also gives the third brother, a.k.a. Harry, the invisibility cloak. Not convinced? Well, J.K. Rowling has actually said that this theory is one of her favourites.

#5: Horcruxes are created via cannibalism.

Rowling never tells us exactly how Voldemort splits his soul into seven pieces, but the process of creating a horcrux is described as one of the darkest acts imaginable, and involves murder, an insidious spell and another unknown ingredient. This theory hypothesizes that that may be cannibalism. Think about it—cannibalism is frequently referred to as one of the darkest acts of man, and is synonymous with gaining strength from a dead subject. And I’m sure we can agree, something like that is hardly uncharacteristic of The Dark Lord.

#4: The Dursleys are horrible because Harry is a horcrux.

So we can all agree that Harry’s surrogate family, The Dursleys, are pretty much the worst, constantly treating him as an unwanted outsider. Throughout the saga, we are led to believe this is mainly due to their detestation for witches and wizards in the family. One theory, however, suggests that Harry is actually the author of his own pain as him being a horcrux is the thing that actually makes the Dursleys so mean. And to be fair, being in the same surroundings of a piece of Voldemort's soul is enough to make anyone a little unpleasant. Just ask Ron.

With heroes and villains rallying together towards the end of the series, everyone seems to have their place, be it for good or evil. Young, socially-conscious Draco on the other hand, struggles to fit in and seems to spiral further into uncertainty. And a theory for this behaviour is because he is a werewolf. With his father Lucius being in Voldemort's pocket, the theory goes that Voldemort got a little peeved off at Lucius and decided to punish him by sending his droog Fenrir Grayback to turn Draco into a werewolf. That still doesn't excuse your early years Draco.

The foundations of this theory lie in the series’ first entry, The Philosopher's Stone, and the similarities between Ron and Hogwarts’ famous headteacher. You see Ron’s bravery in the famed chess game where he plays both a knight and king when protecting Harry are reminiscent of Dumbledore’s role in the war against dark magic. But there’s more. Both of them are described as looking similar, with similar hands, nose and physique—plus they both share a love for sweets, particularly Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. Not convinced? Dumbledore used to have red hair. Spooky, right?

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

• Professor McGonagall is a Death Eater.
• Sirius and Harry are blood relatives.
• Mary Poppins and Harry Potter share a universe.

#1: Muggles defeated wizards in a war years ago.

One of the biggest questions in the Harry Potter series is why do wizards feel the need to hide from non-magic muggles? Surely with powerful magic comes the freedom to do whatever you want. Well, one theory suggests that muggles defeated wizards in a war many years earlier, forcing witches and wizards to hide away and ultimately play by their rules. A big determiner for this theory comes at the end of The Goblet of Fire, where the Ministry of Magic declares to the British Prime Minister that they are bringing a dragon into the country.

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