A Kind of Magic Trivia Quiz

Answer: Howler

As its name implies, a howler is sent when someone wants to get its message across as loudly and publicly as possible. Its fiery red colour also signifies anger, as does the letter's habit of smoldering when not opened promptly. After opening, a howler shouts out its message, and then bursts into flames. Parents often send out howlers to reprimand their children - as Molly Weasley does in the sixth chapter of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", following Ron and Harry's incident with the flying car and the Whomping Willow.

Answer: Deluminator

Also known as Put-Outer, the Deluminator resembles a silver cigarette lighter. Its main use is to provide cover for its user. Invented by Albus Dumbledore, it first appears at the very beginning of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone", when the Hogwarts headmaster uses it to put up the lights in Privet Drive on the night Harry is brought to his aunt and uncle's house after his parents' murder.

The device is bequeathed by Dumbledore to Ron, helping him to locate Harry and Hermione's camp in the Forest of Dean in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

Answer: Sneakoscope

Ron sends Harry a Pocket Sneakoscope as a birthday present at the beginning of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". The device appears again, whistling, glowing and spinning very fast, when Harry and his friends are on the Hogwarts Express, because of the presence of Ron's rat, Scabbers - who is really Peter Pettigrew in Animagus form. On his 17th birthday, Harry is given another Sneakoscope by Hermione, which the two of them use as a lookout when in hiding in "Deathly Hallows".

Answer: Time-Turner

In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", Professor Minerva McGonagall gives Hermione a Time-Turner - a time-traveling device looking like a gold hourglass pendant - though ordering her to keep it a secret. In fact, the use of Time-Turners is heavily regulated by the Ministry of Magic, which keeps a large supply of these devices at its headquarters (as seen in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"), as they can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Each twist of the hourglass corresponds to one hour of travel back in time.

The Time-Turner allows Harry and Hermione to save Sirius Black's life at the end of "Prisoner of Azkaban"; the device also plays a prominent role in J.K. Rowling's play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child".

Answer: Pensieve

The name "Pensieve" combines the words "pensive" and "sieve". This shallow stone basin, with odd symbols and runes carved around its edge, is kept in a cabinet in Dumbledore's office. Harry first encounters it towards the end of "Goblet of Fire": he falls into the basin, attracted by the silvery light of its contents, and witnesses a frightening scene (the Dementor's Kiss).

The silvery substance that fills the basin is made from the collected memories of people, which can be viewed from a third-person point of view.

In "Deathly Hallows", the dying Severus Snape begs Harry to take his memories, so that Harry can uncover the truth about him.

Answer: Floo Powder

Named after the flue - the passageway leading from a fireplace to the chimney - Floo Powder can be used in any lit fireplace connected to the Floo Network (which is controlled by the Ministry of Magic). Travelers throw a pinch of this glittery powder into the flames - which will turn emerald green - then steps into the fireplace shouting the name of their destination loudly and clearly. To use Floo Powder for communication rather than traveling, wizards need to kneel before the fireplace and stick their head into the fire: the head will appear in the destination fireplace - as seen in "Goblet of Fire", when Sirius visits Harry.

Many Ministry of Magic employees use Floo Powder to travel to and from work.

Answer: Extendable Ears

Invented by Fred and George Weasley for their joke shop, Wesley's Wizard Wheezes, Extendable Ears are first featured in "Order of the Phoenix". One end of the string is inserted into the user's ear, and the other end is extended towards the sound or conversation one wants to hear. Fred and George try to them to eavesdrop on meetings of the Order of the Phoenix, without much success. On the other hand, Harry, Ron and Hermione use them in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to listen to a conversation between Draco Malfoy and the owner of the notorious Borgin and Burkes Dark Magic store.

Hermione also packs a few Extendable Ears in "Deathly Hallows", when the three friends go looking for Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Answer: Marauder's Map

Created by James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew during their days as Hogwarts students, the Marauder's Map is a piece of magical parchment that looks blank at first. However, if the user points his or her wand at it, uttering the words "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good", the map will reveal a detailed layout of Hogwarts and its grounds (including a number of hidden passages) as well as the location of everyone within them.

In "Prisoner of Azkaban", Fred and George Weasley steal the map from caretaker Argus Filch's files, and give it to Harry to allow him to visit Hogsmeade via one of the secret passageways.

Answer: Remembrall

A Remembrall (apparently a portmanteau of "remember", "all" and "ball") is a glass sphere filled with white smoke. If the person who holds it in his or her hand has forgotten something, the smoke will turn red. Unfortunately, though, this device will not tell its owner what has been forgotten - which definitely limits its usefulness.

In "Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone", Neville Longbottom is sent a Remembrall by his redoubtable grandmother; when the object is stolen by Draco Malfoy and thrown in the air, Harry chases it on his broomstick and recovers it - showing his talent as a Seeker for the first time.

Answer: Mirror of Erised

"Erised" is "desire" spelled backwards, so it's not surprising that this mirror shows his user's heart's deepest desire (as the inscription on its ornate gold frame - also written backwards - points out). Harry discovers it in an abandoned classroom when trying to hide from Filch and Snape in "Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone".

Instead of his reflection, the young orphaned boy sees himself with his parents and a group of relatives. He revisits the Mirror on several occasions, until Dumbledore surprises him and warns him of the Mirror's potential dangers. Later in the book, Harry is able to find the Philosopher's Stone in his pocket when forced to look into the Mirror by Professor Quirrell.