MISTAKES

J.K.Rowling is just human and of course, in writing her book,she made petty mistakes. Thanks to the avid HP readers, we can see and take note of the details of the errors. Unfortunately, what we have here are the mistakes of Book 1 only.

• We know that Harry's birthday is on July 31 because that is the same day as the break-in at Gringotts. From the second book, we know that Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Death Day Party was on 10/31/1992. Doing the math, we know that Harry's 11th Birthday was 07/31/1991. In The Sorcerer's Stone, Harry says his birthday is on a Tuesday, the day after Dudley's favorite TV show (The Great Humberto). The mistake is that July 31, 1991 fell on a Wednesday, not a Tuesday like the book said.
• On Harry's equipment list in the letter from Hogwarts, "1 wand" is listed twice. This was corrected quickly and only appears in the earlier versions.
• On page 133, 4th paragraph, it says that Hermione lent Harry Quidditch through the ages: "She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read." On page 46 paragraph 3 of QTtA, it says "The most successful Japanese team, The Toyohashi Tengu, narrowly missed a win over Lithuania's Gorodok gargoyles in 1994." However, Harry borrows QTtA in Book 1 which is set in 1991.
• Arguable: When Hagrid brought Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time, Harry heard a woman say "Seventeen sickles an ounce for Dragon Liver. They're mad." But Hagrid told Harry that there were seventeen sickles in a galleon. So that would be like saying "100 pennies" instead of a dollar. Think of it this way: if the Dragon Liver weighed three pounds, a galleon (or for our purposes, a dollar) per ounce is quite a lot of money.
• When Hagrid comes and gets Harry out of the little hut on the rock, they use the boat that the Dursleys used to get to the rock. So how do the Dursleys get off the rock?
• Harry buys the book "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi", but later in the book it says Harry looked up 'dittany' in "One Hundred Magical Herbs and Fungi."
• Petunia Dursley says that Lily would "...come home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats...," but according to ministry rules, this is illegal. If she did this in her Muggle home she would most likely be expelled as Harry almost was.
• Arguable: Just a thought but...security for the Sorcerer's Stone could have been much better. If three first years can get past it, you'd think any full-trained wizard could too. The only thing Quirrel did for them was take out the troll, but they proved earlier in the book that they are able to take on trolls.
• In chapter 7, page 122, it says that Harry looked up at the Sorting Stool, there were only 3 people left to be sorted, Professor McGonagall calls the names of 4 more people instead.
• In Book one, Prof. McGonagall brings out a 4 legged chair with the sorting hat. In book four, she brings out a 3 legged chair with the sorting hat. What happened to one of the legs?
• In Harry's letter from Hogwarts it says he could bring a cat, an owl, or a toad, but Ron brings his rat, Scabbers.
• It says in the American edition of Book 1 that Marcus Flint is in his 6th Year. He is still at Hogwarts in Book 3. This would mean he was in his 8th year and students only have seven years at Hogwarts.
  Explanation: JK said in an online interview "He had to do a year again! :-)"
• During the chess match, it said that Ron was the knight in the giant chess set. However, it later said that he had to 'move ahead one' so the Queen could take him, opening the path for Harry to checkmate the king. If he was a knight, he could only move 1) ahead one, sideways two, or 2) ahead two, sideways one, like an "L".
• Arguable: In the first book, it said that by drinking the Elixir of Life the drinker would be made immortal. However, later in the story Dumbledore says to Harry that the Flamels had enough Elixir stored to set their affairs straight. But, if drinking the Elixir of Life makes you immortal then if you had some, you would never die. You can't just be immortal as long as you have a certain item, then that would mean you could still die. You would be still mortal like Achilles. Immortality means you can never die.
• In book 1 when Harry is under the Invisibility Cloak and running away from Snape, he says that he thought he was near the kitchens. However, in the fourth book, Fred and George have to tell Harry where the kitchens are.
• In book 1, on page 27 (American paperback), it mentions that the snake in the zoo winked at Harry. Harry can't be blamed for being so surprised, as snakes don't have movable eyelids.
• On page 123, in the chapter The Sorting Hat, Nearly Headless Nick says that he hasn't eaten in "nearly four hundred years", but in the second book, Harry goes to Nick's 500th Deathday Party, meaning that Nearly Headless Nick has been dead for 500 years, not 400.
• If Petunia Dursley had already gone through the experience of having a family member leave for Hogwarts (her sister Lily), why did she stare (page 89) when Harry named Platform 9 3/4 as the departure point of the Hogwarts Express? They didn't keep Lily's talent secret: "...my mother and father ... were proud of having a witch in the family!" (p 53)
• Arguable: In the American edition of SS page 184 hardback edition, it says that Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean make a banner for Harry that reads "Potter for President." They don't have a president in England. They would have a Prime Minister.-
  
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