Harry Potter
celebrates his birthday on July 31 and it’s time we let the butterbeer flow.
The protagonist of the series achieved a lot, the first one being conquering
death itself when he was a baby. Harry survived the ‘death curse’ struck by
Lord Voldemort, the antagonist, and came to be known as the ‘boy who lived’.

For most of us, Harry Potter means standing in those long queues to finding our first crushes in Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, or Tom Felton. It’s no surprise that Harry grew up as we grew up with him, but the fact that he turns 40 this year is quite the shocker.

However, this is not the only thing that may surprise you. Here are some facts about the Harry Potter franchise that you probably did not know:

• Ever wondered what would happen if ‘muggles’ somehow stumbled upon Hogwarts? Well, the school of wizards would appear as a broken building with a “Keep Out: Dangerous” sign on it.
• In an interview, Rupert Grint, who played the role of Ron Weasley in the movies, said that there were ‘sparks’ flying between his co-stars Emma Watson and Tom Felton on the sets of Harry Potter.
• ‘Harry Potter’ author JK Rowling in an interview revealed that she consciously created the ‘dementors’, creatures which suck the happiness out of people, as a metaphor for depression. 
• In another incident, Rowling admitted on Twitter that she had first written the words ‘Gryffindor’, ‘Slytherin’, ‘Ravenclaw’, and ‘Hufflepuff’ on the back of a vomit bag of an airplane. We never know when inspiration strikes!
• Even Stephen King feared Dolores Umbridge, the cruelest and most annoying professor of Hogwarts who appeared in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’. “The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toadlike face, and clutching, stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter,” is how he described Umbridge in his review of the book.
• The ‘Harry Potter’ book series has been translated in over 80 languages including Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and Spanish among others. 
• Nobody can associate Daniel Radcliffe with anyone other than Harry Potter. But did you know he was not supposed to play the character? ‘The Sixth Sense’ actor Haley Joel Osment was Steven Spielberg’s first choice, as he was supposed to direct the first installment of the film.
• The ones who have read the books will be familiar with Peeves, a mischievous ghost, who added a lot to the content. Though he did not appear in the films, director Chris Columbus said in an interview that late British comedian-actor Rik Mayall was cast for the role but later his scenes were omitted.
• October 31, 1991, is largely seen as the day when Harry, Ron, and Hermione officially became a trio of best friends after defeating a troll in the girls’ washroom. But the day also marks the 10th death anniversary of Harry’s parents, James and Lily Potter, and the day when Voldemort was defeated.
• According to the publisher of the series, Bloomsbury, the Hogwarts school motto “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus” literally translates to “never tickle a sleeping dragon”.