Free The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter by Tere Stouffer Page A

those robes.
    KING’S ENGLISH
    Bowler hats , also called derbies , are very British, and although not as common in the wizarding world as a pointed hat, bowler hats are sometimes worn by Ministry officials. If you’ve ever seen a picture of Winston Churchill out in public in winter, you probably saw him in a bowler hat. A bowler hat comes exclusively in black and has a narrow brim. Another British type of hat, a balaclava , is a ski mask commonly used by bank robbers. In the cold winter months in Hogsmeade, a balaclava is a must.

Quills, Ink, and Parchment
    Wizards are not early adoptors when it comes to technology, so you don’t see any ATM cards, cellphones, MP3 players, or laptops among the wizarding set. But really, when you can use magic, do you really need high technology?
    Two modern conveniences that would likely come in handy among wizards writing papers, taking notes, writing out shopping lists, and the like are the lowly, low-tech pen and paper. Not only do wizards not take notes on laptops, they don’t even take notes with a ballpoint pen and pad of paper! Instead, wizards use a quill, dipped in ink, to write on parchment paper.
    •A quill is a feather of a bird that, when dipped in ink, is used for writing. Unlike modern pens, quills tend to be quite long and beautiful, especially one from a large, attractive bird, like that of an eagle. Imaginative wizards have come up with all manner of high-tech quills, including those that ink themselves, magically check spelling, correct any errors, and even derive the correct answer on exams. Smart-Answer, Auto-Answer, and Self-Correcting quills are, of course, banned during examinations. A Quick-Quotes Quill, used during a lecture or conversation, takes notes automatically, leaving the wizard to concentrate on the discussion at hand.
    •Black ink comes in bottles, into which a quill is dipped before writing on a parchment. This process can be rather messy, with ink bottles spilling, wet ink getting on one’s hands or clothes, and ink bottles smashing when a book bag is accidentally dropped.
    •Parchment replaced Egyptian/Greek/Roman papyrus, which had been made by soaking the papyrus plant and drying it in thin sheets. When papyrus became inefficient as a tableau, parchment, made from the skin of an animal (usually sheep or goat), came into favor. Paper, which is used the world over by nonwizards, is made from wood pulp. Whereas paper comes in set sizes (generally 8½ by 11 inches) parchment comes in long rolls that are a bit difficult to manage—the parchment tends to roll up on you as you’re writing, which can smear the ink. Unlike flat pieces of paper that stack and file neatly, rolls of parchment are also difficult to store.

Other Magical Gadgets
    Although wizards don’t embrace Muggle technology, they are not immune to the lure of gadgets. However, magical gadgets tend to be less about convenience and time-savings—as are most Muggle gadgets—and more about digging a little deeper into the depths of a wizard’s magical powers. In this section, you discover just a few of the many magical gadgets available in the wizarding world.
Harmless (or Practically Harmless) Gadgets and Inventions
    Some wizard gadgets are practically kidstuff—fun inventions that make life a little simpler or more exciting. And although a few of the gadgets listed here could, conceivably, be used for evil, in the wizarding world, they tend to be thought of as harmless. (For gags and inventions that are related to food, see Chapter 7.) Note than none of these clever gadgets has been given an especially creative name; these inventions are likely meant to appeal to younger children.
    • Lunascope: We don’t know many details about this gadget, except that it’s a silver instrument responsible for a revolutionary advance in astronomy by replacing moon charts (what we can assume are moon phase charts).
    • Omnioculars: A cross between binoculars and TiVo, Omnioculars look a lot