8 My response prompted several further letters from Mr. Malfoy, but as they consisted mainly of opprobrious remarks on my sanity, parentage, and hygiene, their relevance to this commentary is remote.

9 According to her own diary, Beatrix Bloxam never recovered from overhearing this story being told by her aunt to her older cousins. “Quite by accident, my little ear fell against the keyhole. I can only imagine that I must have been paralyzed with horror, for I inadvertently heard the whole of the disgusting story, not to mention ghastly details of the dreadfully unsavory affair of my Uncle Nobby, the local hag, and a sack of Bouncing Bulbs. The shock almost killed me; I was in bed for a week, and so deeply traumatized was I that I developed the habit of sleepwalking back to the same keyhole every night, until at last my dear Papa, with only my best interests at heart, put a Sticking Charm on my door at bedtime.” Apparently Beatrix could find no way to make “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart” suitable for children’s sensitive ears, as she never rewrote it for The Toadstool Tales.

10 [The term “warlock” is a very old one. Although it is sometimes used as interchangeable with “wizard,” it originally denoted one learned in dueling and all martial magic. It was also given as a title to wizards who had performed feats of bravery, rather as Muggles were sometimes knighted for acts of valor. By calling the young wizard in this story a warlock, Beedle indicates that he has already been recognized as especially skillful at offensive magic. These days wizards use “warlock” in one of two ways: to describe a wizard of unusually fierce appearance, or as a title denoting particular skill or achievement. Thus, Dumbledore himself was Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. —JKR]

11 Hector Dagworth-Granger, founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers, explains: “Powerful infatuations can be induced by the skillful potioneer, but never yet has anyone managed to create the truly unbreakable, eternal, unconditional attachment that alone can be called Love.”

12 Horklumps are pink, bristly mushroom-like creatures. It is very difficult to see why anyone would want to fondle them. For further information, sec Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

13 Not to be confused with Hairy Snout, Human Heart, a heartrending account of one man’s struggle with lycanthropy.

14 [Wizarding photographs and portraits move and (in the case of the latter) talk just tike their subjects. Other rare objects, such as the Mirror of Erised, may also reveal more than a static image of a lost loved one. Ghosts are transparent, moving, talking, and thinking versions of wizards and witches who wished, for whatever reason, to remain on earth. — JKR]

15 [Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, has asked me to make clear that she became an Animagus merely as a result of her extensive researches into all fields of Transfiguration, and that she has never used the ability to turn into a tabby cat for any surreptitious purpose, setting aside legitimate business on behalf of the Order of the Phoenix, where secrecy and concealment were imperative. — JKR]