Just recently, I wrote on seven things that occur after the Harry Potter story ended, that is, after the books and films concluded.
This helped to introduce an element of closure to those who were wondering what may have happened next for Hogwarts, the trio, and the Wizarding World at large.
And today we’re going to be sticking to that same theme but flipping it on its head, exploring major events and wizarding conflicts that occurred prior to the first few iconic pages of the story that we’ve come to know and love.
This article marks the beginning of a four-part series, during which we will explore nearly 30 major wizarding world events in chronological order. Let’s dive in.
Herpo the Foul Creates the First Horcrux, Ancient Greece
Voldemort is commonly associated with Horcruxes, as he was successfully able to produce so many. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that a wizard by the name of Herpo the Foul did it first.
Herpo was an ancient dark wizard that hailed from Greece, and though we don’t have an exact date for when he walked the earth, we do know that it was in Ancient Greece, a period of Greek history that lasted from the Greek Dark Ages, 1050 – 750 BC, to the end of Antiquity, AD 600.
This would put his creation of the first ever Horcrux as one of the earliest moments in known wizarding history. And although Herpo only created one Horcrux, a seemingly small feat when compared with Voldemort’s seven, what we have to be mindful of is the fact that he was the first to do it.
He set the stage and figured out that it was possible. Over the course of history, J.K. Rowling has mentioned that many witches and wizards had tried to create one, but none succeeded or survived.
Wizards would have been looking for ways to do exactly what Voldemort did for years, and some of the ways they would have tried would have killed them, so I imagine it, well, they’re huge parallels; splitting the atom would be a very good parallel in our world.
I do imagine that other people are going to have tried. I think it would be naive not to think that people have been trying for a long time, and thought they succeeded and hadn’t or else maimed themselves or killed themselves in the attempt. It’s such a dangerous thing to do.
Creating a Horcrux was such a sinister process that even a book known as Majik Mosti Ville, a book providing detailed and advanced insights into the dark arts, would not provide the reader with any information on it.
Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction.
In fact, only one book did, and that book is known as Secrets of the Darkest Art, as revealed by Hermione in the Deathly Hallows.
This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux; “It’s a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic.
Herpo the Foul is perhaps one of the darkest wizards to have ever lived, a man who single-handedly pioneered two of the darkest magical techniques known to wizardkind. Because of this, he has secured his place in wizarding history.
Ollivanders is Established, Approximately 382 BC
The first wand-making shops were known to date back to the establishment of Ollivander’s wand shop in 382 BC. The original Ollivander, the ancestor of Garak Ollivander, was thought to have come from a Mediterranean country in Roman times and set up a stall in what would eventually become Diagon Alley.
The etymology of the name Ollivander is said to literally mean he who owned the olive wand, which is a very fitting name and further points to him coming from a Mediterranean country where olive trees would grow natively.
Considered to be a complex and mysterious branch of magic, wand making refers to a wand maker using wand cores and woods to construct wands for witches and wizards. The profession dates back many centuries, and the earliest known wand makers were said to have been druids.
A druid was considered to be, in Celtic times, a member of the learned and priestly class. Druids considered anything with a woody stem to be a tree, which led to them producing wands out of things like vine, a tradition followed by wand maker Garak Ollivander in the 20th century.
Though druids were skilled at their craft, at this stage in history, it was still totally normal for a customer of a wand shop to bring their own core with them, a tradition that has basically fallen off in recent times.
The Ollivander family revolutionized wand making when they publicly forsook the traditional wand making process, which previously had witches and wizards procure their own wand core.
Ollivander believed that this process produced wands that were inferior in quality and performance, leading to the family procuring all wand components for future customers.
Ollivander researched the best wand cores and would always find the best wand wood to complement it, and where the purchaser would previously select a wand of their choosing, he began the tradition of having the wand choose the wizard.
Founding of Hogwarts, 10th Century
This might shock you when I say this, but there was a time in wizarding history when Hogwarts didn’t exist. That means no houses, no sorting hat, and no castle.
But fortunately, thanks to four 10th century witches and wizards, who had, in the sorting hat’s own words, the self same yearning to make the world’s best magic school, the school eventually made its way into existence.
These founders were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Helga Hufflepuff. Hogwarts, which was founded in the late 10th century, was built in a secret location in the Scottish Highlands, a place that is never actually fully revealed.
This secrecy was necessary because the 10th century was a dangerous time for witches and wizards, who faced constant persecution from Muggles.
Muggles, deeply fearful of magic, were often hostile to anything they didn’t understand. To ensure the safety of the students, staff, and the school itself, powerful enchantments were cast over Hogwarts, concealing it from the eyes of Muggles.
The name Hogwarts actually came from founder Rowena Ravenclaw, who had a dream where a warty hog led her to a cliff by a lake.
It’s also been speculated that this is how they chose the location for the world of Hogwarts, emblazoned upon the school crest are the words, “Draco Dormian Naanquam Titilandus,” which roughly translates to, “never tickle a sleeping dragon.”
Since that day in 993 AD, Hogwarts has continued to serve as the cornerstone of magical education in Britain, shaping the lives of young witches and wizards for over a millennium. Wars, rebellions, and dark wizards have come and gone, but Hogwarts has always stood strong, making it a beacon of hope when darkness seeps in.
Salazar Slytherin Leaves Hogwarts and Creates the Chamber of Secrets, 10th Century
After Hogwarts school opened its doors, there was a short-lived but harmonious time when the founders’ friendships were intact and things flowed seamlessly. However, it didn’t take long for Salazar Slytherin to start butting heads with his fellow founders.
While his dark wizarding ways didn’t initially bother Godric, Helga, or Rowena, his anti-Muggle rhetoric, however right it might have been at the time, didn’t sit well with the others. Eventually driven by frustration, Slytherin issued an ultimatum to the other founders.
He could no longer envision a future for the school if it continued accepting Muggle-born students. Despite having significant control over his own house and the sorting hat assisting him in selecting only purebloods for Slytherin, it just wasn’t enough for him.
Salazar wanted every house at Hogwarts to admit only pureblood wizards, believing they were the true heirs of magical lineage. As tensions grew, the issue eventually reached a breaking point. Slytherin found himself at odds with his fellow founders, who firmly believed that muggle-born witches and wizards weren’t just as valuable as those of pure blood.
They rejected his increasingly rigid and prejudiced views, refusing to limit Hogwarts admissions based on bloodline. Even Salazar’s oldest friend, Godric Gryffindor, rebuked Slytherin for his intolerance.
In the end, Salazar felt that he was forced to abandon Hogwarts, the very school that he had spent so many years helping to form. But he didn’t leave the school unblemished. In the years to come, the sorting hat would continue to select students based on Salazar’s preferences, and there was one more stain Slytherin left behind.
In the depths of Hogwarts, only accessible by hidden pathways, the dark wizard had created the Chamber of Secrets, a secret chamber complete with a statue of his likeness.
Then, as Harry drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.
It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost at the bottom of the wizard’s sweeping stone robes, where two enormous grey feet stood on the smooth chamber floor.
But that wasn’t the only thing in the chamber. Slytherin also placed a giant venomous basilisk, one that rivaled the murderous beast that Herpo perfected in a prior age. Zalazar hoped that one of his heirs would take up his charge to rid the world of Muggle-born wizards with the aid of his serpent.
His dreams would be realized one thousand years later, when Tom Riddle accessed the chamber and attacked his non-pure-blood classmates. Unfortunately, not much is known about the period after Zalazar left Hogwarts, but many believe that he died just a short period after creating the Chamber of Secrets.
Invention of Quidditch, 11th Century
Quidditch is without a doubt the most popular and well-known sport played by witches and wizards in the wizarding world. It’s also, as you may have guessed, or probably already know, extremely magical in nature, as the whole game revolves around various balls that fly about of their own volition and is played while riding around on broomsticks.
Quidditch is played by two teams of seven on a pitch typically set up on a deserted moor or field, far from the view of Muggles. Each team has three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker.
The game uses four balls, a 12-inch red quaffle for scoring, and two bludgers. Both teams have three golfers, guarded by the keeper, while chasers aim to score using the quaffle. Beaters protect teammates by deflecting bludgers, and the seeker’s sole task is to catch the golden snitch, earning 150 points and ending the match.
In the wizarding community, the game is a hit, but what you probably didn’t know is that Quidditch has been around for nearly as long as Hogwarts, with origins as early as the 11th century, and it has certainly evolved over time.
The first known sighting of Quidditch was by a witch who lived in Quidditch Marsh in the 1000s called Gertie Kettle. Gertie recorded being rather bothered by a nearby broomstick game in her diary, describing what is believed to have been a primitive form of Quidditch, including a rudimentary quaffle, bludgers, and goals.
The next account of the game didn’t come for another hundred years, when a Yorkshire wizard named Goodwin Neen described the game in a letter he wrote to his Norwegian cousin. Goodwin’s description of Quidditch signifies several key things.
One, his location in Yorkshire suggests that 100 years after Gertie first saw the game being played in Quidditch Marsh, Quidditch had spread across England. And two, the equipment and game itself had evolved, as Goodwin calls the game itself Quidditch with a K, and also used the terms Bludder and Catcher, which can presumably be forms of the modern day bludger and chaser.
In his letter, Goodwin also makes note of new scoring barrels and describes there being three at each end of the field, all of which were up on stilts. From later accounts given by various sources, we know that by the 1200s, Quidditch had continued to evolve, with new terminology and additions to the game cropping up like Quaffle, Keepers, Goal Baskets, and Quaditch with a C.
One of the biggest changes to the game, however, didn’t take place until the middle of the 13th century, when the Golden Snitch was eventually added to the game.
Creation of the Deathly Hallows, 11th Century
The legend of the Deathly Hallows is one of the most well-known stories in the wizarding world. Passed down through generations, it tells a tale of three wizard brothers who encounter Death and are each granted a powerful magical artifact: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak.
What all three of these powerful items have in common is that they are able to perform extraordinary feats far beyond what is typically seen in the wizarding world. The Resurrection Stone is said to be able to bring the dead back to life. The Elder Wand has the ability to conquer all other wands, and the Invisibility Cloak is able to hide whatever, or whomever, is beneath it.
Together, these items make up the Deathly Hallows, often represented by a symbol that includes all three. The story goes that these three items were crafted by Death himself. Given that Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotius Pavril, the three brothers commonly associated with the story, were born in the late 11th century, it would be reasonable to assume that the Hallows were also created during that same period.
However, it’s worth mentioning that the Hallows is just that, a tale, and I have made some articles in the past where I speculate that the origins of these three magical artifacts likely go back much further, maybe even a thousand years.
Creation of the Triwizard Tournament, 13th Century
The Triwizard Tournament is a magical competition between three of the major wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Of all the tournament, each school selects a champion to compete in three dangerous tasks designed to test their magical abilities, intelligence, and bravery.
The champions earn points based on their performance in each task, and the one with the highest score at the end wins all of the glory, as well as the historic Triwizard Cup.
Just like most events from the early wizarding world, the exact origins of the Triwizard Tournament are all but lost to time. However, based on the little bit of information we possess from that era, we can safely deduce that the first contest occurred sometime around the end of the 13th century.
During this time, the three major wizarding schools of the region came together and decided to pit their students against each other. Ever since the tournament began in the late 13th century, it has remained a staple in the lives of many wizarding students throughout Europe and Britain.
The three schools pledged to hold the event every five years, and for the most part they stuck to that. However, even though the tournament played such an important role in the history of magical education, you might be surprised to know that there aren’t many records about the games, or even the champions from each tournament.
Conclusion
Keep an eye out for the next one, where we take a look at seven more major events from Harry Potter history. Also, if you haven’t read already, check out my article 7 Major Events after the Harry Potter story ended.
