International Harry Potter Day 2021: 12 Magical Facts Potterheads May Not Know

The story of the boy with a scar has already been ingrained in the memory of people around the world. This is why on International Harry Potter Day, celebrated on the 2nd day of May, we commemorate the fictional world JK Rowling made and the movies that brought it to life.

In light of this day, here are 12 magical facts about the Harry Potter books and films that even Potterheads may not know, courtesy of Teen Vogue, Insider, and Mental Floss.

Hermione almost had buck teeth in the films.
Before the crew decided to get rid of it, Emma Watson was supposed to wear fake teeth for the character of Hermione. However, the film crew realized that the actress couldn't talk properly with them in her mouth and canceled the idea.

The movies featured an animal production team.
The Harry Potter franchise had a whole production team that was responsible for all the animals that appeared in the movies, owls and rodents included.

Rowling planned to kill Arthur Weasley.
Arthur Weasley, Ron's father, was supposed to die in the "Order of the Phoenix." At the very last minute, however, Rowling decided to not push through with the plan.

"I think part of the reason for that is there were very few good fathers in the book," she said in an interview with "Today" in 2007. "In fact, you could make a very good case for Arthur Weasley being the only good father in the whole series."

Dumbledore was gay.
Rowling revealed Dumbledore's sexuality in 2007 when asked by a fan whether the character has ever been in love.

“I always thought of Dumbledore as gay," Rowling responded. The author mentioned that Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald “and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was.”

Rupert Grint had an unusual audition.
Rupert Grint had a rather uncommon audition for the role of Ron. The actor apparently revealed that he sent a video of himself rapping why he wanted to get the part of Ron.

In the second film, Daniel Radcliffe had to shave one of his legs.
In the scene where Harry was missing a sock, Radcliffe revealed that he had to shave one of his legs for it. He didn't shave the other one, however.

Muggles can't make potions.
And that's because you would need a wand for that! “Merely adding dead flies and asphodel to a pot hanging over a fire will give you nothing but nasty-tasting, not to mention poisonous, soup,” Rowling wrote on Pottermore.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"​ was given quirky codenames.
To prevent early leaks of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," codenames such as "Edinburgh Potmakers" and "The Life and Times of Clara Rose Lovett: An Epic Novel Covering Many Generations" were given to it.

Alan Rickman was given secrets that no other actor knew.
To nail the role of Snape, JK Rowling revealed many spoilers to Rickman. Some of the secrets were kept hidden and weren't revealed until the final book was released.

Seven owls in total played Hedwig.
The animal production team in the Harry Potter movies revealed that a total of seven owls played the role of the lovable Hedwig. Three of the owls were cast in the first film. Their names were Gizmo, Kasper, Oops, Swoops, Oh Oh, Elmo and Bandit.

The lead role could have been played by another actor.
Haley Joel Osment was pegged to play the role of Harry Potter instead of Daniel Radcliffe. In the end, it was Radcliffe who landed the role against 300 other kids who also auditioned.

Hagrid's Hut was a real place.
Hagrid's hut was specifically built for the film but was immediately torn down after shooting to prevent fans from flooding the site.