We Solemnly Swear

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, we talk about Queenie's involvement with Grindelwald and speculate on why she 'abandoned' Jacob and fell into Grindelwald's control.

Minerva McGonagall stands as a strong, powerful woman in the Harry Potter series. In this episode, we discuss her life story, some of our favorite moments from the books, and theories on how she is present in both the Harry Potter series and the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, we talk about Dumbledore's involvement with Grindelwald and discuss the following questions: ▫️ What takes Dumbledore so long to move against Grindelwald? ▫️ Why is Credence the only one who can kill Dumbledore? ▫️ What does Jacob see when Dumbledore and Newt are talking on the Hogwarts bridge? ▫️ Does Dumbledore know about Credence possibly being a Dumbledore? ▫️ What drew Dumbledore to Grindelwald's horrible lies in the first place? ▫️ What was the result of Dumbledore and Grindelwald breaking their blood pact when they duel as teenagers?

Ilvermorny's four founders modeled the school after Hogwarts with a sorting ceremony and four houses. We discuss the ceremony in detail and dive into the qualities and attributes that may be found in the members of the four Ilvermorny houses.

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, we talk about the true power of a seer and what we know about Grindelwald's seer gift. We also discuss what Grindelwald's end game might be in recruiting Credence and we end the episode like the Crimes of Grindelwald movie - with a phoenix.

America's wizarding school Ilvermorny has a founding unlike any other. In this episode, Tori recounts the trials of Isolt Sayre, including her encounters with magical beasts like hidebehinds, pukwudgies, and horned serpents, and how Isolt found love with a pilgrim (and no-maj) from Plymouth - James Steward. The pair raised their adopted sons and founded Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, we talk about all things blood magic and cover the following topics: ▫️ How Lily's sacrifice is the opposite of dark blood magic ▫️ The making of a horcrux and how they relate to blood magic ▫️ Voldemort's blood sacrifice needed to enter the cavern with the locket horcrux ▫️ Grindelwald and Dumbledore's blood pact and how that might explain why Dumbledore can't fight against Grindelwald, why Ariana may have died, and what to expect in future Fantastic Beasts movies

From the chilling history to the terrifying creatures who guard it, we dive into all things AZKABAN! In this episode, we talk about how the wizarding prison came to be, the origin of Dementors and how they breed, some of the well-known prisoners within its walls, and the parallels between the depressing power of the Dementors and mental illness. We also speculate about MaCUSA's possible prison and about Grindelwald's fortress of Nurmengard.

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, Nadine and Tori theorize about Abernathy's role in Grindelwald's plan. They speculate about whether Abernathy is good or not. The pair also discuss Jacob Kowalski and his relationship with Queenie in Crimes of Grindelwald. Will he forgive her for joining Grindelwald? The last topic Nadine and Tori cover is the revelation of Nagini's background. What is her relationship with Credence? What more will we find out about her magical malady and how she becomes the Nagini we know with Voldemort?

The graveyard scene at the end of the Goblet of Fire changed the entire HP Universe. In this episode, we discuss Lord Voldemort's return, including the magic behind his resurrection potion and how it may be related to horcrux magic (and blood magic). We also discuss the Death Eaters return, the Dark Mark, Harry and Voldemort's duel, and priori incantatem.

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, Nadine and Tori theorize about Credence Barebone's role in the movie, including the giant plot twist revealing him as Aurelius Dumbledore!

WHO RUN THE WORLD? GIRLS. JK Rowling said - “What’s interesting about the wizarding world, when you take physical strength out of the equation.. A woman can fight just the same as a man can fight. A woman can do magic just as powerfully as a man can do magic.” In this episode, we discuss 13 women from the Harry Potter series and talk in-depth about their contributions to the series, questions about their past, and personality traits exhibited. Women discussed include Petunia Dursley, Minerva McGonagall, Molly Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Cho Chang, Sybill Trelawney, Fleur Delacour, Luna Lovegood, Nymphadora Tonks, Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy, and Lily Potter.

After watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learned so much more about the wizarding world but also were left with questions about character timelines and history. In this Crimes of Grindelwald episode, Nadine and Tori theorize about Percival Graves actually being escaped-from-Azkaban Percival Dumbledore!

Christmas time is here! We outline the events that happen each Christmas in the books, including Hogwarts decorations, the Christmas feast, and presents given/received.

Remus Lupin's life is full of tragedy and hope. We discuss his life in it's entirety, including his childhood, relationship with Harry, and his fear of starting a family. Questions we cover include: ▫️ What does the name 'remus lupin' mean? ▫️ Who were Lupin's parents? ▫️ How did Remus Lupin turn into a werewolf? ▫️ Why did Fenrir Greyback attack Remus Lupin? ▫️ How does the werewolf bite work? ▫️ What do werewolves look like? ▫️ What is Remus Lupin's patronus? ▫️ Why was the Shrieking Shack called the Shrieking Shack? ▫️ What did Remus do after leaving Hogwarts? ▫️ Is lycanthropy a metaphor for chronic illnesses? ▫️ How is Lupin affected by his relationship with Harry Potter? ▫️ Why does Lupin leave Tonks? ▫️ How does Remus Lupin die? ▫️ Who is Remus's son?

Ollivander is arguably the COOLEST character in the HP universe. His work in wandlore is legendary and is literally the source of magic we've all fallen in love with. In this episode, we discuss things like: ▫️ Ollivander's history with Wandlore ▫️ The wandmaker Dragomir Gregorovitch ▫️ Wand cores: Unicorn Hair, Phoenix Feather, Dragon Heartstring (and the other cores Ollivander didn't consider 'pure' enough) ▫️ Wand woods (and the characters who yield each wood) ▫️ Dissection of specific character's wands (Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Madeye Moody)

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is FINALLY out and we have so much to say about it! Listen along to hear if our theories were confirmed from the trailer, new information we received (AURELIUS DUMBLEDORE!!!), and what we hope to see in future movies! Join the MickOlsen's plus our Ravenclaw's new baby in discussing this epic movie!

The Hufflepuffs unite and discuss (in happy detail) the Triwizard Tournament, providing further insight into the tasks, characters, and magic we see in the book.

All the members of We Solemnly Swear share their favorite spells, charms, hexes and potions from the books -- plus make up a few of their own! We also discuss J.K. Rowling's latin creativity in creating the spells we all know.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore - was he an old man with regrets trying his best to save wizarding kind? Or was he a master chess player with his eye single to gaining ultimate power? Our MickOlsen tribe is pretty divided between these sides of Dumbledore, so we held a moderated debate about it!