Harry Potter And The Wizarding World Wide Web

There are movie fans, then there are Harry Potter movie fans – seriously, Sorting Hats off to you guys; you know how to really love a franchise. Over the past ten years we’ve seen such extreme dedication from Potter fanatics that it was a real challenge to pick the weirdest of the lot. Still, we met that challenge head on and have made you this list of the strangest online Potter moments / things ever, from puppets to tattoos, proposals to pillows. It’s all here, and it’s all slightly worrying. Still, if there’s a piece of Potter madness we feel deserves to join this hallowed ranks, then let us know in the comment box below, and we’ll see what we can do.

For those not in the know, Potter Puppet Pals are a series of YouTube videos created by a man called Neil Cicierega. They are… mad. Yes, that’s the right word, mad. For proof, here’s one video of the Pals that descends into some sort of freestyle rap, accompanied by a “mysterious ticking noise” and Hermione leaping across the stage shouting her name. Oh, and Dumbledore doing something similar, except it looks like he’s naked.

Did we mention this clip has over 100 million views? Well, it does. And a naked Dumbledore puppet screaming “Dumbledore” and flapping his arms about. As you do.

This video is so weird, so embarrassing, so… cute, we dare not describe it to you – but know this: it involves one huge Harry Potter fan from Japan touching Rupert Grint’s eyelashes, then giving him an oriental-style flatcap in return. Seems like a fair swap, right?

The more time we spend on Reddit, the more we think it’s run by some of the sweetest, geekiest, most romantic people on the internet. Sure, there are more than a few Nyan Cat videos flying about on there, but there’s also stories of love, life, and Harry Potter – and here’s one such story.

Basically, it’s all summed up by this picture, posted by a Redditor by the name of “trehlo” with only these words to accompany it: “This is how I proposed to my girlfriend.” She said yes. Of course she did, wouldn’t you? Sure, we’d have preferred the ring to be in the Deathly Hallows, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers…

Saying goodbye to a much-loved film series is difficult for any die-hard fan. One solution YouTube user “genrocks” went for was to compile a four-minute long retrospective video, featuring snippets from all the films mixed together to remind himself – and us – of everything Harry and Ron and Hermione have got up to over the past decade.

It’s also a great way of playing that ever popular look-how-they’ve-all-grown-up game a lot of Potter fans enjoy. Damn it they were cute little buggers back in the day…

Now there are many, many, many cool Harry Potter t-shirts out there, so it’s a little unfair to share with you just one, but as it’s such a gem, we couldn’t help ourselves.

As you might have guessed, it’s called “Harry And Dobbs” and it mixes two of our favourite things – Dobby the house elf and Calvin And Hobbes. The result is… magnificent. Oh, and if you’re a David Bowie fan as well as a Potter obsessive, this shirt might be up your alley too…

Again, highlighting just one example ofPotter craftiness seems unfair to all the other Potter crafters out there – but look at the Potter pillows! Look how cute they are!

Honourable mentions should go to all those crafty geniuses who made themselves (and the world) time turners, Potter quilts, and, um, [cuddly Ron Weasley iPhone holders](http://steampunk golden snitcheshttp://www.etsy.com/listing/75699965/cute-handmade-ron-weasley-from-harry), but we just can’t ignore how sweet these pillows are. The scarves! The glasses! Oh, it’s all too much.

Okay, one more crafty thing – it’s a pug! In a Gryffindor hat! With pom-poms! For $20 (not including P&P)! Bargain! Dog not included!

Oh, and here’s a Harry Potter dog costume – perfect for when you really, really, really want to embarrass your pet pooch. Magically.

What’s better than Harry Potter on the big screen? Harry Potter on stage. Singing. With that curly-haired guy from Glee (Darren Criss, fact fans) as the lead. A huge round of applause, then to “Team StarKid”, the troupe of Potter-loving maniacs who came up with what fans are now calling “AVPM” – an acronym that makes us immediately think of “AVP ”. Which is seriously disconcerting.

Oh, and if you’re looking for lyrics – such as, say, “We gotta get back to Hogwarts / Where everything is magic… cooooool” – then head to their YouTube site{ =nofollow}, which has got the lot.

Think you’re a Harry Potter nerd? You ain’t nothing on this guy. After all, he’s got tattoos of the Hogwarts crest, Sirius’s prison numbers and even J.K. Rowling’s signature about his person, as well as three month’s worth of Harry Potter clothing to wear, on top of a poster collection so vast there’s barely a square inch of wall in his bedroom that doesn’t have some sort of Harry Potter-related paraphernalia on it.

Truly, Steve Petrick, you are obsessed.

Not a member of the International Quidditch Association? And you call yourself a Potter fan…

Taking Rowling’s magical sport and bringing it down to earth might sound impossible at first, but with a little bit of imagination, it just about works. Instead of a real, flying, metal Golden Snitch, there’s a cross-country runner wearing yellow – and instead of actually flying, you just hold onto a broom in one hand as you run about like a total loon.

Cape, scarves and full moon glasses are completely optional, but by our book, if you’re not wearing house colours, you shouldn’t be playing. We’re sticklers for the rules, what can we say?

Harry Potter has been making glasses cool for years, and now it seems that Warner Bros. are using the boy who lived to encourage people to wear 3D glasses too. Certain special screenings have had these limited edition bad boys on offer, so look out for them at your local Worlds Of Cine! (Other cinematic worlds are also available).

So you’ve got your Harry Potter t-shirt, cape, cup, hat, posters, LEGO sets, cauldrons, soundtracks, underwear, ties, DVDs, tattoos and stained-glass windows, but do you have a Harry Potter-themed vanity plate? Because you should, you know. If you live in America, that is, because in the UK it would just look lame and we all know it.

Anyway, here’s a selection of some Potter plates for you to gaze at, and if you want to see even more – and marvel at the puns – you best head to mugglenet.com/plates, sharpish.

As shown by the two examples on the left, Potter fans aren’t above tattooing themselves with Rowling-inspired bits and bobs. Be it of broomsticks, owls or the Deathly Hallows symbol, almost everything you can think of has been seen on Muggle skin across the globe.

One blog is dedicated to these ever-so-nerdy body mods, and that blog is called bloodyhellhptattoos.tumblr.com – so if you want some inspiration for your own ink, or just fancy a giggle at some obsessives’ expense, then click this way…

Some people love Harry Potter more than you ever could. They love Harry Potter so much that they write the whole first chapter of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone on a bathroom stall.

Created by Buzzfeed’s Amy Sly, these book covers imagine a Harry Potter universe which isn’t completely filled with wizards. Some are SEO experts, others, PR agents, brand managers… It’s not all teachers and ministers out there, you know.

There have been many, many Harry Potter cakes over the years – just take a look at this amazingly amazing list over at CakeWrecks – but this gem from Charm City Cakes really is above and beyond anything we’d ever expected from a Harry Potter-loving cake baker.

Seriously, just look at the lighting, the half-smashed tower… That said, considering it was commissioned by Warner Bros. for the Deathly Hallows part 2 premiere, it better have been good, or they’d be all hell to pay from The Ministry Of Magic. Possibly. Kind of. Maybe.

Love Harry Potter, but don’t have the time to sit down and read all the novels every day? Then what you need are these abridged comic book versions, as condensed and drawn by Lucy Knisley, a professional cartoonist from the US of A.

They’re also handy for anyone who needs a quick reminder before they watch the final movie. See, they’re entertaining and genuinely useful. Always a good mix.

Wait, that’s wrong?

The amount of time required to make this happen is… mind-boggling. It’s clear that a huge amount of love went into making these – you can tell by the way Ron looks almost cool and Hermione has even better hair than normal… no mean feat.

In other words: Brittney Lee, we salute you.

After his Extras appearance, there was no doubt that our man Daniel Radcliffe was not only a funny guy, but willing to take the mickey out of his squeaky-clean image too. So when we heard he was going to appear on Funny Or Die – directed by Judd Apatow, no less – we knew it was going to be good.

So sit back, relax, and rest easy in the knowledge that Harry Potter actually exists… and also happens to look a lot like Daniel Radcliffe. Which is handy.