One thing that’s made clear in the Harry Potter books and movies is the fact that the Wizarding World has no shortage of exceptionally cool magical objects. As if being able to perform magic weren’t awesome enough, as we see from time to time in the eight Harry Potter movies, the witches and wizards in this universe are able to use of things like flying brooms, pensieves, remembralls and all sorts of helpful enchanted objects, some much more powerful and/or rare than others. It’s impossible for me not to want one of everything on this list. Alas, I’m a muggle and can only daydream.
Here are some of the coolest magic objects featured in the Harry Potter movies and books.
Harry's Invisibility Cloak
Though the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone are undoubtedly cool, both seem like way too much responsibility, and potentially disastrous to mess with. If I had to pick one of the Deathly Hallows to call my own, the Invisibility Cloak seems like the right choice. This is less about trying to evade death, or sneak into the restricted section of the library for me, and more about loving the idea of being out and about from time to time without being seen. That seems like it’d be fun (and peaceful).
The Pensieve
The older I get, the more I wish I had access to a pensieve. This magical basin allows the user to store and revisit memories — your own or someone else’s. Dumbledore also notes that it's helpful with sorting through a lot of thoughts at once, which sounds like a pretty amazing way to use it. We see it used numerous times throughout the books and movies, and as a perpetual over-thinker, I'd love to have one of these.
The Sorting Hat
We have Godric Gryffindor to thank for this one. According to the hat’s own song, it was the Gryffindor house founder who contributed the hat to Hogwarts, which now has the annual task of sorting first years into whichever house they’re most suited for. I took the online quiz to get my Hogwarts house, and I’m satisfied with the results, but I’d still love to know what the Sorting Hat, voiced by the late Leslie Phillips in the films, would have to say on the matter.
Hermione's Enchanted Purse
Oh wow, Hermione’s beaded bag is a must-have accessory, isn't it? Imagine having an adorable purse that’s enchanted to be able to hold an enormous amount of stuff without affecting its size or weight. This purse — which may not have technically been lawfully capacity-enhanced — proved very useful to her, Ron and Harry when they were on the run in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Magic Tents
The tents used by the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione during the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire gave off major glamping vibes (minus the cat smell described in the book, of course). Still, how nice would it be to go camping in a magicked tent that was a regular tent on the outside, taking up a small amount of space, but a much bigger set-up on the inside for everyone to spread out and relax in the great outdoors? Sign me up!
The Knight Bus
There are a lot of cool ways to get around in the Wizarding World. Among the coolest is the Knight Bus, the triple-decker purple bus that moves about in all sorts of speedy, magical ways. Stranded and in need of a ride? Stick your wand out and she’ll appear and take you where you need to go.
The Hogwarts Express
I love trains, so naturally, the Hogwarts Express has a spot on this list. There are few things from the Wizarding World more iconic than this beautiful, magical locomotive, which takes students from London to Hogwarts and back each year.
Molly Weasley's Clock
With all of the family members she has to look after, it makes sense that Molly Weasley would have a clock like this. Rather than keeping the time, the device at the Burrow shows the whereabouts of everyone in the Weasley Family.
The Room of Requirement at Hogwarts
Ok, this one is cheating a little bit, as the Room of Requirement is a room, not an object, but I. Don’t. Care. The fact that Hogwarts has a magic room that can be whatever kind of room a witch or wizard needs in the moment is fascinating and amazing to me. Whether it’s serving as a secret training space for Dumbledore’s Army, a place to discard or hide objects, a safe-haven for expelled students in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, or a room full of chamber pots when a certain headmaster has need of one, the Room of Requirement saved the day on more than one occasion.
Magical Portraits
The concept of moving pictures doesn’t seem quite as cool as did before the age of digital photography and gifs. But portraits are another story, as they’re not just moving pictures, but artistic, sentient likenesses of their subjects. This concept and how they're used throughout the books in particular is one of the underrated background bits of the Wizarding World, in my opinion .
The Time-Turner
I’m exhausted for Hermione just thinking about her life in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and how many hours of the day she was living just to attend multiple classes taking place at the same time. I can't even fathom the math of that for a full school year. That said, the Time Turner is a super cool device, which lets you repeat hours or longer (depending on how many times you turn it). Of course, time travel can make a mess of things, so there's a bit of a drawback there...
Wizard Chess
The fact that the pieces move on their own in Wizard Chess is cool by itself, but what I find especially interesting is how the player can get comfortable with the pieces if they play with the same set over time. That’s demonstrated in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Harry and Ron play with Ron’s inherited chess set. The pieces respond particularly well to Ron because he’s played with them for so long.
The Golden Snitch
Quidditch is insanely cool as a sport, but I want to highlight the Golden Snitch here. Not only is this game-ending ball the centerpiece of the sport — once caught by the Seeker the game is over, and the Seeker’s team earns 150 points, which may be enough points to secure a win — but they also have flesh memories, in order to determine how they were handled in the game. This proves especially useful when Dumbledore leaves the first Snitch Harry ever caught to him in his will, with a special purpose behind it that only Harry can access.
Floo Powder
Given how people who travel by fireplace seem to find themselves covered in soot, I’m not sure floo powder is the most convenient way to travel — then again, if you’re a witch or wizard, you could just vanish the soot from yourself once you’ve arrived at your destination. And I love the idea of fireplaces and floo powder being a means of transportation between locations in the Wizarding World. Just make sure to speak clearly when you announce your destination, obviously.
Magic Wands
I questioned whether or not to include wands on this list, because on the surface, so much of what they do relies on the skill and intention of the wizard. But beyond allowing wizards a way to channel their magic, wands in the Wizarding World are pretty cool. The type of wood used, length, flexibility and core are all factors in what makes a wand compatible with a particular wizard. And we also know that wands tend to be most loyal to their proper owner.
The Mirror Of Erised
Dumbledore was surely right when he told Harry that it “does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” Still, it would be amazing to see what the Mirror of Erised reveals about a person’s deepest desires. I like to think it might be motivating, assuming those desires are attainable. Of course, it’d be maddening if they aren’t, so maybe not?
The Veil
I have a feeling that if we knew about all of the things hidden away in the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic, this list would be a lot longer. But the ominousness of the Veil, which is featured in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is probably a good indication that some things are best left a mystery. This arched structure appears to be a doorway between the living world and the dead. Presumably, it’s one-way (sadly, we learned this from Sirius’s death), but there's probably a lot more that we don't know about it. Regardless, it’s a fascinating and terrifying object (and should probably have like a glass barrier or a sign or something in front of it, no?)
Sirius's Flying Motorbike
Why fly on a broom when you can cruise the skies in a flying motorcycle? Sirius Black seems like exactly the kind of wizard -- given his rebellious nature (and likely some extra pocket money) -- to own a flying motorbike. But it’s actually Hagrid who’s seen flying it, and right at the start of the story, as the motorbike is how Hagrid transports baby Harry to the Dursleys at the start of Sorcerer’s Stone.
The Deluminator
When we first glimpse the Deluminator, Dumbledore is using it to blink out the street lights on Privet Drive at the start of Sorcerer’s Stone. But we learn in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Ron inherits the deluminator, that the device is more than just a put-outer (or a re-lighter). It can also provide a guiding light for a wizard who needs to find their way to something, which was the case for Ron after he left his friends behind for a bit.
Mad-Eye Moody's Eye
While the name of the magical eye’s wearer suggests there might be something off with the eye itself, Moody’s magical eye seems like an extremely useful item to have. Not only does it allow him to see through objects — including Harry’s invisibility cloak, which is quite a feat, given its origins — it can also see in every direction (including through the back of Moody’s own head!). Very cool.
The Whomping Willow
Planted as a way to mostly block off one of the secret entrances to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, sure, the Whomping Willow is pretty violent to anyone that comes within range of its branches. But the big tree is undoubtedly one of the more unpredictable and wild parts of the character of Hogwarts. And it gets points for being a crucial part of the Marauders’ lore.
The Sword of Gryffindor
Listen, I’m not saying that I want to be a Gryffindor, because I’m happy with where I’ve been sorted. But it would be really cool to know that if I were part of Gryffindor’s house, Godric Gryffindor's sword might be available to me under the right circumstances. Like when Harry was facing Tom Riddle and the Basilisk in Chamber of Secrets, or when Neville — a character we wish we saw more of in the movies — was staring down Nagini in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
The Marauders Map
On the surface, the Marauder’s Map might look like a piece of parchment that’s a bit ahead of its time -- existing in the time before GPS would become readily available to us Muggles -- but I think the coolest feature of this map, which was introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and covers the vast interior and grounds of Hogwarts, is that it also shows the identities and whereabouts of everyone on campus. Anyone would be up to no good with a map like this!
The Vanishing Cabinet
As we learn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the vanishing cabinet can undoubtedly pose a security risk if nefarious witches and wizards were to use it to gain access to some place they aren’t welcome. Still, I love the idea of two cabinets that serve as portals to one another, whether it be for people or objects. That sounds like it could be really convenient.
Flying Brooms
You didn’t think I was going to leave brooms off of this list, did you? As we see from the very first book and movie in the series, flying broomsticks are not only used for transportation, they’re also used for playing Quidditch. What a fun way to get around (as long as the weather is good, anyway).
The Entrance To Platform 9 3/4
What I love most about the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4 isn’t just that it’s the gateway to the Hogwarts Express platform, but also that it’s set amidst a busy muggle train station in London. It’s one of the most notable examples from the books and films of a bit of very important magic sitting in plain sight, only accessible to witches and wizards.
Portkeys
Portkeys are a bit like floo powder to me, in that they seem a bit messy as a means of getting around. This is more in the figurative sense though, in this case, as a portkey is a seemingly ordinary object enchanted to whisk anyone who touches it away to a specific destination. From the way Harry describes it, and the way it’s depicted in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it seems like kind of an unsettling experience to travel this way. On the other hand, it’s still one more cool way to get from A to B in the Wizarding World.
Chocolate Frogs
There are so many cool magical foods that could be on this list, but I had to go with something chocolate. Not only do chocolate frogs actually hop around, but they also come with a collectible card featuring a famous witch or wizard from history.
Omnioculars
By today’s technological standards, the omnioculars that Harry, Ron and Hermione use at the Quidditch World Cup might not seem nearly as cool as they once did, but I still think having the ability to watch and replay moments at a live sporting event (or maybe a concert or bird-watching expedition or something?) would be really cool, especially if you’re able to zoom in, and see things up close or from different angles.
Neville's Remembrall
Remembralls seem to be especially useful for those of us who tend to forget things, so I wouldn’t mind having one of these. Of course, as Neville points out, knowing you forgot something is only helpful if you can remember what you’ve forgotten…
The Ceiling of the Great Hall
Imagine being able to enjoy the night sky without having to actually be outside. As a person who loves rainy weather (from the comfort of inside, preferably under a blanket), I would adore a room that reflected the sky outside, which is what the teachers and students at Hogwarts get to enjoy in the Great Hall of the school.
Felix Felicis
Sure, Felix Felicis is technically a potion, not an object. And if we’re including potions, there are certainly others we could include, but Felix Felicis just sounds amazing. The drinker of this potion — as we learn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — will experience good luck for a short time. This seems like the kind of thing that would come in handy in any number of circumstances, to say the least.
