The Magical Seven
by Artemis
Tom Riddle once stated that seven is “the most powerful magical number,” also appearing in the Muggle Bibles and in our daily lives , and of course a fact in Harry Potter’s mythos that corresponds with ancient numerology lore: three, four, and their sum seven are said to be the most potent numbers. Although four is rather shafted in the Wizarding World, as it means death in Chinese and is considered to be unlucky for some, the special Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter's fourth year does have four contestants, Hogwarts does have four Houses, and four founders. On the other hand, the power of three gets its fair share of spotlight: for example, three (should-be) Triwizard Tournament contestants, the Golden Trio, the three major wand cores, and the three Deathly Hallows.
Seven, though, has the greatest deal of significance throughout our life (e.g. seven days in a week; an Egyptian Pharaoh who dreamt of seven lean cows which devoured seven fat cows; and of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears of grain, Joseph, who predicted seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine in the Bible; seven bright moving objects in the sky that could be seen by the naked eye - the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn). Though nothing as obvious as Harry Potter being the seventh son of a seventh son, there are seven years of Hogwarts schooling, seven Horcruxes despite Voldemort’s intentions, seven Quidditch players per team, seven Weasley children, Ginny Weasley, the only daughter in the Weasley family who is also Harry Potter's wife, and more. The subjects of the series’ crucial prophecy, those with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord - Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter - were both born in the seventh month of the year.
While some of these might just be coincidence, there’'s no doubt that numerology was an important part of the intricate mythology woven in the series.
Yours always,
Artemis