Harry Potter Fans were thrilled when they found out why Professor Remus Lupin sleeps on the Hogwarts Express. The Prisoner of Azkaban.
More than two decades have passed since the Harry Potter The franchise has changed the lives of children around the world and spawned a generation of people who still believe their Hogwarts acceptance letters were simply lost in the mail.
The first books appeared in the second half of the 1990s and The Philosopher’s Stone Even though the film premiered in 2001, fans are still learning new interesting facts about the franchise all these years later.
The latest little Easter Egg making the rounds on the Internet comes from the third part Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which was released in cinemas in 2004.
At the beginning of the film, Harry, Ron and Hermione share a cabin on the Hogwarts Express with a man who later turns out to be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin.
The teens are stunned to see an adult on the train, as the train is normally only used to transport students to and from Hogwarts. However, Lupin’s presence quickly proves useful when he wakes up and defends the trio from a dementor attack.
And the reason behind JK Rowling’s decision to have Lupin board the train has long been a point of discussion among fans.
Lupin’s presence on the train saves Harry from the Dementors’ attack. (Warner Bros)
The in-universe explanation is that he can’t afford any other form of travel due to prejudice against his being a werewolf. However, the reason for sending him on the train seems very much like a plot device considering wizards can essentially teleport.
Aside from the debates surrounding his presence on the train, one eagle-eyed fan on Reddit explained that he believes Lupin is sound asleep for most of the journey because he was exhausted from transforming into a werewolf the day before.
“In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Professor Lupin sleeps through most of the train ride to Hogwarts. The date is September 1, 1993. The night before was actually a full moon; he was exhausted from being transformed the night before,” the original author wrote.
This observation was lost on most fans, with one person responding, “I’m really impressed with the detail in this movie. Good stuff!”
“I remember seeing this scene and wondering why! Oh my god the mystery is solved,” a second person added.
However, it seems that more people were surprised when they learned that Harry Potter was set in the early 1990s and several responses expressed surprise that Harry and co. were actually born in 1980.
“I didn’t realize the Harry Potter series was set in the early 90s. I thought it was the early 2000s,” admitted one user, while a second added: “Wow, I didn’t know it was set in the 90s.”
