Nine things in the Harry Potter movies that Americans thought were magic… but are actually just British

• Ranging from treacle tarts to house points at school, the list has Brits shocked

There are lot of culture differences between Brits and Americans, from food to sense of humour.

So, when the Harry Potter franchise became a worldwide sensation – with the added confusion of made up fantasy words – it’s no surprise that some things got lost in communication. 

Americans have taken to Reddit to share some of the things they hilariously thought were fictional magic, but are actually just British.

The thread posted into the Harry Potter forum, has over 1,200 comments, with the original poster asking ‘non-british readers, what’s something from the books you thought was magical but turned out to be just british?’

Ranging from treacle tarts to house points at school, the responses caused shock amongst Brits.

when the extremely British Harry Potter franchise became a worldwide sensation, with the added confusion of made up fantasy words, it’s no surprise that some things got lost in communication

Treacle tart

The first thing American’s have been getting confused over is treacle tart – a classic British pastry dessert with a filling made from golden syrup.

Over 2,300 people agreed, upvoting the comment – one user wrote ‘Same, I thought it was something like butterbeer or chocolate frog lol, I found out it was real two months ago’. 

A fan said ‘I didn‘t know what they were, so I imagined some kind of cake that looked like an octopus or squid.. Guess my young mind went treacle=tentacle. And we already had chocolate frogs.. so it somehow made sense.’

Others added ‘This was the first thing I thought of’ and ‘you’re telling me this isn’t magic???’

Someone else chimed in with ‘Me too. I asked a British friend about this just the other day and she said it’s divine.’ 

A Brit replied ‘I am flabbergasted at how many people didn’t realise this was a thing…and now I want some treacle tart.’

The first thing American’s have been getting confused over is treacle tart – a classic British pastry dessert with a filling made from golden syrup

A Brit replied ‘I am flabbergasted at how many people didn’t realise this was a thing…and now I want some treacle tart’

School houses

Another popular response was the school house system, which it turns out many Americans thought was a concept made up for Hogwarts.

More than 1,700 people agree that they didn’t realise it was a real system for many schools in the UK.

One shocked fan asked ‘How are students selected in the real world?’ to which someone replied ‘At random when you first join the school, or in boarding schools the houses are based on which house you decide to live in’.

Others commented ‘THIS! I was shocked to find out houses were a real thing and that my friend’s school had them’ and ‘Wait WHAT?’.

Brits took to the thread to share the names of their school houses and what they were inspired by.

Someone explained ‘My school had Beech(yellow), Cedar (red), Oak (green) , Elm (blue)and on our darky navy school ties – the school crest was the colour of our house so my tie had the school crest in yellow’.

Another said ‘Ours were names of nearby hills, my fiancé’s were historical writers (Shakespeare, Marlowe, Chaucer etc), and my cousins’ were nearby rivers.’ 

Another popular response was the school house system, which it turns out many Americans thought was a concept made up for Hogwarts

Fans commented ‘THIS! I was shocked to find out houses were a real thing and that my friend’s school had them’ and ‘Wait WHAT?’

Punting

One American revealed that they didn’t understand the meaning of ‘punting,’ which is travelling in a long flat-bottomed boat.

They wrote ‘not necessarily “magical”, but PUNTING. When Filch had to punt students across the Fred and George’s swamp, I’m over here thinking he was kicking them across like an american football. not ferrying them in a boat. my mind was blown.’

An amused Brit replied ‘One of the favourite things I learned about American readers is they actually thought Filch was kicking kids across a small swamp. Just marvellous.’

Others added ‘Funny thing is it’s perfectly within character, if well beyond his physical abilities’ and ‘Yes!! I can totally see why American children/people believed it, that’s why it’s so funny. You wouldn’t question it’.

One American revealed that they didn’t understand the meaning of ‘punting,’ which is travelling in a long flat-bottomed boat

Christmas crackers

One American said they thought Christmas crackers were a magical item.

They commented ‘Christmas crackers. I thought they were like… a food type of cracker?

‘I was so confused when two characters were pulling apart the crackers and there was stuff inside of them. 

‘But I was just like, “oh this wacky magical world and their novelty-filled giant cheezits!”

Another agreed ‘I’m US, and from context i figured they’re like party poppers, but with the equivalent of kids meal toys instead of streamers. Never knew it was a real life thing, other than Harry comparing them to muggle ones.’ 

One American said they thought Christmas crackers were a magical item

Another agreed ‘I’m US, and from context I figured they’re like party poppers, but with the equivalent of kids meal toys instead of streamers. Never knew it was a real life thing, other than Harry comparing them to muggle ones’

Prefects

Similarly to the school house system, prefects are the standard in most British schools – not just Hogwarts.

One American wrote ‘I read it as “perfects” for like 5 years and I made total sense that Percy was a b**** if they were giving him a title like perfect.’

Others said ‘Me too!!’ and ‘I did to. My parents were so confused’.

A Brit added ‘I was a prefect in Sixth Form. Had a special coloured tie and everything.

‘We were also the only ones allowed to walk across the Grass Quad in the school centre – everyone else had to walk around it. Oh the prestige.’

Similarly to the school house system, prefects are the standard in most British schools – not just Hogwarts

One American wrote ‘I read it as “perfects” for like 5 years and I made total sense that Percy was a b**** if they were giving him a title like perfect’

Names

Strange names are not limited to the wizarding world either – Brits are notorious for interesting place names. 

Someone commented ‘Names. Cornelius Fudge? Bathilda Bagshot? Grimmauld Place? I thought they were all so whimsical!

‘Then come to learn as I got older about all sorts of silly sounding names of towns and people. Upton Snodsbury? Blotusfleming? Benedict Cumberbatch? British are, if nothing else, very creative with names.’

Another joked ‘Just you wait until you hear about the street in my hometown called St Gregory’s Back Alley’. 

Strange names are not limited to the wizarding world either – Brits are notorious for interesting place names

READ MORE: Stacey Solomon shows off incredible DIY Harry Potter Halloween table for her kids complete with sorting hat, floating candles and chocolate golden snitches

Slang

Even just phrases used in conversation have left some Americans bewildered.

One person from the US said ‘I didn’t understand what “All right, Harry?” everyone was saying to him about. 

‘I keep thinking “why, what was wrong?” As I grew up I found out it’s equivalent to “What’s up?”‘

Another agreed ‘Woah, I honestly thought he was going through so much s*** that they were checking on his mental health. Like “Are you all right, Harry?”’ 

Trains with food trolleys

Big train stations and trains with food trolleys were another popular response.

Over 150 people agreed with the comment that read ‘Trains with food trolleys and compartments’.

One fan said ‘When I went to London, I just had to buy from the cart to feel like Harry Potter.’ 

Someone explained ‘Back in the 80’s there were smoking carriages. Absolutely stunk but usually where you could find a seat on a crowded train.’ 

Another user added ‘As a non native who only learned English in school and then mostly via reading books, almost all the foods sounded weird.’ 

Big train stations and trains with food trolleys were another popular response

Some US natives thought peppermint humbug sweets were actually a magical creation

An American wrote ‘Peppermint Humbugs. I imagined little red and white roaches crawling along the table like a peppermint bug version of chocolate frogs’

Peppermint humbugs

Finally, some US natives thought peppermint humbug sweets were actually a magical creation.

An American wrote ‘Peppermint Humbugs. I imagined little red and white roaches crawling along the table like a peppermint bug version of chocolate frogs.’

Another shocked user questioned ‘Wait, that isn’t what they are??,’ meanwhile a Brit explained ‘It’s a classic British sweet. We have a fair number of boiled sweets, where the flavoured sugar mix is boiled and becomes hard. 

‘These and sherbet lemons are the ones mentioned in Harry Potter’.

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