The secret meaning behind Harry Potter's cardigans in Order of the Phoenix
9 May 2022, 14:09
Harry Potter fans are convinced it is a tribute to Remus Lupin.
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As Harry Potter fans ourselves, we like the think we know every fact and theory about the book series and the film franchise.
With that in mind, you can imagine our shock when we realised there was a little-known Order of the Phoenix theory we had never heard of before.
If you too have never heard the theory about Harry Potter and his cardigans, then keep on reading – you're going to want to know this one.
In the fifth film instalment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, one of the main storylines follows the creation (and sadly the demise) of the DA – Dumbledore's Army.
Alongside Hermione and Ron, Harry forms the secret club to teach his fellow Hogwarts students how to defend themselves against dark magic.
This comes after the return of Voldemort in the previous film and the appointment of Dolores Umbridge as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher – a teacher who would rather they learn from books that actually practice magic.
So Dumbledore's Army is formed, they're all practicing defensive spells and all is going well – enter Harry's cardigans.
During these scenes, Harry can be seen opting for a button-down cardigan instead of the regular pullovers everyone else wears.
Was it just a styling choice from the wardrobe department? Some Harry Potter fans think there is more to it than that.
They believe that Harry's decision to wear the cardigan is because he wants to appear like his favourite Defence Against the Dark Darks teacher - Remus Lupin.
One fan commented on a Harry Potter Reddit thread: "In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry wears button down sweaters at DA meetings similar to what Professor Lupin would wear.
"This was Daniel Radcliffe's idea as he thought Harry would want to emulate his favourite DADA [Defence Against The Dark Arts] teacher."
Lupin joined the Harry Potter film series in the third instalment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
During his year at Hogwarts, Lupin – an old friend of the late James and Lily Potter – bonds with Harry and establishes himself as the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher they had ever had.
He also wore a lot of button-down cardigans.
Whether this was a conscious decision from the production team or an idea that came from Daniel himself, we do not know. But we can tell you that it makes total sense.
Harry Potter fans agree that this seems like something Harry would definitely do, with one commenting on the original post: "He absolutely would, he loved Remus."
Another posted in reply: "This is the most unexpectedly heartwarming thing I've seen in a very long time."
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