Continuity mistake: When Malfoy and his friends bother Ron and Hermione, Harry shows up and messes with the three boys. He grabs hold of Malfoy's feet, lifts them in the air and pulls him across the snow. In the first close-up of the soles of Malfoy's boots, not a speck of snow is on them, though he was just walking in it. Then in the next close-up, his feet still in the air, the soles are now covered in snow. (01:02:45)
Continuity mistake: In the first exterior shot through the back patio door, as the Dursleys eat, the kitchen window and patio set below are visibly quite far from the white patio enclosure. Later, when Vernon falls to the ground as Marge floats away, Petunia runs to him and now the kitchen window, on a supposed brick wall, is actually right beside the white patio enclosure. Adding to the absurdity, the entire house is in the opening shot of the film and that middle part of the wall is conspicuously missing. Additionally, even the bricks and stone top of the seat wall between the tiled patio and grass have changed. (00:05:35)
Continuity mistake: The first time we see Hermione punch Malfoy, she turns completely away from Malfoy, then spins round and hits him. However, when Harry and Hermione watch themselves later, Hermione barely turns away from Malfoy before she punches him, and uses a different punch too. Malfoy's reaction is different as well. (01:20:05 - 01:44:50)
Continuity mistake: At Hagrid's, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are there the first time in the film, there is a large birdcage, blue cup and saucer, watering can and small wood planter (with seedlings) on the windowsill. Later, when Hermione throws the first stone, as the stone flies through the window the watering can and blue cup's positions differ and the wood planter and large birdcage are gone. When she throws the second stone they are back on the windowsill. (01:24:05 - 01:52:20)
Continuity mistake: The actual width between the two front large wood bed posts in Harry's room at the Leaky Cauldron inexplicably changes between shots, as do their position on the wood plank floor. After Harry removes his shoe and dangles it in the first overhead shot, there are five specific wood planks between the posts. Yet when he drops the shoe in the next overhead shot, there are now over five and a half wood planks between the two posts. The left post has moved to the right - by 1/2 a wood plank and the right post actually moved over one whole plank. (00:15:20)
Continuity mistake: In the hospital wing, when Hermione says, "Sorry Ron, but seeing as you can't walk," the camera pans around her and Harry. Before she turns the timeturner, the bed that Harry was lying in is visible and the blankets which were folded neatly in the previous shots are now off and very messy, and the positions of the tall blue screen and chair near the bed are also completely different. Later, when they return, the bed is perfectly neat and the chair is pushed back again. (01:47:10)
Continuity mistake: After Hermione punches Malfoy, when he and his friends run away, Malfoy says,"Not a word to anyone, understood?" just as Hermione says, "That felt good." Then Malfoy says "jumped up mudblood" when he enters the doorway and as Ron says, "Not good," Malfoy says, "Mark my words." However, when future Hermione and Harry duck and hide, the scenario differs. As Malfoy and friends run, he says everything, "Not a word to anyone, understood?" through "jumped up mudblood. Mark my words," and that's when Hermione says, "That felt good." (01:23:30 - 01:49:50)
Continuity mistake: When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in Hagrid's hut prior to Buckbeak's execution, a stone flies in the window and strikes a pot, splitting it pretty much down the middle. There are two major shards. However, when Harry and Hermione 'relive' this moment from their position among the pumpkins, the stone (thrown by Hermione) breaks the pot in a very different pattern, with smaller pieces (and more of them). Since the same event is just being played through in time again, the pot should have broken exactly the same way both times. (01:24:45 - 01:51:15)
Continuity mistake: When Harry first arrives at Lupin's office as he packs, the skulls with the horns, sitting atop the bookcase, are visible. In the following shots, the skulls not only drastically alter their positions, the one with the very tall horns is actually gone in some shots. (02:07:45)
Continuity mistake: In Harry's room at the Leaky Cauldron, the rug and log holder's positions change. For instance, in the shot from under the bed, as Harry's head looks upside down at the Monster Book of Monsters, the rug in front of the fireplace is directly ahead. The right edge of the rug is aligned with the bed post on the wood floor. However, in the shot from the top of the bed the rug's position is now much farther to the right, use the wood planks as a guide. (00:15:25)
Continuity mistake: When Harry is in Lupin's office, as the Professor says, "I resigned..." his cane leans against the corner of the trunk beside the doorway. Yet when Harry says, "But Dumbledore..." the cane hangs off the center of the trunk. As Harry says, "None of it made any difference," the cane is gone, but when Lupin says, "You helped uncover the truth," the cane hangs again. Then when Lupin says, "If I am proud of anything..." the cane leans against the corner, but wait, when Lupin leaves the office the cane hangs off the trunk once again. (02:06:10)
Continuity mistake: Between the shots of Marge floating out of the house and later when Petunia runs to Vernon on the grass, there are many significant changes. The short brick walls that edge the Dursley garden are actually different bricks, different grout and are even aligned differently between these shots. The bushes along the wood fence are at least 2-3 ft away from the corner bricks in the first shots, but in the last shot are aligned with the corner. The height of those bushes go from being way above the top of the wood fence to being at least a foot below. In the first shots there are small metal plaques that are attached along the top of the wood fence, but in the last shot they are gone. (00:05:30)
Continuity mistake: During the scene where the Fat Lady is missing, the students are gathered on the stairs and Fred and George are on the top of the stairs, right next to each other. In the shot right after Ginny says, "The Fat Lady, she's gone," one of the twins is on the left, at the foot of the other staircase. He could not have moved that fast, because the two are standing beside each other when Ginny talks. (00:46:05)
Continuity mistake: When Harry first sees the Patronus with Sirius, from Harry's POV it is clear that the Patronus light contracts entirely into the wand, while the area around the wand is still visible, and then he collapses. However, when Harry casts the spell later into the movie, Harry collapses on the other side of the lake, while the light from the wand is still quite large. (01:41:00 - 01:57:00)
Continuity mistake: When Marge insults Harry's parents, Harry gets angry and screams "Shut up." In the very next shot, from behind Petunia, Petunia turns her head behind to look at Harry. The next shot is a side on/wide shot and Petunia's head is not turned behind, in fact she is now looking in Vernon's direction. In the next shot, which is again a shot from behind Petunia, she is looking behind again.
Continuity mistake: When the kids are on the Hogwarts Express, there is a bottle of water on the flat fold up tray near Lupin. As the train is bumped, Ron is jerked forward, but the bottle remains in the same position. (00:20:40)
Continuity mistake: Immediately after Remus' and Sirius' fight (as werewolf and animagus dog), a wounded Sirius stumbles down a pathway towards the lake. Harry is only a few steps behind him. When the scene cuts to the next shot, Harry is now running down a wooded slope alone and spots Sirius lying next to the lake. Sirius, in his weakened and injured condition, could not have sprinted so far and so quickly ahead of Harry. The terrain isn't steep enough for Sirius to have rolled all the way to the edge, and he wouldn't have had time to get up and continue walking. (01:41:50)
Continuity mistake: As the Knight Bus begins to appear, Harry falls back onto the ground, leans on his arms and in the front shot his sweatshirt is off his right shoulder, but in the next side shot, as he still leans on his arms, both sides of his jacket are properly on. (00:07:55)
Continuity mistake: In the Shrieking Shack, Harry grabs Sirius Black and throws him to the floor. There are many black marks on the floorboards, like paw prints etc. Although Sirius doesn't move when Harry first throws him on the floor, the black marks on the floorboard near Black's head change between the first wideshot of him on the floor and the following closeup and in subsequent shots as well. (01:27:25)
Continuity mistake: When Hermione and Harry hide behind the pumpkins, Hermione says, "Come on! We're coming out the back door. Go!" As HRH run out of Hagrid's, Hermione and Harry run to hide behind the trees. In the shot facing the two, with the pumpkins and Hagrid's behind them, the blanket on the ground beside the pumpkins is visible, though it is gone thereafter. (01:52:00)
Chosen answer: It's not known what it is. It is left to the audience's imagination of what exactly is in the room or what some witch or wizard was doing in there. This is only meant to be a humorous bit and is unrelated to the plot. It didn't happen in the book.
raywest ★