Less Fact than a Chocolate Frog Card

After the death of Albus Dumbledore at the end of the sixth novel the annoying journalist Rita Skeeter has decided to publish a biography about him. At the beginning of the seventh book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows she gives an interview in the wizarding newspaper the Daily Prophet. The interviewer confronts her with the statement of Elphias Doge, a longtime friend of Dumbledore, “that Skeeter’s book contains less fact than a Chocolate Frog Card.”[1]

            This comparison can only be used by members of the wizarding community. Doge refers to boxes filled with tiny frogs made of chocolate. They contain cards which summarize the most important achievements of the witch or wizard who is depicted on the front of the card. Most people in the wizarding world collect these cards.[2] Due to the limited space on the card only a small amount of information can be included. Rita Skeeter’s book on the other hand will be a voluminous book filled with a lot of information. Due to the long life of Dumbledore it can be assumed that the biography must be at least 300 pages long. According to Elphias Doge the information given on 299 and three-quarters of these pages must, therefore, be made up.

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[1] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 27.

[2] Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, p.77.