No good crying over spilt potion

On their ways home Mrs Figg tells Harry: “’Dumbledore said we were to keep you from doing magic at all costs… well,  it’s no good crying over spilt potion I suppose…’”[1] Once again this proverb derives from the muggle world. ‘It is no use crying over spilt milk’ refers to the fact that once a mistake has been made it is not necessary to be upset about it because it can no longer be changed.[2] The first time it has been included in the Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs as ‘No weeping for shed milk’ was in 1659. Once the milk has been spilt, complaining about it cannot make it undone. One simply has to take care of it.

In order to highlight the significance of the magical world this phrase has been altered and Milk has, therefore, been replaced by potion. Harry has already committed a crime in using a spell in front of a muggle. Dumbledore’s request to protect Harry from performing magic has, thus, failed. Instead of complaining about it, Mrs Figg, Mundungus Fletscher and Harry now have to deal with the repercussions.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, p.27.

[2] "It's No Use Crying over Spilled Milk." The Free Dictionary. Web. 22.03. 2015. <http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/It's no use crying over spilled milk>.