The Hand of Glory

A Hand of Glory displayed in Whitby Museum. Source

     The hand of glory is said to be a shriveled, disembodied, hand of a man who has been hanged. Several legends, folk tales, and even so-called books of sorcery tell of its supposed dark powers.
     In folklore, these hands are usually created and used by criminals and thieves. To make a hand of glory, it is said that during the hottest days of the summer one must sever the hand of a criminal (sometimes specifically a murderer) who has just been hanged. Some accounts say it must be the left hand, some say it must be the hand that committed the crime (this is often the case in accounts that claim that the criminal must be a murderer), and others say it doesn't matter which hand it is. Then it is said that the remaining blood must be squeezed out with a shroud or winding sheet. After that, it supposedly must be pickled and dried.
     Some legends claim that the fingers of the hand must be oiled and then lit to make its dark powers take effect, others claim that the hand should be used to hold a candle (often this candle must be made from the fat of a criminal, and often this criminal must be the same man from whom the hand is severed) for its enchantments to work.
     Legends from England claim that the hand holds a wide range of powers, from keeping people who have fallen asleep from waking up while the hand is lit to unlocking any door. Other supposed powers from English legend include shattering stones, both revealing and hiding treasure. In France, Germany, and Spain, it was believed that the hand would make whomever it was presented to enter into a magical sleep, even if they were awake when it was presented to them. Similar legends include Raven's Stones, the remains of an executed criminals eyes, and Thieves' Lights, the fingers or toes of unborn children, both of which, when lit, are said to give light only to their owner. Some legends from Germany also claim that Thieves' Lights, like the Hand of Glory, will cause anyone asleep in a building to remain asleep while they are lit. Legends of the finger of a thief (The Finger of Sin) from Poland and a Thief's Foot, Hand or Finger from the Netherlands are similar.
     In England, it is believed that to end the enchantments of a Hand of Glory, one must douse its flame(s) with milk (or sometimes it must be blood, or either one) - no other liquid(s) will work. In France, Germany, and Spain it was believed that the only way to keep the hand from working was to compose a mixture of the bile of a black cat, the fat of a white hen, and the blood of a screech owl in the hottest days of the summer; then put the mixture on the threshold of a door or window where a thief with such a hand in his possession may enter. If such a thief crossed over a threshold anointed in this way, it was believed that their Hand of Glory would become powerless.
     In the Harry Potter series, the Hand of Glory gives light only to its holder when lit, and possibly possesses additional powers as well.
     In Pottermore, a Hand of Glory can be seen at Borgin and Burkes in a glass display case in the third zoom of Chapter 4, Moment 3.

Secrets of The Chamber of Secrets - Chapters 1-4

Chapter 2, Moment 2: A simple yet ridiculously fun game.
Source

     The chapters released for The Chamber of Secrets in Pottermore already have a plethora of fun surprises and new experiences (as well as, you guessed it - secrets), and they've only released the first four chapters! Here is a little guide that should help you through your journey as you continue your exploration of the world of Harry Potter.

Items For Your Trunk

Chapter 4, Moment 2, a moment rich in items you can
collect and put in your trunk. Source

     As you explore the first four chapters of The Chamber of Secrets, you will find a variety of new objects for your trunk - many of which, oddly enough, are individual Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans. While you journey through these chapters, stay on the lookout for at least 6 of these delicious jelly beans, as well as some fire tongs, floo powder, a hairpin, a mask, some pruning shears, a key to the Burrow's scullery, and of course, your second year shopping list, which is required. Keep in mind that some of these objects may unlock previously inaccessible areas in moments you have already explored, so once you've gone through every moment once, I would suggest going through them all again.

     And keep an eye out for the chocolate frog cards detailing Bertie Bott, Cornelius Agrippa, Ignatia Wildsmith, Miranda Goshawk, and Newt Scamander.

     Don't forget to look for the following books: Charm your own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, Encyclopedia of Toadstools, Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, Magical Me, and One Minute Feasts - It's Magic! Don't waste your time looking for the comic book The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle, like I did; unfortunately, it's not collectible. Don't forget, more books are available to buy at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley once you have collected your shopping list; these books are all required.

     Also, you may find a few more Galleons then you are used to...

Potion Ingredients

There's more to this garden then meets the eye... Source

     There is no scarcity of potion ingredients in these chapters, and throughout them the following ingredients are scattered: flower heads, a jar of honey, dried nettles, rose thorns, horklump juice, a dragon liver, and a sprig of peppermint. Keep a close lookout and remember to hover over any suspicious-looking plant, shelf, or cupboard, and the non-suspicious looking ones too, if your not very good at reading the facial expressions and body language of plants, shelves, and cupboards. 

Games/Puzzles

De-Gnoming the Garden, my favorite game so far. Source

     The newly released chapters also include several more fun games, the most sophisticated of which is De-gnoming the Garden, in which you must throw four gnomes over the hedge bordering the Weasley's Garden in 98 seconds. You get a bonus if you manage to throw a gnome past the stump outside the garden, and your farthest throw is recorded until you beat it.
     Another strange but wonderful game is Aunt Petunia's Pudding (see first picture), in which one must keep Aunt Petunia's "masterpiece of a pudding" afloat in the air for 14 seconds before watching it fall to the ground with a satisfying splat.
     In Chapter 4 one must play a memory game to obtain the second-year shopping list. It can be solved in three ways; through logic, through quick thinking and memory (using the hint), or by reading part of The Chamber of Secrets. You could cheat, too, of course, but what would be the fun in that?

Recap

     All in all, I would say The Chamber of Secrets has been even better than The Philosopher's Stone was, so far. It was more interactable, and the exclusive content was much more detailed and, to put it simply, much more exclusive. There were more games and puzzles, and the art was fantastic, including even more detailed images of the main characters than the first book this far in, although we still haven't seen Gilderoy Lockart yet. So, if you haven't done so already, go and explore the first chapters of The Chamber of Secrets, and if you have, explore them more!

Magic Wands

A scepter, a long rod used as a symbol of authority. Source

     The word wand literally means "a slender stick or rod", and was once commonly used as a word for any such object. The word itself comes from the Old Norse word vǫndr and its roots are similar to those of "wend" and "wind".
     Perhaps the beginning of the magical wands which are told of in stories today was the drumstick of the prerunners to modern doctors in ceremonies meant to heal, cure, or protect people. Another possible orgin is the use of supposed amulets in ancient societies to ward off evil, some of which had a wand-like shape. The idea also may have arisen from the scepter - a long rod or staff that symbolizes power. The earliest known mention of a magic wand as we think of them today was Circe's use of a wand in The Odyssey (a Greek epic poem) to turn a crew of sailors into swine. Starting in the middle ages many European folk tales also told of magical wands and they began to appear more frequently in stories, mostly owned by fairies.
     Contemporary authors began using the idea of magical wands in their stories as well, and once movies became a common form of entertainment magical wands also began to appear in movies.
     In the Harry Potter series (which also was an important factor in the increasing appearance of magical wands in literature) magical wands are thin wooden rods with cores of various magical substance. Wizards and witches use them to channel their magical power and cast spells. In addition, wands, having powerful magical substances as cores, will sometimes profess magic of their own.
     In Pottermore, you receive your magical wand in Chapter 5, Moment 4.

Cauldrons

A cauldron made in 15th century England. Source

     A cauldron is a large kettle used for cooking over a fire. The word itself has its earliest origins in Latin word calēre, which means "to be warm". The first known use of the word was in the 14th century.
     Since cauldrons were once a common household object, many folk tales have arose of cauldrons containing magical substances. Old Irish folk legends tell of leprechauns that kept their gold in cauldrons. Since cauldrons used to be used in everyday life for cooking, potions in folklore were often cooked or prepared in cauldrons. A popular example is the three witches in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, in which the three witches brew "a charm of powerful trouble" with several unorthodox ingredients.
     In the Harry Potter series, cauldrons are used primarily to brew potions and are usually like normal cooking cauldrons, although there are also accordion-like collapsible cauldrons and self-stirring cauldrons. First year students at Hogwarts are required to buy a pewter cauldron (most utensils and cookware was made of pewter in the middle ages) although they come in a variety of other materials as well.
     In Pottermore, cauldrons can be purchased at Potage's Cauldron Shop in Diagon Alley. They come in three types, Pewter Size 2 (15 Galleons) Brass Size 2 (21 Galleons) and Copper Size 2 (25 Galleons). pewter cauldrons brew potions the slowest, brass ones a bit faster, and copper ones the fastest. This is a reference to the use of copper and its alloys in ancient times as a medicine and as a liquid purifier. These practices arose because in real life, copper and many of its alloys (such as bronze) really do kill bacteria.

Bezoars

A Bezoar stone from Early Modern Northern Europe. Source

     The English word "bezoar" comes from the Persian word pâdzahr, which literally means "to expel poison". The bezoar as an object has gone through several incarnations, many of which together form the basis of the bezoars in the Harry Potter series.
     The belief began in the Arabian Peninsula from folk tales about a stones found by pools of water said to be produced in the eyes of the Bezoar Goat after it ate snakes and dipped its head in the pools to cool the heat that the venom caused. The stone was either ground up or put whole on injuries to help to cure them. The "oriental bezoar" formed in the digestive tract of this goat is still valued by some, and the idea that these goats can cure themselves from snake venom is still believed in certain parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
     Arab physicians later brought the legend to Europe and sold stones formed in the stomach and intestines of several different animals. Some were said to cure any poison while other physicians prescribed bezoars from specific animals for certain poisons. They were either ground up and mixed with other substances or simply dropped in glass to remove any poison that might be in it.
     In medical science today a bezoar is defined as "a mass found in the gastrointestinal system of an animal formed from compressed matter".
     In the Harry Potter series, "beozers" are stones from the stomach of a goat, a reference to Capra aegagrus aegagrus, the aforementioned Bezoar Goat, and are used, mostly in potions, to counteract poison, such as in the "Antidote to Common Poisons" brewed in Pottermore. If you need another one of these in Pottermore just go to the Hospital Wing (Chapter 17, Moment 2), zoom in all the way, and look in the ingredient shelf.