What is the Deathday Party? Do they serve coffee at these events?

The first book and the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, are pretty much the same in what happens on the screen. That is why the differences start with the second book.

In the second movie, however, the differences are more noticeable. More accurately, the Death Day Party is in the book and missing from the film. It is the first time we have peeked into Hogwarts history and its four creators.

We also got to know Argus Filch a bit more.

What is a Deathday party?

A deathday party is a celebration Hogwarts ghosts hold to celebrate the day that a particular person died. In this case, it is our very own Nearly Headless Nick. He died on Halloween, so his deathday celebration was a particular delight.

However, ghosts do not just throw a party for every deathday of anyone. It is usually a jubilee of sorts, and this one was Nearly Headless Nick’s 500th deathday!

Filch is a failed wizard

With a strange turn of events, Harry finds himself in Filches office on one rainy day in October. Filch leaves him there for a moment, and Harry couldn’t resist but peek at the shiny envelope on his desk. Inside the envelope is a promotional pamphlet which says:

“K W I K S P E L L

A Correspondence Course in Beginners’ Magic Intrigued, Harry flicked the envelope open and pulled out the sheaf of parchment inside. More curly silver writing on the front page said:

Feel out of step in the world of modern magic? Find yourself making excuses not to perform simple spells? Ever been taunted for your woeful wandwork?

There is an answer!

Kwikspell is an all-new, fail-safe, quick-result, easy-learn course. Hundreds of witches and wizards have benefited from the Kwikspell method”

-Taken from the book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This was quite embarrassing for Filch, who only later guessed that Harry read the contents of the envelope while he was gone. He ordered him not to tell anyone what he saw. Harry then found out that the distraction was Nearly-Headless Nick’s ploy.

The Deathday Party Ball

“The passageway leading to Nearly Headless Nick’s party had been lined with candles, too, though the effect was far from cheerful: These were long, thin, jet-black tapers, all burning bright blue, casting a dim, ghostly light even over their own living faces. The temperature dropped with every step they took. As Harry shivered and drew his robes tightly around him, he heard what sounded like a thousand fingernails scraping an enormous blackboard.

“Is that supposed to be music?” Ron whispered. They turned a corner and saw Nearly Headless Nick standing at a doorway hung with black velvet drapes.

“My dear friends,” he said mournfully. “Welcome, welcome . . . so pleased you could come. . ..”

-Taken from the book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The gang was just welcomed into the party by the ghost himself. There were hundreds of people there. In the movies, we only see two or maybe three ghosts, but here there is a scene with a multitude.

Ron was nervous, of course, but as soon as he saw a table with the hors d’oeuvres (food aplenty), he was encouraged. Moaning Myrtle was there, and it is the first time she is introduced in the books. They mingled with the ghost crowd until they heard a horn.

It was the arrival of Sir Patrick, a fully decapitated ghost, who was a part of the crowd which prevented Nick from joining the Headless Hunt. Nick was not pleased to see him. Sir Patrick and his headless horsemen started a game of Head Hockey and captured the crowd.

Nick, now without his audience, became agitated. At that point, Harry and the gang decided it was time to bail. However, as they hurried back up the stairs, that is when Harry heard the voice again: “…rip…tear…kill”

Now, what Harry hears is very important for the plot. All those who have read the books and seen the movies already guess. He hears a basilisk, thanks to him being a parseltongue. He hears the voice saying how hungry it has been for so long, and then it smells blood.

Harry tries to pursue it through the castle as it grows faint, and it is then that the gang runs into the writing on the wall:

“THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.”