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Harry Potter (book series)

book series · in 78 videos (2007–2023)

J.K. Rowling's book series, Hank's favorite. Hank's 2007 song Accio Deathly Hallows gave the brothers a new audience and led, through a Harry Potter convention, to VidCon.

By: J. K. Rowling · Includes: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire · Within: Hogwarts, Voldemort, Harry Potter (character, “Harry Potter”), Albus Dumbledore, Hufflepuff, Ron Weasley, Hedwig, Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw, Horcrux, Nymphadora Tonks, Severus Snape, Death Eater, Draco Malfoy, Gellert Grindelwald, Hermione Granger, Muggle, Rubeus Hagrid, Sirius Black, Slytherin, Barty Crouch Jr., Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, Devil's Snare, Diagon Alley, Dolores Umbridge, Galleon, Goblin, Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff · Adapted as: Harry Potter (film series) · Spin-offs: Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4

Videos by year: 2007: 19 · 2008: 4 · 2009: 10 · 2010: 8 · 2011: 5 · 2012: 7 · 2013: 8 · 2014: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2023: 1

Also known as: HP

Threads

Also named in the threads: Hank's crush on Helen Hunt (2007) · Song Wednesday: Hank performs a song on Wednesdays (2007) · John's proposal to say 'jokes' instead of 'cool' (2007) · The brothers' feud, to be judged by Nerdfighters (2007) · John asks Nerdfighters to prove Helen Hunt has seen Hank's song about her (2008) · John's 8/8/08 event in Chicago: library talk, Grant Park and The Bean (2008) · Hank's album So Jokes: release (2008) · Truth or Fail game-show videos (2009) · LeakyCon 2009 edition · Hank asks viewers to buy Harry Potter Alliance raffle tickets for Haiti (2010) · The Harry Potter Alliance's Helping Haiti Heal raffle (2010) · John asks viewers to vote for the Harry Potter Alliance to win a $250,000 contest, 'with Esther' (2010) · John visits Esther Earl and her Nerdfighter friends in Boston (July 2010) · John and Hank at LeakyCon 2011 · The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series (2012) · Hank's UK trip with Katherine: the Natural History Museum and the Harry Potter Studio Tour (2013)

Same name, different thing

Harry Potter (character, “Harry Potter”)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

Brotherhood 2.0 forum (4) · Esther Earl (4) · Alan Lastufka (2) · The Fault in Our Stars (6) · YouTube (10) · Henry Green (5) · Katherine Green (7) · Maureen Johnson (3) · Brotherhood 2.0 (5) · Sarah Urist Green (6)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2007

  • 2007-07-18 · July 18: Accio Deathly Hallows (no spoilers) — Hank sings that he needs Harry Potter like a grindylow needs water, and his need grows as Saturday (the release) approaches. (playful) — 00:00:43
  • 2007-07-20 · July 20: Green Mohawk — Hank says he currently has the number five top-rated song on YouTube, a dream come true that makes him feel like a small-time rock star. — 00:02:03
  • 2007-07-24 · July 24: More Harry Potter?! — Hank: The New York Times contacted John to answer a question about Harry Potter; John passed on Hank's name, so Hank is kind of contributing 200 words on why Harry Potter is special. (hedged) — 00:01:05
    • Hank argues Harry Potter is not just another children's fantasy adventure; something very different is going on, the biggest thing in publishing since (jokingly) the Bible. — 00:01:41
  • 2007-07-25 · Re: July 18: Accio Deathly Hallows — Hank reports that, for the first time after about 150 videos, a Brotherhood 2.0 video is on the front page of YouTube. — 00:00:08
  • 2007-07-25 · July 25: Brotherhood 2.0's Youtube Comments Are Answered! — John finds Hank's face on the YouTube front page: the brothers' video has been featured. — 00:00:10
  • 2007-07-26 · July 26: The Price of Fame — Hank's song 'Accio Deathly Hallows' has been featured on the front page of YouTube and watched over 200,000 times. — 00:00:51
  • 2007-08-15 · August 15: Getting Featured on YouTube — Hank: In the song, John phones Hank in bed shouting 'front page'; Hank wants to nap, then realises, runs to his laptop and finds himself featured on YouTube. (playful) — 00:00:52
  • 2007-10-05 · October 5th: Feuding, Goonies and Politics — recommendation: Hank urges young Nerdfighters who have never seen The Goonies to rent it: like Harry Potter with pirates in the real world of 1985, about friendship and social-outcast underdogs. — 00:02:11
  • 2007-10-10 · October 10th: A Spoilerific Attack on Unicorns — John's argument 'Why do you guys hate Tonks so much?': Voldemort survives by drinking unicorn blood, so unicorns saved him, and his war killed Tonks; if you like unicorns, you killed Tonks, and Hedwig. (playful) — 00:01:53
  • 2007-10-15 · Oct 15th: Happy 16th Birthday B20 — Hank qualifies his recent claim that video blogs can transmit ideas better than books: not always; Harry Potter would make a horrible video blog. — 00:02:23
  • 2007-11-21 · November 21st: What I'm Grateful For — John is thankful to Hank for the amazing year of getting to know each other as grown-up siblings, though they spent much of it putting stuff on their heads and singing about Harry Potter. — 00:01:11
  • …and 20 statements more in 2007 — all statements of 2007

Also named in: Brotherhood 2.0: January 15th

2008

  • 2008-07-18 · Book Eight...Another Harry Potter Song — announcement: Hank says that a year ago today (18 July 2007) he recorded a Harry Potter song that pretty much changed his life, and celebrates the anniversary with another Harry Potter song. — 00:00:30
    • Hank thanks the Nerdfighters for working together to get Accio Deathly Hallows up to 1 million views. — 00:00:30
    • In the song Hank says he wants a Book 8: he thinks there's an unwritten story and it's time to put fingers to keys. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:14
    • Hank proposes joke titles for Book 8, such as 'Harry Potter and the Paper Towns' and 'Harry Potter and the nerdfighters'. (joke) — 00:02:57
  • 2008-08-12 · Eight Days of Awesome — Hank says eight days earlier he was in the studio recording an actual studio version of Accio Deathly Hallows, to be discussed later. — 00:00:40
  • 2008-11-24 · DFTBA Records — announcement: Hank says the label's first release is his own album (joking about a 'promising young artist' with songs about Harry Potter, Barack Obama and Helen Hunt); the digital version is on sale now. — 00:00:53

Also named in: Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

2009

  • 2009-04-28 · 10 Book Reviews in 4 Minutes — recommendation: Hank calls Sorcery and Cecilia adorable, like Harry Potter meets Pride and Prejudice: two young women in a dangerous magical mystery, really about infuriating boys in marvelous outfits. (playful) — 00:01:29
  • 2009-05-24 · WROCK! — John says he and Hank just had two extraordinary days at LeakyCon, a Harry Potter conference. — 00:00:00
  • 2009-05-27 · Open Letters — Hank tells J. K. Rowling her work is the best, but not even she deserves a fan community as awesome as Harry Potter nerds, and she should know how lucky she is. (playful) — 00:02:01
  • 2009-07-15 · This Isn't Hogwarts! A Harry Potter Song — announcement: Hank notes the song marks the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today. — 00:03:02
    • Hank announces a Harry Potter Truth or Fail today, guest hosted by Kristina Horner of the Parselmouths and the Five Awesome Girls. — 00:03:02
    • Hank says it is nearly the third anniversary of 'Accio Deathly Hallows', the song that kicked the Vlogbrothers into the mainstream. — 00:03:02
  • 2009-07-19 · Harry Potter Nerds Win at Life — John says he really liked the Harry Potter movie because it was funny but also sad and didn't tell destructive lies about teenage sexuality like some other recent movies. — 00:00:38
  • 2009-08-18 (said on 2009-08-19, implied) · So Jokes: Video EP — Hank: In the song 'Book Eight', Hank sings that he wants J.K. Rowling to write an eighth Harry Potter book; he thinks there is an unwritten story to tell. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:31
  • 2009-11-29 · John Reviews Twilight and New Moon — John thinks whether Harry Potter or Twilight is better is "a question wrongly asked", as the series pursue different goals and readers can read broadly enough for both and more. (hedged) — 00:02:48
  • …and 3 statements more in 2009 — all statements of 2009

Also named in: Ulcerative Colitis: A Song, I Will Call Him Louis: Australia Rocks!

2010

  • 2010-02-03 (said on 2010-02-04, implied) · Win The Awesomest Prizes EVAR! — announcement: Hank says the Harry Potter Alliance, a non-profit built on the Harry Potter fan community, is raffling remarkable prizes for Haiti, with all the money going to Haiti. — 00:00:29
    • Prizes listed include Harry Potter books signed by J. K. Rowling with a thank-you note, a guitar signed and used by Tom Felton, a cast-signed Deathly Hallows, signed Gaiman, Pratchett and John Green books, and Where the Wild Things Are artwork. — 00:01:17
    • Hank says the Harry Potter Alliance, the Harry Potter community and the Nerdfighter community have together raised $86,000, enough to charter two cargo planes of aid to Haiti. — 00:02:15
  • 2010-02-10 · HOW TO GET AN AGENT — recommendation: Maureen Johnson: Relaying her agent, Maureen says not to claim your book will be a big movie or the next Twilight, Harry Potter or Wimpy Kid: it is presumptuous and seems arrogant; agents want a clear letter about the story. — 00:02:31
  • 2010-02-12 · Google Search Stories: Harry Potter — Hank says that as soon as he saw the Super Bowl ad he felt there had to be a Harry Potter version of a Google search story; there wasn't, so he made one. — 00:01:46
  • 2010-07-05 · With Esther — John: Without Harry Potter John would have no Esther, and there probably would not be a Nerdfighteria. (hedged) — 00:01:51
    • Esther is a big supporter of the Harry Potter Alliance, a charity Nerdfighteria often partners with; together they raised $123,000 to help Haiti and sent the SS DFTBA there. — 00:01:57
    • John asks viewers to vote for the Harry Potter Alliance via the link in the description and to get their friends to vote. — 00:02:22
  • 2010-07-21 · I Hung out with Snookie...Accidentally — Hank marks roughly three years since Accio Deathly Hallows was featured on YouTube's front page, the first time many people watched the brothers' videos. — 00:00:52
    • Every year on the Deathly Hallows anniversary Hank writes another Harry Potter song; he has written this year's (2010) but plays only the chorus for lack of time. — 00:02:04
    • The chorus laments that however much young adult fiction Hank reads, he keeps coming up dry: whatever he reads, it is not Harry Potter. (playful) — 00:02:04 · also in: HARRY POTTER SONG!
  • 2010-11-17 · HARRY POTTER SONG! — announcement: Hank says the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out tomorrow night, he is very excited, and it's Song Wednesday. — 00:00:00
  • …and 6 statements more in 2010 — all statements of 2010

Also named in: Hello Baby!!

2011

  • 2011-03-28 · Participatory Geometry — John argues sports matter: as a Harry Potter fan would treasure an email from J.K. Rowling, others treasure the Cubs winning the World Series or an Indiana college reaching the Final Four. — 00:02:29
    • John says we choose what we care about, and caring about sports is ultimately about community, like caring about Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons or Nerdfighteria. — 00:02:49
  • 2011-07-15 · Harry Freaking Potter — Hank says he is at LeakyCon but pre-recorded this video along with his new Harry Potter posters. — 00:00:00
    • Hank says four years ago he wrote a song about the book Deathly Hallows and how he wanted it to come out, and has written another Harry Potter song every year since. — 00:00:04
    • Hank says the brothers are lucky to have been welcomed into the Harry Potter community. — 00:00:14
    • In the song Hank asks Harry Potter whether the final film is 'it', the last piece of a pie most fans have eaten all their adult lives. — 00:00:46
    • Hank sings that Harry Potter helped him learn guitar and launched his whole career, so he is hugely in its debt. — 00:01:10
    • Hank announces two Harry Potter Alliance competitions (art and ideas) at ImagineBetter.org, $1,000 first prizes, top 20 judged by a panel including him, Jason Alexander, Anthony Head and Evanna Lynch. — 00:03:06
    • Hank recommends a beautiful book of Harry Potter community reminiscences (Dear Mr. Potter, per the description) whose thesis his song borrowed; all proceeds fund HPA literacy work. — 00:03:24
  • 2011-11-09 · 27 Part Video — ask: Hank says Harry Potter fans play actual Quidditch in New York every year, this weekend, and urges viewers who are around to go; details in the description. — 00:02:02

Also named in: 31 Jokes for NERDS!, Defying Wadsworth!

2012

  • 2012-01-10 (said on 2012-01-09, implied) · The Fault in Our Stars — John says readers won't feel out of the loop without Looking for Alaska: unlike Harry Potter, his books have nothing to do with each other. — 00:01:30
  • 2012-04-20 · Thoughts on Growing up — recommendation: Hank: For a social life on a budget Hank recommends fun, silly parties at home, like watching Harry Potter or writing fake wills, and never buying alcohol at bars. (playful) — 00:01:25
  • 2012-08-14 · To Be Anything At All: Thoughts from Places, Chicago and LeakyCon 2012 — John says that day he first found that other people knew the words to Hank's songs and began to understand how awesome Nerdfighters and Harry Potter fans are in real life. — 00:01:55
  • 2012-08-17 · Open Letter to the Wizards — Hank says a Harry Potter song he wrote in 2007 changed his life, so he promised himself to write another Harry Potter song every year on that video's anniversary, and has. — 00:00:15
    • This year (2012) Hank saved his song to premiere it on stage at LeakyCon, and now releases it to everyone. — 00:00:24
  • 2012-09-14 · 1000 VIDEOS!!! — Hank lists his songs about quarks, ponies, Harry Potter and Helen Hunt, notes Helen Hunt tweeted him about hers, and recalls inventing 2D glasses and turning Pride and Prejudice into a video blog. (playful) — 00:01:36
  • 2012-10-02 · What To Do With Your Life — John's college self would be surprised he became a novelist whose mustachioed face is on strangers' shirts, and Hank studied chemistry before writing Harry Potter songs. (playful) — 00:02:32
  • 2012-11-27 · Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers — recommendation: John: For Harry Potter fans, John says to reread the books, which stand up to rereading, and recommends Lev Grossman's Magicians series and Melissa Anelli's Harry, A History about the fandom. — 00:01:27
  • …and 2 statements more in 2012 — all statements of 2012

2013

  • 2013-01-11 · On the Ownership of Ideas — Hank recalls Harry Potter's publishers objecting to derivative works like wizard rock songs when the genre began; he says you can make them and asks why anyone would stop fans' enthusiasm. — 00:02:21
  • 2013-01-15 · An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall — Hank says before the last Harry Potter book he emailed YouTube suggesting a front-page feature and a video; they did, the brothers' first real traction on YouTube. — 01:06:09
    • Hank: After 'Accio Deathly Hallows', Hank says its success made him decide to write a Harry Potter song every year on its anniversary, and sings 'Book 8', about a book that doesn't exist. (playful) — 01:10:25
  • 2013-07-12 · Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song — announcement: Hank's description says that every year around the anniversary of Accio Deathly Hallows he releases another Harry Potter song, and this is that song. — video description
  • 2013-08-16 · Harry Potter vs. Science! — Hank says the two must-dos of his UK trip blew his mind: the Natural History Museum, where he and Katherine got up early to be first in line, and the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford. — 00:00:32
    • Hank says science versus Harry Potter is 'my brain': an easy choice for most people, but not for him, so he sorts it out with superlatives. (playful) — 00:00:42
    • Most inspirational: the detail of the Harry Potter universe inspires Hank, but less than Darwin's pigeons, Wallace's collections and Linnaeus's pressings, which connect him to the history of life. — 00:01:31
    • Hank loves science's drive toward objective truth and Harry Potter's unironic drive toward objective goodness: loyalty, love, building something greater; both guide his life, so he won't pick. — 00:03:13
  • 2013-10-11 · TFiOS Movie, Emma Approved, Subbable Update, etc — announcement: Hank says he and John are helping the Harry Potter Alliance's Equality for the Win Indiegogo campaign, which has many great perks. — 00:02:17
  • 2013-10-15 · Thoughts for Nerdfighteria — John: Bigger need not mean less important: Harry Potter reached a large audience, yet its core fans, who listened to Wizard Rock and started the Harry Potter Alliance, made lasting changes in the world. — 00:01:52
    • If Nerdfighteria keeps growing, John wants to make sure it grows like the core Harry Potter community. — 00:02:05
  • 2013-11-29 · REUNION! Arm Wrestling, Drawing, and Questions with Hank and John! — John says his favorite book series will always be Harry Potter, though he likes Divergent a lot. — 00:00:24
  • …and 8 statements more in 2013 — all statements of 2013

2014

  • 2014-05-20 · Deserving — John: The luck goes further back, John says: he is lucky to have Hank as brother and collaborator, and lucky that Hank's 2007 Harry Potter song gave them a whole new audience. — 00:00:50
  • 2014-07-25 · Towering Mountains of Ignorance — Hank's example: explaining Harry Potter's popularity by its school setting, good writing and a desire for wizards amounts to saying it is popular because it's Harry Potter. (playful) — 00:00:44

Also named in: It's Question Tuesday! Cheesy Jokes, Paper Towns Movie, and Dinosaur Butt Brains

2016

2017

  • 2017-02-28 · You Are Here — John argues fandoms are made interesting not by the content but by people who build communities around it: Harry Potter is special not because of J.K. Rowling but because readers respond deeply, enthusiastically and without embarrassment or apology, by dressing up, fanfiction, or singing. — 00:01:33
  • 2017-07-18 · Accio Decade Hallows — John: Ten years ago today (18 July 2007) Hank uploaded Accio Deathly Hallows, a song about his excitement for the publication of the last Harry Potter book. — 00:02:31
    • The song was picked up on Harry Potter fan forums, so the project was discovered by passionate people who know how to build internet communities. — 00:03:05
  • 2017-11-03 · Because We're Here — John recalls other nights of Hank's music: Edinburgh, the first VidCon, and 8/8/08 in Chicago, when Harry Potter fans sang his songs louder than his voice. — 00:00:18

2018

  • 2018-04-24 · This Video is about Red Eyed Tree Frogs? — recommendation: John has been listening a lot to Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, in which two scholars of religion read Harry Potter as a sacred text; it is just brilliant, whatever you think of religion or Harry Potter. — 00:00:04
    • John always thought the Harry Potter books lend themselves to critical reading, but until this podcast he had no idea how deep they could be. — 00:00:19
  • 2018-05-01 · How to Win — John often thinks that if Hank's Harry Potter song hadn't been featured by YouTube in July 2007, none of this would exist, though countless other things had to happen too. — 00:01:00
  • 2018-11-05 · Reading Mean Comments with John — both: Discussing a comment, the brothers note that James Potter died at 21 and was never middle-aged in the Harry Potter books. (playful) — 00:01:34
  • …and 1 statement more in 2018 — all statements of 2018

2019

  • 2019-02-12 · Are Textbooks Obsolete? — John says Americans spent over ten billion dollars last year (2018) on textbooks, significantly more than on all fiction, every Harry Potter, Gatsby and Goodnight Moon included. — 00:00:00
  • …and 1 statement more in 2019 — all statements of 2019

2020

  • 2020-11-13 · How We Teach: Individualist Stories — The description says luck, for Hank, was writing a Harry Potter song that got him invited to a Harry Potter convention, where he met a conference organizer who helped him build VidCon. — video description

2023