Chocolate Frog Card

• Type: Magical Object (Collectible)
• Owners: Widely owned by witches and wizards. Notable collectors mentioned include Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Neville Longbottom.
• Maker: The cards are packaged with Chocolate Frogs. While the specific confectioner is unknown, they are sold at various wizarding establishments, including Honeydukes in Hogsmeade and from the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express.

A Chocolate Frog Card is a collectible, pentagonal-shaped card included in the packaging of a Chocolate Frog. Each card features a holographic, moving portrait of a famous witch or wizard. The image on the card is enchanted, giving it a three-dimensional quality and allowing the subject of the portrait to move and, in some cases, even disappear from the frame temporarily. The reverse side of each card contains a concise biography of the person featured. For example, the card for Albus Dumbledore lists his major accomplishments, such as his tenure as Headmaster of Hogwarts, his Order of Merlin (First Class), and his famous Defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald.

The primary magical property of a Chocolate Frog Card is its enchanted portrait. This magic is similar to that of the portraits found throughout the wizarding world, such as those lining the walls of Hogwarts. The figures on the cards are not sentient but can move and act in a limited, repetitive fashion. As Harry Potter discovered with his first card, the figure of Albus Dumbledore was able to “beam” at him before vanishing from the frame entirely. Their main use is for collection and trade among witches and wizards, particularly children. They serve as an educational tool, providing brief histories of significant figures in the magical world. Ron Weasley is an avid collector and expresses his desire to complete the set, stating he is “missing Agrippa and Ptolemy.” This practice is analogous to the Muggle hobby of collecting trading cards.

Chocolate Frog Cards have been a part of wizarding culture for a considerable time, featuring figures from throughout magical history. The collection includes ancient sorcerers like Merlin, Morgana le Fay, and Circe, as well as more contemporary figures like Albus Dumbledore. The selection of witches and wizards featured on the cards is presumably updated over time to include new, prominent members of the magical community. After the conclusion of the Second Wizarding War, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were themselves honoured with their own Chocolate Frog Cards in recognition of their roles in defeating Lord Voldemort. (J.K. Rowling interview)

The Chocolate Frog Card plays a surprisingly critical role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The very first card Harry receives, featuring Albus Dumbledore, provides the crucial clue needed to solve the central mystery of the book. Months after finding the card, Harry remembers the biographical text on its back, which mentions Dumbledore's work with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. This name allows Hermione Granger to search the library and identify Flamel as the sole creator of the Philosopher's Stone, revealing Lord Voldemort's objective. Beyond this key plot point, the cards serve as an important world-building device. They are one of the first pieces of purely magical culture that Harry and the reader are introduced to, establishing the concept of fame, history, and commerce within the wizarding world.

• J.K. Rowling once stated that having themselves featured on Chocolate Frog Cards was the achievement that Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were most proud of in their lives. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• The films and video games greatly expanded the number of known cards and the characters featured on them, including the founders of Hogwarts and many professors. (film), (video game)
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the card Harry receives is rectangular, not pentagonal as described in the novel. Later films corrected this detail. (film)