American Harry Potter fans have admitted there are a number of items from the film and book series they thought were magic - but they are actually just British.

The Harry Potter series is arguably full of British tropes and traditions and to someone from the United Kingdom, it's probably very easy to decipher what is real and what is magic, or made up for the franchise.

The UK is much older than the USA and so what might seem like normal, or just old British traditions, could seem out of this world to Americans and other non-British folk.

Here's the full list of items from Harry Potter that were British, but Americans thought were magic according to Reddit:

Spotted dick and treacle Tart

One person on Reddit admitted to thinking that popular British deserts spotted dick and treacle tart were magic. They said: "Lots of the food, specifically things like spotted dick and treacle tart.

"Figured out later that treacle is real similar to the filling in pecan pie, that was a mild surprise lol."

Treacle tart is a popular one in the Wizarding World and is a personal favourite of Harry Potter himself.

Train Trolleys

Another thing that has baffled American Potter fans is that someone comes around with a trolley full of beverages and snacks on a train.

Arguably one of the most iconic lines from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is "anything from the trolley dears?" when Harry and Ron are on their way to Hogwarts.

Now, it might be something that is becoming less popular on some UK trains, but apparently it confused some Potter fans.

One said: "People selling you stuff off a trolley on trains. Thought that was so cool and then went to the UK for real."

School houses and prefects

If you've gone to a British school, you'll probably know all about school houses and prefects. Many secondary schools - and even some primary schools - are divided up into houses with prefects leading them (or a head boy or girl).

Hogwarts is divided up into four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. While it is a staple in Hogwarts, it doesn't appear to be a thing American schools do.

One person confessed they didn't know about school houses being a thing and received many replies from shocked fans.

A confused follower said: "What?!? You really have these positions and school houses?" While another exclaimed: "Wait what?? Those houses are an actual thing???"

Christmas Crackers

Another thing traditional in British homes, but not American are Christmas Crackers. Filled with a prize, party hat and usually a bad joke, they're a fun, festive past time to celebrate December 25.

The Christmas cracker was invented by baker and sweet maker Tom Smith in the 1800s. On a trip to Paris he discovered the French 'bon bon', a sugared almond wrapped in a twist of tissue paper.

He decided to make his own and and the inspiration to add the explosive 'pop' was supposedly sparked by the crackling sound of a log fire.

On Reddit, some Americans have argued they do have them.

One wrote: "I’m American and my family has always had these on Christmas, I just never knew what they were called until now??"

While someone else confessed: "All the other magic in the series was all well and good by me, but it REALLY stretched the limits of my imagination to imagine all this coming out of a literal, millimetres-thick cracker."

Boarding schools

Not every child in the UK goes to boarding school, in fact more don't than do. But there are still 500 of these schools across the country where children as young as primary school are sent off to live there during term time.

Some Harry Potter fans from across the pond can't quite believe they exist.

In response to being asked what they did not know was real versus made up, one fan said: "The entire notion of parents shipping their kids off to school for 7 years or whatever."