> ended up in a bonfire along with my first edition Harry Potter book collection when my mum was doing a "clear out"
Do you mean a literal bonfire to burn them? A first edition Harry Potter book collection would be a nice gift to someone or a donation to the library. The last place books should end up is in a fire.
Not parent, but a revival of conservative fundamentalism brought a wave of strong "anti-satanic" fear in the US during the era that Harry Potter and Pokemon were popular. Christian groups were urged to and did burn them.
This is also the era where science curriculum was challenged to provide "alternate theories" to evolution, which included "intelligent design" and the Biblical Genesis story.