| Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry | |
| Universe: | Wizarding World |
| First: | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) |
| Location: | Scotland |
| Owner: | Ministry of Magic |
| Purpose: | Training for children with magical abilities[1] |
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional boarding school of magic for students aged eleven to eighteen. It is the primary setting for the first six books in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling, and also serves as a major setting in the Wizarding World universe.[2]
Founded around the 9th century and 10th century by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, Hogwarts was established in the Highlands of Scotland to educate young wizards and witches as well as to keep students safe from Muggle persecution.[3] The school's location is kept secret from Muggles and from other wizarding schools.
About 300 years after the school was founded, the Triwizard Tournament was established as a competition between three wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The tournament continued for six centuries before being discontinued. It was revived during the 1994–1995 school year, but the death of Cedric Diggory at the end of the event resulted in its permanent discontinuation.[4]
Hogwarts is a coeducational, secondary boarding school, accepting children from ages eleven to eighteen.[5] Education at Hogwarts is not compulsory, with some students being home schooled as stated in the seventh book. Rowling initially said there are about one thousand students at Hogwarts.[6] She later suggested around six hundred, while acknowledging that this number was still inconsistent with the small number of people in Harry's year. She further explained that this had resulted from her creating only forty characters for Harry's year.[7]
According to Rowling, any child in Britain who shows magical ability is automatically admitted to Hogwarts.[8] [1] The primary means of transportation to the school is the Hogwarts Express train, which students use at the start of each school year. When first-year students arrive at Hogwarts, they are assigned to a House by the Sorting Hat. The Hat is placed on the student's head, whereupon it examines their mind and assigns them to one of the four Houses based on their abilities, personality, and preferences.
Hogwarts has four Houses, each named after one of the founders of the school: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Throughout the school year, the Houses compete for the House Cup, gaining and losing points based on actions such as performance in class and rule violations. The House with the highest end-of-year total wins and has its colours displayed in the Great Hall during the following school year. Each House also has its own Quidditch team that competes for the Quidditch Cup. Each House is under the authority of one of the Hogwarts staff members.
The translators of the books' foreign editions had difficulty translating the "house" concept; in countries where this system does not exist, no word could adequately convey the importance of belonging to a house, the loyalty owed to it, and the pride taken in prizes won by the house.[9]
Gryffindor values courage, nerve and chivalry. Gryffindor's mascot is a lion, and its colours are red and gold. In the novels, the Head of Gryffindor House is Minerva McGonagall and the house ghost is Nearly Headless Nick. The Gryffindor dormitories are in a high tower, and students must use a password to gain entry. According to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire.[10] The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor.
Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. Hufflepuff's mascot is a badger, and its colours are yellow and black. In the novels, the Head of Hufflepuff House is Pomona Sprout, and the house ghost is the Fat Friar. According to Rowling, Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth.[10] The founder of the house is Helga Hufflepuff.
Ravenclaw values intelligence, learning, wisdom and wit. The house mascot is an eagle in the novels and a raven in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. The house colours are blue and bronze. In the novels, the Head of Ravenclaw House is Filius Flitwick, and the house ghost is the Grey Lady. The dormitories are in Ravenclaw Tower, and students must solve a riddle to gain entry. According to Rowling, Ravenclaw corresponds roughly to the element of air.[10] The founder of the house is Rowena Ravenclaw.
Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness. The mascot of Slytherin is a serpent, and the house colours are green and silver. In the novels, Severus Snape is the Head of Slytherin House until he becomes headmaster, at which point Horace Slughorn assumes the position. The ghost of Slytherin house is the Bloody Baron. The Slytherin dormitories are accessed by speaking a password in front of a stone wall in the dungeons, which causes a hidden door to open. According to Rowling, Slytherin corresponds roughly to the element of water.[10] The founder of the house is Salazar Slytherin.
Each year, two fifth-year students from each House are selected as prefects. The position grants them certain privileges and the authority to give detentions for infractions. The leaders of the student body, the Head Boy and Head Girl, are chosen from among the seventh-year students.
The novels mention twelve subjects which are taught at Hogwarts. Astronomy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration are required subjects for the first five years. At the start of their third year, students must choose at least two additional subjects. The five elective subjects are Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Muggle Studies. Students must also take flying lessons during their first year at Hogwarts.
Astronomy classes are held in the Astronomy tower and are taught by Aurora Sinistra. Lessons involve observations of the night sky with telescopes.
In Charms, students learn incantations for bewitchment. Rowling has described charms as a type of magic concerned with giving objects new properties. Charms lessons are described in the novels as frequently noisy and chaotic. Charms is taught by Filius Flitwick.
Transfiguration is essentially the art of changing the properties of an object.[11] Transfiguration is a theory-based subject, including topics such as "switching spells", which alter only a part of some object (such as when Hagrid gave Dudley a pig tail); vanishing spells, which cause an object to completely disappear; and conjuring spells, which create objects out of thin air. It is possible to change inanimate objects into animate ones and vice versa: Minerva McGonagall, the school's transfiguration teacher, turns her desk into a pig and back in Philosopher's Stone.
Defence Against the Dark Arts is the class that teaches students defensive techniques to defend against the Dark Arts, such as dueling, combat, protection and informed of how deal with Dark Magical Creatures. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with Death Eaters in charge of the school, the subject is renamed the Dark Arts, and involves pupils practicing the Cruciatus Curse on those who have earned detentions. The subject has an extraordinarily high turnover of staff members—throughout the series no Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has retained the post for more than one school year. Dumbledore also once stated that this post is jinxed. Harry is exceptionally skilled in this subject. During the period the story takes place, the class is taught by Quirinus Quirrell (book one), Gilderoy Lockhart (book two), Remus Lupin (book three), Bartemius Crouch Junior impersonating Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody (book four), Dolores Umbridge (book five), Severus Snape (book six), and Amycus Carrow (book seven). Hagrid suggests in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that "They're startin' ter think the job's jinxed. No one's lasted long for a while now." as each D.A.D.A. teacher has only taught for one year. In Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore suggests that Voldemort cursed the position because his application for it was rejected. The existence of the jinx was eventually confirmed by Rowling. The position had also been coveted by Snape, but he was denied the position as well. Snape was finally appointed D.A.D.A. professor in Half-Blood Prince. Rowling announced in an interview that once Voldemort had died, the jinx he placed on the office was lifted and a permanent professor had been teaching the subject between the end of Deathly Hallows and the epilogue, set nineteen years afterwards. Furthermore, she imagines that Harry Potter occasionally comes to the class to give lectures on the subject.[12]
Potions is described as the art of creating mixtures with magical effects. It requires the correct mixing and stirring of ingredients at the right times and temperatures. As to the question of whether a Muggle could brew a potion, given the correct magical ingredients, Rowling said on Pottermore that "There is always some element of wandwork necessary to make a potion."[13] Severus Snape's lessons are depicted as unhappy, oppressing times set in a gloomy dungeon in the basement of the castle, whilst Horace Slughorn's, who replaces Snape as Potions Master, are shown as more cheerful and even fun at times. J.K. Rowling explains that she wrote Snape, Harry's arch enemy on Hogwarts faculty, because she herself hated chemistry class, and this was the Hogwarts equivalent.[14]
Notable potions featured in the series include the love potion Amortentia,[15] Confusing Concoction,[16] Draught of Living Death,[17] Draught of Peace, the luck potion Felix Felicis, Pepperup Potion, Polyjuice Potion,[18] Skele-Gro Sleekeazy's Hair Potion,[19] and the truth serum Veritaserum.[20] [21]
History of Magic is the study of magical history. Cuthbert Binns' lessons are depicted as some of the most boring at Hogwarts. They are only lectures, given without pause, about significant events in wizarding history. Topics have included goblin rebellions, giant wars, and the origins of wizarding secrecy. This is the only class at Hogwarts that is taught by a ghost, as the professor never having noticed that he died, simply continued teaching as if nothing had changed.
Herbology is the study of magical plants and how to take care of, utilise, and combat them. There are at least three greenhouses described in the books, holding a variety of magical plants. Herbology is also the only subject Neville Longbottom excels in. He later on becomes a professor in the same subject: the epilogue to Deathly Hallows explains that he replaces Professor Pomona Sprout as the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts.
See also: Numerology. Arithmancy is a branch of magic concerned with the magical properties of numbers. As Harry Potter does not take this subject, the class is never described in the books. It is, however, a favourite subject of Hermione. Arithmancy is reportedly difficult, as it requires memorising or working with many charts. In Order of the Phoenix, it is mentioned that the study of Arithmancy is required to become a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts. The subject is taught by Professor Septima Vector.
Ancient Runes is a generally theoretical subject that studies the ancient runic scripts. Because Hermione is the only known student of the class in the books, little else is known about this subject, taught by Professor Bathsheda Babbling. In Deathly Hallows Dumbledore bequeaths his copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is written in ancient runes, to Hermione.
Divination is the art of predicting the future. Various methods are described, including tea leaves, fire omens, crystal balls, palmistry, cartomancy (including the reading of conventional playing cards and the tarot), astrology, and dream interpretations. Divination is described by Professor McGonagall as "one of the most imprecise branches of magic". Supporters of the subject claim that it is an inexact science that requires innate gifts such as the "Inner Eye". Those opposed claim that the subject is irrelevant and fraudulent. Harry is first taught Divination by Professor Trelawney, and then later by Firenze after Trelawney is sacked by Dolores Umbridge in Harry's fifth year. In the sixth (and presumably seventh) year, Firenze and Professor Trelawney share Divination classes, divided by year.
Care of Magical Creatures is the class which instructs students on how to care for magical beasts. Classes are held outside the castle. In Harry's first two years, the class is taught by Professor Silvanus Kettleburn who then retires "in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs". Dumbledore then recruits the gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid to accept a teaching position along with his gamekeeping duties. Although Hagrid is clearly experienced and knowledgeable, he doesn't "have a normal person's view of what's dangerous", an example being that the care of magical creatures students were required to get a literally ferocious textbook titled the Monster Book of Monsters; he consistently misjudges the risk that the animals he uses in his lessons pose to his students, which sometimes results in chaos. When Hagrid is absent, his lessons are taken over by Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank.
Muggle Studies is a class that involves the study of the muggle (non-magical) culture "from a wizarding point of view". The only need for witches and wizards to learn about muggle ways and means is to ensure they can blend in with muggles while needing to do so (for example, at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup). As the class is only mentioned as being taken by Hermione, and for just one year, little is known about its curriculum or whether it is well attended by children of wizarding-only families.
In the opening chapter of the final book, Voldemort murders Professor Charity Burbage because she portrays muggles in a positive light and is opposed to limiting wizardry to only people of pure-blood origins. For the rest of the academic year covered by Deathly Hallows, the Death Eater Alecto Carrow teaches Muggle Studies. However, her lessons (which are made compulsory) mainly describe muggles and muggle-borns as subhuman and worthy of persecution.
Flying is the class that teaches the use of broomsticks made for the use of flying and is taught only to Hogwarts first years by Rolanda Hooch.
Apparition is an optional class for those in the sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts in preparation for obtaining their license to apparate, or disappear and reappear instantly in another location. In Harry's sixth year, Wilkie Twycross, a Ministry of Magic apparition instructor, teaches the lessons. Magical enchantments on Hogwarts castle and grounds prevent apparition and disapparition inside the castle; however Half-Blood Prince explains that these protections are temporarily relaxed within the Great Hall for short periods to permit students to practice. Splinching is a common mistake in apparition which causes body parts to split. It is impossible to track anyone by apparition unless the person grabs the apparator's clothing or body.
J. K. Rowling says she visualises Hogwarts, in its entirety, to be:
A huge, rambling, quite scary-looking castle, with a jumble of towers and battlements. Like the Weasleys' house, it isn't a building that Muggles could build, because it is supported by magic.[1]
In the novels, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland[22] (the film Prisoner of Azkaban says that Dufftown is near). The school is depicted as having numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle to locate it. Muggles cannot see the school; rather, they see only ruins and several warnings of danger. The castle's setting is described as having extensive grounds with sloping lawns, flowerbeds and vegetable patches, a loch (called The Black Lake), a large dense forest (called the Forbidden Forest), several greenhouses and other outbuildings, and a full-size Quidditch pitch. There is also an owlery, which houses all the owls owned by the school and those owned by students. Some rooms in the school tend to "move around", and so do the stairs in the grand staircase.[23] Witches and wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds, except when the Headmaster lifts the enchantment, whether only in certain areas or for the entire campus, so as to make the school less vulnerable when it serves the headmaster to allow Apparition. Electricity and electronic devices are not found at Hogwarts. Hermione Granger indicates in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that due to the high levels of magic, "substitutes for magic (that) Muggles use" such as computers, radar and electricity "go haywire" around Hogwarts. Radios however, make an exception. Rowling explains this by saying that the radios are not powered by electricity but by magic.
Hogwarts is on the shore of a lake, sometimes called the Black Lake. In that lake are merpeople, Grindylows, and a giant squid. The giant squid does not attack humans and sometimes acts as a lifeguard when students are in the lake. The castle and its grounds are home to many secret areas as well as well-known and well-used places.
The Chamber of Secrets, which is deep under the school (most likely under the lake),[24] was home to an ancient Basilisk, intended to be used to purge the school of Muggle-born students. Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, built the Chamber before he left the school.
The entrance to the Chamber is hidden in the second-floor girls' lavatory (haunted by Moaning Myrtle). One of the sink taps has a snake scratched into its side; when a command in Parseltongue is spoken, it opens to reveal the mouth of a dark, slimy chute, wide enough to slide down, that gives onto a stone tunnel. The tunnel leads to a solid wall, carved with two entwined serpents with emeralds for eyes.[24] At a command in Parseltongue, the wall opens to expose a long, dim corridor, lined with monumental statues of snakes, including two rows of towering stone pillars with more carved serpents that brace the ceiling. A colossal statue of Salazar Slytherin, looking ancient and monkey-like, is at the centre. The Basilisk rested inside the statue and emerged from its mouth when the Heir of Slytherin, Tom Riddle, summoned it.[25] In his second year at Hogwarts, Harry uses Parseltongue to open the chamber and destroys the diary containing the embodied memory of a 16-year-old Tom Riddle from his own days at Hogwarts and also slays the basilisk. It is later revealed that the diary was a Horcrux.In Deathly Hallows, Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber. Ron opens the door (despite not speaking Parseltongue) by imitating sounds he heard Harry use to open Slytherin's locket. They pull a basilisk fang from its skeleton to use to destroy the Horcrux made from Helga Hufflepuff's cup.
When Tom Riddle opened the Chamber, Myrtle was sulking in a stall after being teased by student Olive Hornby. She opened the door, intending to tell him to leave, but died immediately upon meeting the Basilisk's gaze and decided to become a ghost to get revenge on Hornby.[24] The bathroom remains operational, but is rarely used by students because of Myrtle's disagreeable presence and her habit of flooding it when she is distraught.
As shown in Deathly Hallows, the Chamber of Secrets does not appear on the Marauder's Map.
There are usually seven secret passages in and out of the school, and in addition, the series describes the use of twin vanishing cabinets to create another. The Room of Requirement may, on occasion, create an eighth passage out of the school. The only known instance of this occurring is a passage to the Hog's Head that forms in Deathly Hallows. Filch knows about four of the seven passages, while the Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew) and the Weasley twins know of all seven. The three passages that Filch does not know about are:
The Room of Requirement appears only when someone needs it. To make it appear, one must walk past its hidden entrance three times while concentrating on what is needed. The room will then appear, outfitted with whatever is required. To the Hogwarts house-elves, it is also known as the Come and Go Room.
Harry learns of the room's abilities from Dobby in Order of the Phoenix, finding it the perfect location for his Dumbledore's Army meetings, during which it is filled with bookcases full of Defence Against the Dark Arts volumes, many different kinds of Dark Detectors, and a plethora of floor cushions for practising defensive spells. In Half-Blood Prince, Draco Malfoy uses the room to hide and repair a Vanishing Cabinet, which allows him to smuggle Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
In Deathly Hallows, the students who need a place to hide from the Carrows, two Death Eater professors, use the room. It is also revealed that the Room of Requirement's current version can change while still occupied, though should a completely different version be required (e.g. the Room of Hidden Things instead of DA Headquarters) the room must be empty. The Room can also answer to the desire of the wizard within the room, such as providing Harry with a whistle when he needed one during a Dumbledore's Army meeting, or creating a passage to the Hog's Head (as the room cannot produce food). Later, Ravenclaw's diadem is found to be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and has been hidden in the Room of Hidden Things by Voldemort. Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the Room, with Harry knowing that he must look for a place to hide things, and find the tiara; but they are ambushed by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. The diadem is finally destroyed when Crabbe fills this version of the Room with what Hermione believes to have been Fiendfyre; a destructive magical fire. It is not known if the room continues to function after the events of Deathly Hallows; Ron expresses concern that it may have been ruined in all of its forms by the cursed fire.
Due to the Room of Requirement not being in a fixed location, it is one of the select locations in Hogwarts that does not appear on the Marauder's Map.
The Forbidden Forest is a large, dark enchanted forest in the boundaries of the school grounds. It is usually referred to simply as "the Forest" and in the film series as the "Dark Forest". It is strictly forbidden to all students, except during Care of Magical Creatures lessons and, on rare occasions, detentions.
Among the plant species within the Forest are trees such as beech, oak, pine, sycamore, yew and knotgrass and thorn undergrowth. Though the Forest is vastly dense and wild, there are a few paths and clearings. Hagrid, who frequently travels into the Forest for various reasons, mostly makes these trails. The Forest is also home to an assortment of creatures, many of them dangerous.
In 2017, a Forbidden Forest expansion was added to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, enabling fans to explore it for the first time.[26]
The Hogwarts Express is a train that carries students from Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station in London to Hogsmeade Station, near Hogwarts. The train began operation in the 1850s. Before that, students reached Hogwarts on brooms or in enchanted carriages.[27] Several model train replicas have been made of the Hogwarts Express.[28] [29]
The steam engine used in the film adaptations is the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, but it was not the first locomotive to be disguised as the Hogwarts Express. To promote the books, the Southern Railway locomotive 34027 Taw Valley was repainted and renamed temporarily, but was rejected by director Chris Columbus as looking 'too modern' for the film. Filming locations for the Hogwarts Express sequences include Goathland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Kings Cross railway station and the route of the Jacobite Express which follows the West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig in Scotland, as it crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct.[30]
A completely functioning full-scale replica of the Hogwarts Express was created for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's expansion at Universal Orlando Resort connecting King's Cross Station at the Diagon Alley expansion in Universal Studios Florida to the Hogsmeade station at Islands of Adventure,[31] manufactured by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group in the form of a funicular railway people mover.[32] The Hogwarts Express King's Cross Station features a wall between Platforms 9 and 10, where guests can "walk through" to get to Platform 9¾, as in the first film.
On designated weekends, Hogwarts students in their third year or higher, with a signed permission slip, are permitted to walk to the nearby wizarding village of Hogsmeade, where they can relax and enjoy the pubs, restaurants and shops. Favourite places in Hogsmeade include Honeydukes Sweetshop, Zonko's Joke Shop, Gladrags Wizardwear, The Three Broomsticks, The Hog's Head, Madam Puddifoot's coffee shop, and the Shrieking Shack.
Rowling has suggested that she may have inadvertently taken the name from the hogwort plant (Croton capitatus), which she had seen at Kew Gardens some time before writing the series,[33] although the names "The Hogwarts" and "Hoggwart" appear in the 1954 Nigel Molesworth book How to Be Topp by Geoffrey Willans.[34] [35] The name "Hogwart" also appears in the 1986 Labyrinth fantasy film.[36]
Most exterior scenes were shot on location at Alnwick Castle, but views of the exterior of the entire school were created from shots of Durham Cathedral with a digital spire added to the towers. Durham Cathedral also served as a set for Hogwarts interiors.
A scale model was created for exterior shots of the entire school. Models of Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral were also built to create more integration between the model and on location shots. It took a team of 86 artists and crew members 74 years worth of man hours to complete the model.[37]
Hogwarts school was voted as the 36th-best Scottish educational establishment in a 2008 online ranking, outranking Edinburgh's Loretto School. According to a director of the Independent Schools Network Rankings, it was added to the schools listing "for fun" and was then voted on.[38]
Most translations keep the name 'Hogwarts', transcribing it if necessary. For example, in Arabic it is transcribed as Arabic: هوغوورتس = Hūghwūrts, in Russian as Russian: Хогвартс = Khogvarts, in Japanese as Japanese: ホグワーツ = Hoguwātsu, in Bengali as Bengali: হগওয়ার্টস = Hogowarts, in Greek as Greek, Modern (1453-);: Χόγκουαρτς = Hóguarts, and in simplified Chinese as Chinese: 霍格沃茨 = Huògéwòcí.
However, some translations translate or otherwise adapt the name: French French: Poudlard (French: lard = "bacon"),[39] Latvian Latvian: Cūkkārpas shortened from Latvian: cūka = "pig" + Latvian: kārpas = "warts", Dutch Dutch; Flemish: Zweinstein modified from Dutch; Flemish: zwijnsteen = "pig rock",[39] Norwegian Bokmål Bokmål, Norwegian; Norwegian Bokmål: Galtvort (galt = boar, vort = wart) (Nynorsk keeps "Norwegian Nynorsk; Nynorsk, Norwegian: Hogwarts"), Finnish Finnish: Tylypahka (Finnish: pahka = "wart"), Hungarian Hungarian: Roxfort (playing with the name of Oxford in tribute to Harry Potter's home country),[39] Slovenian Slovenian: Bradavičarka (Slovenian: bradavice = "warts")), Czech Czech: Bradavice means simply "warts".[39] The Ancient Greek translation of the school is "Ὑογοήτου Παιδευτήριον τὸ τῆς Γοητείας καὶ Μαγείας", loosely translating to "Hogwizard's School of Wizardry and Magic", Ὑογοήτου replacing "Hogwarts" and derived from the ancient Greek words ὑo- (hog) and γοητής (wizard).