50 Fun Facts About Hogwarts

In which region was Hogwarts founded?

Rowling has given varying figures for how many students are enrolled there at any one time.

Between which centuries was the school founded?

The four founders each gave their name to a House, and the Sorting Hat was Gryffindor's own.

At what age do students start at Hogwarts?

Rowling has said any child in Britain who shows magical ability is invited to attend.

Rowling said she may have unknowingly taken the school's name from which plant?

Others point to a 1954 book with a play called The Hogwarts; the word also appears once in Finnegans Wake.

Which 1954 Geoffrey Willans book features a fictional play called "The Hogwarts"?

The same book has a headmaster named Hoggwart, which is why several writers suspect Rowling borrowed the name.

The word "hogwarts" appears once in which 1939 novel?

James Joyce got there six decades before Rowling, though nobody suggests she found it there.

Why did Rowling make Hogwarts a boarding school?

In a 1999 interview she also described the school as a place of security for the orphaned Harry.

Which huge creature lives in the Hogwarts lake alongside merpeople and grindylows?

The grounds also hold sloping lawns, greenhouses, a Quidditch pitch and the Forbidden Forest.

What can wizards not do on the Hogwarts grounds?

There are, however, several hidden passages leading into and out of the school.

Which deadly creature emerges from the Chamber of Secrets?

Its venom, later carried by the Sword of Gryffindor, is one of the few things that can destroy a Horcrux.

Which student is forced by Voldemort to open the Chamber of Secrets?

McGonagall, acting headmistress at the time, ordered Gilderoy Lockhart to rescue her, with predictable results.

Which part of the castle appears only when someone needs it, holding whatever they require?

Harry's secret defence group meets there in Order of the Phoenix.

What does Draco secretly repair to smuggle Death Eaters into the castle?

Its twin sits in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley.

Who voices the Sorting Hat in the films?

The hat was originally Godric Gryffindor's, and it announces each first-year's House to the whole hall.

Where are the House Cup winners' colours displayed the following year?

Each House also fields a Quidditch team competing for a separate Quidditch Cup.

How many fifth-year students from each House are made prefects?

They can hand out detentions; the head boy and head girl are chosen from the seventh years.

From which year are students allowed to visit Hogsmeade?

Harry, lacking a signed permission form, relies on a secret passage and the Marauder's Map instead.

From which London station does the Hogwarts Express depart?

A plaque and a luggage trolley half-buried in the wall now mark the spot for visitors.

Rowling later admitted she had muddled the real station's layout with which other London terminus?

The films dodged the problem by shooting at St Pancras next door.

Which hotel stood in for the station in the films?

Its Gothic frontage is the one fans picture when they think of the Ford Anglia take-off.

A wrought-iron Platform 9¾ gate from the films is preserved where?

Fans also built a memorial to Alan Rickman at the real platform after his death in 2016.

Which North Yorkshire Moors station played Hogsmeade Station in the films?

The village had already served as Aidensfield in the TV series Heartbeat.

The Hogwarts Express is filmed crossing which Scottish landmark above Loch Shiel?

It carries the West Highland Line above Loch Shiel, and a real steam service still runs the route.

Which Northumberland landmark was used for many exterior scenes of the school?

The Northumberland castle hosts the first flying lesson; a detailed scale model handled the wide shots.

Which building was given a digital spire to create shots of the whole school?

Its cloisters also served as interiors, including the courtyard where Ron's Howler goes off.

In 2008 a schools ranking site listed Hogwarts as which best school in Scotland, for fun?

It beat Edinburgh's Loretto School; the managing director admitted it was a joke entry.

Which Hogsmeade sweet shop has a secret passage to Hogwarts in its cellar?

Fred and George's Marauder's Map shows Harry how to reach it beneath the one-eyed witch statue.

Who owns the Hog's Head, the filthy pub where Trelawney made her prophecy?

The first meeting of Harry's defence group is held there, and a passage from the pub feeds the Battle of Hogwarts.

The Shrieking Shack was built as a hiding place for which Hogwarts student?

Villagers heard his monthly howling and decided the place was haunted.

The tunnel to the Shrieking Shack starts beneath which tree?

The tree was planted to guard the entrance, which is why it attacks anything that comes near.

In which Hogsmeade teashop do Harry and Cho spend a disastrous Valentine's Day?

Floating cherubs throw pink confetti over the couples, which does not help.

Which subject is taught by Hogwarts' only ghost professor?

Cuthbert Binns is famously the dullest teacher in the school, ghost or otherwise.

Caretaker Argus Filch is what kind of person?

Born to magical parents but unable to do magic, he wages a lifelong war on Peeves and muddy footprints.

Who plays Argus Filch in the films?

Paul Whitehouse takes over the mop in the television series.

Who is the flying instructor for first-years and the school's Quidditch referee?

Zoë Wanamaker played her in Philosopher's Stone, the only film in which the character appears.

Who fires Divination professor Trelawney in Order of the Phoenix?

She is back at work by Half-Blood Prince, still predicting doom.

Who plays Sybill Trelawney in the films?

Her character uttered the prophecy that sent Voldemort after the Potters in the first place.

Why was Hagrid expelled from Hogwarts?

Aragog was blamed for the Chamber of Secrets attacks; a real wolf spider was later named Lycosa aragogi.

Which headmaster agreed to train the expelled Hagrid as gamekeeper?

Dumbledore, then the Transfiguration teacher, talked him into it.

Which subject did Dumbledore teach during Tom Riddle's school years?

Harry sees him in the role through Riddle's diary, already suspicious of the charming prefect.

What does McGonagall buy Harry once he makes the Quidditch team?

She later confiscates his Firebolt in case it is cursed, then hands it back once it checks out.

Which creatures pull the carriages that carry students from the station to the castle?

Only those who have seen death can see them, so most students assume the carriages move on their own.

According to Rowling, what exactly is Peeves?

Not even Dumbledore could evict him for good; only the Bloody Baron and a few others can make him behave.

Which comedian filmed Peeves for the first film, only to be cut?

The poltergeist never made it into any of the eight films.

Who gives Harry the Marauder's Map?

It was made by Sirius, Lupin, Pettigrew and James Potter and shows everyone in the castle in real time.

What word does "Erised" spell backwards?

The inscription, reversed and re-spaced, reads: I show not your face but your heart's desire.

The Mirror of Erised served as the final protection for which object in book one?

Only someone who wanted to find the stone but not use it could take it out.

Where can visitors ride a full-scale working replica of the Hogwarts Express?

It shuttles guests between a replica Hogsmeade and a replica Diagon Alley.

How do dead headmasters remain available to advise their successors?

The portrait is a reflection of who the wizard was, not a link to their spirit.

Which former headmaster's portrait hangs in both Dumbledore's office and Grimmauld Place?

The Black family ancestor carries messages between the two frames in Order of the Phoenix.