Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the Scottish wizarding school, located in the Highlands of Scotland. It takes students from Scotland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The castle is located in the mountains near a loch. The precise location of the school could never be uncovered because it was rendered unplottable. To Muggles the school looks like an old abandoned castle. Similarly, most wizarding schools locations are protected in order to prevent their ways of teaching being revealed, as well as protect the students and schools themselves from any harm.
Established around the 9th or 10th century, Hogwarts is considered to be one of the finest magical institutions in the wizarding world, though other notable schools included Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute. Children with magical abilities are enrolled at birth, and acceptance is confirmed by owl post at age eleven. However, if the child in question is a Muggle-born, or a magical child born from non-magical folks, a professor from the school would come and inform the child's parents.
The school's motto is Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, which, translated from Latin, means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
Hogwarts School is located in Hogwarts Castle, a large castle somewhere in the Highlands of Scotland. The castle has 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. The three highest towers are the Astronomy Tower, the Ravenclaw Tower, and the Gryffindor Tower. There are 142 staircases, which are known to move, in the massive castle, which is set upon huge rocks above a magnificent lake. The castle is known for its many updates and changes in layout throughout the years, such as regenerating itself after the Battle of Hogwarts.
The coat of arms of Hogwarts shows each house's mascot and house colours. Clockwise from top left: the Gryffindor lion, the Slytherin serpent, the Ravenclaw eagle, and the Hufflepuff badger. It should be noted that some rooms in the school tend to "move around," and so do the steps on the grand staircase. Albus Dumbledore once noted that even he did not know all of Hogwarts' secrets. This implies that the castle has witnessed centuries and has a long history of ancient magic. The school has numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle to see it as the school; rather, they see only ruins and several warnings of danger. Witches and wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds, except for 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 that due to the high levels of magic, substitutes for magic used by Muggles, 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 was founded around 990 A.D. by two wizards and two witches: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They each represented an aspect of personality that they wanted to bring out in new students. However, shortly after founding the school, Slytherin had a falling out with the other founders, about blood purity. Slytherin wanted to admit only pure-blood students, and felt that only pure-blooded students deserved to learn magic, but the other three founders all disagreed, especially Gryffindor. Slytherin left the school, but not before secretly building the Chamber of Secrets. When his own heir, the Heir of Slytherin, (the current heir of Slytherin is Tom Riddle Jr./Voldemort) returned to the school, he or she would be able to open the Chamber and unleash a murderous basilisk to purge the school of all Muggle-born students.
About three hundred years after the school was founded, the Triwizard Tournament began between the three most prestigious magical schools in Europe: Hogwarts, The Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. This tournament was considered the best way for wizards and witches of different nationalities to meet and socialise. The tournament continued for six centuries, until the death toll became too high, and the tournament was discontinued.
Term begins on 1 September. Students usually reach Hogwarts via the Hogwarts Express, which leaves from Platform 9¾ of London's King's Cross Station at 11 a.m. sharp.
There seemed to be other ways of entering the school, such as via brooms or Floo powder, or simply Apparating to a nearby location such as Hogsmeade. Missing the Hogwarts Express for any reason is a very serious problem but will not cost the student points as long as they get there before the term has officially started.
The Hogwarts Express brings the students to Hogsmeade Station, where the first years traditionally cross the Black Lake in boats with the gamekeeper, and go under an opening in the rocks upon which Hogwarts is built, through a curtain of ivy, and finally into an underground harbour.
Older students travel on the road in carriages pulled by Thestrals (invisible to any that hasn't witnessed death) to the castle. The Welcoming Feast takes place in the Great Hall. This feast includes the Sorting ceremony, followed by a few words from the current Headmaster or Headmistress, the banquet starts after this, including large quantities of food and drink. The feast is closed with a few more words from the Headmaster, but it also included the usual "start-of-term notices".
After dinner, students are led to their house common room by a prefect. This is a special time for new students to get comfortable with their surroundings, because the next day classes begin, 2 September. The class schedules are handed out during breakfast by the Heads of House. After two weeks of classes, the Quidditch team trials and flying lessons for the first years usually occur.
Hogwarts' school year is structured in a similar way to other non-magical schools and colleges in the UK, with a three-term year punctuated by holidays at Christmas and Easter and bounded by the long summer holiday of nine weeks. Students have the option of staying at Hogwarts for the winter and spring holidays. Those who choose to stay at the castle do not have lessons and attend a feast on Christmas Day. Students also do not have classes the week of Easter, but this is much less enjoyable due to the large amount of work that the teachers assign students at this time in preparation for final exams.
Other than the breaks and weekends, students do not receive holidays. However, students third year and above may visit Hogsmeade, the local village, occasionally. There are normally four feasts per year: the start-of-term feast at the beginning of the school year, end-of-term feast at the end of the school year, and feasts at Hallowe'en and Christmas. Feasts are also called to mark special occasions, as in Goblet of Fire, when there was a feast to celebrate the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament.
Classes will proceed normally and the next notable event occurs on the evening of 31 October: the Halloween feast. Decorations include giant pumpkins and flocks of hundreds of bats flying across the halls. The served foods include pumpkin treats, tarts, cakes and all sorts of magical sweets. The Quidditch season starts usually with the first Quidditch match in the first weeks of November. In the second week of December, the Deputy Head takes names of those who are staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. The first term usually ends about a week before Christmas and most of the students and some of the teachers go home by the school train.
In Triwizard Tournament years, the Yule Ball occurs on the evening of Christmas Day, ending at midnight. On 25 December, a Christmas feast is held in the Great Hall. Shortly after 6 January (Epiphany aka Twelfth Night), the Hogwarts Express returns to Hogsmeade; the second term begins. The exact dates of the beginning of the Easter holidays vary every year. During these holidays, the students may go home. The final exams are held the first week of June and the results come out on the second week. In the evening before the Hogwarts Express goes back to London, the End-of-Term Feast is held. The Hogwarts Express returns to London during the third week of June. Some staff and all students leave Hogwarts for summer holiday.
"You will return them to their owners with your apologies... I shall know whether it has been done. And be warned: thievery is not tolerated at Hogwarts." —Albus Dumbledore to Tom Riddle before entering Hogwarts Hogwarts' motto is: "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus". The translation is: Never tickle a sleeping dragon. Quidditch is possibly the most popular sport at the school, with most of the student body turning out to watch each match. Hogwarts also has a Frog Choir which sings at special occasions.
There is an official school song, though this is only sung when the headmaster is in a particularly good mood and deems it appropriate (which is therefore why it was only known to have been commissioned once from 1991-1998). It doesn't seem to conform to the strict opinions of older headmasters and headmistreses, such as Armando Dippet. As such it may be an invention of the relaxed Albus Dumbledore and certainly sounds like it's of his invention. There is no standard rhythm to the song. Everyone can sing it how they like, as such the Weasley twins prefer a slow and deep style. The lyrics are as follows: "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something please, Whether we be old and bald, Or young with scabby knees, Our heads could do with filling, With some interesting stuff, For now they're bare and full of air, Dead flies and bits of fluff, So teach us things worth knowing, Bring back what we've forgot, Just do your best, we'll do the rest, And learn until our brains all rot."
The highest position of staff at Hogwarts is the Headmaster or Headmistress. There is also a Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress, who will take over responsibilities of the Headmaster should the circumstances demand it.
| House | Founders | Headmasters | Animal | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gryffindor | Godric Gryffindor | Minerva McGonagall | Lion | Scarlet and Gold |
| Hufflepuff | Helga Hufflepuff | Pomona Sprout | Badger | Yellow and Black |
| Ravenclaw | Rowena Ravenclaw | Filius Flitwick | Raven | Blue and Silver |
| Slytherin | Salazar Slytherin | Severus Snape | Snake | Green and Silver |
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