• Character Sally-Anne Perks was a witch who started her first year of Hogwarts in 1991 (PS7). Read More
• Hogwarts The Ravenclaw hourglass in the Hogwarts Entrance Hall for recording House Points is filled with blue sapphires (Pm, OP38). Read More
• Common items • Hogwarts academics Students typically carry bags filled with books, parchment, quills, homework,  wands, potions ingredients and ink. Read More
• Broomsticks Broomsticks and broom sports hold a special place in the hearts of Hogwarts students. Quidditch matches are routinely attended by nearly every student and teacher in the school, and star fliers have near-celebrity status among the student body. Read More
• Timelines and calendars School holidays (US “vacations”) in the British school system are usually spaced around six to seven weeks apart and are often referred to as the “school break”. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as part of the magical world, operates on a different schedule to most of the other… Read More
• Timelines and calendars The School Year at Hogwarts The year begins on September 1 Hogwarts Express leaves King’s Cross Station at 11 a.m., bringing students to Hogsmeade Station where the 2nd through 7th years ride horseless carriages up to the castle and 1st years cross the lake in boats with Hagrid the start-of-year… Read More
• Titles, nicknames, and honorifics One of the nicknames given to Scorpius Malfoy, originating in the alternate timeline where Harry Potter died at Battle of Hogwarts (CC3.2). Read More
• Titles, nicknames, and honorifics Nickname Scorpius Malfoy gives himself after viewing the alternate universe in which The Augurey and the Dark Lord ruled the Wizarding World together (CC3.14). Read More
• Event Scorpius Malfoy boards the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three-quarters at King’s Cross and starts his third year at Hogwarts. This is soon after the death of his mother Astoria Greengrass Malfoy, as the funeral has not yet taken place (CC1.4). Read More
• Countries Scotland is a beautiful country located in the North of the United Kingdom and is part of Great Britain. It is famous for its lochs, its rolling hills, and its rain that makes everything green almost all the time. It is where much of the Harry Potter stories are… Read More
• Books and Literature A book in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library that let out a loud, horrific scream when opened (PS12). Read More
• Architecture Secret passages are everywhere in such an old and magical place as Hogwarts; they are concealed in a variety of ways but many have been discovered by more rebellious students such as the Marauders and the Weasley twins, as well as Filch. Read More
• Hogwarts castle and grounds There are seven known secret passageways leading out of Hogwarts that Harry learns about after acquiring the Marauder’s Map. Fred and George Weasley tell Harry that Filch knows about four of them, and they warn him against the other two (the one behind the… Read More
• Occupations Security Trolls and Security Warlocks (wizards and/or witches) provide protection services in the Wizarding world. Security Trolls After the Fat Lady’s portrait was slashed by Sirius Black (who later was let into Gryffindor Tower by Sir Cadogan upon producing the passwords), she agreed to return if she… Read More
• Quidditch The Seeker is the Quidditch player whose objective is to spot and catch the Golden Snitch. The role of the Seeker is often considered extremely important as catching the Snitch gives his or her team 150 points (PS10, CS7). History The position of Seeker was not originally… Read More
• Hogwarts castle and grounds • Rooms, chambers, and floors The seventh floor corridor of Hogwarts includes the Gryffindor Common Room, the Room of Requirement, and many portraits. Read More
• Character Silvanus Kettleburn was the Hogwarts Care of Magical Creatures Professor before Hagrid (PA6).  He was a reckless and eccentric wizard, who loved dangerous creatures (and often underestimated them) (Pm). This led him to lose most of his limbs, and by the time he retired in 1993, he only… Read More
• Magical artifacts In Dumbledore’s day (although not in Armando Dippet’s), the office contained a number of spindly-legged tables supporting various frail “curious silver instruments” (CS12), the function of which Harry did not know. They usually whirred and emitted little puffs of smoke. Read More
• Communication Gilderoy Lockhart dispatched a dozen “surly” dwarfs reciting poems for Valentine’s Day in Harry’s Second Year (CS13). Read More
• Character Professor Sinistra was a professor of Astronomy at Hogwarts during the 1990s (JKR, CS11, GF12, GF23, OP12, OP13, OP14). Sinistra helped carry Justin Finch-Fletchley‘s Petrified body to the hospital wing in 1992 (CS11). She danced a two-step with Moody at… Read More
• Character Sir Cadogan is a little knight whose picture hangs in a seventh-floor corridor near the South Tower. He is a silly fellow whose bravura outshines his common sense and who glories in quests and challenges. He actually lived during the time of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round… Read More
• Event On the last night of winter break, Severus Snape arrives at Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Mrs. Weasley tells Harry to go to the kitchen where he finds Snape and his godfather, Sirius Black, sitting in awkward silence because they are old rivals from school days. Read More
• Hogwarts castle and grounds • Rooms, chambers, and floors The sixth floor boys’ bathroom is where Harry and Malfoy duel, and Harry uses Sectumsempra (HBP24). It is not in a particularly good state; it has grimy basins and cracked mirrors (and isn’t improved by the duel). Read More
• Character Jack Sloper was a Gryffindor Hogwarts student. He played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a replacement Beater when Fred and George were banned from playing (OP21). He was a poor substitute, so bad at handling his bat that he hit Angelina Johnson in the mouth with it during a… Read More
• Character Horace Slughorn is a teacher at Hogwarts. He served as Potions Master until 1981, then again from 1996. He was also Head of Slytherin house for the school year 1997-1998. At the beginning of Harry’s 6th year at Hogwarts, Dumbledore and Harry convince a genial wizard named Horace Slughorn to come… Read More
• Hogwarts castle and grounds • Rooms, chambers, and floors The Slytherin common room is a long, low-ceilinged, dungeon-like room filled with skulls and the like. There are high-backed chairs and a carved mantelpiece on the fireplace. The walls are rough stone. The light is green from the green hanging lamps and because it’s located under the lake (… Read More
• Hogwarts castle and grounds The Slytherin dormitories are the rooms where students who are in Slytherin House sleep at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, located in the dungeons of the castle. Read More
• Hogwarts Slytherin House is one of the four houses into which students are Sorted when they start their first year at Hogwarts. Slytherin House was founded by Salazar Slytherin around 990AD. His personal belief in the superiority of Pure Blood wizards still influences the attitudes of Slytherin members today. Head: Professor… Read More
• Quote Slytherin has become diluted. It is no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers, hence Albus Potter’s fears. Read More
• Character Salazar Slytherin was the founder of Slytherin house and one of the co-founders of Hogwarts, described as one of “the four greatest witches and wizards of the age” (along with the other three founders) (CS9). He believed that only pure-blood witches and wizards should be allowed… Read More
• Titles, nicknames, and honorifics Rude nickname given to Albus Potter by fellow-First Year Karl Jenkins during their first flying lesson when Potter’s broomstick refused to rise from the ground when ordered “Up!”  (CC1.4). Karl was implying that Albus did not have magical ability, like a Squib. Read More
• Magical objects Slytherin’s wand contained a fragment of Basilisk horn. It was passed down through the generations to Gormlaith Gaunt, from whom it was stolen by her niece Isolt Sayre. Slytherin taught it to ‘sleep’ when given a certain command in Parseltongue, rendering it inactive; this secret… Read More
• Event Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup the previous year (1984). During his first year, Harry says to himself that “The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years” (PS13). The 1983-84 school year is seven school years before that… Read More
• Event Nearly Headless Nick tells the new Gryffindors about the House Cup, saying that “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Having been pushed hard by Oliver Wood in Quidditch practice, Harry thinks “If they won their next… Read More
• Event Nearly Headless Nick tells the new Gryffindors about the House Cup, saying that “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Having been pushed hard by Oliver Wood in Quidditch practice, Harry thinks “If they won their next… Read More
• Event Harry Potter is told during his first year by Nearly Headless Nick that Slytherin House has won the House Cup for several years: “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Later he thinks: “If they won their… Read More
• Event “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” — Nearly Headless Nick to new Gryffindors (PS7) “If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven… Read More
• Event New Gryffindors are told about the House Cup by Nearly Headless Nick “Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!” (PS7) Harry speculates after a hard Quidditch practice session “If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would… Read More
• Character Zacharias Smith is a student in Hufflepuff House during the 1990s. He’s a real winner of a guy who seems to offend people every time he speaks. He was a Chaser on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team from at least 1995 (OP16, OP26). Zacharias joined… Read More
• Event While ostensibly working for Voldermort, Snape actually does everything he can to protect students without giving away his position of supporting Dumbledore. The Daily Prophet report reads, in part: Severus Snape, long-standing Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was today appointed headmaster in the most important of… Read More
• Event When Dumbledore met at the Hog’s Head with Sybill Trelawney as a “courtesy” to interview her for the post of Divination Professor, she suddenly launched into a real prophecy about a child with the ability to vanquish the Dark Lord. (OP37) Lurking outside the door and listening at the… Read More
• Character Severus Snape was Potions Master, Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; he succeeded Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. He was personally killed by Lord Voldemort and his snake, Nagini. Snape… Read More
• Glossary Br.: An old-fashioned phrase used when speaking to a man or boy, suggesting that he has done something wrong (OP17). Read More
• Quote “You are a braver man by far than Igor Karkaroff.  You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon….” He walked away, leaving Snape looking stricken…. Read More
• Article
Posted by in Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
In Chapter 33, “The Prince’s Tale,” of Deathly Hallows we see a previous conversation that Dumbledore and Snape had at the end of the Yule Ball. They are talking about the Dark Mark and discussing whether Snape will flee if summoned by Voldemort, as Karkaroff plans… Read More
• Hogwarts Each year when the First Year students arrive at Hogwarts, they undergo a ceremony to sort them into one of the Four Houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. It is done through the use of the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat (PS7). A stool is placed in front of the… Read More
• Character The Sorting Hat is an ancient wizard’s hat which is used at the beginning of every school year to sort incoming students into their Houses. The hat resides in the Head’s office at Hogwarts. Originally the pointed wizard’s hat of Godric Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat was bewitched… Read More
• Art and Culture The Hogwarts Sorting Hat opens the Sorting Ceremony at each year’s start-of-term feast with a song that describes its history and the four houses (PS7, OP11). The Hat is known to include warnings in its songs. Nearly-Headless Nick stated: “I have heard the Hat give several warnings before,… Read More
• Character Phyllida Spore was a famous herbologist and the author of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi (PS5). Read More
• Character Pomona Sprout was a squat little witch with fly-away gray hair who taught Herbology at Hogwarts. In the greenhouses, Sprout had to deal with a wide variety of magical plants, some of which were very strange and even dangerous. She handled them all with aplomb, even the… Read More
• Hogwarts castle and grounds • Rooms, chambers, and floors The staff room, or staffroom, is a long panelled room with mismatched, dark wooden chairs and a large wardrobe where teachers keep their spare robes (CS16), sometimes inhabited by a boggart (PA7). The staff room is located on the ground floor (PS16). The doorway is flanked by two… Read More
• Furniture and household items The staff room wardrobe is a large, ugly piece of furniture found in the teachers’ staff room on the ground floor. The teachers keep their robes in that wardrobe. Harry and Ron hid in the wardrobe when they had figured out where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was… Read More
• Hogwarts • Magical objects Halfway along a third-floor corridor between the staircase leading from the Entrance Hall and the way to Gryffindor Tower, stands a statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor, referred to by the students as “the one-eyed, hump-backed witch.” This statue conceals the entrance to a secret passage leading to Honeydukes’ cellar (PA10). Read More
• Character Stebbins was a Hufflepuff student who once lost his house ten points when he and a girl were chased out of a rosebush by Snape, who was upset after a meeting with Igor Karkaroff (GF23). Read More
• Event Harry and the others in his Year sit their Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) examinations. The first day is Charms, with a written exam in the morning and a practical exam in the afternoon. O.W.L.s occurs over the span of two weeks. Here’s the full schedule. First week of O.W.L.s: Monday… Read More
• Trivia There are about 320 students at Hogwarts. How do we know? In order to unravel this mystery, we need to step out of the stories themselves. We need to understand the way that Rowling thinks about the books. Rowling is very, very visual. She writes the kind of visual language… Read More
• Article
Posted by in Essays
There are actually about three hundred, it would seem, although there is plenty of debate on the subject. Here’s the evidence from the books themselves: There are more or less ten students (depending on the vagarities of the Sorting) in each House per year, five boys and five girls. There were twenty broomsticks lying… Read More
• Event After the security breach that caused the death of Professor Dumbledore classes are cancelled and exams are postponed. Parents arrive over the next several days to take their children home; among the students to leave are the Patil twins and Zacharias Smith. Seamus Finnigan’s mother also wants her son to leave Hogwarts,… Read More
• Character Sybill Patricia Trelawney is the Divination professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney, a very gifted, very famous Seer (OP37). She “has cultivated a dramatic manner and enjoys impressing her more gullible students with predictions of doom… Read More