Places in Hogwarts

by **Mrs.KreszentiaBlack** Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:11 pm

Forbidden Forest
The Forbidden Forest is a large, dark 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. The following is an incomplete list of beasts that inhabit the forest:
#A herd of at least fifty Centaurs, including Bane, Magorian, Ronan, and Firenze.
# A colony of Acromantula, Aragog and his family, which may have been wiped out by Death Eaters.
# Unicorns
# Thestrals
# Trolls
# Bowtruckles
# Fluffy, a three-headed dog who was released into the forest after the events of Philosopher's Stone.
Grawp, a small giant, lived in the Forest during Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore later arranged for him to move up to the mountains surrounding Hogwarts and live in a big cave, where he is "much happier than he was in the Forest"

Sorting Hat
is a sentient Hogwarts artefact which magically determines to which of the four school Houses each new student is to be assigned. These four Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

The Sorting Hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders of Hogwarts. It normally stays in the Headmaster's office until it is needed; Harry Potter talked to the Sorting Hat for the second time when he was sent to Dumbledore's office for the first time in his second year.

Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom
is situated on the first floor of Hogwarts Castle, just above the Great Hall.[1] It has been out of order ever since a student named Myrtle was killed there. Myrtle has haunted the bathroom ever since the Ministry of Magic stopped her from haunting Olive Hornby who had been teasing Myrtle just before her death, leading it to be a place most students do not want to enter. This bathroom holds the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. To get in the Chamber, a person needs to say "open" in Parseltongue. This will cause the tap with a snake on the side (a tap which incidentally, never worked) to move into the floor, revealing a tunnel which leads downwards into the Chamber.

Hagrid's Hut
served as a home to Rubeus Hagrid (and some of his pets, including Fang) during his years as gatekeeper and teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry[2] It is a small wooden cabin located outside of Hogwarts Castle, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.[3] Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were amongst the Hogwarts students who regularly visited Hagrid in his hut.

Quidditch Pitch
Hogwarts has its own Quidditch pitch where Quidditch teams could practice, hold try-outs and play matches against each other. Each year will see a total of six inter-house matches (each house competing for the Quidditch Cup), along with numerous training sessions by each house team [1].

The stands surrounding the pitch are decorated differently for each Quidditch match at Hogwarts. Every second stand would be decorated with the colours of one team, and every other stand with the colours of the opposing team [2]. Spectators would sit in between these stands.

Dumbledore's Office
is the office in Hogwarts Castle in which the current headmasters or headmistresses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry work during the school year. It is located in the Headmaster's Tower. Although this is never mentioned, it is entirely likely that the residence of the headmaster is adjacent to the office. It is reached by means of a circular, moving stone staircase, which in turn is concealed by a gargoyle on the third floor. The gargoyle will step aside in response to a password, though the headmaster is capable of overriding the password if, for any reason, he or she desires that it will not work

The Great Hall
in Hogwarts Castle is the main gathering area in the school located off the Entrance Hall. Students eat their meals, receive daily owl post, and have certain special events here. The Great Hall is a large hall that can easily hold all of the school's students, staff, and guests. It has tall walls that reach up to the ceiling, which is covered with candles and enchanted to look like the sky above. At the front of the hall, is the staff table, also known as the High Table, which is designed to house the entire Hogwarts staff.

The highlight of the table is the throne-like chair in the centre of the table where the current Headmaster or Headmistress sits. The Great Hall, as well as serving as the area for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the students and staff, was also the place in which many important events took place, such as the traditional Sorting Ceremony each year and the defeat of Lord Voldemort, which signified the close of the Battle of Hogwarts and the climatic end of the Second Wizarding War. To the left of the table is a door which leads to a chamber with portraits.