Questions tagged [hogwarts]
For questions about the magical castle featured in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Must be used in conjunction with the [harry-potter] tag.
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Hogwarts: So why aren't the kids "doing it"?
So you've got Hogwarts, with several hundred adolescents obviously suffering from raging hormones, living in sexually integrated housing, and the incidence of hanky-panky beyond snogging is apparently ...
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Why would Snape set his office password to 'Dumbledore'?
It seems to me that Snape's choice of password for his study when he was Headmaster was kinda weird.
Harry ran without stopping, clutching the crystal flask of Snape's last thoughts, and he did not ...
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Why doesn't Hogwarts have more teachers?
Hogwarts apparently has only one professor per subject. We could reason this out by looking at the fact that all of Harry's Potions classes are with Snape (for as long as Snape is teaching Potions), ...
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Where do teachers sleep at Hogwarts?
I am spending the summer re-reading the entire Harry Potter series. I just finished Book 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I had a thought when I encountered the passage wherein:
Why do so ...
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Why couldn't Harry or anybody else see Peter Pettigrew aka Scabbers on the Marauder's Map when Lupin could?
Fred and George stumbled upon the Marauder's map in their first year. They passed it on to Harry while in their fifth year. Also note that, while talking to Harry on the train, Ron described Scabbers ...
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Did Voldemort actually curse the job of Defense Against Dark Arts professor after being denied the position?
So, everyone and their formidable Grandmother believes that DADA position at Hogwarts is cursed so that anyone taking it only lasts a year at most.
Some people who know more than others, might ...
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Why did Voldemort assume that no-one knew about Room of Hidden Things?
Voldemort hid one of his Horcruxes inside Hogwarts. It seemed to be relying on security through obscurity as far as protecting it. But as we know, it ended up not being so secure because it wasn't so ...
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Why do less-bright students end up in Slytherin?
The main trait of Slytherin house is ambition and cunning.
Malfoy fits the bill. Snape fits the bill. Harry Potter has both, to an extent.
But how can someone argue that Crabbe, Goyle or Millicent (...
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Why was the Triwizard Cup used as the portkey?
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the Triwizard Cup was used as the portkey to send Harry and Cedric to the graveyard in Little Hangleton to face Voldemort.
Why was the Triwizard Cup chosen?
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How could Harry and Ron bypass Hogwarts' security in a flying Ford Anglia?
How could Harry and Ron so easily fly Mr. Weasley's car (the magically enhanced Ford Anglia) to Hogwarts, when many times in the book it is mentioned that Hogwarts is protected by various spells, such ...
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What do wizard children do before attending Hogwarts?
Most of the wand-carriers that come from a non-Muggle family seem fairly uneducated when it comes to interacting with Muggles. This implies that they don't go to any type of Muggle school before ...
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Are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest consistent with later explanations on werewolves?
In the Philosopher's Stone, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Draco are punished and have to assist Hagrid in his search for a dying unicorn.
Malfoy mentions that according to rumors, there are werewolves ...
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Who gets Muggle-born students onto Platform 9 3/4?
Who gets Muggle-born students onto Platform 93/4? Their parents can't pass through the magical wall (I suppose).
Harry only gets onto the platform by good fortune in his first year after bumping into ...
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Are Hogwarts teachers allowed to hit students?
In the movies we can see Snape smacking Harry and Ron several times. Is this acceptable?
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Do Hogwarts Houses have quotas?
Not a year goes by where we don't see at least one person Sorted into each House, and it's usually a fairly even distribution.
The Sorting Hat doesn't get a chance to study the mind of each child ...
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How does the Hogwarts Headmaster know whom to invite to school?
So all wizards get an invitation to Hogwarts at 11... How do they know whom to invite?
If a wizard is Muggle-born, then nobody would know about their existence.
Or do they register some weird ...
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Why did Harry get his letter by owl instead of from someone from Hogwarts?
We know that Muggle-borns get someone from Hogwarts with their acceptance letter to explain everything to their parents.
Q: How are Muggle parents convinced to let their kids go to Hogwarts, a
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Why is Hogwarts allowed to house such dangerous creatures?
Why does Hogwarts house so many dangerous creatures or artifacts sought by dangerous people (eg. Fluffy, the three-headed dog) when there are young wizards and witches living inside the castle?
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Why didn't the Hogwarts ghosts know about the Chamber of Secrets?
This question got me to wonder why Hogwarts ghosts never knew about the Chamber of Secrets.
Some ghosts have been around Hogwarts for centuries. Plenty of time to explore the school grounds, talk to ...
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Why did Hagrid live in a hut?
Hagrid lived in a hut away from the rest of Hogwarts. To my best recollection, the other professors lived in Hogwarts castle proper.
So why was he in a hut? Not good enough for a proper room in the ...
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What’s the meaning of Hogwarts motto?
The motto for Hogwarts is "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus", or, "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
This seems like quite obvious advice and rather silly as a school motto. Is it essentially an ...
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Can one's House change?
In Harry Potter, when a witch or a wizard is 11 they go to Hogwarts and their first major experience is their own Sorting. In front of the Great Hall, each new student goes to the stool, sits down, ...
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What happens if you don't fit in any of the Hogwarts houses and still have to go to Hogwarts?
Like me for example, I have some traits from some houses but lack other traits. I'm definitely not a Gryffindor because I lack bravery, not a Hufflepuff because I'm lazy, not a Ravenclaw because I'm ...
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What actually is Arithmancy?
A subject taken by some students at Hogwarts is Arithmancy.
Throughout the Harry Potter series, we don't seem to be given much information as to what arithmancy actually is.
For example, Defence ...
user32390
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Why does Hogwarts have dungeons?
Hogwarts has dungeons, as we see many times - Snape has his classes in them, the Slytherins live down there - but why does Hogwarts have dungeons in the first place?
The Founders of the school built ...
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Can a Hogwarts student refuse the Sorting Hat's decision?
After reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,
and remembering how Harry asked the Sorting Hat not to join Slytherin and how it granted his request, I started wondering what happens when a student ...
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Why is Hogwarts Library so badly organized?
In Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone, Harry, Ron and Hermione have serious trouble finding some information about Nicolas Flamel in the Library:
They had indeed been searching books for ...
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Why is it considered admirable that Neville stood up to his friends?
Neville does stand up to his friends, but he doesn't know the whole picture and refuses to listen, disregarding the possibility that their reasons for breaking the rules may be more important than ...
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Why were weapons like Mandrakes and Acromantula, which kill indiscriminately, used in the Battle of Hogwarts?
It seems to me that some of the tactics used by both sides seem a bit questionable. In war you are obviously trying to weaken your opponent whilst minimising collateral damage to your own side. ...
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Is there any way to prove that you are a true Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin - analogous to pulling Godric Gryffindor's sword?
In HP "Harry Potter" books, Harry pulled the Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting hat to fight Tom Riddle. It is also said that the sword was said to appear whenever a true Gryffindor was in ...
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Where do students who don't get into Hogwarts go?
Hogwarts is modeled on English private schools like Eton. If Hogwarts is a "private school" where do the students go who either can't afford it or don't get in?
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Where did Hogwarts get money for salaries, food and other purchases?
We know that you can't transfigure food, so you have to grow it or buy it. Ditto money.
I'm sure that aside from some medicinal plants Herbology Professor had there were no farmlands at Hogwarts. So ...
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How well are professors paid at Hogwarts?
Just kind of a curious question that came to mind while looking at this answer about who gifted Harry the Nimbus 2000 (a fairly expensive broom at the time, I would imagine) which says it was ...
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Are toilets renovated at Hogwarts?
Bathrooms at Hogwarts have water closets and porcelain faucets, which are relatively modern inventions, considering Hogwarts was founded over 1000 years ago. Are the toilets magical, and upgrade ...
user65188
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Who wins the House Cup in books 4, 5, 6, and 7?
Gryffindor wins the House Cup in books 1, 2, and 3, but it is never stated which one of the 4 houses (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff) wins in books 4, 5, 6, and 7? Does Rowling ever ...
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In canon, has anyone other than Hagrid been expelled?
The following sentence from this question got me thinking.
Being expelled has extreme consequences, as we see with Hagrid - your wand is snapped and you're consigned to a life on the confines of ...
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Who did Hermione share a dorm with?
Along the same lines as my other question about Hogwarts sleeping arrangements, I'm wondering if it's ever been revealed who Hermione shared a dorm with. Or whether it's possible to make an educated ...
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What makes the Whomping Willow so valuable to Snape?
At the start of Harry's second year, Harry and Ron arrived at Hogwarts in a flying Ford Anglia which crashed into the Whomping Willow.
Snape had several objections to this theatric arrival, his main ...
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What stops a teacher from giving unlimited points to their House?
In the end of Order of Phoenix, Prof. McGonagall gives Luna, Harry, Neville, Ron, and Hermione 50 points each and the "House point meter" immediately refills itself. If the meter would ...
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What changes have been made to Hogwarts throughout the series?
The question Does the exterior appearance of Hogwarts really change throughout the series? merely addresses the fact that Hogwarts does indeed change depending on what movie you're watching. I want to ...
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How is the winner of the Hogwarts Quidditch cup determined?
The rules in the Quidditch tournament in Hogwarts are pretty simple: each house plays one game against each of the other three.
This could result in several teams (up to three) having an equal number ...
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What's the purpose of the Room of Doom?
During the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I noticed when Harry was looking for Peter Pettigrew by following his name on the Marauder's Map in the hallways of Hogwarts Castle ...
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How do muggles communicate with their magical children when they're at Hogwarts?
How do muggles with children at Hogwarts (for example, Hermione's parents) communicate with their children while they're at school? The students are able to send owls but does that mean the parents ...
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Who is the Current Headmaster of Hogwarts?
After the second Wizarding war, who is the Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?
There were assumptions that it would be Professor McGonagall because she was most trusted by ...
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Was it required at Hogwarts that a Head of House have been a student in that House?
Was it a requirement at Hogwarts that a teacher could only head the very same house which was their house when they were a student?
As we know from this answer, Minerva McGonagall was a Gryffindor ...
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Why did Slytherin House not get disbanded?
If every former Hogwarts student who goes bad was in Slytherin, why has Hogwarts kept the house over the years? Why not disband it?
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Why didn't Draco Malfoy like Hogwarts?
From Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I and II:
Why wouldn't Draco have liked Hogwarts? He was Sorted to the House he wanted; he made the Slytherin Quidditch team as Seeker as a mere second ...
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Why didn't any parents complain about what was going on at Hogwarts?
In regular schools parents will come to meet the principal or other leadership if something bad happens. The same should apply to Hogwarts, but it doesn't seem any parents complain. We only see Lucius ...
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How many ways are there of getting to Hogwarts?
We know that most students get to Hogwarts by train, and that Harry Potter and Ron Weasly arrived by flying car, but are there other ways to get to the school?
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What happens if a student fails an O.W.L.?
Are they allowed to retake the exam? Or would it mean they must repeat the same study year?
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