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| Hogwarts |
Today, The Stones have arrived to Hogwarts where they have been received by Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall.
Rubeus Hagrid is going to be their guide during this visit to the most popular school of wizards.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, commonly shortened to Hogwarts is a British school of magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.
Rowling has suggested that she may have inadvertently taken the name from the hogwort plant (Croton capitatus), which she had seen at Kew Gardens some time before writing the series, although the names The Hogwarts and Hoggwart appear in the 1954 Nigel Molesworth book How to Be Topp by Geoffrey Willans.
Hogwarts school was voted as the 36th best Scottish educational establishment in a 2008 online ranking, outranking Edinburgh's Loretto School. According to a director of the Independent Schools Network Rankings, it was added to the schools listing for fun and was then voted on.
More information: Hogwarts On Line
In the novels, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland, the film Prisoner of Azkaban says that Dufftown is near. The school is depicted as having numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle to locate it. Muggles cannot see the school; rather, they see only ruins and several warnings of danger.
The castle's setting is described as having 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. Some rooms in the school tend to move around, and so do the stairs in the grand staircase.
Witches and wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds, except 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.
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| Reception at Hogwarts |
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hermione indicates that due to the high levels of magic, substitutes for magic that Muggles use 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 is on the shore of a lake, sometimes called the Black Lake. In that lake are merpeople, Grindylows, and a giant squid. The giant squid does not attack humans and sometimes acts as a lifeguard when students are in the lake.
Hogwarts is a coeducational, secondary boarding school, taking children from ages eleven to eighteen.
Education at Hogwarts is not compulsory, with some students being home schooled as stated in the seventh book. Rowling initially said there are about one thousand students at Hogwarts. She later suggested around six hundred, while acknowledging that this number was still inconsistent with the small number of people in Harry's year. She further explained that this had resulted from her creating only 40 characters for Harry's year.
Rowling has said that Hogwarts is a multifaith school. She has further stated on the subject, The only people I never imagined there are Wiccans. In response to the query, Do you think there are a lot of LGBT students in modern age Hogwarts? I like to imagine they formed an LGBT club, Rowling replied, But of course.
According to the novels,
admission to Hogwarts is selective, in that children who show magical
ability will automatically gain a place, and squibs cannot attend the
school as students, though they can work there in other roles, as Argus
Filch does. A magical quill at Hogwarts detects the birth of magical
children and writes their names into a large parchment book, but there
is no admission test because you are either magical or you are not.
More information: Wizarding World
Every year, a teacher checks this book and sends a letter to the children who are turning eleven. Acceptance or refusal of a place at Hogwarts must be posted by 31 July. The letter also contains a list of supplies like spell books, uniform, and other things that the student will need.
The prospective student is expected to buy all the necessary materials, normally from shops in Diagon Alley, a concealed street near Charing Cross Road in London that can be found behind the wizarding pub, The Leaky Cauldron. Students who cannot afford their supplies can receive financial aid from the school, as happened with the young orphan Tom Riddle.
Letters to Muggle-born witches and wizards, who may not be aware of their powers and are unfamiliar with the concealed wizarding world, are delivered in person by a member of Hogwarts staff, who then explains to the parents or guardians about magical society, and reassures them regarding this news. Though the school is in Great Britain, its catchment area is the wider British Isles, as Irish students can also attend.
Each student is allowed to bring an owl, a cat or a toad.
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| Selfie at Hogwarts |
Along with the acceptance letter, first-year students are sent a list of required equipment which includes a wand, subject books, a standard size 2 pewter cauldron, a set of brass scales, a set of glass or crystal phials, a kit of basic potion ingredients for Potions, and a telescope for Astronomy.
The Hogwarts uniform consists of plain work robes in black, a plain black hat, a pair of protective gloves, and a black winter cloak with silver fastenings. Each uniform must contain the wearer's nametag. First years are not allowed a broomstick of their own, though an exception to this rule is made for Harry in his first year after he demonstrates an excellent ability as a Seeker in Quidditch.
The primary mode of transport to Hogwarts is the Hogwarts Express that students take at the start of each school year. Students board the train from the also fictional and hidden Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station in London. The train arrives near Hogwarts, some time after nightfall.
From there, first-year students are accompanied by the Keeper of the Keys, Game and Grounds, which was Hagrid during the first novel to small boats, which magically sail across the lake and get them near the entrance of Hogwarts. The older students ride up to the castle in carriages pulled by creatures called Thestrals.
More information: Study International
When the first-year students initially arrive at the castle, they wait in a small chamber off the entrance hall until the older students have taken their seats, and then enter the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony to determine their House assignments.
As Professor Minerva McGonagall said in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."
After the Sorting Hat sings a song, each student in turn is seated upon the stool in front of the rest of the student body. The Hat is placed on the student's head, whereupon it examines his or her mind and assigns them to one of the four Houses based on abilities, personality, and preferences.
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| The Stones arriving to the Great Hall, Hogwarts |
After the Sorting Ceremony, the students and teachers enjoy a feast, prepared by the Hogwarts house-elves. If Dumbledore is feeling cheerful, he will lead the students in singing the school song.
Hogwarts is divided into four houses, each bearing the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff. Throughout the school year, the houses compete for the House Cup, gaining and losing points based on actions such as performance in class and rule violations. The house with the highest end-of-year total wins and has its colours displayed in the Great Hall for the following school year.
Each house also has its own Quidditch team that competes for the Quidditch Cup. These two competitions breed rivalries between the houses. Houses at Hogwarts are living and learning communities for their students. Each house is under the authority of one of the Hogwarts staff members. The Heads of the houses, as they are called, are in charge of giving their students important information, dealing with matters of severe punishment, and responding to emergencies in their houses, among other things.
Each year, year level groups of every separate house share the same dormitory and classes. The dormitory and common room of a House are, barring rare exceptions, inaccessible to students belonging to other Houses.
Being a school of magic, many subjects at Hogwarts differ from the studies of a typical school. Some subjects, such as History of Magic, derive from non-wizard -or muggle- subjects, but many others, such as charms and apparition classes, are unique to the wizarding world.
More information: Cudoo
There are twelve named teachers referred to as Professors, each specialising in a single subject. All professors are overseen by a school head and deputy head. Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Astronomy, History of Magic, and Herbology are compulsory subjects for the first five years, as well as flying lessons.
At the end of their second year, students are required to add at least two optional subjects to their syllabus for the start of the third year. The five choices are Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. According to J.K. Rowling, very specialised subjects such as alchemy are sometimes offered in the final two years, if there is sufficient demand.
At the end of their fifth year, students take the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) examinations for all subjects in which they are enrolled. Each examination consists of a written knowledge test and, where applicable, a practical demonstration of skills before a panel of proctors from the Ministry of Magic.
Students who achieve a high enough O.W.L. grade in a particular subject may take its advanced course for the final two years, in preparation for the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests (N.E.W.T.) given at the end of the seventh year.
More information: Thought Catalog
Whether you come back by page or by the big screen,
Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.
J. K. Rowling
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