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Albus Dumbledore

Prof. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in the  Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. As part of his backstory, it is revealed that he is the founder and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation dedicated to fighting the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort.

Dumbledore is portrayed by Richard Harris in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). Following Harris' death in October 2002, Michael Gambon was cast in the role. He plays Dumbledore in six Harry Potter films, which were released from 2004 to 2011. Jude Law portrays a middle-aged version of the character in the prequel films Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).

Rowling chose the name Dumbledore—which is a dialectal word for "bumblebee"—because of his love of music. She imagined him walking around and humming to himself frequently.

Character development
Rowling said she enjoyed writing Dumbledore because he "is the epitome of goodness." She said that Dumbledore speaks for her, as he "knows pretty much everything" about the Harry Potter universe. Rowling mentioned that Dumbledore regrets "that he has always had to be the one who knew, and who had the burden of knowing. And he would rather not know." As a mentor to the central character Harry Potter, "Dumbledore is a very wise man who knows that Harry is going to have to learn a few hard lessons to prepare him for what may be coming in his life. He allows Harry to get into what he would not allow another pupil to do, and he also unwillingly permits Harry to confront things he'd rather protect him from." In a 1999 interview, Rowling stated that she imagined Dumbledore "more as a John Gielgud type, you know, quite elderly and – and quite stately." During his time as a student, Dumbledore was in Gryffindor House. Rowling said in an interview that Dumbledore was about 150 years old. However, on her website, she states that Dumbledore was born in 1881, making him either 115 or 116 at the time of his death.

On 19 October 2007, Rowling was asked by a young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love". Rowling said that she always thought of Dumbledore as being homosexual and that he had fallen in love with the corrupt wizard Gellert Grindelwald, which was Dumbledore's "great tragedy"; Rowling did not explicitly state whether Grindelwald returned his affections. Rowling explains this further by elaborating on the motivations behind Dumbledore's flirtation with the idea of wizard domination of Muggles: "He lost his moral compass completely when he fell in love and I think subsequently became very mistrustful of his own judgement in those matters so became quite asexual. He led a celibate and a bookish life."

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
In the opening chapter of the first novel of the series, Dumbledore arrives at number four, Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey. When the evil wizard Lord Voldemort kills Harry's parents before being reduced to a lesser form, Dumbledore decides to place the now-orphaned Harry in the home of Vernon and Petunia Dursley. He knows that Harry will be protected by the special magic caused by his mother's sacrifice. He reasons that they are the only family he has left with Petunia Evans Dursley being Harry's aunt, who accepts her nephew into their home. This old magic of binding love renders Voldemort incapable of touching Harry. Dumbledore leaves Harry upon the doorstep of the Dursley home with a letter explaining the situation. He departs with the final phrase, "Good luck, Harry."

When Harry arrives at Hogwarts ten years later, Dumbledore tells him about the secrets of the Mirror of Erised, claiming that when he looks into it, he sees himself "holding a pair of thick, woollen socks." Harry later recalls in the final book that this was probably the only dishonest answer Dumbledore ever gave him. He is also responsible for somehow enchanting the Mirror so that it hides the Philosopher's Stone and only someone who looked into the Mirror and whose desire was "to find the Stone ... but not use it". The right person would receive it, as anybody else would only see themselves using the Stone due to the Mirror's special magic. He is called out to the Ministry of Magic by a false message on the night when Harry, his classmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and Hogwarts professor Quirinus Quirrell enter the dungeons to retrieve the Stone but realises during the trip that he is needed at Hogwarts and returns in time to rescue Harry from Quirrell and Voldemort. He also has a final conversation with Harry after the events down in the dungeons and tells him that he is too young to understand why Voldemort is trying to kill him.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
In the second novel, a younger Dumbledore appears in a series of flashbacks, seen by Harry in a diary once owned by Tom Riddle, the most gifted student in Hogwarts' history - and the future Lord Voldemort. Through the diary, Harry sees Riddle's memory of Dumbledore questioning him about a series of attacks on Muggle-born students. In the present, Lucius Malfoy forces the school's other 11 governors to suspend Dumbledore as Headmaster in the wake of attacks by a basilisk in the school when the Chamber of Secrets is opened. Dumbledore is reinstated when the governors discover that Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber of Secrets and Lucius is found to have coerced the other governors into suspending him.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
At the beginning of the third novel, Dumbledore is forced to accept Dementors onto his school's grounds for the protection of his students from Sirius Black, a supposed murderer and accessory to murder, who had escaped from Azkaban. After Black's breach into Hogwarts, Dumbledore issues orders to close every entrance to the school and grounds. After Harry falls off his broomstick during a Quidditch match because of the Dementors, Dumbledore becomes uncharacteristically angry with them and uses his wand to cause Harry to levitate safely to the ground. Later in that book, Dumbledore suggests that Hermione use her Ministry-approved Time-Turner to go back three hours to save Buckbeak the hippogriff and Black from their unjust executions.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In the fourth novel, Dumbledore introduces the Triwizard Tournament. He also serves as a judge during the entire event. When Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore is not enraged, but remains calm; simply asking Harry whether he had himself or had asked an older student to submit his name (although in the film version he does get angry to the point of manhandling Harry). When Harry answers no, he believes him. By the end of the book, Dumbledore's fears are realized when Harry returns from his encounter with Voldemort clutching the dead body of Cedric Diggory and when Mad-Eye Moody (being impersonated by Barty Crouch Jr, through Polyjuice Potion) takes Harry away from Dumbledore and to his office inside the castle. Dumbledore immediately becomes suspicious and heads straight towards Moody's office with Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape to save Harry and to interrogate Crouch. Afterwards, Dumbledore listens to Harry's eyewitness account about Voldemort's return. Harry though, only wakes up later to find Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge in the hospital wing arguing with McGonagall and Dumbledore about the situation of Voldemort's return and the consequences that would follow should Fudge remain in denial of this fact.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In the fifth book, Dumbledore is demoted from Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards, and is almost stripped of his Order of Merlin First Class due to his speeches regarding the return of Voldemort, although it is reported that he is unconcerned as long as he is not taken off the Chocolate Frog cards. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic does everything they can to discredit him and Harry – mainly through the Daily Prophet. At the beginning of the book, Dumbledore enrages Fudge when he stops by at Harry's hearing with a witness (Arabella Figg) to ensure that he is not expelled. While Harry feels better when Dumbledore assists him, he becomes annoyed to the point of being angry that the headmaster refuses to speak to or even look at him.

During the following year at Hogwarts, the Ministry passes Educational Decree Twenty-two, allowing Fudge to place Dolores Umbridge to the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher (after Dumbledore failed to find a suitable candidate). Through her, Fudge gradually gains power over Hogwarts and Dumbledore, who he fears is building an under-age wizard army to overthrow the Ministry. Umbridge forbids practical defence practice in her classes, forcing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to form Dumbledore's Army (a defence group led by Harry) with fellow friends. When the Ministry discovers the D.A., Dumbledore, choosing to accept the responsibility, falsely claims that the organisation was his own subversive creation, and allows himself to be removed as headmaster (for the second time) rather than allow Harry to be expelled.

Dumbledore is not heard of again in the book until he arrives in the Department of Mysteries to aid the Order in the battle against Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters. He subdues all the Death Eaters, except for Bellatrix Lestrange, and binds them with an Anti-Disapparition Jinx to prevent them from magically escaping. He then saves Harry from the Avada Kedavra curse conjured by Voldemort and engages in a ferocious duel with the Dark Lord. This culminates in Voldemort's attempting to possess Harry in an attempt to make Dumbledore kill the boy. Voldemort is forced to leave Harry's body and flee with Lestrange after this ruse fails. Because several ministry officials witnessed the end of the battle, Dumbledore is reinstated as headmaster and retrieves all his distinctions. Towards the end of the book, Dumbledore explains to Harry that Voldemort chose him as his equal and that one must kill the other in the end and confesses that his great affection for Harry has clouded his judgement.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
In the sixth book, Dumbledore fetches Harry from Privet Drive and takes him to persuade Horace Slughorn to rejoin the Hogwarts staff. Harry notices that Dumbledore's right hand is shrivelled and black. During the school year, Dumbledore teaches Harry of events in Voldemort's past that he feels are of immense importance. Using the Pensieve, they visit the memories of others, which contain important information about Voldemort's life and his genocidal rise to power. While using the Pensieve, Harry sees a vision of Dumbledore's first encounter with the young Tom Riddle; Dumbledore had known from the beginning that the boy was dangerous but believed that Hogwarts would change him.

It is learned that Voldemort created six Horcruxes to gain immortality and that they must all be destroyed before Harry goes after the final piece of Voldemort's soul in the Dark Lord's body. Harry also repeatedly warns Dumbledore in most of their lessons that school bully Draco Malfoy is working for Voldemort. Dumbledore refuses to take any action against Draco, and instead tells Harry that he already knows more about what is happening than Harry does.

By the end of the book, Dumbledore and Harry set out to the cave where Dumbledore believes a Horcrux resides. In the cave, Dumbledore drinks a potion inside the Horcrux's container; while drinking it, he begins to scream, seemingly enduring mental torture and being weakened. Dumbledore begins to call out for water after he finishes the potion, and Harry, realising he has no other choice, dips the goblet into the lake to give him a drink. When he does this though, all the Inferi that reside in the lake grab at Harry and attempt to drag him down and drown him in the lake. Dumbledore suddenly recovers, thanks to the water, and conjures a fire lasso around them. Dumbledore takes the horcrux (a locket) and both make their way back out of the cave and back to Hogsmeade. When they return, Madam Rosmerta informs them that the Dark Mark was conjured over the Astronomy Tower. In the tower, Dumbledore enjoins Harry not to interfere in the events that are about to take place there, and places him in a body-binding curse under his invisibility cloak. Hidden, Harry is unable to intervene as Dumbledore (now extremely weak) is disarmed by Draco. Dumbledore is conversing with Draco about the plot to kill him, when several other Death Eaters enter the tower and try to persuade Draco to kill Dumbledore. When Draco hesitates, Snape appears and performs the Killing Curse on Dumbledore, only after Dumbledore pleads with Snape saying, "Severus . . . please...". Dumbledore dies on Hogwarts' grounds.

Shortly after his death, Dumbledore's portrait magically appears in the headmaster's office. His funeral is attended by students, Hogwarts staff, members of the Ministry of Magic, ghosts, centaurs, merpeople and others who wish to pay their respects. Shrouded in purple velvet, he is entombed in a white marble sarcophagus beside the lake at Hogwarts, and it is said that he is the only headmaster to be buried on the school grounds.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Rowling used several chapters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to reveal two major details concerning Dumbledore: his early life and his death. The book introduces his parents, Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, as well as his little sister, Ariana; his brother, Aberforth Dumbledore, was mentioned in previous books. At six years old, Ariana was attacked by three Muggle boys who had witnessed her performing magic. Because of this attack, Ariana was seriously traumatised and never able to control her magic again. Enraged, Percival attacked the Muggle boys (killing them in the film version) and was given a life sentence in Azkaban. After this, Kendra moved her family to the village of Godric's Hollow. In one of her outbursts, Ariana accidentally killed Kendra at around the time that Albus completed his education. Albus became the head of the family and was forced to remain in his house with his sister while Aberforth completed his education. Soon afterward, a young Gellert Grindelwald arrived in Godric's Hollow to live with his great-aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, author of A History of Magic. The two young men took to each other immediately, and together they dreamed of a world ruled by wizards over Muggles by uniting the legendary Deathly Hallows. They believed that if they were forced to destroy a few along the way, it would still be "for the greater good", and the sufferings and losses would be rewarded a hundredfold in the end. However, this scenario would never happen, as an argument between Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald led to a duel that resulted in Ariana's death. For the rest of his life, Albus felt guilty, never certain whether it was his own curse or another's that had killed his sister. Grindelwald stormed back to Bagshot's home and departed to begin his own rule, leaving the country hours later. As a result of his mistakes, Albus felt that he was not to be trusted with power and, because of this, never took the position of Minister for Magic, despite being offered it several times. Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts as professor of Transfiguration, and he served in recruiting students for the school.

Decades later, in 1945, Dumbledore finally defeated the now-Dark wizard Grindelwald, who had come to possess the Elder Wand. Grindelwald's defeat made Dumbledore the master of the Elder Wand, which remained his until just before his death, when Draco used the Disarming Charm on him.

Dumbledore had another Hallow in his keeping since the death of James Potter: the Invisibility Cloak, which he had borrowed to examine. When James died, Dumbledore kept the cloak and decided to pass it on to Harry, James' son.

The truth about Dumbledore's death is revealed through Snape's last memories in the Pensieve. Harry learns that Dumbledore made a terrible error by placing a cursed ring on his right hand, sometime between the fifth and sixth book, forgetting the curses that must be on the ring. The ring held the Resurrection Stone, which Dumbledore hoped to use to allow him to apologise to his sister and parents. Dumbledore called Snape to help him; however, when Snape arrived and assessed the curse, all he could do was contain it. Snape told Dumbledore that he had little more than a year to live. After hearing this news, Dumbledore revealed to Snape that he knew about Voldemort's plan to have Draco kill him. He asked Snape to use the Killing Curse on him when the time came because he did not want Draco to have to kill him, saying that the boy's soul was still intact; Draco's soul would have been damaged in killing Dumbledore out of malice, whereas Snape was fully aware that he would be merely sparing Dumbledore pain and humiliation. He also intended for Snape to be the one to kill him and for the Elder Wand to be buried with him, in order to prevent the wand from being passed on again.

Dumbledore's spirit appears to Harry towards the end of the book in a limbo-like King's Cross, after Harry is struck with the Killing Curse which was conjured by Voldemort. During the last book, Harry finds out that he must die because he is a Horcrux. When Voldemort conjures the Killing Curse, Harry does not fight back, which stops him from dying. When they meet again, the boy comforts Dumbledore as he confesses all of his many regrets. Dumbledore then informs Harry of the choice he still has: of moving on to the next life or returning to his body to face Voldemort one last time. After returning from the mystical King's Cross and defeating and killing Voldemort, Harry has a short conversation with Dumbledore's portrait in the headmaster's office about the fate of each of the three Deathly Hallows. He keeps the Cloak, leaves the Stone in the Forbidden Forest where he dropped it, and returns the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb (from which Voldemort had stolen it). In the epilogue, it is revealed that Harry names his second son Albus Severus Potter after Dumbledore and Snape.

Portrayals within films
In the film adaptations of Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Chamber of Secrets (2002), Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris, who was expected to play the character throughout the series. Harris was not the producer's first choice, the studio initially approached Sean Connery and Patrick McGoohan for the role. Connery, who disliked the film's subject matter, turned down the role while McGoohan, who showed interest, stepped away due to his declining health. Harris mentioned that he was originally not going to take the role, since he knew his own health was in decline. He accepted because his then-11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he did not take it. Harris was determined to portray Dumbledore again in Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), despite having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and asked David Heyman not to recast the role. However, his death on 25 October 2002 necessitated recasting.

Christopher Lee was the producer's immediate choice for replacing Harris, but scheduling conflicts due to Lee's commitments as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels forced him to decline. Ian McKellen was also offered the role, but he turned it down, having played the similar character Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as feeling it would have been inappropriate to take Harris' role, as Harris had called McKellen a "dreadful" actor. Harris' family had expressed an interest in seeing Peter O'Toole being chosen as his replacement. Harry Robinson, who doubled for Harris in the first two films, and who also lent his voice in the first Harry Potter video game, was also considered for the role of Dumbledore.

Michael Gambon was cast as Harris' replacement four months after Harris' death. Gambon was not concerned about bettering Harris, and he portrayed the character in his own way, putting on a slight Irish accent for the role, as well as completing his scenes in three weeks. Gambon reprised his role in all the remaining films.

Toby Regbo was chosen to portray Dumbledore in his youth in Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, for flashbacks scenes which provide essential information on the character's backstory.

Jude Law played the role of a younger Dumbledore in the prequel films, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).

Appearance
Albus Dumbledore is tall and thin, with silver hair and beard (auburn in his youth) so long that they can be tucked into his belt. He has a very long and crooked nose that looks as if it has been broken at least twice. (It is speculated that his brother's punch during their sister's funeral may have played a role in shaping his nose.) He is also said to have long and skillful fingers. His eyes are described as being a brilliant, soul-piercing shade of blue, and usually twinkled with kindness and mischief.

Dumbledore wears half-moon spectacles and a colourful array of robes, ranging from purple to bright orange. He once claimed to have a scar above his left knee in the precise shape of a map of the London Underground, but whether or not he actually does is unknown. His demeanour is often – if not always – serene and ethereal, and he usually speaks in a calm, pleasant voice even when Harry thought that he is actually furious.

During the last year of his life, Dumbledore's right hand is scarred when he dons Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, which was cursed. Had Snape not intervened with a counter-curse, Dumbledore would have died much more quickly. Regardless, the curse left his hand blackened and dead-looking, and no amount of healing could repair the appearance. According to Snape, the curse would eventually spread itself from the contained hand, and Dumbledore was doomed to die in no more than one year's time. Whether this means the blackening dead-look appearance would spread throughout the entire body is unknown.

Personality
Considered the most powerful wizard in the world, Dumbledore is benevolent and wise, a good wizard in the style of Merlin. He exudes an aura of serenity and composure, rarely displaying intense emotions of anger or fear. Yet despite his benign nature, it is said that Dumbledore is the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever truly feared. Dumbledore is very eccentric and even slightly effeminate; he is very fond of knitting patterns and frequently wears flamboyant clothing (at one point, he is seen wearing a flowered bonnet). He is also known for his odd displays of whimsicality; he often uses humour to make people feel comfortable in his presence. As a supremely talented wizard, Dumbledore displays numerous examples of extraordinary powers. His abilities as a wizard are combined with a kind of cunning and subtlety of mind that allowed him to comprehend human nature and turn the better aspects of humanity (trust, love, and friendship) to Voldemort's disadvantage in particular.

More than anything else, Dumbledore has a deep capacity for love, frequently reminding Harry that love was the greatest magic of all. Dumbledore believes in the good in everyone and insists on giving second chances. The greatest example of this is Dumbledore's relationship with Snape, in whom Dumbledore is willing to place a considerable amount of faith because he showed remorse. Dumbledore is highly perceptive and emotionally intelligent; his knowledge of a person's true personality goes beyond simply being a good judge of character. This is never more apparent than in his complex insights into Voldemort's psyche, which he pieces together with Harry to deduce where Voldemort's horcruxes are hidden.

Dumbledore's appearance hides a more steely aspect, as seen when apprehending Barty Crouch Jr who was masquerading as Mad-Eye Moody:
 * "At that moment, Harry understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat."

However, in spite of Dumbledore's many extraordinary qualities, he is a flawed character. According to Rowling, "Although Dumbledore seems to be so benign for six books, he's quite a Machiavellian figure, really. He's been pulling a lot of strings." In a 2005 interview, Rowling commented: "Immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional mistakes, and I think Dumbledore really exemplifies that." Dumbledore's greatest flaw, which he admits to Harry, is his desire for power. He eventually finds that those best suited for power are those who do not seek it. When he and Grindelwald first meet, they make plans to enslave Muggles and re-establish wizards as the natural rulers of the world. However, Dumbledore becomes disillusioned of this fantasy after his sister Ariana is killed during a duel between himself, his brother Aberforth, and Grindelwald.

Dumbledore is haunted by his sad family history. In particular, he is riddled with guilt over the circumstances surrounding the death of his sister. He feels enormous remorse for his selfishness in getting involved in the circumstances that led to her death, and is tortured for the rest of his life by the possibility that he might have been the one who cast the spell that killed her. When he looks into the Mirror of Erised, he sees himself redeemed in the eyes of his brother and his entire family alive and together.

Magical abilities and skills
Since a young age, Dumbledore has always shown great magical abilities. During his education at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was known as the most brilliant student to have ever stepped into the school, winning "every prize of note that the school offered", and in his N.E.W.T.s, "... did things with a wand [the examiner had] never seen before". Rowling has said that Dumbledore is primarily self-taught, although he "had access to superb teachers at Hogwarts," and, as far as his education is concerned, "Dumbledore's family would be a profitable line of inquiry." While he is not vain, Dumbledore also exhibits no false modesty, readily acknowledging that he is unusually intelligent and an exceptionally powerful wizard. He admits a number of times to Harry in their occasional meetings in Half-Blood Prince that he makes mistakes, and since he is smarter than most men, his mistakes "tend to be correspondingly huger."

Dumbledore is an expert at nonverbal spells and is famous as an alchemist who has worked with Nicolas Flamel, the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, and is credited with discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood. His Patronus takes the form of a phoenix, a recurring symbol in the books.

His knowledge of the most powerful kind of magic, love, is extensive. He taught Harry about its very essence, and the innate power of his ability to love his parents, which eventually helped Harry realise his destiny to kill Lord Voldemort.

He is known to be able to conjure Gubraithian fire (magical everlasting fire). He has claimed to be able to become invisible without using an invisibility cloak, which is a powerful Disillusionment Charm. Dumbledore is also skilled in Occlumency and Legilimency. Dumbledore is an expert at Transfiguration too, having taught the subject before becoming headmaster. He frequently creates complex objects like sofa chairs out of thin air (or from less comfortable chairs). Dumbledore is also proficient at Charms and Potions; according to the obituary written by Elphias Doge, his papers were published in journals such as Achievements in Charming and The Practical Potioneer. Dumbledore is famous for defeating Grindelwald, who is second on a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time only to Voldemort himself, in a "spectacular duel of legend", succeeding in doing so despite the fact that Grindelwald possessed the Elder Wand, which supposedly guarantees invincibility in duels due to its power. His skill at duelling is further shown when he calmly engages Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, overpowering him and eventually forcing him to possess Harry to be spared from total defeat. (It is known in retrospect that Dumbledore possessed the Elder Wand when duelling Voldemort, having taken it from Grindelwald.) Unlike most wizards who make a distinct popping sound when they apparate, Dumbledore notably is able to apparate silently; the only other wizard shown to possess this skill is Voldemort. Dumbledore is known to be able to understand Mermish and Gobbledegook (Goblin language) and Parseltongue.

Possessions
Dumbledore's office houses "a number of curious [...] instruments." Among them is a Pensieve, a stone receptacle used to store and review memories, which witches and wizards are able to extract from their heads as a type of fluid. Harry first discovers this device in Goblet of Fire, and it is frequently used for flashback scenes throughout the remainder of the series. In the first chapter of Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore is seen using the Deluminator, a device for removing and later returning light, and for use as a homing device. It is confirmed in Deathly Hallows when the object is inherited by Ron that the Deluminator is of Dumbledore's own design. Dumbledore is the possessor and master of the Elder Wand, an extremely powerful object known also as the "Wand of Destiny" or the "Deathstick", and one of the Deathly Hallows. Unlike many of the wand's previous owners, Dumbledore keeps its identity a closely guarded secret. He also has a pet phoenix named Fawkes. It is revealed in Philosopher's Stone by Mr. Ollivander that Harry's wand carries a phoenix feather as its magical core and that particular phoenix only gave one other feather, the one in Voldemort's wand that gave Harry his scar. It is later revealed in Goblet of Fire that Fawkes was the phoenix whose feathers provide the magical core in Harry's and Voldemort's wands.

Backstory
Through various interviews and discussions about the character, Rowling has established that Albus Dumbledore was born in July or August 1881 to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. The character had previously referenced his brother Aberforth, and in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Albus is three years older than Aberforth. The same book introduced their sister Ariana who, at six years old, suffers a vicious attack by three male Muggle youths who had witnessed her doing magic. Frightened, they first try to get her to repeat what they had seen, and upon her failure to recreate it due to her young age, they try to stop her from being "different". The severe trauma of the attack leaves Ariana unable to function socially or to properly perform magic again. It is not explicitly stated in the novel what form this attack took, but Percival is given a life sentence in Azkaban for tracking down and hexing the boys who traumatised his daughter. To prevent her being institutionalised in St. Mungo's Hospital, or hurting someone accidentally with her uncontrolled magic, Kendra moves the family to Godric's Hollow, and conceals Ariana's illness. Their wizarding neighbours and acquaintances assumed that Ariana is a non-magical squib, and that Kendra is hiding her out of shame.

When Dumbledore and his friend Elphias Doge leave Hogwarts at the age of 18, they plan to take their "then-traditional" tour of the world. On the eve of their trip, however, Ariana accidentally kills Kendra during one of her uncontrolled outbursts of magic. Because Dumbledore's parents are absent (his father in Azkaban and his mother dead), he becomes the head of the family and it becomes his duty to put food on the table, as the family's misfortunes have left them poor. He is forced to remain in his house with Ariana while Aberforth completes his education. Aberforth knows of his brother's resentment and offers to care for Ariana himself, claiming that she prefers him to Albus, but Albus refuses, stating that it is his duty as the eldest child to care for the family.

When Gellert Grindelwald arrives at Godric's Hollow, he and Dumbledore become immediate friends, and the two dream of a new world order in which wizards rule over Muggles "for the greater good". Dumbledore and Grindelwald suggest that they have to leave the Dumbledore home to carry on their plans, but Aberforth protested against this, as Ariana's condition would not allow her to be moved. The ensuing argument between Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald turns into a duel, and as Ariana becomes more and more agitated, she is caught in the crossfire and killed - though neither Albus nor Aberforth are sure whether one of them or Grindlewald caused her death. Stricken with grief and remorse, Dumbledore breaks ties with Grindelwald for good. According to the author, as a result of this, Dumbledore's boggart becomes Ariana's corpse. In Philosopher's Stone, he also mentions to Harry that the deepest desire of his heart, revealed by the Mirror of Erised, is to have a pair of woolen socks, but in the seventh novel, Harry realises that he and Dumbledore see the same thing in the Mirror: their reunited families.

Reception
The character of Albus Dumbledore has been compared to other archetypal "wise old man" characters. Dumbledore acts much like Merlin from The Sword in the Stone, in the manner of an "absent-minded professor"; both Merlin and Dumbledore educate a story's main character in a castle. As writer Evelyn Perry notes, "Dumbledore resembles Merlin both personally and physically; he is an avid lover of books and wisdom who wears flowing robes and a long, white beard." Dumbledore has also been compared with Gandalf from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Dave Kopel draws comparisons between Rowling's writing and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress and states that, among the Christian symbols that Rowling has used in her books, Dumbledore acts like "the bearded God the Father" figure in which Harry puts his faith to be saved from Voldemort and his servants. IGN also listed Dumbledore as their fifth favourite Harry Potter character, saying that "[f]or a character that was introduced into popular culture a mere twelve years ago, it speaks volumes that Professor Dumbledore has already taken his place among the great mentor figures in literature and film". IGN's Joe Utichi called Dumbledore his third favourite Harry Potter character, calling the revelation that he wasn't so "infallible" one of the most heartbreaking themes of the final book. Actor Michael Gambon received some criticism for his louder, more aggressive, portrayal of the character, who is depicted as exhibiting a more subdued, unflappable calm in the books. This has been attributed to Gambon's policy of not reading the source material from which his films are adapted.

As a main character of the series, major facts relating to Dumbledore have generated a vast number of essays and discussions. The death of Dumbledore at the end of Half-Blood Prince was discussed by fans and critics alike. A website named DumbledoreIsNotDead.com sought to understand the events of the sixth book in a different way and provided arguments to claim that the character did not really die. However, Rowling confirmed on 2 August 2006 that Dumbledore was, in fact, dead, humorously apologising to the website as she did so. Along with DumbledoreIsNotDead.com, a collection of essays, ''Who Killed Albus Dumbledore?: What Really Happened in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Six Expert Harry Potter Detectives Examine the Evidence'', was published by Zossima Press in November 2006. In NextMovie.com's Harry Potter Mega Poll, Dumbledore's death was voted as the most unforgettable moment in the whole series.

In the Chamber of Secrets DVD interview, screenwriter Steve Kloves stated that he considers Dumbledore a fascinating character because of the wisdom he provides, but he feels that "Dumbledore bears such a tremendous dark burden, and he knows secrets and I think in many ways he bears the weight of the future of the wizard world" and the "only way that he can keep that at bay, the darkness, is to be whimsical and humorous".

Sexuality
In October 2007, while answering reader questions during a book reading at Carnegie Hall, Rowling was asked if Dumbledore had ever been in love. She answered, "I always thought Dumbledore is gay," and discussed for the first time his romantic relationship with Gellert Grindelwald, describing it as a "great tragedy". She said she had informed David Yates, the director of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, of Dumbledore's sexuality by writing a note in the screenplay. She had crossed out a section where Dumbledore describes his attraction to a woman, and had written "Dumbledore is gay." When he learned about Dumbledore's sexuality, Yates recalled thinking it was "pretty cool".

The revelation of Dumbledore's sexuality occurred after the publication of the final novel, and made international news. Melissa Anelli, webmaster of the fan site The Leaky Cauldron, told The Associated Press, "J. K. Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality. ... By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she's reinforcing the idea that a person's gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed." Supportive reactions at the time included Entertainment Weekly 's Mark Harris, who said "her choice to make a beloved professor-mentor gay in a world where gay teachers are still routinely slandered as malign influences was, I am certain, no accident." The stars and director of the Harry Potter films were supportive of Rowling's revelation as well. Daniel Radcliffe reported that Michael Gambon had been "really camping it up for the last three weeks ever since he found out". Reactions from activist organizations were also largely positive. A spokesperson for Stonewall praised Rowling, saying "It's great that JK has said this. It shows that there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster."

Some critics discussed the implications of this statement, noting that this was the first time any public revelations about his sexuality were made and that the books had already been completed by this point in time. In more negative assessments from outside the gay community, The New York Times columnist Edward Rothstein said that "Ms. Rowling may think of Dumbledore as gay"; however, "there is no reason why anyone else should". The East Tennessee State University's student newspaper accused Rowling of lying, saying her answer was a publicity stunt.

Slate quoted an attendee of the book talk who said, "It was clear that JKR didn't plan to out Dumbledore. She just cares about being true to her readers." Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel said that upon reflection, Dumbledore was gay from the beginning, and that this neatly explained the behaviour of his character and his relationship with Grindelwald. Thomas noted the skill Rowling displayed in writing a gay character "without having to put a gay label on him."

Reactions from prominent gay activists and media personalities were mixed. Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell stated that "It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society. But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance." Referencing Tatchell's statement, James Ball wrote in an editorial for The Guardian that "Showing the respected, heroic and beloved Albus Dumbledore as fully realised gay character - whose sexuality was merely incidental to his achievements - would have provided a fictional role model like no other. With homophobic bullying still such a significant issue in schools, this is a missed opportunity with a real sting in the tail." Writing for Time, John Cloud argued that Dumbledore's silence in the books about his identity amounts to him being ashamed of his sexuality: "Why couldn't he tell us himself? The Potter books add up to more than 800,000 words before Dumbledore dies in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, yet Rowling couldn't spare two of those words to help define a central character's emotional identity: 'I'm gay.' We can only conclude that Dumbledore saw his homosexuality as shameful. His silence suggests a lack of personal integrity that is completely out of character."

Accusations of queerbaiting
Later evaluations of Dumbledore's sexuality began to point out that despite media released after J.K. Rowling's revelation about Dumbledore's sexuality, the character was never shown in subsequent films, books, or plays to have had relationships with men or for his relationship with Grindelwald to be referenced as romantic up until the 2022 release of the third film in the Fantastic Beasts prequel film series. In a 2014 article talking about Rowling's penchant for essentially revising elements of her long-completed books through tweets and interviews, Michelle Smith noted increasing dissatisfaction with Rowling only declaring characters as diverse in race, religion, or sexuality after the fact. Noting the Death of the Author principle, she added "If it was not possible for readers to detect that a character was gay or Jewish then how could they possibly be considered as positive signs of increasing representation and inclusion of minority groups in popular culture?"

Starting around the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2016 and the release of the canonical Fantastic Beasts prequel film series, new attention was placed on the franchise's depiction of LGBT characters and themes, including Dumbledore. In early 2016, complaints about queerbaiting in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child regarding two of its protagonists also led to a similar reappraisal of Dumbledore's depiction up to that point in time. Writing for Vox in September 2016, Aja Romano discussed these particular criticisms of Dumbledore in a section entitled "Dumbledore and the curse of offscreen homosexuality," noting "[b]y outing him after his death, Rowling effectively placed Dumbledore within the longstanding, problematic "dead gays" trope, instead of showing him living out his queer identity — or, even better, giving kids examples of queer characters Harry's own age that they might be able to more effectively relate to than a 150-year-old sock-loving school principal." In response to a question during the release of the first Fantastic Beasts film in 2016, Rowling answered "As far as his sexuality is concerned, watch this space."

In the leadup to the release of the second Fantastic Beasts film in 2018 which would feature the return of Dumbledore and Grindelwald during the time period in the aftermath of their relationship, comments by Yates in an interview with Entertainment Weekly caused further controversy. When asked if the films would depict Dumbledore as gay or show or discuss his romantic relationship with Grindelwald, Yates would say "Not explicitly," later claiming that "I think all fans are aware of that." Reviews of the finished film echoed the controversy again, with Delia Harrington of Den of Geek discussed how the finished product appeared to go out of its way to code Dumbledore as heterosexual and used the introduction of the blood pact oath to reduce his reluctance to kill Grindelwald from "[...] an emotional hurdle to clear into the issue of a mere physical MacGuffin to be acquired[...]" Harrington continued "It's deeply frustrating that J.K. Rowling went out of her way to reveal Dumbledore's sexuality only after she was done writing the books and to then re-closet him when she writes the script for movies about this exact time in his life." Writing for The Washington Post after the film's Blu-ray release in which both Rowling and Yates again went out of their way to only hint at Dumbledore's sexuality while being very vague in describing it, Richard Morgan cited Nancy podcast producer Matt Collette, who had discussed the topic in a 2017 episode. "Of all J.K. Rowling's many accolades, there's one I find particularly noteworthy: Queerbaiter. [...] That's a writer who puts in just enough of a queer story line to appease the fans who'd like one, but not so much as to offend anyone who doesn't like gay people."

The third film in the series, 2022's Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, would finally explicitly have Dumbledore refer to being "in love" with Grindelwald and tell other characters about their romantic relationship in plain terms, though some sources noted the lines amount to only six seconds of dialogue. "After news reports emerged that Warner Bros. had cut these lines from the film in China, the film, the director, and Rowling were again accused of queerbaiting by only confirming Dumbledore's sexuality in such a slight way that it would be easy to censor it back out. Warner Bros. would defend the cuts in a press release claiming that they were merely abiding the request of the local film authority and "the spirit of the film remains intact." Writing for MovieWeb, Hannah Scott covered several notable ways that Dumbledore's depiction in the film had been received mostly negatively by the LGBT community, citing complaints about the studio's overseas censorship of the film as well as the  noting "[...]it feels like their relationship is only referenced at all because it has to be, and it's mostly portrayed as a catalyst for negativity and regret."

Commemoration
In 2011, Dumbledore was one of eight British magical figures, which included the wizards Merlin (from Arthurian legend) and Rincewind (from Terry Pratchett's Discworld), and the White Witch (from The Chronicles of Narnia), that were commemorated on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail.

In popular culture
Dumbledore has been parodied in several sketches and animated series:
 * In The Simpsons 2006 episode "The Haw-Hawed Couple", Lisa asks Homer to read her Angelica Button book to her for bedtime. Homer, learning that the character Headmaster Greystash will die (as Dumbledore did in Half-Blood Prince), hides the fact from Lisa by inventing a happier ending, though Lisa does read the real ending and decides that Homer's was better.
 * Dumbledore also stars in Neil Cicierega's Potter Puppet Pals, in which he frequently strips completely naked, except for his hat, randomly in the story. Dumbledore also tends to use the exclamation "Alas!" in an apparently incorrect place, parodying Rowling's love for unusual words. In the episode "Ron's Disease", Dumbledore reveals himself to be "a gay android".
 * Albus Dumbledore appears in some episodes of Robot Chicken, voiced by Seth Green. In "Password: Swordfish", when the threat of the puberty creature Pubertis is known, Dumbledore gives Harry a stone that might help him fight Pubertis. During this appearance, Dumbledore is an African-American who states that he is played by a different actor in each of the movies. Upon confrontation with Pubertis, Harry rubs the stone two times, which summons ghosts to punch it. When it comes to the third time, Dumbledore appears and tells Harry that the stone can only be warmed up three times a day (four if he takes a week off) and that Pubertis cannot be destroyed since it lives in everyone just like his own demon Wandus Limpus prevents him from having meaningful relationships. In "I Love Her", Dumbledore tells the students that Professor Snape suffered a "minor potion accident" and has enlisted Criss Angel as their substitute teacher.
 * In 2003, Comic Relief performed a spoof story called Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, in which Dumbledore is portrayed by Nigel Planer, who wore the beard and costume of late Richard Harris.
 * Dumbledore also appears in one of the Harry Bladder sketches in All That, portrayed by Kenan Thompson's old character Principal Williame Banes Pimpell (who appeared as Headmaster Pimpell).
 * After the revelation of Dumbledore's sexuality, the American skit comedy Saturday Night Live featured a sketch featuring Rowling (played by Amy Poehler) showing "deleted scenes" from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban where Dumbledore (played by Bill Hader) acts stereotypically gay.
 * In A Very Potter Musical (2009), Dumbledore is played by actor Dylan Saunders.

title: Albus Dumbledore


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British Shorthair

The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, thick coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", with a solid grey-blue coat, pineapple eyes, and a medium-sized tail. The breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colourpoint.

It is one of the most ancient cat breeds known. In modern times, it remains the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country, as registered by the UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF). A quarter of all kittens registered with the GCCF each year are British Shorthairs, making the British the most popular pedigree cat in the UK.

The breed's good-natured appearance and relatively calm temperament make it a frequent media star, notably as the inspiration for John Tenniel's famous illustration of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The Cat Fanciers' Association profile reads: "When gracelessness is observed, the British Shorthair is duly embarrassed, quickly recovering with a 'Cheshire cat smile'."

History
Researchers are not sure how cats first reached the British Isles. In many other parts of Europe cats became common at the same time as the spread of the Roman Empire, however it appears that housecats reached the British Isles before the Romans did.

These cats then interbred with the local European wildcat population. Over the centuries, their naturally isolated descendants developed into distinctively large, robust cats with a short but very thick coat, to better withstand conditions on their native islands. Based on artists' representations, the modern British Shorthair is unchanged from this initial type.

Selective breeding of the best examples of the type began in the nineteenth century, with emphasis on developing the unusual blue-grey variant called the "British Blue" or "English type" (to distinguish it from the more fine-boned "Russian type"). Some sources directly credit UK artist and pioneering cat fancier Harrison Weir with the initial concept of standardising the breed. Others suggest a group of breeders may have been involved. The new British Shorthair was featured at the first-ever cat show, organised by Weir and held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871, and enjoyed great initial popularity.

By the 1900s with the advent of the newly imported Persian and other long-haired breeds, the British Shorthair had fallen out of favour, and breeding stock had become critically rare by World War I. At least partially to alleviate this, British Shorthair breeders mixed Persians into their bloodlines. The genes thus introduced would eventually become the basis for the British Longhair. At the time, any long-haired cats produced were placed into the Persian breeding program, as all cats with the blue colouration were then judged together as variants on a de facto single breed. The Blue Shorthair, outcrossings of the British with the Russian Blue were also common.

After the war, in an attempt to maintain the breed standard, the GCCF decided to accept only third-generation Persian/British Shorthair crosses. This contributed to another shortage of pure breeding stock by World War II, at which point the Persian and Russian Blue were reintroduced into the mix.

British Shorthair breeders also worked with the French Chartreux, another ancient breed, which although genetically unrelated to the British Blue, is very similar in appearance. Breeders worked to reestablish the true British type, and by the late 1970s the distinctive British Shorthair had achieved formal recognition from both the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA). According to the GCCF's 2013 registry data, it is once again the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country.

Appearance

The British Shorthair is a relatively powerful-looking, large cat having a broad chest, strong thick-set legs with rounded paws, and a medium-length, blunt-tipped tail. The head is relatively large and rounded, with a short muzzle, broad cheeks (most noticeable in mature males, who tend to develop prominent jowls) and large round eyes that are deep copper orange in the British Blue and otherwise vary in colour depending on the coat. Their large ears are broad and widely set.

They are slow to mature in comparison with most cat breeds, reaching full physical development at approximately three years of age. Unusually among domestic cats, they are a noticeably sexually dimorphic breed, with males averaging 9 – and females 7 –.

Coat, colour, and patterns
The British Shorthair's coat is one of the breed's defining features. It is very dense, the texture being plush rather than woolly or fluffy, with a firm, "crisp" pile that breaks noticeably over the cat's body as it moves.

Although the British Blue remains the most familiar variant, British Shorthairs have been developed in many other colours and patterns. Black, blue, white, red, cream, silver, golden and—most recently—cinnamon and fawn are accepted by all official standards, either solid or in colourpoint, tabby, shaded and bicolour patterns; the GCCF, FIFe and TICA also accept chocolate and its dilute lilac, disallowed in the CFA standard. All colours and patterns also have tortoiseshell variants.

The Tabby patterns include Classic Tabby, Mackerel Tabby, Spotted & Ticked Tabby. The non-tabby patterns include: Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Van patterns Bi-Colour & White, Smoke, Tipped & Colourpointed.

British Shorthair's nose colour: black, cherry red, brick red; a circle of black nasal line on the periphery.

Cat Shows
First introduced to Britain by the Romans, the British shorthair was one of the domestic cats originally bred for its hunting prowess. In the last 150 years, breeding has emphasized physical qualities. The British Shorthair breed debuted — along with a wide range of other selectively bred felines — in the first organized cat show arranged by Harrison Weir at London's Crystal Palace in 1871. British shorthairs remained the premiere pedigree at cat shows up until 1895.

Shortly after the British Shorthair exhibit in the Crystal Palace show, the popularity of British Shorthair increased. The public began searching for breeders of British Shorthairs with various character and color traits, all in the pursuit of "exoticness". From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, certain British Shorthairs would occasionally earn notoriety or decorated titles in Cat Competitions. The British Shorthair publicity from 19th and 20th century cat shows helped British Shorthairs become one of the most popular pet cat breeds today. For example, in the 1980s, the British Shorthair was featured in competition by the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA), which led to an increased demand for British Shorthairs as household pets. As of 2023, the British Shorthair ranks as the 6th most popular cat breed in the United States. the TICA cat show competition standards for British Shorthairs judge the cats for their circular head shape, muzzle, and cheeks. Small to medium ears are desired, with large, round, leveled eyes. Eye shape is more important than colour. The muzzle and chin shape should complement the circular face; the profile and nose should be short, further complementing the circular face. The neck should give the illusion of the cat having no neck, blending in with the cheeks. The body of the cat should have a sturdy and muscular torso, complemented by medium to short legs, finished with round medium to large feet. The tail should be thick at the base and taper to a rounded tip, totaling about two thirds of the body length. The cat should have substantial bone and a firm, sturdy musculature. No preference on colour is stated for the cat's coat, but the coat should be straight, dense, and even in length.

British Longhair
The British Longhair, also known as the Highlander or Highland Straight, is a longhaired variant of the British Shorthair. Some registries such as The International Cat Association recognise it as a distinct breed, others such as the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy treat it as a variant of the British Shorthair, which may be referred to as simply 'British'.

The breed is identical to the British Shorthair aside from its longer and denser coat.

Health
A UK study looking at veterinary records found a life expectancy of 9.58 years for the British Shorthair and British Longhair compared to 11.74 years overall. Swedish insurance data puts the median lifespan of the breed at >12.5 years. Eighty-two percent of British Shorthairs lived to 10 years or more, and 54% lived to 12.5 years or more.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be a problem in the breed. A Danish prevalence study with more than 329 cats showed that 20.4% of males and 2.1% of the females had HCM, with an additional 6.4% of males and 3.5% of females judged to be equivocal. HCM testing of males used for breeding is now mandatory for breeders organised under the Danish Fife member, Felis Danica.

The breed is thought to be at high risk of polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

A study of over 190,000 patient records in England found the British Shorthair to be less than half as likely to acquire diabetes mellitus as either moggies or the overall cat population; 0.24% of British Shorthairs were diagnosed with the condition compared to 0.58% for both non-pedigree cats and the overall prevalence.

Commemoration
In 2022, the British Shorthair was one of eight cats featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: British Shorthair


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Hogwarts

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional boarding 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 and serves as a major setting in the Wizarding World universe.

Establishment
Founded around the 9th century and 10th century by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, Hogwarts was established in the Highlands of Scotland to educate young wizards and witches as well as to keep students safe from Muggle persecution. Theory has it that Rowena Ravenclaw came up with the name of Hogwarts after dreaming of a warty hog that led her to a cliff by a lake. Since then, Hogwarts educated most wizarding children with residence in Great Britain and Ireland, keeping its location hidden from other wizarding schools and Muggles.

Middle Ages
About 300 years after the school was founded, the Triwizard Tournament was established as an interscholastic competition among the three most prestigious magical schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. The tournament continued for six centuries before being discontinued. An attempt was made in the 1994–1995 school year to revive the tournament, but the consequential death of Cedric Diggory resulted in its permanent discontinuation.

Academics and traditions
Hogwarts is a coeducational, secondary boarding school, taking children from ages eleven to eighteen, in line with real-world combined secondary and sixth form institutions in Britain. 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 forty characters for Harry's year.

Admission
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". 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.

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. 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 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.

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 Potter in his first year after he demonstrates an excellent ability as a Seeker in Quidditch.

Arrival
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 at Hogsmeade station near Hogwarts, sometime after nightfall.

From there, first-year students are accompanied by the "Keeper of the Keys, Game and Grounds" (which was Rubeus 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. 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. After the Sorting Ceremony, the students and teachers enjoy a feast, prepared by the Hogwarts house-elves. If Albus Dumbledore is feeling cheerful, he will lead the students in singing the school song.

Houses
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. The dormitory and common room of a House are, barring rare exceptions, inaccessible to students belonging to other Houses. Different houses do share classes as they are based on year group rather than House.

In the early days of Hogwarts, the four founders hand-picked students for their Houses. When the founders worried how students would be selected after their deaths, Godric Gryffindor took his hat off and they each added knowledge to it, allowing the Sorting Hat to choose the students by judging each student's qualities and placing them in the most appropriate house. The student's own choices may affect the decision: the clearest example is the Hat telling Harry that he would do well in Slytherin in the first book, but ultimately selecting Gryffindor after Harry asks it not to put him in Slytherin.

The translators of the books' foreign editions had difficulty translating the "house" concept; in countries where this system does not exist, no word could adequately convey the importance of belonging to a house, the loyalty owed to it, and the pride taken in prizes won by the house.

Gryffindor
Gryffindor values courage, bravery, nerve, and chivalry. Gryffindor's mascot is the lion, and its colours are scarlet red and gold (maroon and gold on the ties and scarves). During the books, the Head of this house is the Transfiguration Professor and Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall until she becomes headmistress, and the house ghost is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, more commonly known as Nearly Headless Nick. According to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire. The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor.

The Gryffindor common room is in one of the castle's highest towers, and its entrance is on the seventh floor in the east wing of the castle and is guarded by a painting of The Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink dress. She permits entry only after being given the correct password.

Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. The house mascot is the badger, and canary yellow and black (or golden yellow and graphite in the Fantastic Beasts films) are its colours. During the books, the Head of this house is the Herbology Professor Pomona Sprout, and the house ghost is the Fat Friar. According to Rowling, Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth. The founder of this house is Helga Hufflepuff.

The entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories and common room entrance is concealed in a pile of large barrels in an alcove in the corridor that holds the kitchen. To enter, one must tap the barrel two from the bottom in the middle of the second row in the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff". Unlike any other house, the Hufflepuff common room has a repelling device that douses the illegal entrant in vinegar if the wrong lid is tapped or the rhythm is wrong. The Hufflepuff common room is filled with yellow hangings and fat armchairs and it has little tunnels leading to the dormitories, all of which have perfectly round doors, like barrel tops.

Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw values intelligence, learning, wisdom and wit. The house mascot is an eagle (raven in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films) and the house colours are blue and bronze (blue and silver in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films). During the books, the head of this house is the Charms teacher, Professor Filius Flitwick, and the house ghost is the Grey Lady. According to Rowling, Ravenclaw corresponds roughly to the element of air. The founder of this house is Rowena Ravenclaw.

The dormitories are in Ravenclaw Tower, on the west side of Hogwarts. The common room is round and filled with blue hangings and armchairs, has a domed ceiling painted with stars and features a replica statue of Rowena wearing her diadem. Harry also notes that Ravenclaws "have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains". A logical riddle must be solved to gain entry, whereas the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms only require a password.

Slytherin
Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness; the Sorting Hat said, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, that Slytherins will do anything to get their way. The house mascot of Slytherin is the serpent, and the house colours are green and silver. Throughout the series, until the seventh book, the Head of House is Professor Severus Snape. Then, after Snape becomes headmaster, the previous Head of House, Professor Horace Slughorn, comes out of retirement, re-assuming authority. The ghost of Slytherin house is the Bloody Baron. According to Rowling, Slytherin corresponds roughly to the element of water. The founder of this house is Salazar Slytherin.

The Slytherin dormitories and common room are reached by speaking a password to a patch of bare stone wall in the dungeons, which causes a hidden door to open. The Slytherin common room is a long, low, dungeon-style room, under the Hogwarts Lake, furnished with green lamps and carved armchairs. The room is described in the second book as having a greenish glow.

The Sorting Hat claims that blood purity is a factor in selecting Slytherins (first mentioned in the fifth book). There is no actual reason to believe that Muggle-born students aren't sorted there, as there are several examples of half-bloods in the house – such as Snape and Tom Riddle/Voldemort – and Harry himself was only excluded from the house at his own insistence. In Deathly Hallows, a group of Snatchers claim that "not many Mudbloods" are sorted into Slytherin.

When believing Harry to be dead and thinking that he has victory in his grasp, Voldemort proclaims his intention to abolish the other three houses and force all Hogwarts students into Slytherin. This design is foiled by his defeat and death, after which Slytherin becomes more diluted in its blood purity, no longer remaining the pure-blood bastion it once was.

Subjects and teachers
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. 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.

Daily life

The day begins at Hogwarts with breakfast in the Great Hall. Students sit at their own House table and can eat and socialise, or finish homework. The Headmaster or Headmistress eats with the professors at the High Table placed at the far end of the hall. During breakfast, owls bring in the students' post, generally consisting of The Daily Prophet, letters from parents or friends, or packages from home. A bell signals the start of the first class of the morning at 9 am.

There are two long morning classes with a short break in between them for students to get to their next class. After lunch, classes resume at 1 pm, and there is a break around afternoon teatime before another class period. The classes are about one hour in length, with occasional double periods lasting two hours. Classes end around five o'clock. First-year students get Friday afternoons off, while sixth- and seventh-year students have several free periods during the week. In the evening, students eat their dinner in the Great Hall, after which they are expected to be in their common rooms. Astronomy classes take place late at night in the Astronomy Tower.

The four House dormitories have secret entrances, generally known only to members of that house and require a password (Gryffindor and Slytherin), riddle answer (Ravenclaw) or ritual (Hufflepuff) in order to gain entrance. Inside is the common room, which contains armchairs and sofas for the pupils and tables for studying and homework. There are fireplaces to keep the rooms warm, and students either relax here in the evenings or else complete their homework, but may complete their work in the bedroom. There are notice boards in each common room and at other strategic points throughout the school. The students sleep in their House dormitories, which branch off from the common rooms. Each dormitory gets at least two rooms; one for boys and one for girls (an enchantment prevents boys from entering the girls' area, although there is no spell to prevent the reverse from occurring). Each student sleeps in a large four-poster bed with bed covers and heavy curtains in the House colours, and thick white pillows. There is a bedside table for each bed, and each dormitory has a jug of water and goblets on a tray.

On designated weekends, Hogwarts students in their third year or higher, with a signed permission slip, are permitted to walk to the nearby wizarding village of Hogsmeade, where they can relax and enjoy the pubs, restaurants and shops. There appears to be a good relationship between the school and the village, and the students get on well with the locals. Favourite places in Hogsmeade include Honeydukes Sweetshop, Zonko's Joke Shop, clothing stores such as Gladrags Wizardwear, the Shrieking Shack (regarded as the most haunted building in Britain), the pubs The Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head, and Madam Puddifoot's coffee shop.

Food
The house-elves at Hogwarts amongst other duties provide all food to students and staff. They cook a wide variety of dishes especially at the feasts. The various dishes are prepared in the kitchens directly below the Great Hall. Within the kitchen are four long tables directly aligned with the house tables in the great hall above. At meal times the food is magically transported up, appearing directly in front of the students.

Discipline
Apart from losing points from a house, serious misdeeds at Hogwarts are punishable by detention. Whenever a student loses a house point, their house jewels (ruby for Gryffindors, emeralds for Slytherin, sapphires for Ravenclaw, and diamonds for Hufflepuff) are taken away from a glass hourglass located in every classroom. The same goes for adding points to the specific house, although the teacher or prefect must conjure the gems from thin air.

According to the school caretaker, Argus Filch, detention meant subjection to various forms of corporal punishment until recently. Arthur Weasley claimed still to bear physical scars inflicted by Apollyon Pringle, Filch's predecessor. In present times, however, detention usually involves assisting staff or faculty with tedious tasks. Examples of detention include the one imposed on Harry by Dolores Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix. In this case, Harry was forced to write, "I must not tell lies" repeatedly using a magical quill which then carves what is written into the back of the writer's hand. However, most teachers at the school never use this cruel punishment. In another case, when Snape caught Harry using the Sectumsempra curse on Draco Malfoy, he was forced to go through over a thousand boxes of files describing wrongdoers at Hogwarts and their punishments. Harry was supposed to order them in alphabetical order, and rewrite the cards whose words were hard to see or otherwise damaged. The Weasley twins Fred and George Weasley had a whole drawer of these cards.

For even more serious offences, students may be suspended or even expelled from Hogwarts. Harry and Ron Weasley are threatened with expulsion after crashing Ron's car into the Whomping Willow at the start of their second year, and Harry is expelled before the start of his fifth year (although the sentence is quickly changed to a disciplinary hearing) after he is detected using magic in the presence of Muggles, a serious offence among the wizarding community. Dumbledore argued in Harry's defence, stating that it was done in self-defence, and that the Ministry has no authority to expel students – such powers are invested in the Headmaster and the Board of Governors. Snape has attempted to have Harry expelled, and he attempted to have Harry's father, James Potter, expelled when they were at Hogwarts together. The only student known to have been expelled is Hagrid, for the murder of Myrtle with an acromantula believed to be the Monster of Slytherin and for opening the Chamber of Secrets – crimes for which Tom Riddle had framed him.

Professors seem to be able to punish students with relative impunity and can hand out detention, even for unsatisfactory grades. Enforcement of rules outside of class mainly falls to the caretaker, with the assistance of the prefects. A student's Head of House usually has the final say in disciplinary matters. However, during Umbridge's tenure at Hogwarts, she quickly obtains the power to have the final say in disciplinary actions, due to an Educational Decree (one of many) passed by Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.

In the summer before their fifth year, two fifth year students from each House are picked to be prefects, which grants them privileges and responsibilities and disciplinary responsibilities. The leaders of the student body, the Head Boy and Head Girl, are drawn from the seventh year students. Prefects have the authority to give detentions for infractions.

Castle and grounds

J. K. Rowling says she visualises Hogwarts, in its entirety, to be:

"A huge, rambling, quite scary-looking castle, with a jumble of towers and battlements. Like the Weasleys' house, it isn't a building that Muggles could build, because it is supported by magic."

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. Hermione Granger indicates in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 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. The castle and its grounds are home to many secret areas as well as well-known and well-used places.

Hiding place of the Philosopher's Stone
Accessed by entering a trapdoor in the forbidden corridor on the third floor, and protected by a gauntlet of seven magical challenges set up by the teachers.
 * A giant three-headed dog named Fluffy placed specially to guard the trapdoor by Hagrid.
 * Devil's Snare, grown by Professor Sprout.
 * A room containing dozens of keys, charmed by Flitwick to sprout wings and fly near the ceiling. One of these keys will unlock the door to the next section. In the film adaptation, the keys attack the seeker of the Stone.
 * A large chessboard with an army of large chessmen, transfigured by McGonagall. To continue to the door on the opposite side, the person in question must beat the chessmen at a game of wizards' chess where the player must risk his life if he loses. Ron and Professor Quirrell are the only wizards to win the game of wizards' chess.
 * A room with a large troll inside. This is Quirrell's challenge. In the book, Quirrell had knocked out his own troll to get to the last room and thus the trio did not have to fight it; in the film, it does not appear, but it appears in the PS1 and Game Boy Color version of the game.
 * A series of potions, brewed by Snape. A logical riddle, not magic, has to be solved. There are two doors, blocked by fire. One potion will allow the person to exit the way he or she arrived, another will allow him or her to continue to the next chamber, two are nettle wine, and the other three are poison. This challenge does not appear in the film, but does in the video game adaptation.
 * The Mirror of Erised can be found in the final chamber, further enchanted by Dumbledore to bestow the Philosopher's Stone upon a seeker only hoping to acquire the stone but not use it for selfish means.

Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets, which is deep under the school (most likely under the lake), was home to an ancient Basilisk, intended to be used to purge the school of Muggle-born students. Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, built the Chamber before he left the school.

The entrance to the Chamber is hidden in the second-floor girls' lavatory (haunted by Moaning Myrtle). One of the sink taps has a snake scratched into its side; when a command in Parseltongue is spoken, it opens to reveal the mouth of a dark, slimy chute, wide enough to slide down, that gives onto a stone tunnel. The tunnel leads to a solid wall, carved with two entwined serpents with emeralds for eyes. At a command in Parseltongue, the wall opens to expose a long, dim corridor, lined with monumental statues of snakes, including two rows of towering stone pillars with more carved serpents that brace the ceiling. A colossal statue of Salazar Slytherin, looking ancient and monkey-like, is at the centre. The Basilisk rested inside the statue and emerged from its mouth when the Heir of Slytherin, Tom Riddle, summoned it. In his second year at Hogwarts, Harry uses Parseltongue to open the chamber and destroys the diary containing the embodied memory of a 16-year-old Tom Riddle from his own days at Hogwarts and also slays the basilisk. It is later revealed that the diary was a Horcrux. In Deathly Hallows, Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber. Ron opens the door (despite not speaking Parseltongue) by imitating sounds he heard Harry use to open Slytherin's locket. They pull a basilisk fang from its skeleton to use to destroy the Horcrux made from Helga Hufflepuff's cup.

When Tom Riddle opened the Chamber, Myrtle was sulking in a stall after being teased by student Olive Hornby. She opened the door, intending to tell him to leave, but died immediately upon meeting the Basilisk's gaze and decided to become a ghost to get revenge on Hornby. The bathroom remains operational, but is rarely used by students because of Myrtle's disagreeable presence and her habit of flooding it when she is distraught.

As shown in Deathly Hallows, the Chamber of Secrets does not appear on the Marauder's Map.

Passages
There are usually seven secret passages in and out of the school, and in addition, the series describes the use of twin vanishing cabinets to create another. The Room of Requirement may, on occasion, create an eighth passage out of the school. The only known instance of this occurring is a passage to the Hog's Head that forms in Deathly Hallows. Due to the nature of the Room of Requirement, it is possible that several passages to different locations could be accessed from the Room.

Filch knows of just four of the seven secret passages, while the Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew) and the Weasley twins know of all seven, though where some lead is unknown. The three passages out of Hogwarts that Filch does not know about are: Besides passages in and out of the school, there are also numerous short-cuts that lead from one part of the castle to another. These are often concealed in such fashions as a tapestry which hides a hole in the wall.
 * A passage beneath the Whomping Willow, leading to the Shrieking Shack.
 * A passage behind a mirror on the fourth floor, which is caved in. It leads to Hogsmeade, but it is not known exactly where.
 * A passage beneath the one-eyed witch statue by the stairs to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, leading to the cellar of Honeydukes. Speaking aloud the word 'Dissendium' to the witch allows access to this passage; the hump on the statue then opens and reveals the hidden passageway.

Room of Requirement
On the seventh floor opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to train trolls for the ballet, the Room of Requirement appears only when someone is in need of it. To make it appear, one must walk past its hidden entrance three times while concentrating on what is needed. The room will then appear, outfitted with whatever is required. To the Hogwarts house-elves, it is also known as the Come and Go Room.

Dumbledore is the first to mention the room, noting that he discovered it at five-thirty in the morning, filled with chamber pots when he was trying to find a toilet. However, Dumbledore did not appear to know the Room's secrets. Dobby later told Harry of the Room in detail and admitted to frequently bringing Winky to the room to cure her bouts of Butterbeer-induced drunkenness, finding it full of antidotes and a "nice elf-sized bed". Filch was said to find cleaning supplies here when he had run out; when Fred and George needed a place to hide, it would appear as a broom cupboard. Trelawney also makes a habit of using it to hide her empty sherry bottles after she is sacked in Order of the Phoenix. It would seem that when one wishes to hide something it produces the same room for everyone: the Room of Hidden Things, which is full of many centuries worth of abandoned objects, such as broken furniture, books, and in one case a dead quintaped (for more information see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), which were presumably forgotten by their owners.

Harry learns of the room's abilities from Dobby in Order of the Phoenix, finding it the perfect location for his Dumbledore's Army meetings, during which it is filled with bookcases full of Defence Against the Dark Arts volumes, many different kinds of Dark Detectors, and a plethora of floor cushions for practising defensive spells. When the D.A. is betrayed, the room is left open, and Pansy Parkinson is able to retrieve the list of members of the organisation. In Half-Blood Prince Harry uses the Room of Hidden Things to stash his copy of Advanced Potion-Making, describing it as the size of a large cathedral and packed to overflowing with items hidden by Hogwarts inhabitants over the years, such as old potions, clothing, ruined furniture, an old tiara (which happens to be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes), or books which are "no doubt banned or graffitied or stolen". He later realises that Draco has been using the room in this state to hide and repair the Vanishing Cabinet to use it to smuggle Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Ironically, while Harry tries many times to get into the Room of Requirement to see what Draco is doing, the only time he succeeds to get into the room (and he is not thinking about Draco), he gains access to the room where Malfoy has been working.

In Deathly Hallows, the students who need a place to hide from the Carrows, two Death Eater professors, use the room. It is also revealed that the Room of Requirement's current version can change while still occupied, though should a completely different version be required (e.g. the Room of Hidden Things instead of DA Headquarters) the room must be empty. The Room can also answer to the desire of the wizard within the room, such as providing Harry with a whistle when he needed one during a Dumbledore's Army meeting, or creating a passage to the Hog's Head (as the room cannot produce food). Later, Ravenclaw's diadem is found to be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and has been hidden in the Room of Hidden Things by Voldemort. Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the Room, with Harry knowing that he must look for a place to hide things, and find the tiara; but they are ambushed by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. The diadem is finally destroyed when Crabbe fills this version of the Room with what Hermione believes to have been Fiendfyre; a destructive magical fire. It is not known if the room continues to function after the events of Deathly Hallows; Ron expresses concern that it may have been ruined in all of its forms by the cursed fire.

Due to the Room of Requirement not being in a fixed location, it is one of the select locations in Hogwarts that does not appear on the Marauder's Map.

Forbidden Forest
The Forbidden Forest is a large, dark enchanted 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, many of them dangerous.

In 2017, a Forbidden Forest expansion was added to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, enabling fans to explore it for the first time.

Hogwarts Express
The Hogwarts Express is a train that carries pupils non-stop from Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station in London to Hogsmeade Station, near Hogwarts. Prefects of the school ride in a separate carriage near the front of the train. The compartments on the train appear to be lettered; in Half-Blood Prince, the "Slug Club" meets in compartment C.

The train began use in the 1850s. Before that, pupils used to reach Hogwarts on brooms or enchanted carriages.

The steam engine used in the film adaptations is the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, but it was not the first locomotive to be disguised as the Hogwarts Express. To promote the books, the Southern Railway locomotive 34027 Taw Valley was repainted and renamed temporarily, but was rejected by director Chris Columbus as looking 'too modern' for the film. Filming locations for the Hogwarts Express sequences include Goathland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Kings Cross railway station and the route of the Jacobite Express which follows the West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig in Scotland, as it crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Several model trains have been made of the Hogwarts Express. An 00 gauge is produced by Hornby, though this is of a Castle Class locomotive rather than the Hall Class used in the films. A three-rail H0 gauge model is produced by Märklin, and a two-rail H0/00 was produced in the early 2000s by Bachmann. Several now-discontinued L gauge models have been produced by LEGO. Lionel has released an O gauge set in their 2007 catalogue and a G gauge set for 2008.

A completely functioning full-scale replica of the Hogwarts Express was created for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's expansion at Universal Orlando Resort connecting King's Cross Station at the Diagon Alley expansion in Universal Studios Florida to the Hogsmeade station at Islands of Adventure, manufactured by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group in the form of a funicular railway people mover. The Hogwarts Express King's Cross Station features a wall between Platforms 9 and 10, where guests can "walk through" to get to Platform 9¾, as in the first film.

Creation for books and films
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. The name "Hogwart" also appears in the 1986 Labyrinth fantasy film.

Most exterior scenes were shot on location at Alnwick Castle, but views of the exterior of the entire school were created from shots of Durham Cathedral with a digital spire added to the towers. Durham Cathedral also served as a set for Hogwarts interiors.

A scale model was created for exterior shots of the entire school. Models of Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral were also built to create more integration between the model and on location shots. It took a team of 86 artists and crew members 74 years worth of man hours to complete the model.

Popularity
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.

In translation
Most translations keep the name 'Hogwarts', transcribing it if necessary. For example, in Arabic it is transcribed as هوغوورتس = Hūghwūrts, in Russian as Хогвартс = Khogvarts, in Japanese as ホグワーツ = Hoguwātsu, in Bengali as হগওয়ার্টস = Hogowarts, in Greek as Χόγκουαρτς = Hóguarts, and in simplified Chinese as 霍格沃茨 = Huògéwòcí.

However, some translations translate or otherwise adapt the name: French Poudlard (lard = "bacon"), Latvian Cūkkārpas shortened from cūka = "pig" + kārpas = "warts", Dutch Zweinstein modified from zwijnsteen = "pig rock", Norwegian Bokmål Galtvort (galt = boar, vort = wart) (Nynorsk keeps "Hogwarts"), Finnish Tylypahka (pahka = "wart"), Hungarian Roxfort (playing with the name of Oxford in tribute to Harry Potter's home country), Slovenian Bradavičarka (bradavice = "warts")), Czech Bradavice means simply "warts". The Ancient Greek translation of the school is "Ὑογοήτου Παιδευτήριον τὸ τῆς Γοητείας καὶ Μαγείας", loosely translating to "Hogwizard's School of Wizardry and Magic", Ὑογοήτου replacing "Hogwarts" and derived from the ancient Greek words ὑo- (hog) and γοητής (wizard).

title: Hogwarts