GENERAL INFORMATION

Hogwarts is one of the biggest Witchcraft and Wizardry Schools in Europe. It is a boarding school and has about 1000 inhabitants. No one really knows how old Hogwarts is, but the Sorting Hat says that it is a thousand years or more. Hogwarts was started by four friends by the names of Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.

The Hogwarts crest is a lion, a badger, a raven and a serpent surrounding a large black letter H. The Hogwarts motto is: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, which is latin for "Never tickle a sleeping dragon". Hogwart’s school color is black and the students’ uniforms are black.

The initial selection of students is done by a magic quill that writes up the names of children that are born with magic in their blood (in Britain). Each year, eleven years later, the deputy headmaster/headmistress of Hogwarts takes out the list and sends a letter to those students inviting them to attend Hogwarts.

The students get to Hogwarts by train, as they have done since the middle of the 19th century. The train leaves from platform nine and three-quarters at Kings Cross station in London. The train is a scarlet steam engine.

When the students arrive at Hogsmeade the first years get to Hogwarts by crossing the lake by boat. The other students are driven up to the castle in carriages pulled by Threstrals.




EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Hogwarts is a school that offers a seven year education, from the time students are 11 years old until they are 17/18 years of age. Classes start 9 o’clock a.m. and end at 4 o’clock. The students can have four classes before lunch and four after. This varies from year to year.

Every student starts out in the first year with these subjects:

Astronomy - Where you study the planets, moons and stars of the solar system.
Charms - Where you learn spells and charms useful in everyday life.
Defence Against the Dark Arts - Where you learn about dark creatures and defensive spells. Dark magic is studied but not taught.
Flying Lessons - Held in first year only, students learn how to fly properly. It prepares students to be able to try for their house Quidditch team.
Herbology - Where you learn about magical plants and how to take care of them.
History of Magic - Where you learn about important wizarding history.
Potions - Where you learn to brew potions and how different ingredients affect the potion.
Transfiguration - Where you learn how to turn change objects, living or inanimate, into other items.

On tests, the scores you get are in percents and you need to pass every end of year exam to get to the next year. The teachers decide the books he or she wants to use and the teacher also sets the exams.

When students reach their third year they are able to choose two or more subjects in addition to the ones they already have. What they choose can have an effect on their later careers.

They can choose from:
Ancient Runes - The study and interpretation of runes and their use in magic.
Arithmancy - A type of divination with numbers and calculations.
Care of Magical Creatures - Where you learn about magical creatures and how to take care of them.
Divination - Where you learn different methods of divination such as tea leaves, planetary divination, card reading, orbs and palmistry.
Muggle Studies - Where you learn about the habits and lifestyle of Muggles.

When students come to the fifth year they sit their OWLs, Ordinary Wizarding Levels. It is a series of exams that decide what you can take of higher education, because in the next year the different classes have different requirements. It is the teachers of each class that set the requirements. The grades you receive are thus:

O - Outstanding
E - Exceeds Expectations
A - Acceptable
P - Poor
D - Dreadful
T - Troll

You can leave the school at the end of fifth year, though it limits your opportunities. The next two years the subjects you choose directly affect your future job, so students need to pick carefully.

The highest education Hogwarts offer is NEWTs, Nastily Exhausting Wizard Tests. You need NEWTs to get into the Ministry and other branches of work.

In the fifth year Prefects are chosen, one boy and one girl from each house. The Head Girl and Head Boy are chosen in the seventh year. The prefects and head girls and boys have the right to give and take points from a house. Prefects have their own bathroom and so do the head boy and girl. The students in these positions wear a badge that shows their position.



HOGWARTS HOUSES

Hogwarts is a boarding school and the students are divided into four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The students have classes with their own house, and sometimes two and three classes are together. They have classes, eat, and sleep with the people in their own house.

Each house has a Head of House that is responsible for its students. The Head of House can give punishments and has some power if a student is going to be expelled.

Gryffindor

Gryffindor is named after the founder Godric Gryffindor. Gryffindor’s colours are scarlet and gold and their animal is a lion. A lion symbolizes courage. The house is for the brave, noble, valiant, and they are known for being chivalrous. The house common room is in a tower on the seventh floor. The entrance is guarded by a painting of a woman called the Fat Lady. The Gryffindor ghost is Sir Nicholas De Mimsy-Porpington, more commonly known as Nearly-Headless Nick, who was partially beheaded in 1492.


Hufflepuff

Hufflepuff is named after the founder Helga Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff’s colours are yellow and black and their animal is a Badger. A badger often symbolises tidiness and organisation. The house is for the hardworking and loyal. Hufflepuff was known as the least picky of the founders when it came to choosing students, admitting anyone who had magical ability. The house common room is located on the ground floor near the kitchens. The Hufflepuff ghost is the Fat Friar, a cheerful monk who is all for giving people a chance.


Ravenclaw

Ravenclaw is named after the founder Rowena Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw’s colours are blue and bronze and their animal is a raven. The raven symbolises intelligence, thus the house is most noted for having students of particular intelligence and wit. The common room is located in the West Tower at Hogwarts, though so far we do not know its exact location. The Grey Lady is the Ravenclaw ghost, and is the only house to have a female ghost.

Slytherin

Slytherin is named after the founder Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin’s colours are green and silver and their animal is a serpent. The serpent often symbolises evil and the serpent was chosen for Slytherin because Slytherin himself was a parseltounge. The students of the house are known to be cunning and ambitious. The Slytherin common room is located in the dungeons and the entrance is a bare stretch of stone wall. The Slytherin ghost is the Bloody Baron, very sinister and mean tempered. Slytherin is said to turn out more evil wizards than any other house.



MEALS AND FEASTS

The students eat with their houses in the Great Hall. The ceiling in the Great Hall is bewitched to look like the night sky outside.

Hogwarts has several feasts as well as the daily meals; The Start of Year Banquet, Halloween and End of Year Banquet. There are also extra ones on special occasions.

At the Start of Year banquet the new students are sorted into their houses and welcomed to the school, where the headmaster also informs the students about any special announcements. At Halloween the Great Hall is decorated with pumpkins and bats and so on. The last feast is the End of Year Banquet. Then the Great Hall is decorated with the House Banner of the House that won the House Cup

At Christmas, those students who have stayed for the holidays, have a special Christmas lunch in the Great Hall with wizard crackers and usually a few teachers in attendance.

SHORT HISTORY

No one really knows how old Hogwarts is, but the Sorting Hat says that it is one thousand years or more. Hogwarts was started by four friends; Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Gryffindor and Slytherin were the best of friends as were Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

They worked in harmony and each had their own house because they wanted different qualities in their students. However, the houses were meant to be a tight-knit group all the same. Gryffindor favoured brave students who were noble. Hufflepuff liked the hardworking and the loyal, although she did not really care too much, she wanted to teach everybody. Ravenclaw liked the clever and witty ones, who were good at school. While Slytherin wanted only purebloods who were cunning and knew how to get what they wanted.

Slytherin did not just want students in his own house to be purebloods, but he believed all the students should be purebloods. This did not go well with the others and the enmity between the four houses grew. What was once a peaceful school grew into a school of disarray where many duels and fights happened. It all ended when Slytherin left the school. The school then became more peaceful again, but a bit downhearted and the houses split.

Slytherin did not want to go quietly so he decided to leave something behind, something that his true heir would be able to open, which became a legend that few believed to be true. It was called the Chamber of Secrets, and was said to be the home of a monstrous creature. The Creature was put there to rid the school of those in Slytherin’s eyes were unworthy of studying magic, Muggle-borns and half-bloods. The monstrous creature was a Basilisk, a snake that can kill with its stare. Slytherin’s true heir showed up in 1952, when he opened the chamber and a girl died. The problem was so serious that the school was on the verge of being closed.

A student by the name of Tom Riddle “caught” the heir, who was a half-giant by the name of Rubeus Hagrid. However this was a set-up, Tom Riddle himself was the heir and framed Hagrid to not be discovered.

The chamber was opened for a second time, in 1992, when the heir of Slytherin, preserved in a book for 50 years, hoodwinked a girl by the name of Ginny Weasley and possessed her. The mystery was solved by Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, who both received awards for special service to the school.

After Slytherin had left the school, the three remaining founders wondered how they were supposed to divide the students once they were dead. It was Gryffindor who found the way, he whipped his hat off his head, the founders put some brains in it, so it could choose instead. The hat could look into people’s mind and see their abilities and nature. It has never been wrong when dividing students. The Sorting Hat (as it is called), begins the start of year banquet with a song. In this song he often tells how he sorts people and what each of the houses stand for. Sometimes, when he feels it is needed, he gives good advice.

In 1991 Hogwarts held the Philosopher’s Stone. The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirrell had sided with Voldemort and tried to get the stone for him.

In 1993 the school had to be protected from Sirius Black, an innocent mass murderer, therefore Dementors were set around the school entrances to guard the school.

In 1994 the school held the return of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Harry Potter became a fourth champion after the goblet of fire was charmed. The hoodwinker was one that wished to kill Harry at the end of the Tournament. Cedric Diggory was murdered and Lord Voldemort returned to his body.

In 1995 Hogwarts had trouble finding a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, therefore the Ministry put in one of their own employees. The person in question was Dolores Umbridge, Senior Secretary to the Minister of Magic. This happened at a time when the headmaster Dumbledore was very unpopular in the Ministry. Umbrigde and Fudge enforced a lot of decrees to be able to control the school. As Hogwarts High Inquisitor she gained the power to expel students, assess the teaching staff and control the clubs at the school. She became headmistress, pushing Dumbledore out and instituted Inquisitorial Squad that terrorized the students. Harry and his friends lured her into the forest where she was carried away by dementors while they went to the Ministry of Magic.

In 1996 the wizarding world finally became aware of Voldemort’s return, and many people panicked. Many deaths occurred and the Muggle world was also devastated by acts of magic.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
Hogwarts is one of the schools involved in the Triwizard Tournament, a competition between the three largest wizarding schools in Europe; Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hogwarts. The schools take in turn to host the Tournament, which was started in the 13th century and was played every five years. Because of a high death toll it was stopped for a time, with many attempts made to bring it back. In Harry's 4th year of Hogwarts it is reinstated.

Each school has one champion each, and they compete in three tasks. The one with the highest points at the end of the tasks wins the tournament. The tasks are designed to test the champions’ magical prowess, their daring, their powers if deduction, and their ability to cope with danger.

The champions are chosen by an impartial judge, the Goblet of Fire. The students who wish to compete submit their name into the goblet and the most worthy from each school is chosen.

The judges of the Tournament are two representatives from the host country’s Ministry, and the headmasters/mistresses of each school. The judges were all once injured in 1792 when a thingyatrice went on the rampage.

The delegations from the participating schools arrive at one of the other schools around Halloween and are greeted with a welcome feast. The champions are chosen on Halloween. The tasks are set throughout the year. Usually one in November, the second in February and the third in June. The students that are not chosen stay at the school to watch and cheer their champion on.

The champions do not have to take end of year tests and the winner gets a one thousand galleon prize.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL SONG

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we’ll be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees.
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they’re bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we’ve forgot,
Just do your best, we’ll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.



HOGWARTS CASTLE AND GROUNDS

Hogwarts is a big castle that is protected by magic. Traditionally there has been a competition between the magical schools and all of them have been keen to keep their secrets to themselves. Hogwarts, for instance, is unplottable (it cannot be shown on a map) and charmed so that Muggles will see ruins with a sign saying ‘Dangerous, do not enter’ on it. However we do know that Hogwarts lies in Scotland next to a big forest called the Dark Forest, which is filled with magical creatures, and a large lake. It also lies next to a town called Hogsmeade, which is the only town in Britain that it is inhabited only by witches and wizards. You cannot apparate or disapparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, another thing that has been done to keep the castle safe.

Hogwarts has 142 staircases, which every now and then changes paths. The walls are covered with magical pictures and there are statues, gargoyles and suits of armour in many places. Some doors are not doors at all, just walls pretending, some doors will not open if you do not ask them politely or tickle them in the right way. The staircases keep on moving around and many have trick steps. You also have the Room of Requirement, which appears if you walk past it three times in great need. The room will then appear holding what you need.

The students eat in the Great Hall, which has five tables. One for each house and one for the teachers. The Great Hall is used for feasts and balls. The roof in the Great Hall is bewitched to look like the sky outside. Underneath the Great Hall is the kitchens, where more than a hundred house-elves work. There is is five tables as in the Great Hall and they send the food up through ceiling. To get into the kitchens you need to tickle a pear on a portrait to get in.

Hogwarts has a large library that holds a lot of books on many subjects. One part of it is known as the Restricted Section. It contains books with Dark magic, and only students in their 6th and 7th years are allowed access. Younger students must have a note from their teachers to get a book out of it. Many of the books in the library are charmed to prevent damage.

The hospital wing is located in the lower part of the school and caters to the medical needs of the students and teachers.

The headmasters office is a beautiful circular room. On the walls hang paintings of former headmasters and headmistresses, which all appear to sleep most of the time. The Sorting Hat also has its place in the office. To gain entrance to the office you must say a password to an ugly stone gargoyle.

Hogwarts also contains a trophy room where trophies Hogwarts students and the school have earned stand. A list of prefects and head boys and girls can be found there.

The Astronomy tower is out of bounds except for classes.

The Hogwarts grounds are vast. The lake contains all sorts of magical creatures, among them Merpeople and a giant squib. The caretaker’s cabin is located near the Dark Forest. Between the castle and the forest stands the Whomping Willow, a very violent tree. that guards the entrance to a secret passage way that leads to the Shrieking Shack. The Whomping Willow was planet because Lupin came to the school in the 70s. The school grounds also contains the Quidditch pitch