49 Undiscovered Hogwarts Facts May Make You Re-Watch Harry Potter

Hogwarts has perhaps been the only school in history that the old and young alike wanted to attend.

This fictional school is set against the backdrop of lush green Scottish highlands. It was supposedly built in the 10th century.

With the impressive backdrop of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Harry Potter series (both book and film series), along with Warner Bros, have achieved accolades worldwide with an impeccable fan following.

The Harry Potter film series is based on the book series of the same name written by J.K.Rowling, distributed by the Warner Bros. starring child actors Daniel Radcliffe (as Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (as Ronald Weasley), and Emma Watson (as Hermoine Granger).

The film series consists of eight fantasy fiction films, the first one being 'Philosopher's Stone' (2001) and the last one being 'Deathly Hallows-Part 2' (2011).

Hogwarts And Its Founders

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the finest school for magical education in the wizarding world. The school was founded in 993 A.D. by the four greatest wizards and witches of the age, namely, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Read on to know some facts about the Hogwarts castle and its founders:

The four Hogwarts houses are named after the founding members.

The founders of Hogwarts decided to sort all students coming to Hogwarts into different houses based on their personality traits.

The Sorting Hat, which originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, decides the houses that the students are sorted into.

The founders were originally friends who fell out over their respective ideas of how Hogwarts should be.

While all the other founders were eager to welcome students from both magical and non-magical families, Salazar Slytherin wanted to admit only 'pure-bloods' to Hogwarts as he gravely mistrusted the muggles.

Slytherin was considered an evil house whose principles clashed with that of Gryffindor House as most dark wizards, specifically Tom Riddle (later called Voldemort), belonged to Slytherin.

Unbeknownst to the other founders, Salazar Slytherin created a secret Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts, the original entrance through a trapdoor whose existence was threatened when Hogwarts decided to install plumbing. The Chamber of Secrets was home to a deadly basilisk that killed people by looking them in the eye.

A direct descendant of Slytherin at Hogwarts who went by the name of Corvinus Gaunt protected the trapdoor by creating an entrance through a sink in the girls' lavatory. 

According to Hagrid, Hogwarts was even safer than Gringotts- the wizard bank.

Hogwarts School And Common Rooms

The Hogwarts Castle has been the highlight of the Harry Potter series and is as famous as the Boy Who Lived. The Hogwarts Castle is located in the Scottish Highlands, but the castle's exact location is unknown to prevent muggles from discovering it.

The castle has four common rooms for each of the four houses, all of which are decorated in the respective house colors, featuring a fireplace and sitting areas to socialize with housemates and complete homework.

The Hogwarts Castle is seven stories high.

Each house common room had a protective spell cast at its entrance, which prevented students' entry from other houses.

The process of gaining entry to any of the houses' common rooms usually mirrored the perceived intelligence level of the students of that particular house.

The Gryffindors are required to enter their common room by providing the portrait of the Fat Lady with a password that keeps changing regularly.

The Slytherin common room is cleverly hidden somewhere amid the dungeons and password protected like the Gryffindor's.

Evocative of the students' sharp intelligence and wit, the Ravenclaws have to answer a riddle asked by a bronze eagle-shaped knocker to enter their common room.

The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room is near the Hogwarts kitchens. Students have to tap an unchanging barrel in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff,' In case of the wrong number of taps, the intruder gets soaked in vinegar spurted by a nearby barrel.

Ghosts, Grand Staircase, And Astronomy Tower

While delving into the stories of the Harry Potter series, one thing that always keeps the readers hooked is you can never know enough about Hogwarts. Despite all the information you might have on Hogwarts, the place still feels full of adventure and mystery.

Like any other castle, Hogwarts, too, is haunted by ghosts, but they are discussed quite fondly by readers, unlike the conventionally scary ones. The Grand Staircase and the Astronomy Tower are also places of interest. Here are some fascinating facts about them:

Hogwarts has an interesting list of ghosts, mainly one for each house. They float around the castle, and students are often seen greeting them when they happen to cross paths with them.

Slytherin has the Bloody Baron, covered with silver bloodstains all over, a sign of repentance for having killed Helena Ravenclaw, famous as the Grey Lady (daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw).

Gryffindor's ghost is the Nearly Headless Nick, who prefers to go by Sir Nicholas. His head is only attached to his body by a thin flap of skin, and his neck was hit almost 45 times by a blunt ax.

The resident ghost of houses Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are the Grey Lady and the Fat Friar, respectively.

Other noticeable ghouls at Hogwarts include Peeves and Moaning Myrtle.

Professor Binns is the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, who fell asleep before a fire near the teachers' quarter, never to wake up in his physical body again. He enters his classes through the blackboard.

It is considered rude and highly disrespectful to walk through any Hogwarts ghost.

The Grand Staircase is massive in size, reaching up to the seven floors of the castle, and can also be used to access the dungeons, although it is not known where the stairs stop.

The stairs of the Grand Staircase move and change directions, especially when somebody is using them. First-year students tend to be the common victims of this stunt.

The portrait of Vindictus Viridian on the Grand Staircase is the entrance to the Room of Rewards, which is different from the Trophy Room at Hogwarts.

There is a portrait of Anne Boleyn, Queen consort of England, wife of Henry VIII, and mother to Elizabeth I, at the second-floor landing of the grand staircase. She was considered a witch by the Muggles when in reality, she was a squib, that is, a non-magical kid born to magical parents.

Among the 12 major towers and 12 other smaller ones, the Astronomy Tower is the tallest tower of Hogwarts.

Students are not permitted to go into this tower except for class.

Snape used the Killing Curse on Professor Albus Dumbledore in this very tower.

Great Hall, Professor Snape's Office

Located just off the Entrance Hall, the Great hall of Hogwarts was the central gathering area for both students and teachers for all important events and discussions, O.W.L. exams, meals, feasts, any kind of celebration or performance.

There is a negative feeling that builds amongst the fans of the Harry Potter series against Professor Snape from the very beginning. It is not unknown to the fans that Professor Snape had been after the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts for years, but he always landed up as a Potions Master.

Here are a few interesting facts about Professor Snape's office and the Great Hall:

The Great hall has always been the center of all activities in Hogwarts.

The ceiling of the Great hall was enchanted as per the mood and occasion.

The students received their daily posts delivered by owls in the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was large enough to fit all the students, staff, and guests of Hogwarts.

The High Table was placed at the front of the Great Hall, which seated the entire staff of Hogwarts.

There is a door to the left of the High Table, which leads to a chamber with portraits.

The Great Hall was a witness to important events like the defeat of Voldemort at the hands of Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, leading to the subsequent end of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Professor Snape's office was a dimly-lit room with shadowy walls in the Hogwarts school dungeons.

Snape had his own private collection of potion ingredients stocked up in his office, along with weird-looking bits and parts of animals and plants that floated around in multi-hued potions in glass bottles.

Gillyweed was stolen by Dobby from Snape's personal store to help Harry Potter win the Triwizard Tournament.

Snape's office was sealed with a spell (probably an Anti-Alohomora Charm) that only wizards could break.

Harry has served several detentions in Snape's office during his years at Hogwarts.

Other Miscellaneous Facts

Let us dive into some more magical facts about Hogwarts:

No matter which day of the week it falls on, a new school year at Hogwarts always begins on September 1.

The Hogwarts Express leaves on September 1 at 11 am sharp from platform 9 and three-quarters of the King's Cross Station in London.

Other than boarding the Hogwarts Express, students can also arrive at Hogwarts by flying on either magical creatures or brooms, using Portkeys.

The Room of Requirement can be opened by walking past it thrice while one thinks very specifically of what they need.

The Hogwarts kitchen entrance is concealed by the painting of a fruit bowl. Students who crave a midnight snack can gain entry to the Hogwarts kitchen by tickling the pear in the painting!

The Warner Bros studio tour of the Making of Harry Potter set is one of London's most famous tourist attractions for die-hard Potterheads.

'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' was going to be published in America under a different name: 'Harry Potter and the School of Magic.' Rowling later chose the title 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.'

The feasts on the set of Sorcerer's stone were authentic, but they went bad quite quickly due to the hot lights on the set.

The Marauder's Map, a magical document, exposed the secret passageways of Hogwarts and showed the movements of every person within the castle with their names. The map could even detect ghosts and its functionality was unaffected by invisibility cloaks, potions, or charms.

Going by the Marauder's Map, there are seven secret tunnels or passageways to sneak in and out of the Hogwarts castle. One of them is the One-Eyed Witch Passage which leads straight to the Honeydukes Sweeet Shop.

Located behind the one-eyed witch statue by the stairs of the Dark Arts Classroom, the tunnelway is opened by tapping the hump of the statue and saying Dissendium.

Dolores Umbridge is the most hated character of the series, even above Voldemort.

 The portraits hung in the Hogwarts castle have a life of their own, can record the behavioral traits and most commonly used phrases, and the pictures inside the frame move even after the death of the person. So the person in the frame can move from one portrait to another. Isn't that cool!

The Quill of Acceptance is a magical quill that detects and records the name of every magical child ever born, and this is how every child with magical ability gets enrolled at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

If a child is born to non-magical parents, they are visited by a Hogwarts professor, and the scenario is explained to them.

The colors red and green have a special meaning in the book, red stands for goodness, and green signifies evil force, which explains why Weasleys were redheads, and Gryffindor had red robes, and why Slytherin had green robes and the light from Voldemort's wand was green.

F.A.Q.s

Q. How did Hogwarts get its name?

A. It is a popular theory in the Wizarding World that Rowena Ravenclaw decided on the name Hogwarts after she saw a warty hog in her dream that led her to a cliff by the lake. On the other hand, it suggests that Hogwart is actually the name of a flower.

Q. Can Muggles see Hogwarts?

A. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is hidden from Muggles by complex concealment charms. Even if Muggles wander off to the location of the school, they will simply find themselves at a ruin with signs asking them to keep out.

Q. How many stairs are there in Hogwarts?

A. There are 142 staircases in Hogwarts that are varying in shape and size. Some stairs also have vanishing steps.

Q. Do Hogwarts students wear hats?

A. Students of Hogwarts are required to wear a plain black robe and a pointed black hat as part of their uniform.

Q. What is Hogwarts School's full name?

A. Hogwarts School's full name is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Q. How is Hogwarts funded?

A. Hogwarts school was funded by its governing body, the Ministry of Magic.

Q. What is Hogwarts' motto?

A. Hogwarts' motto is 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus' which means 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon.'

Q. How long is a semester at Hogwarts?

A. A Hogwarts semester is usually 13-14 weeks long.

Q. How old was Harry when he went to Hogwarts?

A. Harry Potter was 11 years old when he went to Hogwarts for the first time.

Q. Is Hogwarts a fee-paying school?

A. The young witches and wizards studying at Hogwarts only need to pay for their books, wands, clothes, and other magical equipment. The tuition fees are paid by the Ministry of Magic.

Q. Did Harry Potter ever graduate from Hogwarts?

A. Harry Potter never graduated from Hogwarts as he was too engrossed with finding and destroying the Horcruxes that could kill Voldemort, finally leading to the great Battle of Hogwarts. Afterward, unlike Hermione, he did not go back to complete his last year.