Hogwarts is the most magical place in the world. Ever since childhood, we all dreamed about one day receiving our Hogwarts letters so we could go to school in a giant castle and play quidditch with our magical friends. We could feast on pumpkin juice and kidney pie every supper, and turn a goblet into a raven just for the fun of it. It’s an adventurous fantasy to attend Hogwarts for many Harry Potter fans, yet there are some wildly interesting facts about the magical school that not even the most dedicated Potter fans know about. What are some hidden facts about Hogwarts that the movies leave out? Find out below!
No Technology Allowed
This one is a bit of a bummer because if millennials attended Hogwarts in this day and age—all they would want to do is Instagram their quidditch games. Who wouldn’t want to send their friends Snapchats of the awesome spells they cast? Imagine all of the hilarious Vines that could’ve been made in the magical world! Yes, it’s a bit of a shame that there’s no technology allowed on the castle grounds, but who needs to scroll through Tumblr or send out their latest tweet when they’re in a bewitching universe filled with magical creatures? Plus, according to JK Rowling, magic interferes with technology, so it wouldn’t even work on Hogwarts grounds.
There Is A Muggle Arts Course
Would you believe that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has a Muggle Arts Course? That’s right! Third years at the magical school are able to take muggle studies courses, and one of these courses is dedicated to learning all about Muggle Art. There is also a specific course dedicated to Muggle Music! Can you imagine Draco, Harry, and Neville learning about Lil Wayne and Cardi B? Perhaps it would be a nice break from listening to The Weird Sisters 24/7. Plus, it could be extremely beneficial for more witches and wizards to better understand muggles in order to see them as human beings rather than inferior jokes. I’m sure Arthur Weasley took as many muggle courses as he possibly could while attending Hogwarts!
No Funny Business Between Girls And Boys
Sorry, Harry and Ginny, no nightly fun allowed for you two lovebirds! If you’re a male student at Hogwarts and you want to get your “snog” on with a beautiful witch in her dormitory, don’t even think about it. The professors, let alone the castle itself, will never let it happen. How do we know this to be true? Well, when male students so much as try to enter the Girls’ Dormitory, the stairs will immediately turn into a slide and, they will be sent back to the very bottom. We knew Hogwarts was a strict school, but we didn’t know it was that strict! No funny business allowed unless you want to make a fool out of yourself and slide down (harshly) on your bum.
Why Was The Whomping Willow At Hogwarts?
The whomping willow isn’t just there on Hogwarts grounds for decoration purposes or to cause massive destruction to anyone who might come across it. The reason the whomping willow was added to the castle grounds had to do with Albus Dumbledore wanting to give Professor Lupin a place to attend during the night of a full moon when he’d transform into a werewolf.
The magical tree contains a secret passageway to the shrieking shack so Remus could prevent himself from harming others and have time to be alone. It was added in 1971 when Remus first attended Hogwarts and is violent so no one else will even attempt to come near it.
What If You’re Craving A Midnight Snack?
It’s hard to think anyone at Hogwarts would ever get hungry considering the fact that they are met every day with three giant feasts for breakfast lunch and dinner, but with all of the studying and quidditch practice going on at the magical school, it’s easy to imagine these students wanting to get their hands on a late night snack. Who wouldn’t feel the need to “stress eat” if Professor Snape was their teacher? There’s a whole lot of activities going on at Hogwarts, so it makes sense that the kids in attendance would require a lot of fuel to keep themselves going. Those who require a late night snack at Hogwarts or just want some food to nosh on while they study for potions can enter the kitchen, yet they have to follow a unique rule to get in. If you want to get inside the kitchen, you must tickle a pear—yes, that’s right. There is a painting of a fruit bowl and if you tickle a pear, it will turn into a green doorknob that will give you kitchen access. The pear will also giggle. You might be wondering who makes the delicious meals at Hogwarts? Is Bobby Flay secretly behind those kitchen doors?
Who Makes The Delicious Feasts At Hogwarts?
The food at Hogwarts looks so incredibly delicious in the films that most would automatically assume they could only be cooked with magic. Unfortunately, food is one of the few things in the magical world that cannot be created from a simple “swish and flick” of the wand. Food must be prepared in the “muggle way” and takes time and effort to be properly prepared. We would think the kitchen staff would be filled with famous celebrity chefs that we admire from The Food Network because of how appetizing the meals always look, yet, in reality, the food is prepared by house elves. The thought is incredibly heartbreaking considering these elves work endlessly with no pay and are basically slaves. It is no wonder Hermione becomes an activist against the slave labor and mistreatment of house elves when she creates the organization called S.P.E.W which stands for “Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.”
Who Is Anne Boleyn And Why Is She At Hogwarts
Anne Boleyn is a historical figure in real life who was married to King Henry VIII. She was the notorious king’s second wife and he executed her because he believed her to be a witch. King Henry accused her of witchcraft, and during the years of 1542-1735 in locations such as Scotland, England, and Ireland, “witchcraft” was actually considered a lawful crime. While King Henry considered Anne Boleyn’s “witcraft” to be a negative and horrific thing, the wizards and witches of the Harry Potter world proudly decided to welcome Anne Boleyn into their culture and community. Although the films do include an image of Boleyn that can be seen in the background of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, they never explain the background behind who the woman in the painting is, and why she is there in the first place. Speaking of people in the Hogwarts paintings…
Who Is The Woman In This Hogwarts Painting?
Elizabeth Burke was a proud Slytherin at Hogwarts who also held the position as headmistress at the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A picture of Burke hangs in the Hogwarts castle yet the professors might want to consider taking it down because of all the horrible things this woman stood for.
Elizabeth Burke was extremely against those who were of muggle-born status and would go out of her way to tell her students to be rude toward Mudbloods. It is assumed that she served as headmistress at Hogwarts in the 1500s based on her clothing. Good thing she’s no longer the headmistress because she seems like quite the awful human being… Luckily, tolerance toward muggle-born students at Hogwarts is more spread throughout, yet there is still much work to be done before everyone at the school is treated with equal respect.
Hufflepuff Common Room
Hufflepuff is often considered to be the underdog of the Harry Potter houses. People tend to see Hufflepuff as the least flattering house to get sorted into because it doesn’t have the bravery of Gryffindor, the intelligence of Ravenclaw, or the ambition of Slytherin. First of all, this idea that Hufflepuff is the worst house to be sorted into is completely based off of pretentious stereotypes. Hufflepuff is actually the best house to possibly be in because it is the house that is closest to the kitchen! In fact, the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room is through the kitchen, so you always get to snack on delicious Hogwarts goods as you enter your dormitory. How incredible is that? To get into the Hufflepuff common room, students must tap on one of the kitchen barrels to the rhythm of “Helga Hufflepuff.” What happens if you get it wrong? Oh nothing, you just get soaked with vinegar… Don’t mess it up!
Muggles Cannot See Hogwarts
Go ahead, let the tears start pouring out. As sad as it is, non-magical people cannot see Hogwarts. Unfortunately, us mere mortals will never be able to witness the castle in person (unless we go to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios). According to Hermione Granger in The Goblet of Fire, muggles are able to “find” Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but instead of seeing a giant castle, there are spells cast on the school so that muggles will only be able to see a torn-up looking shack that has a large sign saying “DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE.”
Sigh At least we can always enter Hogwarts through the books and movies! According to JK Rowling, “Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”
