Throughout the course of the Harry Potter series, the wizard lived at various different locations, moving from place to place depending on his circumstances, with Potter never having a true ‘home’ as such, mainly due to the fact he was an orphan.
While you might think that the main character of a monumental franchise like this would have lived in amazing places during his lifetime, that really isn’t the case. After all, Harry himself really is put through the wringer throughout his life, suffering a lot of ups and downs.
However, not every location he has stayed at has been horrible, and within this list, we will take a look at all of them, ranking them from worst to best.
Under The Stairs
When we first meet Harry Potter, we see him at Privet Drive, but that location warrants two separate entries as he has two very different sleeping arrangements during his time with the Dursley’s, but the worst is certainly when he sleeps under the stairs.
Not only is it the worst place he sleeps in that particular house, but it is the worst place he lives in throughout his entire life. Firstly, the Durselys despise Harry and everything that he stands for and because of that, they treat him horrendously.
However, the reason it takes the bottom spot is because of how confined the space is where he sleeps, literally in a closet under the stairs that only has space for him to lie, with the dust falling in as soon as people walk down the stairs.
Island
Due to the sheer amount of Hogwarts letters that Harry Potter is sent to Privet Drive as the wizarding school tries to contact the young wizard, the Dursley’s make the decision to leave the family home and head to a mysterious island in the middle of the sea.
This is an incredibly cold location, and while we don’t know how long he stays there, Harry does end up on the floor as the huge storm breezes through the stone building that appears to have no warmth.
Luckily for Harry, Hagrid appears at this point in the movie and rescues him from the Dursley’s, setting him on his path to become a wizard, and thankfully taking him out of this terrible environment.
Godric’s Hollow
While we are only ever shown flashback scenes of Harry living in Godric’s Hollow, it is a location that he returns to revisit later in the series when it is abandoned and ruined, although it does also provide one of the scariest moments of the franchise.
However, this is Harry’s childhood home, and while it seems like a charming place, this is where his parents are murdered by Voldemort, and where he is almost killed as well.
Because of that, it is impossible to rank it any higher, despite the fact that the home itself might be nice, due to the horrendous memories that Harry has with this location, it cannot be rated any higher.
Privet Drive
As we mentioned earlier, Harry Potter had two very different experiences in Privet Drive and while neither of them is very good, living in an actual bedroom is certainly an improvement to under the stairs.
This time, Harry Potter was allowed to have a bedroom in the house, even if it was the smallest of the lot, but he was still treated horribly by the Dursley family throughout his time living there, to the point where metal bars were put around his window.
This stopped him from escaping, with the family banning him from attending Hogwarts, but thankfully Ron Weasley came and made the save with the help of the magical car.
A Tent
You might think the idea of staying inside of a tent cannot possibly be better than being in a house, even if your windows are locked shut. But when you see what kind of tent this is, it quickly becomes clear that this would be an amazing place to stay.
The tent that is set up for the Quidditch World Cup is similar to the Tardis in the Doctor Who series in the sense that it appears very small on the outside, yet when you step inside it is massive, with all the magical creations you expect from the Weasleys.
While this is a very homely and very fun place to live, this is also where Voldemort and his followers begin to really show their presence, appearing after the tournament to cause havoc.
Harry Potter Family Home
For those Harry Potter experts out there, you will be very aware of the home that he lives in after the movies end and the stage production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begins, with Harry and Ginny creating their ideal home for their family.
While this technically, should be top of the list, as the darker moments of Harry’s life have passed and he is surrounded by family and loved ones, we don’t know that many details about it, making it hard to rank.
However, with this being fit for the family it has to be classed as a happy place for Harry, and somewhere the fans desperately hope he has happy memories, despite the family problems he has during the play.
12 Grimmauld Place
Next on the list is Sirius Black’s family home, 12 Grimmauld Place, which might not be visible to the muggle eye, but it is placed slap bang in the middle of London amongst a bunch of other buildings. That made this home feel relatable to the audience, and Harry himself, who grew up in a muggle house.
However, inside, it is clear that this is certainly not a place for muggles. However, the home is very dark and not very well kept, which doesn’t really scream homely or cosy at any point until the Order of the Phoenix fills it out.
While it is a lavish house and one that Harry is able to have some fun times in, the home itself isn’t somewhere you could imagine Harry, or anybody for that matter, living in for long periods of time.
Weasleys Burrow
Even though Sirius Black is literally family, there’s no doubt that the Weasleys Burrow is a much more homely environment and is one where Harry Potter certainly feels safe, secure, and most importantly, loved.
Even though the Weasley family are a strange bunch, as the inside of the house would showcase, the odd magical elements have a real charm to them, with this being a place unlike anywhere Harry has ever lived before.
While he is only ever really a guest in this house, the Weasleys always go out of their way to make Harry feel like a member of the family, which he ends up becoming thanks to his relationship with Ginny.
Hogwarts
Can you really get any better than living inside a magical castle full of your friends? Not only is this the safest place for Harry throughout the movies, but it is one of the only places he gets to genuinely have any fun, fooling around with Hermione and Ron when he can.
With the great hall providing unforgettable feasts for the ages and Harry having tons of support networks around him, from Hagrid to his teachers, this is a place that just screams comfort, even if he has to do some lessons to be there.
While Hogwarts does provide Harry with some tough moments, particularly in later films, as a place to live, it is pretty hard to top.
