The Hogwarts School of Wizardry Is a Real Place

It’s the middle of the night. Suddenly, you see a snowy owl outside your window. It has a letter for you. Has your Hogwarts acceptance letter finally arrived? Well, not really... You open it and start reading;

Dear Reader,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected by the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the greatest Potterhead there is! To show our gratitude for your dedication, we have decided to share 8 wizarding world secrets with you. And don’t worry, we won’t “obliviate” any of them later...

Professor McGonagall was a Quidditch pro, too! Harry’s broom riding and Quidditch skills are recognized early on during his time as a Hogwarts student when he retrieves Neville’s remembrall from Malfoy. Despite going against Madam Hooch’s instructions in doing that, his rebellious yet heroic act helps Professor McGonagall spot his talent. The thing is, she is able to do so because she herself has some skills of her own! Chris Columbus, the director of the first two movies, placed an easter egg about it in the movie that is very easy to miss. When Harry starts feeling anxious and starts doubting his skills, Hermione reminds her that he needn’t worry because it’s in her blood as she shows him his father’s award in the Hogwarts trophy display. Now, if you take a closer look, you’ll see McGonagall’s smaller plaque to the right of James Potter’s.

Newt Scamander visited Hogwarts when Harry was a student there. Back in 2016, “Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them” introduced us to one of the nicest and loveliest wizards, Newt Scamander. But did you know this was not really his first appearance in the Wizarding World movies? In the third movie, Fred and George Weasley gift Harry with one magical GPS, aka the Marauder’s Map, that shows where every witch and wizard within Hogwarts’ limits is located. As they show him how to use the map, Newt Scamander’s name can actually be seen walking the halls of the school. If you take a closer look at the map, you can see his name in the center-right area. That means, he was at Hogwarts when the “Prisoner of Azkaban” events were taking place.

Another Marauder’s Map easter egg for you! The map is actually misspelled in the movie. We see the cover of the map for the first time when Fred and George hand it to Harry. And the nicknames of all its creators are written on it; Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. But careful viewers might have caught one big mistake there. The name “Moony” in the book is spelled like this [MOONY], whereas in the movie there is an extra e here [MOONEY]. However, apparently, that’s done by the filmmakers on purpose. They wanted to pay a tribute to the movie’s visual effects supervisor, Karl Mooney, as well as have some fun!

It wouldn’t be so wrong to say that all Potterheads have at least once fantasized about how awesome it would be flying on Buckbeak like Harry did in “Prisoners of Azkaban.” One detail about the majestic hippogriff you might have missed in the movie is that right before meeting the students, Buckbeak actually “relieves himself...” Since no real hippogriffs were used during filming and Buckbeak was all CGI, this was obviously a choice made by the creative team. It’s safe to assume they did it to make the mythological creature seem more realistic, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is hilarious!

Dial this number, and maybe you can access the Ministry of Magic, too! Mr. Weasley has always been fascinated by the creativity of Muggles. As Harry navigates him through the normal side of London in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” he marvels at all the different inventions, such as bicycles and public transport. But when it’s time to head to the magical side, it’s Mr. Weasley who guides Harry this time. Once they are in one particular red telephone booth, Mr. Weasley puts some money and dials 6, 2, 4, 4, 2. And it turns out this is how visitors enter the Ministry of Magic. And these numbers are not chosen randomly. They actually spell out the word magic on a telephone’s number pad.

With “Fantastic Beasts” we were introduced to new fascinating and adorable Wizarding World creatures. And one thing’s for sure, Newt Scamander treats each and every one of them with love and respect, unlike the dragon handlers in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” However, the director, Mike Newell, left a little message to assure the fans that all the magical creatures were actually treated right. If you wait until the end of the credits, you’ll see it: “no dragons were harmed in the making of this movie.”

There are plenty of “number 7” references throughout the movies. In the series, it is established that the number seven is a magical number that holds great power, and one of the biggest uses of it is Voldermort’s seven Horcruxes. When talking to Slughorn in “Half-Blood Prince,” Tom Riddle questions if having seven Horcruxes instead of one will make one more powerful. However, that’s not the only sign that foreshadows what comes next. When we see Tom Riddle’s childhood bedroom, there are seven rocks on the windowsill, which also indicates what’s to come. One thing to mention here though, after the series ended J.K. Rowling released information about an eighth Horcrux. Since Professor Quirrell temporarily contained part of Voldemort’s soul, he acted as a temporary Horcrux. Here are some other appearances of number 7 throughout the series that you might have missed;

There are seven Weasley siblings. There are seven core magical classes. The prophecy stated that the hero who would take down the Dark Lord would be born “as the seventh month dies.” In “Deathly Hallows,” when the Order is trying to take Harry from the Privet Drive safely, their escape plan includes seven different Harrys. There are seven different obstacles guarding the sorcerer’s stone in the book. Hogwarts castle consists of seven floors. Seven is the age by which magic will show itself if it is present. Seven muggles saw Harry and Ron flying in the car. The basilisk attacked seven entities, including Harry, during the events of “Chamber of Secrets.”

In “Goblet of Fire,” there are seven keyholes on Professor Moody’s trunk. In “Order of the Phoenix,” during Harry’s trial for using magic outside of school, he was found innocent thanks to the Clause Seven, which stated that magic could be used before muggles in life-threatening situations. How many of them were you able to spot before?

Hogwarts is a real place! Well... Kind of... You must have heard about the Harry Potter Studio Tour and maybe even got a chance to experience it. But several movie scenes were actually shot at real-life locations. Here are a couple of them you might want to visit next time you are in the UK; Remember the first time Harry realized that he can understand snakes? The scene was shot inside London Zoo’s Reptile House. So, you can head there to test your parseltongue skills. In the books, Hogwarts is set in the Scottish Highlands, and many of the movies’ exterior shots were filmed in Scotland as well. Loch Shiel was one of those places, and it was used as the location for Black Lake. But we don’t suggest that you go for a swim in it like Harry did in “Goblet of Fire.” There is no risk of merpeople bothering you, but there is a risk of hypothermia since Scottish lochs can be freezing cold even in summer.

In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” Yorkshire county’s Goathland Station was used as the film location for Hogsmeade Station where the students depart from Hogwarts at the end of the movie. Another Yorkshire one here! Malham Cove, the large curved limestone formation, which definitely has an otherworldly look to it, was one of the sites where Harry and Hermione were camping in part one of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.” Well, that is all. Now that you’ve finished reading your letter, we’d appreciate it if you can send us a Muggle chocolate bar or two back with our owl. Because our frogs keep jumping away...