Places in Harry Potter

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe contains numerous settings for the events in her fantasy novels. These locations are categorised as a dwelling, school, shopping district, or government-affiliated locale.

The Burrow
The Weasleys' home, known as the Burrow, is located outside the village of Ottery St Catchpole, also near the home of the Lovegoods, the Diggorys and the Fawcetts. The Burrow was used as the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters, due to the compromised Fidelius Charm placed on 12 Grimmauld Place, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows until it lost its given protection. The Weasley house has seven floors. It is also quite dilapidated, managing to remain standing only by magic. Despite the house's rundown appearance, Harry remarks on his first visit that it was the best house he had ever been in and it becomes his second favourite place in the world (after Hogwarts). The well-hidden orchard nearby doubles as a Quidditch pitch for the Weasley boys and (secretly) Ginny Weasley due to high surrounding trees, preventing any on looking Muggles from seeing. Real Quidditch balls cannot be used in case they escape and fly over the Muggle village. A multitude of garden gnomes infests the garden of the Burrow.

The Weasleys own an unusual clock, a manifestation of Molly's anxiety about her family's well-being. Instead of telling time, each hand has the name of a Weasley written on it and points to a term indicating their whereabouts; when Harry arrives at the Burrow in Half-Blood Prince, with Voldemort waging war on the Wizarding world, all the hands are fixed on "mortal peril." In the film adaptation of Half Blood Prince, the Burrow is attacked and set on fire by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback. This is not derived from any text in the Harry Potter series.

Godric's Hollow
Godric's Hollow is a fictional village located in the West Country of England. It is noted for being home to a magical community like several other villages such as Ottery St Catchpole and Tinworth. The village was the home and final hiding place of James and Lily Potter before being murdered by Lord Voldemort on 31 October 1981. It was at this time that their son, Harry, was left with his lightning bolt-shaped scar. By this time Dumbledore was around 100 years old, as he was born around 1881.

Godric's Hollow was the home of James Potter's family, and the home of long-dead Hogwarts founder Godric Gryffindor (after whom the village was named). After expressing his interest in returning to Godric's Hollow to visit his parents' graves, Harry does so in the company of Hermione Granger. Once there, it is revealed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that the church graveyard of Godric's Hollow is the resting place for many wizard personalities, including a member of Hannah Abbott's family, but the most famous being Ignotus Peverell and the Potters. Dumbledore's mother Kendra moved her family to Godric's Hollow after her husband, Percival, was arrested for attacking three Muggle boys. There is also a memorial for the Potters in Godric's Hollow—their house was left the same as it was when Voldemort killed them, and a small statue of Harry, Lily and James was built.

Other notable residents of the village include Bowman Wright (inventor of the Golden Snitch) and Bathilda Bagshot, author of A History of Magic.

Rowling was questioned in an interview for CBBC Newsround and implicitly confirmed the connection between Godric's Hollow and Godric Gryffindor. This connection was also stated outright by Hermione in the final book of the series.

At the centre of the village square of Godric's Hollow, is a war memorial that magically transforms into a monument to the Potter family – James, Lily, and Harry – when approached by witches and/or wizards unaccompanied by Muggles. Invisible to Muggles, the remains of Harry's old house are left at the end of the main street.

Little Hangleton
Little Hangleton is a fictional Muggle village notable as the place of origin of Voldemort's maternal and paternal ancestors, and as the place where he was restored to bodily form in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Although the village first appears in Goblet of Fire, the fourth volume in the series, it is not described until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth volume.

The village occupies the floor of a valley, bounded by steep hills, not far from the larger settlement of Great Hangleton. Above the village on one side of the valley are a church, a cemetery and the Riddle House, the former home of the Riddle family and at one time the finest house in the village. It first appears in the opening of Goblet of Fire as the location of Frank Bryce's murder; and at this point in the chronology of the Harry Potter series, it is decrepit and covered in vines. It is believed to be held by a "rich man" (most likely Lucius Malfoy) for tax purposes, although this is in reality to keep it from being sold or torn down.

During his time as student, Tom Marvolo Riddle murdered his father and grandparents in the house.

On the opposite side of the valley, the only dwelling appears to have been the dilapidated cottage which was the home of the Pure-blooded, anti-social descendants of Salazar Slytherin, the Gaunt family. The Gaunt cottage is set in a copse alongside a winding road which climbed out of the valley. In Goblet of Fire, Voldemort and Harry fight in the graveyard of Little Hangleton.

Little Whinging
Little Whinging is a fictitious town in Surrey, England, located to the south of London. Alison Lurie noted in the New York Review of Books that Little Whinging's name is "a joke that American readers may not get: we would call the place Little Whining".

Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, is the Dursleys' home, in which Harry lives with his aunt Petunia, uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley. He has lived there since the age of fifteen months, having previously lived with his parents in Godric's Hollow; however, since he began attending Hogwarts, he spends little time there, though he reluctantly returns during the summer holidays. The name of the street refers to the hedges that enclose many suburban gardens, as Rowling liked the idea of enclosure. In the novels and films, the Dursleys' home is in a respectable and boring neighbourhood where the neighbours ostracise Harry, who despises Little Whinging because of his memories of his cruel treatment there. Arabella Figg, who lives two streets away from 4 Privet Drive in the novels (but just across the road in the films) knows of Harry's magic, because she is a Squib member of the Order of the Phoenix, placed in Little Whinging by Dumbledore to keep an eye on Harry. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore reveals that the reason Harry must return there at least once a year is because of the protection Harry's mother left upon him when she gave her life to save him. That act allowed an "ancient magic" to work, which meant Harry could never be harmed so long as he lived in the care of his mother's blood; in this case, his Aunt Petunia. This charm would not break until Harry turned 17.

According to the documentary Creating the World of Harry Potter Part I: The Magic Begins, included in the 2009 DVD/Blu-ray "Ultimate Edition" of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the film-makers initially attempted to film the Little Whinging/Privet Drive sequences on location in a real urban area. When this proved unfeasible, a section of Privet Drive was constructed on the backlot at Leavesden Film Studios. this standing set, which has remained in use throughout the decade-long filming history of the Harry Potter films, remained visible in Google Maps N 51.69111 W 0.42099 aerial views of the studio.

Malfoy Manor
Malfoy Manor is the home of the aristocratic Malfoy family: Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy, and later Bellatrix Lestrange (sister of Narcissa). It is mentioned in the fifth book that the manor is located somewhere in Wiltshire, England. The Malfoys were previously served by Dobby the house elf, before Lucius was tricked by Harry into freeing him.

Voldemort used Malfoy Manor as headquarters on at least one occasion in Deathly Hallows. The three Malfoys seemed quite displeased by this use of their manor as Voldemort himself noted; only Bellatrix appears to be pleased he is there. The Malfoys have become prisoners in their own home and in very real fear for their lives. During the Deathly Hallows novel, several prisoners are being kept in the basement on Voldemort's orders, including Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Griphook the Goblin, and Mr Ollivander. When Snatchers capture Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they are brought to Malfoy Manor. They escape with the other prisoners thanks to Dobby's help. The four residents of the manor are then placed under house arrest by Lord Voldemort, until they join with other Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Malfoy Manor was inspired by and partly shot at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire – a National Trust property.

Number 12, Grimmauld Place
Number 12, Grimmauld Place (a pun on "grim old place"), London is the address and name of reference to the home of the Black family, an ancient and pure-blooded line of wizards. It first appears in the fifth book. The structure of Number 12, Grimmauld Place is a Georgian terraced house.

Number 12 houses the Black family tree on a wall tapestry, and an enchanted portrait of Walburga Black, Sirius's mother. An ancient and deeply mad house-elf named Kreacher is loyal to the portrait of Mrs. Black. There are other portraits of members of the Black family, including Phineas Nigellus Black, one-time Head of the Black family and least-popular Headmaster of Hogwarts. The staircase is lined with the heads of beheaded former house-elves, which are mounted onto the walls.

Many security measures are in place at Grimmauld Place: there are anti-Apparation charms, the place is Unplottable, the whole house is under a fidelius charm and it is disguised from Muggles and other interlopers. In the seventh book, it is noted that the neighbours had long ago come to terms with the houses on their street running straight from 11 to 13. It is as secure as any magical dwelling can be and can accommodate a large number of people. For this reason, it was chosen as the headquarters of the reconstituted Order of the Phoenix when Sirius offered it to the Order. Only magical people can see it, and only if told the location by the Secret Keeper himself.

Because Sirius was incarcerated in Azkaban, the house fell into disrepair over the next several years. When he later returned to his family home in the fifth book, it was a gloomy and unpleasant dwelling teeming with dust, decay, magical creatures, and various dangers. Harry inherits the house at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince after Sirius's death, although he donates it to the Order (wanting no connection to the place where Sirius felt trapped and useless before his death).

In Deathly Hallows, it becomes a sanctuary for Harry, Ron, and Hermione while hiding from Voldemort. Harry loses the house to Voldemort when Yaxley grabs hold of Hermione when she attempts to escape by Disapparation. She drops Yaxley off at 12 Grimmauld Place, thus revealing the location to Voldemort.

Shell Cottage
Shell Cottage is the home of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour after they get married in Deathly Hallows. It is located overlooking a beach outside the village of Teignmouth in Devon. The cottage served as a hiding place for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Dean Thomas, Mr. Ollivander and Griphook after they managed to escape from imprisonment in Malfoy Manor. Dobby the house-elf was buried in the garden after he died.

The Shell Cottage Scenes were filmed on Pembrokeshire beaches.

Spinner's End
Spinner's End is a Muggle street, on which sits a house that is the home of Severus Snape. It is described as one of several streets of identical brick. The street is located near a dirty river, the bank of which is strewn with litter. A mill with a tall chimney is close by.

Snape's front door opens directly into a sitting room that has the feeling of a dark, padded cell, containing walls filled with books, threadbare furniture, and a dim, candle-filled lamp that hangs from the ceiling. A hidden door leads to a narrow staircase. Spinner's End first appears in Half-Blood Prince, when Snape is visited by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. In Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Snape lived at Spinner's End as a young child and that Lily and Petunia Evans lived in the same town.

Beauxbatons
The Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons) is a magic school first introduced in Goblet of Fire. Beauxbatons has a history that goes back at least 700 years, when it first began participating in the Triwizard Tournament.

Beauxbatons students follow a very strict system of protocol concerning their behaviour towards their professors, which is noticeably different from that at Hogwarts (e.g., standing when their headmistress enters the room). The school follows a different examination system as well: at Hogwarts, the major board exams are taken in the fifth and seventh years, whilst Beauxbatons students sit for their exams in the sixth year. In these regards, Beauxbatons resembles customs at a typical French school.

The Academy is housed in a glittering palace. The food, at least according to Fleur Delacour, is delicious. Students wear blue and grey silk uniforms. Rather than suits of armour, statues of ice that glitter like diamonds during the Christmas season flank the halls of Beauxbatons. While only female students of Beauxbatons are portrayed in the film, the books mention that the school is co-ed, as Hogwarts students Parvati and Padma Patil are asked to dance by two Beauxbatons boys at the Yule Ball.

It is also said in Goblet of Fire, while the students of Beauxbatons are staying at Hogwarts, that Beauxbatons Academy owns a large carriage the size of a house flown by horses whose hooves are as big as dinner plates; it can accommodate a large party of students and their half-giant headmistress. The carriage is pale blue and has the Beauxbatons coat of arms on it (two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars).

The name Beaux bâtons literally means "beautiful sticks" in French, and could be translated as "fair wands" or possibly "beautiful wands."

Durmstrang
The Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning is a magic school that also makes its first appearance in Goblet of Fire. The school has existed for at least 700 years, when they began participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore welcomes Durmstrang's students as "our friends from the North" and Rowling has stated that the school is located in Scandinavia. Durmstrang students wear heavy furs with blood-red robes. The students of Durmstrang mentioned by name are Russians and Bulgarians. Durmstrang is portrayed as an all-boys school in the film, but according to the book, it is co-ed. Several female students are mentioned, though not by name.

Durmstrang is known for placing an emphasis on the study of the Dark Arts. While other schools of magic in the series limit the study to Defence Against the Dark Arts, Durmstrang students actually learn them. In Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald attended Durmstrang. He also carved the symbol of the Deathly Hallows onto the school's stone walls. Although Durmstrang teaches the Dark Arts as part of its curriculum, apparently the experiments performed by Grindelwald were considered too extreme even by the school's standards as he was expelled because of them.

The name "Durmstrang" is likely to be an allusion to the German phrase Sturm und Drang meaning storm and stress.

Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts
W.A.D.A. is briefly mentioned by Dumbledore in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Professor Herbert Beery left Hogwarts to teach at the school sometime after a disastrous attempt to stage a pantomime, which led to a blanket ban on theatre at Hogwarts.

Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley is a fictional high street located in London. It is accessible to the wizarding world, to which it is something of an economic hub, but hidden from Muggles (non-magical people). However, Muggles are allowed access to it if they need to accompany their Muggle-born magical children. If a wizard or witch needs something, chances are that it can be found in Diagon Alley.

One entrance to Diagon Alley can be reached on foot by passing through The Leaky Cauldron (a wizarding pub/inn). The inn, which is invisible to Muggles, lies in between a bookshop and a music shop. To enter Diagon Alley, one must go through The Leaky Cauldron to a rear courtyard and tap a brick in the wall, found by counting three up and two across, three times. In the film, the tapping of 5 bricks around the hole in the wall opens the doorway to Diagon Alley. Given the busy nature of the area, travelling to and from Diagon Alley is likely typically done by more magical means such as Apparition or by using the Floo Network, which are both ways of wizarding transport. It contains Gringotts Bank which is run by goblins, an ice-cream parlour, pet shops, book shops, Ollivander's wand shop, magical clothing shops, broom shops, apothecaries and many others.

The DVD of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets includes a video "guided tour" of Diagon Alley, apparently shot on the original film sets. In the first film, the Leaky Cauldron's entrance was filmed in Bull's Head Passage, near Leadenhall Market. In the sixth film, it was inserted into the actual Charing Cross Road, between a book store and a surveyors' storefront, while Diagon Alley's actual location was revealed to be in an alley called Cecil Court located near Leicester Square, which dates back to 1627.

The name Diagon Alley is a near homophone of the word "diagonally", which is used as a plot device when Harry mispronounces the phrase near the beginning of the Chamber of Secrets film.

The Daily Prophet office
The Daily Prophet office is the office of the wizarding newspaper, The Daily Prophet, as witnessed by the fact that "Letters to the editor should be sent by owl to The Daily Prophet, Diagon Alley, London."

The office makes a small appearance in the first film, where its sign is briefly seen as Harry wonders about where to get a wand.

Borgin & Burkes
Borgin and Burkes is an antique shop located in Knockturn Alley, containing some dangerous items such as a cursed opal necklace, or half of a vanishing cabinet set, which is used by Draco Malfoy to infiltrate Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort used to work there after he left Hogwarts.

Eeylops Owl Emporium
Eeylops Owl Emporium sells owls and supplies such as owl treats and cages. Inside, it is dark and full of a low, soft hooting, rustling and the flickering of "jewel-bright eyes.". It is here that Rubeus Hagrid purchased a snowy owl for Harry who named her Hedwig in The Philosopher's Stone.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour
Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, under the management of the owner Florean Fortescue (founder and shopkeeper), sold ice cream, including sundaes, which could be enjoyed at outdoor tables. Harry spent pleasant hours here working on summer holiday assignments before his third year at Hogwarts in Prisoner of Azkaban. Mr Fortescue himself helped him with his school essays and supplied him with free sundaes every half hour. Nearing the end of the summer holidays, Harry meets Ron and Hermione here.In the Half-Blood Prince the parlour is boarded up and Fortescue has gone missing. Rowling confirmed that Florean was murdered. Also, in the first book, when Harry goes to get his robes, Hagrid appears outside the window clutching two ice-creams." The parlour sold ice creams such as "one with chocolate and raspberry sauce with chopped nuts", which Harry eats in the first book. In the second book, Harry also buys three large "strawberry and peanut butter" cones for himself, Ron and Hermione.

Flourish & Blotts
Flourish & Blotts sells a great variety of magic books, including textbooks for Hogwarts courses and other books of general magical interest. In the back there is a corner devoted solely to divination, which includes a small table stacked with titles like Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself against Shocks and Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul. Another small display contains the book Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst is Coming.

Usually, there is a display of gold-embossed spell books the size of paving slabs in the window, but in Prisoner of Azkaban, the front window holds an iron cage filled with hundreds of copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. To deal with the vicious books, set for the third year Care of Magical Creatures class by Hagrid, the harassed manager has to gear up with thick gloves and jab at them with a knobbly walking stick, as the books tend to rip each other apart. The manager says that he had thought he had seen the worst when they bought about 200 copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility, all of which cost a fortune and they never did find them.

In Chamber of Secrets, celebrity author Gilderoy Lockhart signs copies of his autobiography, Magical Me, at the shop the day Harry visits, from 12:30–4:30 p.m. The signing drew a huge crowd of fans (mostly middle-aged women). This is also where Lucius Malfoy slips Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny's battered old Transfiguration book, thus causing the start of the events in Chamber of Secrets.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only known bank of the wizarding world and it is operated primarily by goblins. A snowy white building, near the intersection of Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley, Gringotts towers over all neighbouring shops. Customers pass through a set of bronze doors and then silver ones before entering the lobby. The main floor is paved with marble and has long counters stretching along its length. Within, wizards and witches keep their money and other valuables in vaults that are protected by very complex and very strong security measures. The vaults extend for miles under London and are accessible through rough stone passageways and then by means of magic carts that travel speedily along their tracks. Gringotts also offers Muggle-Wizarding currency exchange.

When Harry first visits Gringotts, he is told by Hagrid that one would have to be mad to try to rob Gringotts. Goblins are extremely greedy and will protect their money and valuables at any cost, which is the reason why they are ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. In addition, according to Hagrid, apart from Hogwarts, Gringotts is considered "the safest place in the world for anything you want to keep safe".

There are a number of methods of opening the vaults. Most vaults, such as Harry's, use small golden keys. Higher security vaults may have various enchantments or other measures upon the doors. For example, the door to Vault 713 needs to be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin, whereupon it melts away to allow access to the contents. If anyone other than a certified Gringotts goblin touches the door, that person will be sucked into the vault, which is only checked for trapped thieves about once every 10 years. Dragons guard the especially high security vaults found in the lowest reaches of the bank, and a subterranean waterfall called the "Thief's Downfall" acts to overturn carts that pass through it and negate spells used by would-be robbers.

Gringotts Vault 713 held a small parcel wrapped in paper, inside of which was the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore sent Hagrid to retrieve it while he escorted Harry. Later that same day, Professor Quirrell broke into the vault under orders from Voldemort. Although he was unsuccessful in obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, the break-in shocked the wizarding world because it was unheard of for Gringotts to be robbed. Griphook claims that the protection had been lessened due to the Vault being emptied. In Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, aided by a reluctant Griphook, break into the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange where a Horcrux of Voldemort (Hufflepuff's Cup) is hidden. However, when they enter Bellatrix's vault, which is stocked with all manner of treasures, they discover that the treasure has had Gemino and Flagrante charms placed on it, which, respectively, cause any item to multiply rapidly and go red-hot whenever it is touched. The trio escape with the Horcrux by freeing a half-blind dragon that was part of the security for the vault, and clambering onto its back.

While Gringotts is largely staffed by goblins, including Griphook and Ragnok, it is known that the bank has human employees, though not apparently for banking and accounting services. Bill Weasley worked as a curse-breaker for Gringotts in Egypt, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids. Fleur Delacour took a part-time job with Gringotts after participating in the Triwizard Tournament, apparently to improve her English skills, and Wizard guards are mentioned in Deathly Hallows during the break in.

The Leaky Cauldron
The Leaky Cauldron is a pub and inn for wizards, located on the Muggle street of Charing Cross Road in London, offering food, drinks and rooms to rent. It was founded by Daisy Dodderidge (1467–1555) in 1500 "to serve as a gateway between the non-wizarding world and Diagon Alley." The current barman and innkeeper is a wizard named Tom.

On the main floor, the inn has a bar, several private parlour rooms, and a large dining room. On the upper floors, there are a number of rooms available; Harry has stayed in Room 11, which has a talking mirror and windows that allow him to look out onto Charing Cross Road. People often stay at The Leaky Cauldron when they come up to London on shopping trips.

The pub serves as a way of entering into Diagon Alley from the Muggle world for Muggle-borns and their parents (both of whom, until the first letter from Hogwarts, have no magical knowledge or means of entering). The rear of The Leaky Cauldron opens onto a chilly little courtyard where a brick (found by counting three up and two across from a dustbin) is tapped three times.

Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions
Madam Malkin's is a clothing shop next to Flourish & Blotts. It sells robes and other clothing, including the standard Hogwarts-required plain black work robes, and dress robes. Madam Malkin, a squat witch who wears mauve robes, and her assistants will tailor the robes to fit right in her shop. Malkin is an archaic term for a crotchety old woman.

Harry has two meetings with Draco in Madam Malkin's shop. This is where Harry meets the first wizard of his own age, Malfoy, for the very first time in Philosopher's Stone. Harry is rather bewildered by the questions Draco asks, because Harry is still unfamiliar with many aspects of the wizarding world. A second meeting occurs just before the beginning of Harry's sixth year, in Half-Blood Prince. This meeting is far more unpleasant, and escalates quickly into a near-duel before Draco and his mother leave in disgust that Hermione would shop there.

Hagrid can never fit in here, so he buys some ice creams while waiting for Harry.

Magical Menagerie
The Magical Menagerie is a magical creature shop that in addition to selling magical creatures also offers advice on animal care and health. The shop is very cramped, noisy and smelly, due to every inch being covered with cages. Among the creatures in the Magical Menagerie are enormous purple toads, a firecrab, poisonous orange snails, a fat white rabbit that can turn into a silk top hat and back, cats of every colour, ravens, puffskeins, and a cage of sleek black rats that play skipping games with their tails.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione visit in Prisoner of Azkaban, a witch wearing heavy black spectacles helps them. Ron buys Rat Tonic for his pet rat Scabbers, while Hermione buys herself a cat, Crookshanks. Crookshanks had apparently been in there for a very long time, because no one wanted him and he often caused chaos in the shop.

Ollivanders
Ollivanders is a fine wands shop described as "narrow and shabby, with a sign that reads Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC in peeling gold letters over the door. The only display in the window overlooking Diagon Alley is a single wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. Within, there are countless narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling and a spindly-legged chair" (Hagrid, however, breaks it after he sits upon it).

Mr Ollivander, the pale-eyed, white-haired shopkeeper, makes and sells magic wands to witches and wizards as they enter school or break their old wands. He remembers every wand he has ever sold. To determine the best wand for a witch or wizard, Mr Ollivander measures various body parts (including, in Harry's case, between his nostrils) and then checks the reactions of various wands to the buyer, a process to which he refers as "the wand choosing the wizard."

The shop closed when Mr Ollivander went missing in Half-Blood Prince when Voldemort ordered his Death Eaters to kidnap Ollivander to attempt to discover more about the link between his own and Harry's wand. One of his last customers was Neville, for whom he made a wand of cherry and unicorn hair. However, Harry rescues Ollivander in Deathly Hallows.

Potage's Cauldron Shop
Potage's Cauldron Shop sells different varieties and sizes of cauldrons, including copper, brass, pewter, silver, self-stirring, collapsible, and solid gold, according to a sign outside the shop in Philosopher's Stone. Hogwarts requires its students to have a size 2 pewter cauldron (as listed in the Philosopher's Stone book list). Hagrid talked Harry out of buying a solid gold cauldron. The Cauldron Shop is very near to the entrance from The Leaky Cauldron.

Quality Quidditch Supplies
Quality Quidditch Supplies sells broomsticks and Quidditch-related items. The store windows often draw young customers to gaze longingly at the merchandise. Its most famous items on display are the Nimbus 2000 and the Firebolt broomsticks, both of which Harry would eventually own. He spent the summer before his third year gazing at the brand new Firebolt racing broom in the display window. The price is allegedly so large that it is only given upon request, though as Harry never asked, the price is unknown. Ron had previously longed for a full set of Chudley Cannons robes offered at the shop.

Slug and Jiggers Apothecary
The Apothecary sells scales, potions and potion ingredients. The shop is quite fascinating despite its very bad smell (a mixture of bad eggs and rotten cabbage). The inside includes barrels of slimy stuff on the floor, jars of herbs, dried roots and bright powders on the shelves, and bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hanging from the ceiling. Harry regularly buys ingredients, as well as his scales, from the Apothecary.

Some of the ingredients available are silver unicorn horns (for twenty-one Galleons each) and glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

Gambol and Japes
Gambol and Japes is a wizarding joke shop. It is briefly mentioned in Chamber of Secrets, where Fred, George and Lee Jordan stock up on "Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks."

Stalls
As well as many shops, Diagon Alley also contains small stalls. These stalls sell a wide range of things; including magical sweets. In Half-Blood Prince, many witches and wizards try to take advantage of the fear created by Voldemort's return. They set up stalls selling amulets and other objects, which (according to them) protect you against werewolves, Dementors and Inferi. These "dark magic protection" stalls, however, are illegal, and likely scams. Arthur Weasley is the one in charge of arresting their owners.

Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment
Sells all sorts of equipment used in the wizard world. Harry buys his first telescope here.

Twilfitt and Tatting's
Twilfitt and Tatting's is a wizarding clothing shop located in Diagon Alley, mentioned in Half-Blood Prince by Narcissa Malfoy, who claims she would shop there rather than shopping in Madam Malkin's due to the presence of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is a popular joke shop that started as a small school business created by Fred and George Weasley in the fourth book. It opened its doors at Number 93 Diagon Alley in the summer of the sixth book, using Harry Potter's Triwizard Winnings as starting capital. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes sells joke and trick items, useful novelties, and Defence Against the Dark Arts items.

Fred and George started using the name "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" in Goblet of Fire for a mail order business selling merchandise, including sweets to help students skip classes. To run their own joke shop had always been their life's ambition—an ambition they were able to realise when Harry gave them his Triwizard Tournament winnings of a thousand Galleons. After an early departure from Hogwarts in Order of the Phoenix, the two Weasleys set up their shop in Diagon Alley, which quickly became a huge success.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has to be temporarily shut down in Deathly Hallows, because the Death Eaters are keeping an eye on all the Weasleys, but Fred and George continue to run an Owl-Order service.

Hogsmeade
Hogsmeade Village, or simply Hogsmeade is the only settlement in Britain inhabited solely by magical beings, and is located to the northwest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was founded by medieval wizard Hengist of Woodcroft who fled to Scotland to escape Muggle persecution of wizards in Northumberland. Much of Hogsmeade's architecture reflects its medieval origin; the village is known for its leaning medieval houses the most famous of which being the Three Broomsticks, an ancient inn built on the site of Woodcroft's home, and the backdrop for such dramatic wizarding events as the 1612 rebellion of Britain's goblins (the upper rooms of the inn served as the headquarters for the Ministry of Magic in its attempts to put down the insurrection in the Highlands). Hogsmeade primarily consists of a single thoroughfare, called High Street, on which most shops and other magical venues reside; however, unnamed alleyways branching off from the main road are also home to such historic places as the Hogs Head Inn and Madame Puddifoot's Teashop. Students of Hogwarts who are in their third year and above are permitted to visit Hogsmeade during scheduled visits, to shop and mingle with friends un-chaperoned, as long as they have a signed permission slip from a parent or guardian. Mainly, students frequent a high street in the village which contains the named speciality shops and pubs in the series. Otherwise, they wander on to observe the infamous Shrieking Shack. It is only accessible by the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station. From there students have to walk or take a carriage on the main road which leads to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts School.

Hogsmeade remained unseen in the Harry Potter film series until 2004's Prisoner of Azkaban. The village has since appeared again in Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows – Part 2. In all of these, the village is seen under heavy caps of snow.

The Three Broomsticks
The Three Broomsticks is a well known inn and pub located on High Street in the village of Hogsmeade. It is known for its delicious butterbeer and its beautiful owner Madam Rosmerta, who lives above the pub. The Three Broomsticks is a favoured destination among Hogwarts students and staff, although in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid mentions visiting the Hog's Head. It is the site of important events in the series, including Harry's interview with Rita Skeeter in his fifth year.

Zonko's Joke Shop
Zonko's Joke Shop has jokes and tricks that can "fulfill even Fred and George's wildest dreams." It closes down in Half-Blood Prince. Fred and George had planned to buy the shop, but decide against it when Hogwarts' students are banned from visiting Hogsmeade due to heightened security after Voldemort's rebirth.

Hogsmeade Station
Hogsmeade Station is the closest train stop to Hogwarts; the Hogwarts Express stops here after travelling from King's Cross. Scenes involving Hogsmeade Station in the Harry Potter films were shot at Goathland railway station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, built in 1865 and virtually unchanged, that serves the village of Goathland in the North York Moors. According to Rowling's illustrations, Hogsmeade station is not in Hogsmeade, but on the opposite side of the lake.

The Hog's Head
The Hog's Head is another pub, which often attracts a more disreputable clientele than the Three Broomsticks, and many of the customers hide their faces out of a desire not to be recognised. The hanging sign on the front of the pub has a severed boar's head, leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. The pub itself is filthy, with the floor covered with layers of dirt, and the windows smeared with so much grime that little light gets through. The main floor is a single room, but there are additional rooms on the upper floors. Harry notes that the pub smells strongly of goats. The barman and owner is Aberforth Dumbledore, the brother of Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, although this is not revealed until the final book.

Despite its seedy reputation, the Hog's Head pub has been host to several important events in the world of Harry Potter. The inn was the headquarters of the 1612 Goblin Rebellion. A few months before Harry was born, it was here that the seer Sybill Trelawney revealed the prophecy connecting Voldemort and Harry during an interview with Dumbledore for the position of Divination teacher at Hogwarts, while Snape listens to the first part of the prophecy. It is also where Hagrid wins an illegal dragon egg (Norbert) while gambling with a disguised servant of Voldemort. In Order of the Phoenix, the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army is secretly held at the Hog's Head.

During Deathly Hallows, Aberforth reveals a secret passage that leads into Hogwarts' Room of Requirement, where Dumbledore's Army has set up headquarters. The Hog's Head entrance is hidden behind a portrait of Ariana Dumbledore, the younger sister of Albus and Aberforth. Before the Battle of Hogwarts begins, the passage is used to evacuate underage students from the school. The remaining members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix gather at the Hog's Head, then enter the castle through this passage to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

The name of the tavern refers to an archaic unit of liquid measurement, the hogshead. It may also be an allusion to the "Boar's Head Tavern" from the play Henry IV, Part 1, by William Shakespeare. Much like The Hog's Head, Shakespeare's tavern is the haunt of some less than reputable characters.

Dervish & Banges
A shop that sells and repairs magical equipment, Dervish & Banges is located near the end of the High Street. In The Wizarding World of Harry Potter located in Orlando, Florida in the USA, Dervish & Banges is the go-to all-purpose shop for any wizarding world memorabilia and souvenirs.

Gladrags Wizardwear
Gladrags Wizardwear sells clothing. There are other branches in London and Paris. It is full of quirky merchandise, and appears to specialise in strange and unusual socks, where Harry buys Dobby a selection of wacky socks, in thanks for helping him in the Second Task.

Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop
Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop sells a range of wizarding stationery like quills, ink, parchment, envelopes, seals, etc.

Madam Puddifoot's
Located on a little side street off the main High Street, Madam Puddifoot's is a small teashop favourite among Hogwarts couples out on dates. On Valentine's Day Madam Puddifoot hires floating golden cherubs to throw pink confetti on visiting couples. It was at Madam Puddifoot's that Harry celebrated his Valentine's Day with Cho Chang, in the fifth book.

Honeydukes Sweetshop
Honeydukes Sweetshop is one of the most famous wizarding confectioneries in the world. It sells wizarding sweets of all descriptions, including Chocolate Frogs, Liquorice Wands, Pepper Imps, Chocoballs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Fizzing Whizzbees, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Toothflossing Stringmints, Ice Mice, Cockroach Clusters, Jelly Slugs, Blood Lollipops, Acid Pops and Sugar Quills, among others. They also sell creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-coloured toffees, and hundreds of different kinds of chocolate.

The owners, Ambrosius Flume and his wife, live in a flat above the shop. There is a trapdoor in the cellar of Honeydukes, which connects to a secret passage which leads to a statue of a one-eyed witch on the third floor of Hogwarts. In the 'Prisoner of Azkaban', Fred and George Weasley give Harry the Marauder's Map which he uses to enter Hogsmeade through the passage into Honeydukes.

Post Office
The Post Office is filled with at least two to three hundred owls, ranging from Great Grey Owls to tiny Scops (the latter for "local deliveries only"), hooting down from colour-coded shelves. These owls deliver mail to people in the wizarding world. The shelves are colour-coded based on how quickly they will arrive at their destination.

Shrieking Shack
The Shrieking Shack, on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, is believed to be the most haunted building in Great Britain. Connected to Hogwarts by a secret tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow, which was planted especially to conceal the tunnel, the Shrieking Shack was used by Remus Lupin, a werewolf, to hide during the full moon to avoid harming fellow students or others. The villagers heard Lupin's howls while he resided there, and mistook it for violent spirits. This rumour, encouraged by Dumbledore, led to the Shrieking Shack being officially regarded as the most haunted building in Britain.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, the Shrieking Shack becomes part of the dramatic conclusion of the book when Sirius returns to the school. He drags Ron and his pet rat, Scabbers, there intending to kill Scabbers. It is revealed that Scabbers is the Animagus Peter Pettigrew, Black's former friend who had betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, a crime for which Black had been blamed. In the book Deathly Hallows, Snape is killed in the Shrieking Shack by Voldemort's snake, Nagini.

Azkaban
Azkaban is a prison where wizards who violate the laws of the British wizarding world are sent. Only one other such prison, Nurmengard, is mentioned in the books. According to Half-Blood Prince, Azkaban is "in the middle of the North Sea". Sirius Black says that when he escaped from Azkaban while animorphed into a dog, he swam to Britain and then travelled northwards to get to Hogwarts. This implies that Azkaban is at a lower latitude than Hogwarts, which is in Scotland. Although Azkaban's appearance is not described in detail in the books, it is mentioned to have grounds outside the prison where prisoners who have died are buried. In the movie adaptations it appears to be a tall triangular building, somewhat hollow in the middle.

Generally, only very severe crimes are punished with a term in Azkaban. Many of the prisoners were supporters of Voldemort, though some misunderstandings have resulted in others' imprisonment. Hagrid, for example, was sent there in Harry's second year at Hogwarts because of a crime he did not commit, and Harry is threatened with Azkaban after performing the Patronus that saved both his and Dudley's souls. Performing any of the Unforgivable Curses on a human is punishable by a mandatory whole life sentence in Azkaban, but that ban has been lifted for Aurors during war time. Several characters throughout the series have performed the curses and not been punished accordingly. Other crimes which merit imprisonment here include assaulting the Ministry (for example, the Death Eaters detained in Order of the Phoenix), trespassing in the Ministry (Sturgis Podmore in Order of the Phoenix), being an unregistered Animagus, and impersonating an Inferius.

Azkaban has a reputation of evil and fear throughout the series. As mentioned at the start of the series, Azkaban is guarded by the Dementors, working under the British Ministry of Magic. The large presence of Dementors renders the inmates incapable of happiness and forces them to relive their worst memories, as they become gradually helpless and often severely insane. According to Sirius, many inmates simply stop eating and eventually die of starvation. Sirius's reasoning for this is that "They simply lose their will to live". As Dementors are extremely difficult to injure – the only spell effective against them is the Patronus Charm – Azkaban was long considered impossible to escape from, until Sirius escaped (although Barty Crouch Jr had previously broken out with the help of his parents); however, Dumbledore claimed he could break out of Azkaban if he wished to do so.

In Order of the Phoenix, ten of Voldemort's most dangerous and loyal followers escape, including Bellatrix Lestrange. Dumbledore was always vocal in declaring that it was a mistake to guard Voldemort's greatest supporters with Dementors, who have the most to gain if Voldemort returned to power. He is proven right, as the Dementors leave their posts at Azkaban and join ranks with Voldemort. The prison is still in use, but greatly weakened by the revolt of its most effective wardens. Azkaban also had various wizard guards, who kept the Dementors mostly in check and managed the rare prison visits. By the start of Deathly Hallows, there had been another mass break-out of Death Eaters from Azkaban. Upon Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry, many political prisoners are sent to Azkaban by Ministry traitor Dolores Umbridge, including Xenophilius Lovegood and Muggle-borns persecuted under Voldemort's implementation of anti-Muggle legislation. Such victims are released following Voldemort's downfall, and Umbridge is imprisoned there, along with whichever Death Eaters survived the Battle of Hogwarts.

Following Voldemort's ultimate demise, Kingsley Shacklebolt ends the use of Dementors at Azkaban, their presence having always been a mark of the underlying corruption of the Ministry.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters
The ride on the Hogwarts Express starts from King's Cross railway station platform 9¾, which is invisible to Muggle eyes and is reached by walking through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.

Rowling discovered after the books were published that she had confused the layout of King's Cross with that of Euston station, and that platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross were not the ones between which she had meant her magical platform to be placed. There is no platform between lines 9 and 10 at King's Cross. To solve this, the filmmakers re-numbered platforms 4 and 5 for the duration of filming. In reality, at both King's Cross and Euston, platforms 9 and 10 are separated by railway lines. The exterior shots in the film are that of adjacent to Kings Cross and St Pancras station. The exterior shots are not of a railway station, but that of a hotel, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

A plaque depicting the supposed location was placed on the wall in the building containing platforms 9 to 11, along with a luggage trolley 'stuck' halfway through the wall. It was later moved to an exterior wall on the Euston Road, and then in 2012 to the western departures concourse. A wrought iron 'Platform 9¾' gate used as part of the film set is preserved at the National Railway Museum.

St. Mungo's
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is a hospital within the Harry Potter universe. Medics at the hospital are not called doctors, but are known as Healers and wear lime-green robes. Founded by famous wizard Healer Mungo Bonham, St. Mungo's is located in London. It was established to treat magical maladies, injuries or illnesses endemic to the Wizarding World. To enter the premises, one has to step through the window of what appears to be a derelict department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd. The exteriors of the hospital are red-bricked and dirty, which is the complete opposite of the interiors. Inside, everything is very neat and looks exactly as a hospital should. There are six floors. The emblem of St Mungo's is a magic wand crossed with a bone. This is the hospital where Arthur Weasley is sent after he was attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, in the Ministry of Magic and Minerva McGonagall is hospitalised from severe stunning when Hagrid is forced out of Hogwarts. During one visit, Harry and company happen across Neville, who has come with his grandmother Augusta Longbottom to visit his parents in the long-term care ward; they also find former professor Gilderoy Lockhart there, still suffering from the effects of a backfired Memory Charm.

Knockturn Alley
Knockturn Alley (a play on the word "nocturnally") is a dark and seedy alleyway leading off from the more savoury Diagon Alley to which Muggles have no access. It is frequented largely by Dark Wizards. Many of the shops in Knockturn Alley are devoted to the Dark Arts; the largest is Borgin & Burkes, which sells sinister and dangerous objects. Harry lands in Knockturn Alley in the Chamber of Secrets, when accidentally saying "Diagonally" instead of Diagon Alley while using Floo Powder to get to Diagon Alley. Here Hagrid finds him (and narrowly rescues him from a witch), while looking for Flesh-eating Slug repellent, for the school's cabbage patch. From there he takes him back to Diagon Alley, where they find Hermione Granger who takes them to the Weasleys.

Nurmengard
Nurmengard is the prison that Gellert Grindelwald built to keep his enemies and Muggles in. The entrance is marked with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, along with the legend "For the greater good". After Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, the prisoners were released and Grindelwald himself was imprisoned in the top-most cell. Nurmengard is depicted in the final book when Voldemort arrives at the prison looking for Grindelwald and information about the Elder Wand. After Grindelwald refuses to give him any information, Voldemort kills him in his own prison.

Filming locations
The following are locations used by Warner Bros. to film the fictional locations in the Harry Potter film series.
 * Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire (Forbidden Forest and various woodland scenes in all films)
 * Australia House, The Strand, London (Gringott's Bank)
 * Alnwick Castle, Northumberland (Hogwarts exterior)
 * Bodleian Library, Oxford (Hogwarts interiors)
 * Borough Market, London (Diagon Alley)
 * Martins Heron, Berkshire (Privet Drive)
 * Christ Church, Oxford (Hogwarts interiors)
 * Durham Cathedral (Hogwarts interiors)
 * Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland (Viaduct used in the Hogwarts Express scenes)
 * Gloucester Cathedral (Hogwarts corridors)
 * Goathland railway station, Yorkshire (Hogsmeade Station)
 * Harrow School, (Professor Flitwick's classroom)
 * London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross Station, London (King's Cross interior)
 * Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire (Hogwarts interiors)
 * Leadenhall Market, London (Diagon Alley & Leaky Cauldron)
 * London Zoo (Reptile House)
 * Malham Cove, North Yorkshire (Camping location, atop limestone pavement)
 * Maughan Library, Dumbledore's office
 * Millennium Bridge, London (Death Eater attack at start of Half-Blood Prince)
 * New College, Oxford (Hogwarts cloisters)
 * Pembrokeshire, Wales (Shell Cottage)
 * St Pancras railway station, London (King's Cross exterior).
 * Scottish Highlands, Scotland (Outdoor scenes in Prisoner of Azkaban and Half-Blood Prince)
 * Surbiton railway station, South London (Railway and cafe scene at the start of Half-Blood Prince'')
 * Virginia Beach, Virginia (stock footage for extras Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets)
 * Virginia Water Lake, Surrey (Lakeside scenes in Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince)