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The Map of Hogwarts and Surrounding Areas: journeys around the grounds in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This section shows the likely routes around the grounds which the characters take in specific scenes, separated up by book.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone The first years cross the lake to the castle Malfoy takes Neville's Remembrall during broom-training Snape goes to meet Quirrel in the woods Detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The descent of the flying Ford Anglia Harry and Ron follow the spiders into the Forest
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban The Hippogriff paddock To the Shrieking Shack, via Hogsmeade To the Shrieking Shack, doubled in time
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Hagrid, Maxime and Harry visit the Dragons The Trio visit Sirius in his cave The Second Task Barty Snr is found in the woods The Third Task
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Hagrid takes his students to see the Thestrals Snape's worst memory Hagrid takes Harry and Hermione to visit Grawp The gang find Thestrals to ride to the Ministry
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry and Tonks walk from the station to Hogwarts Katie Bell touches the cursed necklace Dumbledore and Harry fly from Hogsmeade to the Astronomy Tower Snape and the Death Eaters flee the castle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Hagrid and Grawp cross the Forest Harry goes to Voldemort in the Forest
Ron gasped, staring through the windscreen, and Harry looked around just in time to see a branch as thick as a python smash into it. The tree they had hit was attacking them. Its trunk was bent almost double, and its gnarled boughs were pummelling every inch of the car it could reach. 'Aaargh!' said Ron as another twisted limb punched a large dent into his door; the windshield was now trembling under a hail of blows from knuckle-like twigs and a branch as thick as a battering ram was pounding furiously on the roof, which seemed to be caving [CoS ch. #05; p. 59/60]
He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was still flailing its branches threateningly. [CoS ch. #05; p. 60]
It wasn't at all the triumphant arrival they had pictured. Stiff, cold and bruised, they seized the ends of their trunks and began dragging them up the grassy slope, towards the great oak front doors. 'I think the feast's already started,' said Ron, dropping his trunk at the foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through a brightly lit window. 'Hey, Harry, come and look -- it's the Sorting!' [CoS ch. #05; p. 60/61]
When the flying Ford Anglia approaches the castle, it is probably not coming in directly following the railway line, otherwise it would tend to be heading for the end of the lake with the castle to one side just where the lake starts, not across or along the lake with the castle some distance ahead. It must have gone round the other side of the mountain from the railway line. For reasons explained in the section on the setting of Hogwarts, the fact that Harry and Ron see the castle silhouetted against the sky suggests that at that point the car is flying north or slightly west of north (0), since that is probably the only direction in which there would not be mountains rearing behind the castle. Despite the fact that the lake is described as "a mile" below them, they must also be coming in comparatively low for the castle to be silhouetted against the sky.
They must cross over a fairly wide bit of the lake (or they are going very slowly) to have time to react as they do. If they are coming in from sou' sou' east they will fly more or less the length of the lake. After losing altitude the car nearly hits the castle wall (1) before veering off in a curve (which has to be more of an 'S' than an arc, with at least a small curve to the right before they swing round to the left again) over the greenhouses (2), vegetable patch (3) and lawn (4), before colliding with the Whomping Willow (5).
From the Willow, Harry and Ron drag their trunks up the castle mound, dropping them by the steps up to the main doors and finishing off by a window to the side of the Astronomy Tower, looking into the Great Hall (6) underneath the projecting Charms section (7).
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So, with Fang scampering around them, sniffing tree roots and leaves, they entered the forest. By the glow of Harry's wand, they followed the steady trickle of spiders moving along the path. They walked behind them for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and rustling leaves. Then, when the trees had become thicker than ever, so that the stars overhead were no longer visible, and Harry's wand shone alone in the sea of dark, they saw their spider guides leaving the path. [CoS ch. #15; p. 202]
So they followed the darting shadows of the spiders into the trees. They couldn't move very quickly now; there were tree roots and stumps in their way, barely visible in the near blackness. [cut] They walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, their robes snagging on low-slung branches and brambles. After a while, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever. [CoS ch. #15; p. 202]
Then, to their right, came a sudden blaze of light, so bright in the darkness that both of them flung up their hands to shield their eyes. Fang yelped and tried to run, but got lodged in a tangle of thorns and yelped even louder. [cut] Harry blundered after Ron towards the light, stumbling and tripping, and a moment later they had emerged into a clearing. Mr Weasley's car was standing, empty, in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of dense branches, [CoS ch. #15; p. 203]
There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly he felt something long and hairy seize him around the middle and lift him off the ground [cut] next moment, he was being swept away into the dark trees. Head hanging, Harry saw that what had hold of him was marching on six immensely long, hairy legs, the front two clutching him tightly below a pair of shining black pincers. [CoS ch. #15; p. 204]
They were moving into the very heart of the forest. [cut] [cut] Craning his neck sideways, he realised that they had reached the rim of a vast hollow, a hollow which had been cleared of trees, so that the stars shone brightly onto the worst scene he had ever clapped eyes on. Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic. The massive specimen that was carrying Harry made its way down the steep slope, toward a misty domed web in the very centre of the hollow, while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load. [CoS ch. #15; p. 204]
They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car wound its way cleverly through the widest gaps, following a path it obviously knew. [CoS ch. #15; p. 207]
They smashed their way through the undergrowth, Fang howling loudly in the back seat, and Harry saw the wing mirror snap off as they squeezed past a large oak. After ten noisy, rocky minutes, the trees thinned, and Harry could again see patches of sky. [CoS ch. #15; p. 207]
Harry went back into Hagrid's cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. Fang was trembling under a blanket in his basket. When Harry got outside again, he found Ron being violently sick in the pumpkin patch. [CoS ch. #15; p. 208]
When Harry and Ron follow the spiders (white dots) they set out from the Entrance Hall (0) and go first to Hagrid's hut (1) and collect Fang. From there they go to the entrance to the Forest, passing by a sycamore tree (2), and then take the right-hand path (3). We know that they go right because later when they go to find Thestrals to take them to the Ministry, we're told that they take the same path they took when they followed the spiders (and that this is not the path they took to visit Grawp). We know that that path goes to the right because we know it quite soon passes through a point north of the castle (the Thestrals head south and pass directly over the castle).
They follow the path for about twenty minutes. At normal walking speed that should mean for about a mile, but it's dark and they're following tiny spiders who are probably goling slower than normal human walking speed, so it's going to be a bit less than that. Still following the spiders, they leave the path at an area of dense tree-cover (4), where there are many protruding tree-roots and stumps. I have run a small stream through this area to explain why the clearing where they meet the Thestrals they are going to ride to the Ministry, and which is a bit further along the path, is described as "dank". The spiders probably walk across a fallen branch, and the boys jump. They then pass through an area of low branches and brambles (5) which must be more open, otherwise the brambles wouldn't grow. Eventually they come to an area (6) which is thickly wooded but where the ground underfoot slopes noticeably downwards.
They pass through an area of thorns (7) which again must be more open, otherwise the thorns wouldn't grow, and then come to a tiny clearing (8). We know it's tiny because it's roofed with branches, so it's not wider than the length of two long branches. Here they meet the flying Ford Anglia again, and are kidnapped by Acromantulas.
The Acromantulas carry them down a continuing slope (9) to a "vast hollow" (10), stripped of trees and containing Aragog's domed nest. Because the hollow has a "very centre" I've made it round, like a crater or a sink-hole, but it might not be.
The flying car (gold dots) then rescues them and drives through the Forest, weaving about in order to pass between the trees. It goes through an area of undergrowth (11) which is probably fairly open, and narrowly misses a large oak tree (12).
I have assumed that the car then joins the path for the final part of its journey, because it seems to emerge near Hagrid's house so it must be travelling close to the path at this point, and it would make sense to use it. It comes into more open ground (13) before emerging close to Hagrid's place (14) .
