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The Map of Hogwarts and Surrounding Areas: journeys around the grounds in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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
Thursday afternoon's lesson proceeded in the usual way. Twenty cauldrons stood steaming between the wooden desks, on which stood brass scales and jars of ingredients. Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks about the Gryffindors' work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively. [CoS ch. #11; p. 140]
It was with a certain amount of apprehension that Harry, Ron and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's on Tuesday, heavily muffled against the cold. [cut] However, the High Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen as they struggled through the snow towards Hagrid, who stood waiting for them on the edge of the Forest. [cut] 'We're workin' in here today!' Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. 'Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark.' [cut] 'Ready?' said Hagrid cheerfully, looking around at the class. 'Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat.' [OotP ch. #21; p. 391/392]
He turned and strode straight into the Forest. [cut] the three of them set off after Hagrid, leading the rest of the class. They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow at all on the ground. With a grunt, Hagrid deposited his half a cow on the ground, stepped back and turned to face his class [OotP ch. #21; p. 392]
[cut] Harry nudged Ron and pointed into the black space between two gnarled yew trees. A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs. [OotP ch. #21; p. 393]
'Oh, an' here comes another one!' said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. [OotP ch. #21; p. 393]
Two more horses came quietly out of the trees [OotP ch. #21; p. 394]
Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. [cut] 'Shows ... signs ... of ... pleasure ... at ... idea ... of ... violence,' muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again. [OotP ch. #21; p. 394-396]
'That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!' stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. [OotP ch. #21; p. 397]
We are not told outright in this section that Hagrid and the students follow the path to get to where they meet the Thestrals, nor that they meet them in a clearing, nor in which direction they go. On the face of it it rather sounds as though Hagrid guides them straight into the woods and shows them the Thestrals in a random spot among the tree-trunks.
However, as explained in the section on the Forbidden Forest, when the Trio and their friends go to the clearing where they meet the Thestrals they will ride to the Ministry, later on in OotP, we know that they head to the right, because they end up at a point about due north of the castle (they fly south and pass over the castle). We are told that this is the same direction they went when they followed the spiders in CoS, and that this is not the route they had taken to visit Grawp. So the route to the spiders is to the right, and Grawp is to the left. When they visit Grawp they follow a path, and pass "the clearing where Hagrid had shown them the Thestrals".
We can see that it must be a clearing, in any case, because the joint Gryffindor and Slytherin class contains twenty students (they require twenty brooms and twenty cauldrons) and those twenty students plus Hagrid, Umbridge and four horses (plus a dead cow) fit into a space in which they can all see each other. Plus, it's lighter than the surrounding trees: the Thestrals emerge out of the darkness between the trees into a space in which they can be see, and Umbridge can see to take notes. Yet, the clearing is apparently roofed against the snow, so it is not wider than the length of two yew branches, touching each other overhead. It's unlikely to be more than thirty foot across.
Harry, Hermione and Ron (white dots) set out from the castle (0) and head broadly towards Hagrid's hut, but instead meet up with Hagrid and their fellow students at the edge of the Forest (1). They enter the Forest by the path and walk for about ten minutes, quite fast (Hagrid is striding), bearing left at the fork (2) and coming to a small, roofed clearing (3) set in very dense, dark tree-cover. The fact that they walk for ten minutes, along the same path that Harry's party followed when they went to investigate the unicorn blood in first year, suggests that the clearing where they see the Thestrals is the same one where they met Ronan and Bane in first year. After the lesson they return the same way they came.
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Harry looked around and glimpsed Snape a short way away, moving between the tables towards the doors to the Entrance Hall [cut] A gang of chattering girls separated Snape from James, Sirius and Lupin, and by planting himself in their midst, Harry managed to keep Snape in sight while straining his ears to catch the voices of James and his friends. 'Did you like question ten, Moony?' asked Sirius as they emerged from the Entrance Hall. [cut] [cut] when James and his three friends strode off down the lawn towards the lake, Snape followed [cut] They stopped in the shade of the very same beech tree on the edge of the lake where Harry, Ron and Hermione had once spent a Sunday finishing their homework, and threw themselves down on the grass. Harry looked over his shoulder yet again and saw, to his delight, that Snape had settled himself on the grass in the dense shadow of a clump of bushes. He was as deeply immersed in the OWL paper as ever, which left Harry free to sit down on the grass between the beech and the bushes and watch the foursome under the tree. The sunlight was dazzling on the smooth surface of the lake, on the bank of which the group of laughing girls who had just left the Great Hall were sitting, with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water. [OotP ch. #28; p. 566-568]
'This'll liven you up, Padfoot,' said James quietly. 'Look who it is ...' [cut] Snape was on his feet again [cut] As he left the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. [cut] Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. [cut[ Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he went. [OotP ch. #28; p. 568/569]
Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him -- 'Leave him ALONE!' James and Sirius looked round. James's free hand immediately jumped to his hair. It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes -- Harry's eyes. [cut] Behind [James], the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to edge towards his fallen wand [OotP ch. #28; p. 570]
She turned on her heel and hurried away. [OotP ch. #28; p. 571]
Harry, or at least Harry's viewpoint, goes back through the Pensieve to watch a sort of hologram of the events of June 1976. This scene is not taking place first thing in the morning, because the 1976 students have just taken an OWL exam which must have taken at least an hour and a half. It's unlikely to be at the end of the school day either, because the sun is very bright. So it's some time between late morning and mid-afternoon.
Also, between the spring and autumn equinoxes the sun in the northern hemisphere rises somewhat north of east, swings round to due south by noon and then sets somewhat north of west. We know that the sun shines more or less straight into the Great Hall at dawn in May - it does so during the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort - and we know that the front face of the castle faces broadly west and that the Great Hall is perpendicular to the front of the castle, meaning that the outside long face of the Hall, the side away from the Entrance Hall, faces broadly south. The long axis of the Great Hall therefore runs broadly from east-nor'-east to west-sou'-west, with windows at either end and a long bank of windows looking sou'-sou'-east. The closer the sun is to setting, at west-nor'-west, the less it will shine into the Great Hall, until it illuminates only a tiny corner. Since we know that the sun is shining right into the Great Hall at the start of this scene, that confirms that it isn't very late in the afternoon.
We also know that the sun isn't very high overhead, since schoolboy!Snape is able to lie on the grass in a patch of shade cast by bushes: if the sun was high, in order to be in the shade of bushes he would have to get down amongst them.
So, we can say that this scene is probably taking place in mid-afternoon, and the sun is going to be somewhere to the south-west. That means that Snape, in the shadow cast by the bushes, is on the north or east side of them. Harry, in between the bushes and the tree, can see Snape, so Snape is at least broadly in between the bushes and the beech tree, not on the far side of the bushes, so the beech tree is broadly north or east of the bushes.
James and co., being in the shade of the tree, may also be on the north or east of the tree: this isn't as definite as with Snape being in the shade of the bushes, because the tree may have a wide-enough canopy that it has at least some shadow all the way around its trunk, but the fact that they don't seem to see Snape until he stands up tends to suggest that the trunk of the tree is between them. When James faces Snape, Lily and her friends are behind him and at an angle (he has to look over his shoulder to see them), so they are broadly east of the tree.
Following their DADA OWL Snape, the Marauders (so-called in fanon, at least, although all we know in canon is that they called their map the Marauder's Map), a party of girls including Lily, and Harry's projected viewpoint all spill out from the Great Hall into the Entrance Hall and thence out onto the front steps (0). Because of its position they probably start out on the carriage track, but they soon veer away from it and walk down the grassy slope to the lakeside.
The Marauders (white dots) go to the beech tree (1) and sit down in its shade - probably east or north-east of the trunk. Snape (gold dots) follows them down the slope and sits down on the east or north-east side of some bushes (2) which lie west and south-west of the beech tree. He is about fifty feet north of the point at which Time-Turned Harry, in third year, sent his Patronus to drive the Dementors away from his earlier self.
Harry (mint-green dots), meanwhile, walks down the slope along with the girls (red dots) and then splits off from them in order to settle at a point (3) on the open grass, with his back to Snape, broadly facing both the Marauders and the girls, who are now sitting by the edge of the water (4), close to the base of the castle mound.
Harry listens to the Marauders' conversation for a while and then Snape gets up and starts to walk across the grass. If he was walking towards the girls Harry would probably have noted it, so he is heading either to the water or, more probably, back towards the castle (5). It seems to be only at this point that the Marauders notice him, which argues that they've been sitting with the tree-trunk between them and him. Snape turns towards them and James and Sirius attack him, flinging his wand behind him - which at this point probably means roughly west.
James and Sirius advance on Snape. They probably go around the south, water side of the tree-trunk (1) in order to do so, because the girls are behind them but not directly behind: James is able to look at them over his shoulder, without turning round. Snape tries to fight back but is severely out-numbered, especially since he still hasn't managed to retrieve his wand.
Lily (red dots) then approaches from behind James and tries to intervene. While James is talking to Lily with his back to Snape, Snape retrieves his wand and inflicts a minor wound on James, and James hoists him into the air. Snape and Lily quarrel and Lily leaves - whether towards the castle or back to her female friends we aren't told.
Harry looked round and saw Hagrid's enormous bearded face sticking between the seats. Apparently, he had squeezed his way all along the row behind, for the first- and second-years he had just passed had a ruffled, flattened look about them. For some reason, Hagrid was bent double as though anxious not to be seen, though he was still at least four feet taller than everybody else. 'Listen,' he whispered, 'can yeh come with me? Now? While ev'ryone's watchin' the match?' [OotP ch. #30; p. 603]
[Harry] and Hermione edged their way back along their row of seats [cut] 'I 'ppreciate this, you two, I really do,' said Hagrid as they reached the stairs. He kept looking around nervously as they descended towards the lawn below. [cut] 'Yeah, well, a bit o' trouble wouldn' hurt,' said Hagrid, pausing to peer around the edge of the stands to make sure the stretch of lawn between there and his cabin was deserted. 'Give us more time.' 'What is it, Hagrid?' said Hermione [cut] as they hurried across the grass towards the edge of the Forest. 'Yeh – yeh'll see in a mo',' said Hagrid, looking over his shoulder as a great roar rose from the stands behind them. [cut] They had to jog to keep up with him as he strode across the lawn, looking around with every other step. When they reached his cabin, Hermione turned automatically left towards the front door. Hagrid, however, walked straight past it into the shade of the trees on the outermost edge of the Forest, where he picked up a crossbow that was leaning against a tree. [cut] Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then ducked into the cover of the trees behind Hagrid, who was already striding away from them into the green gloom [OotP ch. #30; p. 604]
'Firenze said they're angry because he went to work for Dumbledore,' Harry said, tripping on a protruding root because he was busy watching Hagrid's profile. [cut] 'Yep,' said Hagrid gruffly, forcing his way through several low-hanging branches. [OotP ch. #30; p. 605]
[Hagrid] forged a little ahead, taking one stride for every three of theirs, so that they had great trouble keeping up with him. The path was becoming increasingly overgrown and the trees grew so closely together as they walked further and further into the Forest that it was as dark as dusk. They were soon a long way past the clearing where Hagrid had shown them the Thestrals, but Harry felt no sense of unease until Hagrid stepped unexpectedly off the path and began wending his way in and out of trees towards the dark heart of the Forest. 'Hagrid!' said Harry, fighting his way through thickly knotted brambles, over which Hagrid had stepped with ease, and remembering very vividly what had happened to him on the other occasion he had stepped off the Forest path. [cut] It was a great struggle to keep up with Hagrid, what with branches and thickets of thorn through which Hagrid marched as easily as if they were cobwebs, but which snagged Harry and Hermione's robes, frequently entangling them so severely that they had to stop for minutes at a time to free themselves. Harry's arms and legs were soon covered in small cuts and scratches. They were so deep in the Forest now that sometimes all Harry could see of Hagrid in the gloom was a massive dark shape ahead of him. Any sound seemed threatening in the muffled silence. The breaking of a twig echoed loudly [OotP ch. #30; p. 606]
[cut] 'jus' a little bit further through here ... watch yerselves, now, there's nettles ...' They walked on in silence for another fifteen minutes; Harry had opened his mouth to ask how much further they had to go when Hagrid threw out his right arm to signal that they should stop. 'Really easy' he said softly. 'Very quiet, now ...' They crept forwards and Harry saw that they were facing a large, smooth mound of earth nearly as tall as Hagrid that he thought, with a jolt of dread, was sure to be the lair of some enormous animal. Trees had been ripped up at the roots all around the mound, so that it stood on a bare patch of ground surrounded by heaps of trunks and boughs that formed a kind of fence or barricade, behind which Harry, Hermione and Hagrid now stood. [cut] The great mound of earth [cut] was moving slowly up and down in time with the deep, grunting breathing. It was not a mound at all. It was the curved back of what was clearly – [OotP ch. #30; p. 608]
'Well, I reckon tha's enough fer one day,' said Hagrid. 'We'll -- er -- we'll go back now, shall we?' Harry and Hermione nodded. Hagrid shouldered his crossbow again and, still pinching his nose, led the way back into the trees. Nobody spoke for a while, not even when they heard the distant crash that meant Grawp had pulled over the pine tree at last. [cut] 'Hold it,' said Hagrid abruptly, just as Harry and Hermione were struggling through a patch of thick knotgrass behind him. [cut] A man's naked torso seemed for an instant to be floating towards them through the dappled green half-light; then they saw that his waist joined smoothly into a horse's chestnut body. This centaur had a proud, high-cheekboned face and long black hair. [cut] The trees behind the centaur rustled and four or five more centaurs emerged behind him. [OotP ch. #30; p. 614/615]
'Calm down, you two,' he said, turning to walk on while they panted along behind him. 'Ruddy old mules, though, eh?' [cut] 'Hagrid,' said Hermione breathlessly, skirting the patch of nettles they had passed on their way there, 'if the centaurs don't want humans in the Forest, it doesn't really look as though Harry and I will be able --' [cut] At last they rejoined the path and, after another ten minutes, the trees began to thin; they were able to see patches of clear blue sky again and, in the distance, the definite sounds of cheering and shouting. 'Was that another goal?' asked Hagrid, pausing in the shelter of the trees as the Quidditch stadium came into view. 'Or d'yeh reckon the match is over?' [cut] 'I reckon it's over, yeh know!' said Hagrid, still squinting towards the stadium. 'Look -- there's people comin' out already -- if yeh two hurry yeh'll be able ter blend in with the crowd an' no one'll know yeh weren't there!' [cut} 'We haven't got to do anything yet!' Harry tried to reassure her in a quiet voice, as they joined a stream of jabbering Hufflepuffs heading back towards the castle. [OotP ch. #30; p. 616/617]
They climbed the steps together. At the front doors both instinctively looked back at the Forbidden Forest. Harry was not sure whether or not it was his imagination, but he rather thought he saw a small cloud of birds erupting into the air over the tree tops in the distance, almost as though the tree in which they had been nesting had just been pulled up by the roots. [OotP ch. #30; p. 619]
When Hagrid takes Harry and Hermione to visit Grawp in the Forest, we are not told whether they go left or right. However, as explained in the section on the Forbidden Forest, when the Trio and their friends later go to find the Thestrals they will ride to the Ministry we know that they head to the right, because they end up at a point about due north of the castle (they fly south and pass over the castle). We are told that this is not the route they took to visit Grawp, and we already know the path into the Forest branches right and left, rather than into multiple paths, so Grawp is to the left. Harry and Hermione (white dots) are sitting on the top tier of the grandstand, watching a Quidditch match. Hagrid asks them to come with him and they descend one of the stairs on the side of the stadium nearest to Hagrid's hut - this could be either of the points marked (0). The three of them cross the lawn as if heading to Hagrid's hut (1), but they bypass it and instead walk along the edge of the Forest to the start of the path (2). They bear left at the fork (3) and walk through an area of protruding roots and low branches (4). Walking fast, they are soon a long way past the clearing (5) where Hagrid had earlier showed them the Thestrals, which marks the start of an area of dense, dark trees. They then leave the path (6) and head towards the heart of the Forest. Soon they come to thick brambles (7): although we are not told this, this area must have much lighter tree-cover, otherwise the brambles wouldn't grow. They are frequently held up while they disentangle themselves. Beyond the thorns they come to another area of very dense, dark cover (8), then to nettles (9) which again must mean that the cover is much lighter here. From here they walk on for fifteen minutes, which in the open would be more than half a mile but in dense undergrowth is probably half that. Eventually they come to an artificial clearing (10) among pine trees, where they meet Grawp. Although we are not told this I have made Grawp's clearing close to water, otherwise if anything happened to Hagrid he might die of thirst. Returning, they pass through an area of knotgrass (11) where they encounter hostile centaurs, then skirt the nettles (9), rejoining the path (12) somewhat closer to the castle than the point where they had left it. Hurrying along the path, in ten munutes they come to an area (13) where the trees are widely-spaced enough to hear the Quidditch pitch in the distance. This must be past the clearing where Hagrid had earlier shown them the Thestrals, as that was in dense cover. From the entrance to the path (2) they are able to see the Quidditch pitch. There are mounds which may affect the lines of sight, but even Harry and Hermione, so much shorter than Hagrid, should be able to see two-thirds of tbe pitch, plus the tops of the stands all the way along. Separating from Hagrid, Harry and Hermione then blend in with a party of Hufflepuffs who are making their way from the stadium back up to the castle (14). They meet up with the triumphant Ron and enter the castle by the main doors (15). Harry pauses and looks back at the Forest, and sees what he thinks are birds stirrd up by Grawp, although Grawp must be over a mile away. It is possible he does see it, as there is a wealth of evidence that Harry is long-sighted, not short. Whether or not Harry is really seeing birds flying over Grawp's clearing as he stands in the castle steps, he's at least looking towards an area he thinks might be Grawp's clearing. We are told that to get to Grawp they leave the path and head "towards the dark heart of the Forest" and then walk in that direction for quite a long time. Howevr, unless the Forest is tiny, Harry cannot really be seeing the heart of the Forest from the front steps. We know that Hogsmeade is fairly close to the castle, that there is a mountain to the north-west of the castle and starting about two miles from Hogsmeade, and that a lane runs from Hogsmeade to the base of that mountain (see sections on setting and Hogsmeade). Harry, standing on the top steps of the castle and facing forwards, would be looking across part of the Forest in the general direction of the lane from the village to the mountain, so the Forest cannot extend more than at most two miles in that direction without impinging on the lane. Nor can the bulk of the Forest be to the left, because that's where Hogsmeade is. Assuming the Forest to be more than two miles long along its main axis, the bulk of it must be to the right, and Harry's view in that direction is cut off by the projecting west wing, especially if the West Tower really is a tower - that is, it goes all the way down to the ground. We must assume that although Grawp is towards gthe heart of the Forest, relative to the path, he isn't all that far in - and also that Harry is looking to his right, and sees the birds rise close to thge point where the base of the West Tower cuts off his view sof the trees. Note that he is seeing these birds outlined against the side of the mountain, not the sky, so they must be quite large birds in order to be noticeable. Since there's a flock up a tree we're not talking geese or gulls here - crows, perhaps, or large wood pigeons. Return to contents-list The gang find Thestrals to ride to the Ministry Hermione walked straight out of the oak front doors and down the stone steps into the balmy evening air. The sun was falling towards the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest now, and as Hermione marched purposefully across the grass [cut] 'It's hidden in Hagrid's hut, is it?' said Umbridge eagerly [cut] 'Of course not,' said Hermione scathingly. 'Hagrid might have set it off accidentally.' [cut] 'Then ... where is it?' asked Umbridge, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice as Hermione continued to stride towards the Forest. 'In there, of course,' said Hermione, pointing into the dark trees. [cut] As they reached the cool shade of the first trees, Harry tried to catch Hermione's eye; [cut] She [cut] plunged straight into the trees[cut] 'Is it very far in?' Umbridge asked, as her robe ripped on a bramble. 'Oh yes,' said Hermione, 'yes, it's well hidden.' Harry's misgivings increased. Hermione was not taking the path they had followed to visit Grawp, but the one he followed three years ago to the lair of the monster Aragog. [cut] 'Er – are you sure this is the right way?' he asked her pointedly. 'Oh yes,' she said in a steely voice, crashing through the undergrowth with what he thought was a wholly unnecessary amount of noise. Behind them, Umbridge tripped over a fallen sapling. [cut] Hermione merely strode on, calling loudly over her shoulder, 'It's a bit further in!' [OotP ch. #33; p. 662/663] They walked on for what seemed a long time, until they were once again so deep into the Forest that the dense tree canopy blocked out all light. [cut] 'Not far now!' shouted Hermione, as they emerged into a dim, dank clearing. [OotP ch. #33; p. 664] But they did not hear what else centaurs were, for at that moment there came a crashing noise on the edge of the clearing so loud that all of them, Harry, Hermione and the fifty or so centaurs filling the clearing, looked around. Harry's centaur let him fall to the ground again as his hands flew to his bow and quiver of arrows. Hermione had been dropped, too, and Harry hurried towards her as two thick tree trunks parted ominously and the monstrous form of Grawp the giant appeared in the gap. The centaurs nearest him backed into those behind; the clearing was now a forest of bows and arrows waiting to be fired, all pointing upwards at the enormous greyish face now looming over them from just beneath the thick canopy of branches. [OotP ch. #33; p. 667] Standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were two Thestrals [OotP ch. #33; p. 672] Harry wound his hand tightly into the mane of the nearest Thestral, placed a foot on a stump nearby and scrambled clumsily on to the horse's silken back. [cut] For a moment Harry's Thestral did nothing at all; then, with a sweeping movement that nearly unseated him, the wings on either side extended; the horse crouched slowly, then rocketed upwards [cut] they burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soared out into a blood-red sunset. Harry did not think he had ever moved so fast: the Thestral streaked over the castle [cut] They were over the Hogwarts grounds, they had passed Hogsmeade; Harry could see mountains and gullies below them. [OotP ch. #34; p. 674/675] Harry, Hermione and Umbridge (white dots) set out from the castle (0) and enter the Forest. Since Umbridge initially seems to think they are heading for Hagrid's hut, it seems likely that they enter the Forest via the entrance to the path which starts near the hut (1). They take the right fork (2) and proceed at speed, passing through a brambly area (3) which must be fairly open, then into an area of dense forest (4) until they come to a clearing (5) which is large enough to hold themselves, fifty centaurs and, unexpectedly, Grawp. We know that the path they have followed is not the one they took before to get to Grawp's clearing/prison (6), so Grawp (gold dots) has wandered quite a long way. He may not have come by a very direct route. The clearing is described as dim and dank (I have drawn a stream nearby to explain this). It has at least some thick-trunked trees around it, at least one stump of a size suitable for use as a mounting-block, and the branches mostly start about eighteen feet above the ground (just over the head of Grawp, who has been established as sixteen feet tall). Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna then join Harry and Hermione, after following the same route along the Forest path. Thestrals come to them in that same clearing and they soar on Thestral-back (red dots) up and out from the clearing, fly directly over the castle (7) and grounds (8) and then pass Hogsmeade (9) (which could mean that they flew over the village, or that they flew past one end of it), before settling into a flight-path which takes them through the surrounding mountains on a course slightly east of south (10). When the Thestrals take off they seem to pass over the castle almost immediately, so there isn't much Forest between the clearing and the castle, but we want the route from the castle to the clearing to be as long as is compatible with ending up broadly north of the castle, yet still quite close to it. The longer it takes them to get to the clearing, the less wildly improbable the timing of sunset becomes. How do we know that they take the right fork? As explained in the section on the grounds, we know that the part of the Forbidden Forest nearest to Hogwarts is broadly west or north-west of the castle, because the castle faces it, and the setting sun shines in through the main doors in June. The Forest is broadly in the direction of the June sunset. From this we know that the bulk of the grounds and the main gates lie broadly south of the castle, because when you head from the castle towards the Quidditch pitch (which itself is en route to the main gates), the Forest (west) is on your right. Because we know the edge of the Forest between the gates and the area in front of the castle involves a concave curve (Hagrid, Harry and Maxime walk around it and then pass out of view of the pitch), the gates are probably south-west of the castle rather than due south. Coming out of the main gates you turn left to get to Hogsmeade, so at that point you're facing more or less south-east, but Rowling's own drawing shows that the village is only very slightly to the left, roughly sou' sou' west to south of the castle. However you tweak the layout, the village is at least broadly south of the castle. London is going to be slightly east of south of the castle. When Harry and co. fly up from the clearing, heading for London, they pass over the castle, then the grounds which are mainly south of the castle, then over or past the village which is south of the grounds, so unless they describe an unexplained loop, they must have started somewhere broadly north of the castle. The entrance to the Forest path is in front of and possibly slightly left of the front of the castle (at the edge of the Forest and close to Hagrid's cabin, which is in between the castle and the gates), so if they had taken a left turn into the Forest to start with, either the path would have to curve right round to the right again in order to head towards a point north of the castle, thereafter running more or less parallel to the right-hand path - which would make it very hard to explain what happened when they they went on detention in the Forest with Hagrid in first year - or they would have to start by flying away from London in order to pass over the castle from a starting point somewhere left of the Forest entrance, then turn around and fly back again to pass over or close by the village. Since no such aerial loop is mentioned, and getting from the left- to the right-hand path in first year involved quite a lengthy centaur ride (i.e., they couldn't have got to a point north of the castle by following the left-hand path), we can be 99% sure that when Hermione led Harry and Umbridge towards the large clearing where they encountered fifty centaurs, six Thestrals and Grawp, she took them towards the right. Return to contents-list
Harry and Hermione (white dots) are sitting on the top tier of the grandstand, watching a Quidditch match. Hagrid asks them to come with him and they descend one of the stairs on the side of the stadium nearest to Hagrid's hut - this could be either of the points marked (0). The three of them cross the lawn as if heading to Hagrid's hut (1), but they bypass it and instead walk along the edge of the Forest to the start of the path (2). They bear left at the fork (3) and walk through an area of protruding roots and low branches (4).
Walking fast, they are soon a long way past the clearing (5) where Hagrid had earlier showed them the Thestrals, which marks the start of an area of dense, dark trees.
They then leave the path (6) and head towards the heart of the Forest. Soon they come to thick brambles (7): although we are not told this, this area must have much lighter tree-cover, otherwise the brambles wouldn't grow. They are frequently held up while they disentangle themselves. Beyond the thorns they come to another area of very dense, dark cover (8), then to nettles (9) which again must mean that the cover is much lighter here. From here they walk on for fifteen minutes, which in the open would be more than half a mile but in dense undergrowth is probably half that. Eventually they come to an artificial clearing (10) among pine trees, where they meet Grawp. Although we are not told this I have made Grawp's clearing close to water, otherwise if anything happened to Hagrid he might die of thirst.
Returning, they pass through an area of knotgrass (11) where they encounter hostile centaurs, then skirt the nettles (9), rejoining the path (12) somewhat closer to the castle than the point where they had left it. Hurrying along the path, in ten munutes they come to an area (13) where the trees are widely-spaced enough to hear the Quidditch pitch in the distance. This must be past the clearing where Hagrid had earlier shown them the Thestrals, as that was in dense cover.
From the entrance to the path (2) they are able to see the Quidditch pitch. There are mounds which may affect the lines of sight, but even Harry and Hermione, so much shorter than Hagrid, should be able to see two-thirds of tbe pitch, plus the tops of the stands all the way along. Separating from Hagrid, Harry and Hermione then blend in with a party of Hufflepuffs who are making their way from the stadium back up to the castle (14). They meet up with the triumphant Ron and enter the castle by the main doors (15).
Harry pauses and looks back at the Forest, and sees what he thinks are birds stirrd up by Grawp, although Grawp must be over a mile away. It is possible he does see it, as there is a wealth of evidence that Harry is long-sighted, not short.
Whether or not Harry is really seeing birds flying over Grawp's clearing as he stands in the castle steps, he's at least looking towards an area he thinks might be Grawp's clearing. We are told that to get to Grawp they leave the path and head "towards the dark heart of the Forest" and then walk in that direction for quite a long time. Howevr, unless the Forest is tiny, Harry cannot really be seeing the heart of the Forest from the front steps. We know that Hogsmeade is fairly close to the castle, that there is a mountain to the north-west of the castle and starting about two miles from Hogsmeade, and that a lane runs from Hogsmeade to the base of that mountain (see sections on setting and Hogsmeade). Harry, standing on the top steps of the castle and facing forwards, would be looking across part of the Forest in the general direction of the lane from the village to the mountain, so the Forest cannot extend more than at most two miles in that direction without impinging on the lane. Nor can the bulk of the Forest be to the left, because that's where Hogsmeade is. Assuming the Forest to be more than two miles long along its main axis, the bulk of it must be to the right, and Harry's view in that direction is cut off by the projecting west wing, especially if the West Tower really is a tower - that is, it goes all the way down to the ground. We must assume that although Grawp is towards gthe heart of the Forest, relative to the path, he isn't all that far in - and also that Harry is looking to his right, and sees the birds rise close to thge point where the base of the West Tower cuts off his view sof the trees.
Note that he is seeing these birds outlined against the side of the mountain, not the sky, so they must be quite large birds in order to be noticeable. Since there's a flock up a tree we're not talking geese or gulls here - crows, perhaps, or large wood pigeons.
They walked on for what seemed a long time, until they were once again so deep into the Forest that the dense tree canopy blocked out all light. [cut] 'Not far now!' shouted Hermione, as they emerged into a dim, dank clearing. [OotP ch. #33; p. 664]
But they did not hear what else centaurs were, for at that moment there came a crashing noise on the edge of the clearing so loud that all of them, Harry, Hermione and the fifty or so centaurs filling the clearing, looked around. Harry's centaur let him fall to the ground again as his hands flew to his bow and quiver of arrows. Hermione had been dropped, too, and Harry hurried towards her as two thick tree trunks parted ominously and the monstrous form of Grawp the giant appeared in the gap. The centaurs nearest him backed into those behind; the clearing was now a forest of bows and arrows waiting to be fired, all pointing upwards at the enormous greyish face now looming over them from just beneath the thick canopy of branches. [OotP ch. #33; p. 667]
Standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were two Thestrals [OotP ch. #33; p. 672]
Harry wound his hand tightly into the mane of the nearest Thestral, placed a foot on a stump nearby and scrambled clumsily on to the horse's silken back. [cut] For a moment Harry's Thestral did nothing at all; then, with a sweeping movement that nearly unseated him, the wings on either side extended; the horse crouched slowly, then rocketed upwards [cut] they burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soared out into a blood-red sunset. Harry did not think he had ever moved so fast: the Thestral streaked over the castle [cut] They were over the Hogwarts grounds, they had passed Hogsmeade; Harry could see mountains and gullies below them. [OotP ch. #34; p. 674/675]
Harry, Hermione and Umbridge (white dots) set out from the castle (0) and enter the Forest. Since Umbridge initially seems to think they are heading for Hagrid's hut, it seems likely that they enter the Forest via the entrance to the path which starts near the hut (1). They take the right fork (2) and proceed at speed, passing through a brambly area (3) which must be fairly open, then into an area of dense forest (4) until they come to a clearing (5) which is large enough to hold themselves, fifty centaurs and, unexpectedly, Grawp. We know that the path they have followed is not the one they took before to get to Grawp's clearing/prison (6), so Grawp (gold dots) has wandered quite a long way. He may not have come by a very direct route.
The clearing is described as dim and dank (I have drawn a stream nearby to explain this). It has at least some thick-trunked trees around it, at least one stump of a size suitable for use as a mounting-block, and the branches mostly start about eighteen feet above the ground (just over the head of Grawp, who has been established as sixteen feet tall).
Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna then join Harry and Hermione, after following the same route along the Forest path. Thestrals come to them in that same clearing and they soar on Thestral-back (red dots) up and out from the clearing, fly directly over the castle (7) and grounds (8) and then pass Hogsmeade (9) (which could mean that they flew over the village, or that they flew past one end of it), before settling into a flight-path which takes them through the surrounding mountains on a course slightly east of south (10).
When the Thestrals take off they seem to pass over the castle almost immediately, so there isn't much Forest between the clearing and the castle, but we want the route from the castle to the clearing to be as long as is compatible with ending up broadly north of the castle, yet still quite close to it. The longer it takes them to get to the clearing, the less wildly improbable the timing of sunset becomes.
How do we know that they take the right fork? As explained in the section on the grounds, we know that the part of the Forbidden Forest nearest to Hogwarts is broadly west or north-west of the castle, because the castle faces it, and the setting sun shines in through the main doors in June. The Forest is broadly in the direction of the June sunset. From this we know that the bulk of the grounds and the main gates lie broadly south of the castle, because when you head from the castle towards the Quidditch pitch (which itself is en route to the main gates), the Forest (west) is on your right.
Because we know the edge of the Forest between the gates and the area in front of the castle involves a concave curve (Hagrid, Harry and Maxime walk around it and then pass out of view of the pitch), the gates are probably south-west of the castle rather than due south. Coming out of the main gates you turn left to get to Hogsmeade, so at that point you're facing more or less south-east, but Rowling's own drawing shows that the village is only very slightly to the left, roughly sou' sou' west to south of the castle.
However you tweak the layout, the village is at least broadly south of the castle. London is going to be slightly east of south of the castle. When Harry and co. fly up from the clearing, heading for London, they pass over the castle, then the grounds which are mainly south of the castle, then over or past the village which is south of the grounds, so unless they describe an unexplained loop, they must have started somewhere broadly north of the castle. The entrance to the Forest path is in front of and possibly slightly left of the front of the castle (at the edge of the Forest and close to Hagrid's cabin, which is in between the castle and the gates), so if they had taken a left turn into the Forest to start with, either the path would have to curve right round to the right again in order to head towards a point north of the castle, thereafter running more or less parallel to the right-hand path - which would make it very hard to explain what happened when they they went on detention in the Forest with Hagrid in first year - or they would have to start by flying away from London in order to pass over the castle from a starting point somewhere left of the Forest entrance, then turn around and fly back again to pass over or close by the village.
Since no such aerial loop is mentioned, and getting from the left- to the right-hand path in first year involved quite a lengthy centaur ride (i.e., they couldn't have got to a point north of the castle by following the left-hand path), we can be 99% sure that when Hermione led Harry and Umbridge towards the large clearing where they encountered fifty centaurs, six Thestrals and Grawp, she took them towards the right.
