Magical Hogwarts

Written by Ashton, with special thanks to Laura and Elena

Hogsmeade is the only all-wizarding down in Great Britain, founded by Hengist of Woodcroft after fleeing Muggle persecution many centuries ago. Located to the northwest of Hogwarts, it can be accessed by the cobblestoned road that connects to the school. Since 1714, Third Year students and above have been permitted to visit the village on weekends with a signed permission slip from parents or a legal guardian.

Hogsmeade is a festive little village with thatched cottages, cobblestoned streets, traditional pubs and restaurants, and many specialized shops with varied merchandise and services. It is particularly picturesque when covered in snow in the winters.

The village offers a several things to do, whether one is interested in afternoon shopping or having a pint at one of the town's famous pubs. See below for an overview, and click here for a directory of member-created or -managed shops.

attire Baby Witch Gladrags Wizardwear Hogsmeade Tartan McHavelock's Wizarding Headgear

flora & fauna Dogweed and Deathcap The Magic Neep

food & beverage Acelyn's Ice Creamery Brews and Stews Café The Hog’s Head Honeydukes Sweetshop Madam Puddifoot's Macsween's Sweetshop Rosa Lee Teabag The Three Broomsticks The Unicorn and Thistle

novelty Sugar and Spice Wonderland of Toys Zonko's Joke Shop

services La Bourgade Academy of Dance Gibson & Sons Mortuary and Cemetery Graffiti is Art Two

supplies & equipment Ceridwen's Cauldrons Dervish & Banges Dominic Maestro's music shop J. Pippin's Potions Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop Spintwitches Sterling Tomes

other Batworthy Junk Hogsmeade Station (railway) Muddy Boots Post office The Shrieking Shack

Address: 3 Hogsmeade Village
Hours: The pub opens at eight o'clock in the morning and closes at three o'clock in the morning. The inn is open at all hours, with check-ins beginning at eleven o'clock a.m. and ending when the pub closes at three o'clock a.m.

Merchandise: The Three Broomsticks consists of two parts: a pub and an inn. It was founded when Hogsmeade began, and around the same time as Hogwarts. Hengist of Woodcroft, the founder of Hogsmeade, is said to have lived in the establishment during medieval times and it has been a popular place to frequent by both students and adults alike ever since. Madam Rosmerta is the current owner of The Three Broomsticks, and she acts as the innkeeper as well as the manager of the pub.

The pub is almost always crowded and stuffy. The ventilation is not spectacular and smoking is permitted on the premises, so the air can get a little thick. There is a reason it is so popular, however: it serves a variety of food and drink suitable for all ages. A brief overview of the menu can be found on plaques behind the bar, but regulars always know what the "secret menu" is and order specialty items.

m e n u   &   r e f r e s h m e n t s

beverages: butterbeer, firewhiskey, gilly water, mulled mead, red currant rum, soda & cherry syrup, pumpkin juice, pumpkin fizz, apple & pear cider, iced tea, lemonade, and various hard liquors or cocktails

breakfast: porridge, traditional english breakfast or individual components, flapjacks, fruit bowl, eggs (in all their various forms), biscuits with butter & gravy, pastries, croissants, and bagels

lunch & supper: soup (split pea and ham, clam chowder, leek, or potato) & salad, sandwiches, fish & chips, turkey or chicken leg, shepherd's pie, prime rib, baked or roasted potato, black pudding, corn on the cob, cornish pasties, or steak

dessert: ice cream(including a butterbeer flavor), apple pie, or chocolate trifle

The ceilings in the pub are high, and the seating is minimal. There are not very many windows, but there are levitating candles as well as corner torches to light the room and give it a medieval ambiance. The floors creak and the chairs have uneven legs, but going to The Three Broomsticks is a staple for most of British wizardkind during a visit to Hogsmeade.

The inn upstairs is charmed to extend far beyond what the premises' capacity looks to be. There are enough rooms upstairs to house any wizard who comes to Hogsmeade and needs a place to stay. Standard rooms, which are more plentiful and cheaper in price, do not include bathrooms or showers and only have two twin beds in them. The larger family "suites" are able to accommodate for more, and there is one suite available to the Minister for Magic if he so chooses to stay there that is notably more spacious and well-kept than the rest of the inn. The Three Broomsticks is used most often by nomads, lower-middle-class guests, and passersby. Guests wishing to have a more hotel-like experience away from the noise and commotion of the pub can, according to Madam Rosmerta, seek lodging elsewhere. Reservations can be made by Owl or walk-in only.

Address: 6 Willow Street
Hours: The bar opens at ten o'clock in the morning and closes at three o'clock in the morning. The inn is open at all hours, with check-ins beginning at eleven o'clock a.m. and ending when the pub closes at three o'clock a.m.

Merchandise: A worn-out wooden sign hangs over the door, advertising with a wild boar’s severed head leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. The Hog's Head Inn is known for its cheapness and discretion, at least relative to the Three Broomsticks down the street, and attracts an interesting clientele. The current landlord is Aberforth Dumbledore.

The bar is small and dirty, and the floor is strewn with sawdust. The windows look like they haven't been cleaned in years and as a result are almost opaque with grime. The whole room smells strongly of goats, and in the winter when the fire is going the stench is near-unbearable. The menu is scrawled in fading chalk on the blackboards behind the bar.

m e n u   &   r e f r e s h m e n t s

beverages: ale, stout, mulled mead, firewhiskey, gillywater, cider, dragon milk, pumpkin juice, 'bloody' bloody mary, dandelion and burdock, nettle tea.

breakfast: full cooked breakfast with blood sausage; porridge; pixie puffs with milk.

lunch & supper: cheeseboard with goat, sheep, and dragon milk cheeses; deep-fried bat wings; lamb shank with mashed potato; liver and onions; nogtail bangers and mash; pease pudding; pork pie; 'toad' in the hole; steak and kidney pie; pungous onion soup.

dessert: haha.. ha. no desserts.

A rickety wooden staircase leads up to a sitting room that can be used by guests of the inn. It has a fireplace and a window that looks down onto the street below; above the fireplace is a portrait of Ariana Dumbledore. The portrait is a secret passage leading to the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts Castle. The guest rooms are located above the bar, and are also in a debatable state of cleanliness.

Address: 7 High Street
Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays

Merchandise: Madam Puddifoot's tea and cake shop has a rather feminine, delicate--although, what some might call tacky--atmosphere. The decorations are frilly: pastel colors, bows, lace, glitter, flowers, tiny animals, you name it. The walls are covered in floral wallpaper on the top half and a mint-green paint on the bottom half, and the large windows are dressed with light, lacy curtains and bows. There are two curved window bays at the front of the shop. One displays elaborate artisan cakes, baked upon request, and ornate tea sets sit precariously close in the other.

The tables, meant for two people only, are crowded together and surrounded by tiny wooden chairs, all painted white. They are covered with lacy, baby-pink tablecloths, and in the middle of each table, a vase sits on top of a doily and holds fresh flowers. Usually they are--you guessed it--pink. The dishware is all dainty china with varying patterns. There are bubble machines in every corner which dispense heart-shaped bubbles. There is a bell hanging over the door to greet customers with a charmed jingle whenever anyone enters.

During the month of February, golden cherubs hover over the table and dispense pink confetti everywhere to add to the atmosphere. Several customers have choked before, though, because the confetti tends to fall into the drinks.

t e a   &   p a s t r i e s

tea: black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong tea

tea blends: jasmine tea, earl grey, english breakfast, ceylon tea, passion tea, peach & ginger tea, darjeeling, and chamomile all available with flavored syrups of one's choice.

other drinks: hot cocoa, coffee, espresso-based drinks, cappuccinos, water, fizzy drinks, and juice are also offered.

cakes & pastries: lemon cake, scones, danishes, croissants, chocolate cake, berry pie, cookies, and pound cakes are offered, as well as a daily special.

Address: 9 High Street
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sundays

Merchandise: Dervish & Banges sells wizarding equipment. This equipment can range from more practical items like cauldrons, chests, telescopes, crystal balls, compasses, magnifying glasses, hourglasses, stationery & quills, phials, and even cheaper brooms and wands. Stranger, more niche things made for security or other purposes like Sneakoscopes, charmed locks, and decoy objects are also sold at Dervish & Banges. While none of these pieces of equipment are specific to Dervish & Banges, some of it is resale equipment, and much of it is cheaper than what one would find in a specialty shop, all of it comes with a reliability guarantee and warranty.

This is convenient as Dervish & Banges also repairs equipment. There is a discount repair rate for items purchased from them, but they will also repair items purchased from other places. Most everybody goes to them to repair things, so it can take awhile, and they are closed on Sundays. The shop is on High Street in Hogsmeade and is generally well-populated with customers, which can be a little nervewracking as the store constitutes a rather delicate environment.

There are many trinkets and knick-knacks propped and suspending from every which way, and there is basically no semblance of organization to the store. Seasoned witches and wizards seem to know their way around, but the lack of order can be slightly disorienting for people who have not visited before. A large pewter, circular chandelier with one gigantic orb of light in the middle hangs from the ceiling, and the rest of the establishment is dimly lit. There are two desks in the back -- one designated for repairs and repair requests, and one for purchasing items. There is a second floor with more merchandise and old instructional manuals, most of which are housed in shelves.

Address: 14 Ashworth Lane
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays

Merchandise: Gladrags Wizardwear sells clothing and accessories claiming to be for the elegant, modern witch, according to their slogan: "245 Years Dressing the Elegant Wizard." It was founded in 1750 and is owned by the Gladrags Wizardwear Group, and there are branches in London and Paris as well as the one in Hogsmeade.

Its slogan, however, might be considered misleading to some people: Gladrags sells a variety of items, certainly, but many of them are quirky and unusual. Half of the shop contains consignment items suitable for people wishing to purchase cheaper items, and half of the shop contains brand new items. Robes, hats, scarves, shoes, trousers, shirts, and ties are all included in their merchandise, but perhaps the most famous section of their store houses a large inventory of socks. Some of them are plain, but the majority are unique with interesting patterns, animals, flashing stars, Quidditch team crests, etc. They also scream and shriek when left dirty for too long.

The clothing store is laid out much like a regular shop with the till and marketing advertisements toward the back, and the racks in the middle. Two window bays display some of the most cutting edge merchandise that Gladrags has to offer along with signs denoting their current promotions, scripted in black, sparkly font. The colors of the decor inside are warm: reds, browns, and tans, with chic distressed wooden floor panels and a slightly vaulted ceiling. There are chandeliers that hang down from various points on the ceiling and individual lightbulbs hover around above the customers' heads for additional light. Pop music with energetic beats tends to come out of the speakers at the back of the store and in the four stalled changing rooms on the right hand side of the store -- behind the selection of brand new clothes.

Address: The Shrieking Shack has no address. It is just outside of the village and fenced in.
Hours: Nobody enters the Shrieking Shack, but it also has no hours of business.

Merchandise: The Shrieking Shack has no merchandise or purpose; rather, it is an abandoned house that nobody goes into -- according to Nearly Headless Nick, not even the ghosts at Hogwarts will enter it. Based on rumors of screams coming from inside the house, it is the most haunted building in Britain. Albus Dumbledore encouraged this rumor to keep people away from it, and in doing so allowed Remus Lupin to use it as a safe haven on full moons.

The Shrieking Shack can be observed from the outside of the fence it is behind and generally, nobody prefers to go any closer than that, but there is also a secret access to the Shrieking Shack from the Hogwarts grounds that is at the base of the Whomping Willow. Inside, it is musty-smelling, furniture is dusty, dirty and moth-eaten, and the floor is similar: the wood is rotting and there is a layer of grime and dirt on it.

Address: 4 Hogsmeade Village
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sundays

Merchandise: The Hogsmeade Tartan is quite different from, say, Gladrags Wizardwear in that it is not so much focused on modernity and much more focused on targeting a specific demographic of people. It also serves as a cultural staple, as tartan shops are common and historically respected in Scotland. Even though Hengist of Woodcroft himself hailed from England and not Scotland, he was still appreciative of Scottish culture and the people from Scotland who came to live in the village he founded.

The building has a rustic charm, with hardly any paint or cosmetic refinishes. The wood is raw and dark everywhere, evoking a lot of rural ambiance within the establishment that people tend to attribute to authenticity. Inside, it is lit with both floating and stationary candlesticks as well as one large chandelier. There's a sign hanging perpendicular to the entrance just above the door outside to denote the name of the shop.

Merchandise includes tartan swatches, clan tartan, waistcoats, jackets, skirts, kilts, trousers, sweaters, blankets, throws, rugs, ribbon, crafting supplies and home decor, seasonal gifts, and even wedding merchandise. Wedding merchandise includes garters, brooches & corsages, tableware, ring cushions & bows, kilt outfits, cufflinks and belts, stoles, etc. And things can also be custom made for extended sizing or special occasions/orders.

Address: 8 Linden Lane
Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sundays.

Merchandise: MacSween's obvious main competitor in Hogsmeade is Honeydukes, which generates a considerable amount more of traffic, but MacSween's Sweetshop has its own unique qualities to offer. First of all, it pays homage to Scotland's culture by supplying mainly Scottish sweets. Some of the things on the menu are brand new things for students moving from England and Ireland to try, and many of them take a great liking to the quality that MacSween's consistently produces.

s w e e t s   &   c a n d y

sweets: barley sugar, assorted toffees including treacle & rich butter, liquorice, glucose fruits, a variety of different creams including: strawberry, butterscotch, champagne, tropical, buckfast, etc., pralines, sherbet straws, after dinner mints, mixed balls, rhubarb rock, flavored bonbons, Scottish tablet, Edinburgh rock, and more.

chocolate: white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate crisps, various types of fudge including their famous vanilla caramel fudge, macaroons, and many truffles with different fillings including strawberry, caramel, nougat, etc.

drinks: bottled juice & fizzy drinks, bottled tea.

MacSween's certainly produces more hard candy that is meant to last a long time as opposed to chocolates and novelty candies. Each of the sweets available comes in many different flavors, even alcohol-flavored ones that are most popular with older teenagers. The inside and outside of the shop are bright and airy, covered in typical pastel sweet-shop colors. The bins of sweets line the wall, and there are several circular fixtures in the middle of the room that hold the rest of the stock and allow for less crowded browsing. There are no stairs in MacSween's, and it feels very friendly and cozy.

Address: 1 Hogsmeade Village
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, closed Monday through Thursday(except on special occasions). Closed December & January.

Merchandise: Muddy Boots is, though inconspicuous as a whole, one of the first things one sees as they descend from the Hogwarts grounds and into the village of Hogsmeade. Muddy Boots is a gated area within a farm mainly focused on sheep. The farm sits atop the mountain and valley below it, and Muddy Boots is its own circular, fenced-in petting zoo with sheep, goats, a donkey, and an assortment of other small farm animals for young children and teenagers to visit. On occasion, an adult will even venture in for the novelty experience.

It is particularly popular during events in the spring and summer, and many people have pictures from Muddy Boots pinned on their walls in their homes and dormitories. The petting zoo got its name from a combination of honoring the rainy Scottish climate and the rubber boots that many patrons wear onto the premises. Next to the enclosure, there is a gift shop with a photo booth, wool socks, wool-lined jackets, dairy products, and more.

Address: 16 High Street
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Merchandise: Spintwitches Sporting Needs is the most popular Quidditch and sporting gear supply store in the village of Hogsmeade. Originally starting as a family-owned business, the building is small, but packs a punch. Spintwitches does not primarily sell brooms and only keeps the most popular, in-demand models in stock as Walker Brooms tends to generate most of their revenue from comprehensive broom sales.

Rather than a large catalogue of brooms, Spintwitches provides balls including Bludgers in case, Quaffles, and golden Snitches. They also provide uniforms and robes, shin guards, mouth guards, gloves, spandex and running gear, bats, goggles, and everything else an aspiring sportsman or woman might need. They even sell sporting cameras and film for beginning sports photographers. Most of their merchandise is mid-grade and fairly affordable as it is a fairly popular location for students to pick up gear (hence the extended hours on weekends), but they do have a small selection of high-quality sporting goods for the more experienced flier or player.

The layout of the shop is easy to navigate, with clearly marked shelves and sections. Most of the gear can be picked up in a self-serve type of manner, but some of the more expensive goods such as the snitches and brooms are kept in locked, enchanted glass cases. The cabinets pay tribute to each of the Hogwarts Houses and are colored in weathered blue, yellow, green, and crimson. The lighting is not dim, but not bright, allowing customers to examine the goods they are purchasing thoroughly. The employees tend to be younger and up on current events.