Historical Information

The Astronomy Tower is the tallest in Hogwarts Castle, where students complete their studies of planets and stars through their telescopes. These studies are usually done later in the day, sometimes even as late as midnight, so that students can experience the best possible view of the night sky. Aside from classes, the tower is generally off-limits to the student body. The lower part of the tower contains hallways and passages leading to other parts of the castle. On the fourth floor, a hallway leads to the Magical Theory classroom as well as a bathroom.

In the 1990s, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger sneaked to the top of the Astronomy Tower using Harry’s Invisibility Cloak to set free Rubeus Hagrid’s Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, Norbert, who would make his way to Romania and the care of Charlie Weasley. After setting the dragon free, they were then caught by Argus Filch on the way back down because they forgot the cloak. Professor Minerva McGonagall also caught Neville Longbottom, and 150 house points were deducted from Gryffindor that year.

After the Death Eaters had successfully invaded Hogwarts in June of 1997, the Battle of the Astronomy Tower took place, ending in the deaths of both Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Credits/References

Written by Simone Winter
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.