Harry Potter: The Untold Truth Of Hogsmeade

It may not be anywhere near as famous as its neighbor, but the village of Hogsmeade has a charm and glamour all its own. Nestled somewhere in an unspecified mountain range in Scotland, this little hamlet is easily accessible from the "unplottable" campus of the internationally renowned Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogsmeade is a beautiful collection of warm cabins with snow-covered rooftops silhouetted against the mountains that surround it on every side and of shops that keep its streets filled and busy with traffic.

Though not as mysterious as its erstwhile neighbor, Hogsmeade has its own collection of secrets. Originally founded just after Hogwarts sometime in the 10th or 11th century, the village has had around one thousand years to build up a substantial amount of bones in its closet, and they must be brought to light. It is time to learn the untold truth of Hogsmeade Village.

The village was founded during the middle ages by a man named "Hengist of Woodcroft." As a character, Hengist is unique in that, though he was originally mentioned in the "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" novel, most of what fans know of him comes from "Famous Wizard Cards" included as collectibles throughout the franchise's many video games and sold at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks. 

Born in the late 890s, Hengist would have been one of Hogwarts' earliest students as it wouldn't be established until the early 900s CE. The man was sorted into Hufflepuff, and if the dated beginning of both Hogwarts and his own existence is accurate, then the English wizard may very well have been one of Helga Hufflepuff's — the house's original founder — first pupils.

It's likely he founded the village at some point after he graduated from the school, but that's not known for sure. Another common legend is that The Three Broomsticks Inn, one of the village's central buildings and foundational institutions, was the first house that Hengist built and lived out of until he died sometime later on in the Medieval period. What is known for sure, however, is that the village's founder is one of the many collectible "Chocolate Frog Cards."

Between its status as an all-wizarding village and its proximity to Hogwarts, Hogsmeade might have the best, most impressive collection of wizarding shops outside of Diagon Ally. Between real-world recreations at theme parks and visits to the town in both "Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Order of the Phoenix," fans have seen a wide and varied assortment of shops available on the town's "High Street." 

The Hog's Head and Three Broomstick Inns, for example, can provide any visitor with a place to sleep, food to eat, and all the butterbeer they can drink. Zonko's Joke Shop helped inspire the Weasley Twin's Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley, and the candy shop named Honeydukes helped Hogwarts' younger students satisfy their sweet tooth while the older kids went on awkward dates at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

The market also had anything a witch might need to replenish her wizarding supplies. Between Ceridwen's Cauldrons, Dominic Maestro's Music Shop, Gladrags Wizardwear, J. Pippin's Potions, Potage's Cauldron Shop, Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, Spintwitches Sporting Needs, a branch of Olivander's Wands, and Tomes and Scrolls, a student was likely to find whatever they needed there. If none of those stores carried something, then customers could check out Dervish and Banges for repairs, Dogweed and Deathcap for exotic plants, the Magic Neep for groceries, and a hairdressing salon.

For all its features and draws, Hogsmeade is perhaps still best known for its widely acclaimed "butterbeer." Served in both cold bottles and in hot, foamy tankards, butterbeer tasted like butterscotch that wasn't quite so overwhelmingly sweet, and its entire ingredients list was basically just butterscotch, water, and sugar.

The drink is a staple tourist item both for students visiting Hogwarts within the series and for fans visiting the Wizarding World's theme parks and attractions, but it does pose one seemingly eternal question: does it actually contain alcohol? It was at least capable of getting the tiny house elves "drunk" in "Goblet of Fire," but it's unclear if that was due to its high alcohol content or because their body chemistry is so different from humans.

Similarly, since the majority of the school's students are under the UK's legal drinking age of 18 and yet they still gobble it all up, it would seem like butterbeer would need to be nonalcoholic to be sold to young children.

In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the exact locations, and often even or especially the entrances to magical locations are rendered "unplottable" through the use of various spells. This makes it literally impossible to place the location on a map and, in some cases, even incapable of being found in person without some piece of hidden knowledge. Hogwarts is one of several unplottable locations, and given Hogsmeade's historic troubles with persecution from muggles, it seems reasonable to assume its location has been hidden in a similar manner. 

Unfortunately for one of the largest corporations on earth, Google Maps didn't get the memo, and its official location for the famous Hogsmeade Village directs to the middle of nowhere, to a location that is so remote that only expert climbers can actually reach it safely. While it's nice that this will keep tourists from damaging or littering in the area, it does appear that the spells protecting the location are still working quite well. 

Though the village was founded by a Hogwarts student around the year 900, students weren't formally allowed to visit Hogsmeade on school-sanctioned "field trips" like they do in "Prisoner of Azkaban" until the 1714 Edict was passed several hundred years later, finally permitting students to visit on weekends starting in their third year at the institution. Since then, students have been a common and regular site in the village, and its many shops benefit greatly from their frequent patronage. 

Though many students visit Diagon Alley for their educational supplies before beginning the school year, it's not practical to return during the term if something comes up. Instead, it's much easier to shop in Hogsmeade, which has a shop for every magical material that a student might need during the year. 

Similarly, students love to take advantage of Hogsmeade trips to stock up on sweets, butterbeer, party supplies, and various materials for pranks. "Order of the Phoenix" establishes that it's also one of the most popular destinations for dates, as it's one of the only places that couples can go that isn't on school grounds. 

The ties between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts run deep. So deep, in fact, that "Prisoner of Azkaban" established that there are no less than eight secret passageways that connect the two Hogs together. Four of the eight paths were seldom used at all, as Filch, the Hogwarts groundskeeper, knew all about them and guarded them zealously. 

One passageway started at a brick wall behind Hogwarts Castle and traveled through to the east side of the village. Another began on the school's third floor at a statue; once the statue was tapped and given the password, it would slide open to reveal a path that lead to a trap door inside the cellar of the Honeydukes candy shop. There were also two disabled paths that had been destroyed through one means or another. One tunnel with an entrance behind a mirror had caved in, and the route through the Room of Requirement that may have been damaged by the battle in its walls in "The Deathly Hallows." 

The most interesting route, however, is the secret tunnel built by Dumbledore for Remus Lupin that ran from underneath the Whomping Willow all the way to Hogsmeade's "Shrieking Shack." The passage was built to give Lupin a place to go every full moon when he transformed into a werewolf. Lupin was safe there, and the shack's legendary status as the most haunted house in the U.K. would keep everybody else away and safe from him.