Godric's Hollow

**Godric's Hollow** is a village in the West County of England. It appears throughout the *Harry Potter book series*.

It is one of many towns and villages where knots of magical families have formed their own community within a tolerant muggle one and is home to many important wizarding figures such as Albus Dumbledore, Bathilda Bagshot and Godric Gryffindor. The famous murders of James and Lily Potter at the hands of Lord Voldemort that brought an end to the First Wizarding War occurred in the village.

## Notable Features

### Church and Graveyard

There are stories about the church being haunted for centuries due to the many witches and wizards who are buried in the graveyard, sometimes many generations of the same family. These witches and wizards include Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore, Ignotus Peverell, Lily and James Potter and and an unknown member of the Abbott family.

### Potter family's house

Lily and James resided here before their deaths. When the Killing Curse used on their son, Harry by Voldemort rebounded, the house was partially destroyed. Some time after, the house was made invisible to Muggles and was left in a ruined state "as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family". If a witch or wizard touches the gate, a sign will appear. Many visitors have graffitied on the sign, either by signing their names or initials or writing encouraging messages to Harry Potter.

### Village Square

The church is on one side of the square, and in the center there is a war memorial. If a witch or wizard approaches it, it will transform into a statue of James and Lily Potter holding their baby, Harry.

## History

### Early history

In the 10th century, Godric's Hollow was a moor in the West County of England when Godric Gryffindor was born. The moor was named for him, in celebration of the many achievements in made in life and it later developed into a village. Ignotus Peverell was buried in the graveyard in around the 11th century.

In the middle of the 14th century, the Golden Snitch was invented in Godric's Hollow by Bowman Wright.

### Dumbledore family

In around 1891, Kendra Dumbledore moved with her children, Albus, Aberforth and Ariana Dumbledore to Godric's Hollow when Percival Dumbledore was sent to Azkaban. Bathilda Bagshot was their neighbour and family friend, and the only one Kendra managed to befriend.

Many of the neighbours had no idea that Kendra had a daughter, because Ariana was kept hidden in the house. Ariana had no control of her magic and fearing her being sent to St. Mungo's Hospital, she kept her hidden away. Then at the beginning of summer 1899, Kendra was killed when Ariana lost control and left Albus the primary guardian of both Aberforth and Ariana.

Albus was a talented wizard and felt trapped in Godric's Hollow. The same summer, Bathilda's great-nephew Gellert Grindelwald stayed with her. He was searching for the Deathly Hallows and knew that Godric's Hollow had a connection to one of the Peverell brothers who owned one. He struck a friendship with Albus and they made plans to one day dominate the wizarding world, and made the foundation of Grindelwald's war.

### 3-way duel

Then a couple of months later in 1899, a 3-way duel broke out when Aberforth found out about Albus and Grindelwald's plans. Aberforth worried that Albus was abandoning Ariana and found their plans wrong. He upset Grindelwald and they argued which led to Grindelwald hurting Aberforth with the Cruciatus Curse, and Albus defended Aberforth. Ariana wanted to save Aberforth and was struck by a stray curse, killing her immediately. Grindelwald abandoned Godric's Hollow and Albus. Both Kendra and Ariana were buried in the Godric's Hollow graveyard, and Ariana's was attended by neighbours. Aberforth punched Albus in the nose, blaming him for Ariana's death, and both Albus and Aberforth left Godric's Hollow in time.

### Potter family

In 1980, James and Lily Potter (who went into hiding when they became part of the Order of the Phoenix), wanted to increase their security when Voldemort found out that their only child, Harry Potter might one day defeat him. James and Lily went into hiding in their cottage in Godric's Hollow, with Dumbledore helping them arrange the Fidelius Charm to be put on their cottage. However, their Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew betrayed them in 1981. James and Lily were killed but when Lily died, her death shielded Harry because of her sacrifice, which made the Killing Curse bounce off Harry and strike Voldemort instead.

Harry became the only person to survive the Killing Curse in history. Voldemort was saved from dying by Horcruxes, but was stripped of both powers and a body, and left in a state of limbo. This resulted in the end of the Second Wizarding War and many members of the wizarding community believed that Voldemort was dead; however, others believed Voldemort was simply weakened and in hiding. James and Lily were buried in the graveyard, and a statue was made for them and placed in the village.

### Deathly Hallows

In December 1997, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger went to Godric's Hollow to find Bathilda Bagshot, hoping she would have the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry had a feeling he would have to go eventually and once they had arrived, he went to the cottage that once belonged to the Potter family. The cottage was now a ruin and preserved that way. They also went to the graveyard to find James and Lily's graves, and saw the statue for the family.

Bathilda Bagshot then found them and they followed her to a house. However, they found out that Bathilda was dead and there were actually following her dead body possessed by Nagini. Nagini telepathically informed Voldemort she had found Harry, but Hermione had worked out what was happening and fought the snake. Both Harry and Hermione apparated away by the time Voldemort arrived.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 16
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 8
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 1
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 17
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 35
6. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 2
7. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 28
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 19
9. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 17