Hogwarts Library

### Location

Library corridor, first-floor, Training Grounds tower, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland

### Owner(s)

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

### Permanent residents

* Termeritus Shanks's portrait (1995-1996)
* Valeria Myriadd's portrait (1992-1993)

### Affiliation

* Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
* Irma Pince

> "*And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.*"
> ― Description[source]
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The **Hogwarts Library** was located off of a corridor on the first-floor of Hogwarts Castle and contained tens of thousands of books on thousands of shelves. Overseen by Madam Irma Pince, the library was where students could go to peruse or borrow books to supplement their studies (or for personal enjoyment). The library closed at 8:00 pm.

## Overview

> "*The only other sound was the slight squeaking of one of Madam Pince’s shoes as the librarian prowled the aisles menacingly, breathing down the necks of those touching her precious books.*"
> ― Madam Pince's domineering presence in the library[source]
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Quite strict where the rules in the library was concerned, Madam Pince was the kind of librarian who saw herself as the guardian and protector of the books, at odds with the students who try to use them, whom she did not allow to eat, talk, laugh, whisper, sneeze or scurry in the library. Overall, her demeanour did not suggest that she would be very helpful, as making research was very difficult in the Hogwarts library. As a result, completing homework assignments that required additional information became unnecessarily tedious. As with a helpful librarian, students would not have to spend hours simply looking for the books they needed, but using the information that could have been found quickly in the their homework, leaving less time for studying.

## History

### Early known history

Before Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts, the Restricted Section had books about Horcruxes in it including Secrets of the Darkest Art. However by Tom Riddle's time at Hogwarts in the 1940s, Horcruxes were a banned subject and Albus Dumbledore was very strict about it. It's unknown when, but Dumbledore eventually removed every book containing information on Horcruxes in the library.

### 1980s

During the 1987–1988 school year, it held the election for the head of the decorating committee for the Celestial Ball.

### 1990s

> "*The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.*"
> ― First year Harry Potter wanders into the Restricted Section[source]
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In 1991 in his first year, Harry Potter used his newly-acquired Invisibility cloak to sneak into the Restricted Section during the Christmas holidays. He went at night in order to look for information on Nicolas Flamel. Unfortunately, he picked up a large black book near the bottom of the shelf that began screaming when he opened it. Worried that he would attract attention, Harry closed it and ran off. Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also read through various library books in the hope of finding information about Nicolas Flamel; Hermione in fact managed to find a book about Flamel whilst doing some "light reading". That school year, Draco Malfoy once used the Leg-Locker Curse on Neville Longbottom outside the library to bully him. Hagrid also visited the library this year in search for books regarding dragons in the Dragon Section of the library. He needed information on how to care for his newly acquired Dragon egg. Also in this year, Professor Quirrell sent Harry to library to remove the curse he was under. On his way to the library he met with Albus Dumbledore, who suggested that he look in the Reference Section as a means of help.

During the 1992–1993 school year, Harry Potter eavesdropped on a group of Hufflepuffs, while hidden in the Invisibility Section. While researching on information about the basilisk who was attacking Muggle-borns and Mrs.Norris, Hermione Granger, together with Penelope Clearwater, was petrified by the basilisk, by looking at it in Penelope's mirror. They were found near the library and was later carried up to the Hospital Wing.

During the 1993–1994 school year, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger studied some of the material in the Legal Section of the Library. They hoped would help Hagrid at Buckbeak's hearing. In 1993, it had an infestation of Imps. A Draconifors-dragon statue can also be found here.

During the 1994–1995 school year, Harry Potter received Minerva McGonagall's permission to enter the Restricted Section so he could research a way about being able to breathe underwater for an hour to compete in the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, but had also made use of the regular section, and came across the book *Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed* when researching spells for the first task. He was looking for books comtaining simple spells, as Sirius suggested that the way to deal with a dragon is relatively. Harry also checked out books for the third task in order to prepare, some of the spells he learned were the Impediment Jinx and the Reductor Curse.

During the 1995–1996 school year, Harry and Ron researched the properties moonstone in for Potions homework in the library. Alicia Spinnet was also jinxed by Miles Bletchley whilst she was studying, in an attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Quidditch team's chances for a Quidditch match versus the Slytherin Quidditch team. Later that year, Harry saw Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Theodore Nott looking at him angrily in the library, as his recent interview published in the The Quibbler had outed their fathers as Death Eaters. At Easter, Harry ate chocolate with Ginny Weasley in the library whilst reading books, however Madam Pince caught them and jinxed their belongings to chase them out of the library.

During the 1996–1997 school year, Harry studied Everlasting Elixirs in N.E.W.T. Potions class, taking notes on them in the Hogwarts Library from his copy of *Advanced Potion-Making*, which the Half-Blood Prince had annotated. He had Hermione were forced out of the library after Madam Pince saw his graffitied book and looked as though she was going to have a fit.
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## Security

> "*A warning: If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it it within my power to make them.*"
> ― Warning on the inside of a library book[source]
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The library books had various spells on them to prevent students from defacing or stealing them, all of which were standard practise. However, Madam Pince has been known to place spells of her own on them as additional protection; one such example would make the book physically assault the reader should they dare to scribble on it. Hermione Granger tore a page out of a library book about magical creatures without being cursed, jinxed, or hexed by the book. How she did this is unknown. Chocolate and (presumably) other food is forbidden in the library. Harry Potter also showed signs of breaking the security of the library in his first year, when he entered the Restricted Section under his Invisibility cloak.

### Taking out books

Students and teachers could take out books from the library, with the librarian’s permission. Books from the Restricted Section required a signed note from a teacher to be checked out. Professor Severus Snape told Harry Potter that it was against the rules to carry a library book out of the castle. However, he may have just made that rule up to get Harry into trouble. Students seemed to be able to place books on hold — during the 1992–1993 school year the book *Hogwarts, A History* had a two-week waiting list.

Professor Dumbledore removed the books pertaining to the subject of Horcruxes, due to the fact that they involve such Dark Magic. He kept them in his office until his death, whence Hermione Granger summoned them before departing in her sixth year.

#### Overdue

There were overdue records on the library due date sheet. Ron Weasley had *Quidditch Through the Ages* overdue.

## Sections

Included in its many sections are:

* An *Invisibility Section*
* A *Dragon Section*
* A *Reference Section*
* A *Legal Section*
* A *Poetry Section*
* A *Restricted Section*