12 Grimmauld Place

**12 Grimmauld Place** is a canonical London townhouse in the borough of Islington that is unplottable and hidden by the Fidelius charm; it was for a long time the home of the Black family, but was inherited by Harry Potter after the death of Sirius Black in 1996, and between 1995 and 1997 it was used as the headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix.

## Canonical information

Main article: **12 Grimmauld Place** at *The Harry Potter Wiki*
Due to the Fidelius charm, the house is only visible to wizards and witches who already know of its existence. To everyone else – as well as at distance to those in the know – numbers 11 and 13 seem to stand shoulder-to-shoulder; when standing outside, however, thinking of the Fidelius secret makes number 12 appear between them. Worn front steps lead up to a battered door without handle or keyhole, but with a silver knocker in the shape of a twisted serpent; it only opens by magic. The door bell (possibly connected to the knocker?) gives off a loud clanging sound when rung. Inside is a long, carpeted hallway lit by gas lamps on the walls; between the lamps are portraits, and a chandelier shaped similar to a serpent hangs from the ceiling. At the end is a pair of velvet curtains hiding a portrait of Walburga Black, flanked on one side by the grand staircase to the upper floors and on the other by a door covering the stair down to the kitchen; beside the main staircase is an umbrella stand made from a severed troll's leg. To one side (presumably the same as the kitchen) is the dining room, although it's not clear if it is connected to the hallway or the kitchen stair (or both).

The stair to the kitchen is narrow, and made out of uncovered stone. The kitchen itself is "cavernous", i e large both in area and height, and has rough stone walls; it is lit by a great fireplace at the far end, and has pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. The center holds a long wooden table, large enough for a couple dozen people to eat at the same time. (The films show it more oblong, lit by lamps and with windows since the stair down only has three steps). Off to the side is a pantry with room enough to hold two people standing without getting in each other's way, and a cupboard holds the house's boiler and Kreacher's den.

The grand staircase is decorated with the shrunken heads of Black family house-elves, who were beheaded and mounted on plaques once they grew too old to hold a tea-tray; the number of such heads is unknown, but since the tradition was begun by Elladora Black (1850-1931) and presumably discontinued after the death of Walburga in 1985, it was likely followed for less than 120 years and possibly not much more than 55. The stair circles an open shaft, so that it is possible to see parts of the entrance hall from the second floor by looking over the banisters.

On the first floor can be found the drawing room, at least one bedroom and a bathroom. The former has a single window with moss green velvet curtains, looking out on the street, and holds a writing cabinet, a sofa, several armchairs and a single fireplace flanked by two glass-fronted cabinets; a faded tapestry detailing the Black family tree from the Middle Ages onwards covers the wall opposite the door – i e at right angles to the one with the window. (The films show a slightly different layout, with a fireplace along each short side and three windows along one long side, facing the glass-fronted cabinets and the door on the other.)

The second floor holds at least two rooms, of which the rightmost one is a bedroom, probably looking out on the street, where up until the summer of 1997 was kept a portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black.

The third floor seems to hold at least three bedrooms, among them Walburga's, while the fourth holds only the ones used by Sirius and his brother Regulus, respectively.

## Non-canonical information

### List of non-canonical rooms

* Library (*Ignore the Dementor*) (may refer to the drawing room)
* Orion Black's bedroom (*A Godfather's Promise*) (contra-canonically said to be on the fourth floor)

### *A Godfather's Promise*

In this story, when Harry moves in during the summer of 1995, Sirius says that the Black family always resented bitterly having to live at Grimmauld Place – especially since it meant they had to live side-by-side with muggles – but it was what they "were left with" after the "loss of their manor"; this suggests that the dark atmosphere and general disrepair may go further back than the ten years it had stood empty since Walburga's death.

## See also

* Category:Place at 12 Grimmauld Place collects articles describing parts of the house.
* Category:12 Grimmauld Place (major location) and Category:12 Grimmauld Place (minor location) collect stories taking place – primarily and to some extent, respectively – at 12 Grimmauld Place.

## References

1. ↑ *Ignore the Dementor*, Chapter 3
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *A Godfather's Promise*, Chapter22