Skip to main content

harry potter - Is Forbidden Forest east or west of Hogwarts?


In Prisoner of Azkaban (Ch 16), Rowling describes Forbidden Forest as seemingly being to the west of the castle:



Walking very close together so that nobody would see them, they crossed the hall on tiptoe beneath the cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds.


The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gilding the top branches of the trees.




So.. [setting sun]<-[forbidden forest]<-[characters going from castle].


The sun sets in the West; so forbidden forest is westward of the Castle.




However, JKR apparently produced a drawing showing that Forbidden Forest was to the east of the castle (according to DVD supplementary materials, the drawing was done by JKR at a hotel dining table for Stewart Craig, production designer for Philosopher's Stone film, when he started his work on the movie).


Is there any indication of which one is canonically correct and how we are supposed to reconcile the difference?


enter image description here



Answer



This is a repeat of an answer I wrote in the comments. I'm just placing it here as an official answer.


The Forbidden Forest should canonically be considered west of Hogwarts because, as DVK quotes in the question, the sun sets behind the Forbidden Forest. As per common knowledge, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The books are the most reliable sources of canon we have. As The Giant of Lannister puts it in the comments, the map was hand-drawn by J.K. Rowling in "just a few minutes" probably without direct reference to her books. It is very much possible that Rowling may have made a continuity error in drawing this map. The biggest indicator of this is evidenced in her positioning of the lake 'behind' the castle i.e. on the opposite side of the double front door entrance.


In Chapter 15, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the Hogwarts students await the arrival of the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang on the front lawn:




When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks and rushed back downstairs into the Entrance Hall. The Heads of houses were ordering their students into lines


... "Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall, "first-years in front ... no pushing ..."


They filed down the front steps and lined up in front of the castle (pg 212, Bloomsbury Edt.)



So, from this position, virtually on the cusp of the bottom-most front step, it would not be possible for the students to see the Durmstrang ship arrive in the middle of the lake - if the lake were on the other side of the castle.



"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"


From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water ... Some disturbance was taking place deep in the centre ... and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared ... Slowly, magnificently, a ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight.




This quote explicitly places the lake within a field of vision from the front steps.




Now, although I have argued that the map is incorrect, I did notice something new whilst re-reading the first quote that I think must be mentioned:



(Pg 212 again) They filed down the front steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest ... "Nearly six," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring at the drive which led to the front gates.



This last quote presents a new problem, I think. If it is dusk, around 6pm, then the moon should be rising over the east, right? According to this scene, east happens to be over the Forbidden Forest - which ties in with the map Rowling has drawn - but this contradicts the sunset in Prisoner of Azkaban (see DVK's quote in the question), which also happens over the Forest, suggesting the Forest's position as to the west of Hogwarts.


I think Rowling may have made some continuity mistakes with the Hogwarts grounds that we can't really make sense out of. It's no big deal, really, it's similar to the mix-up with every September 1st (start of the school year) happening to land on a Monday, the start of the school week; but for the purposes of this discussion, it makes answering the question difficult.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize Missy right away?

So after it was established that Missy is actually both the Master, and the "woman in the shop" who gave Clara the TARDIS number... ...why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize her right away? I remember the Tenth Doctor in The Sound of Drums stating that Timelords had a way of recognizing other Timelords no matter if they had regenerated. And Clara should have recognized her as well... I'm hoping for a better explanation than "Moffat screwed up", and that I actually missed something after two watchthroughs of the episode. Answer There seems to be a lot of in-canon uncertainty as to the extent to which Time Lords can recognise one another which far pre-dates Moffat's tenure. From the Time Lords page on Wikipedia : Whether or not Time Lords can recognise each other across regenerations is not made entirely clear: In The War Games, the War Chief recognises the Second Doctor despite his regeneration and it is implied that the Doctor knows him when they fir

the lord of the rings - Why is Gimli allowed to travel to Valinor?

Gimli was allowed to go to Valinor despite not being a ring bearer. Is this explained in detail or just with the one line "for his love for Galadriel"? Answer There's not much detail about this aside from what's said in Appendix A to Return of the King: We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it. But it is said that Gimli went also out of desire to see again the beauty of Galadriel; and it may be that she, being mighty among the Eldar, obtained this grace for him. More cannot be said of this matter. And Appendix B: Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf . And when that sh

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed.