What Jo says about...
Hogwarts, including the Houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin & Huffelpuff

Please note: unless you see quotemarks, these are summaries, and not JKR's words themselves. Please see the linked article for the actual text.

• JKR has always imagined Hogwarts being in Scotland [Read the exact quote from The Herald, 1997]
• The School Motto is Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus – Never tickle a sleeping dragon. [Read the exact quote from The Telegraph, 1998]
• JKR: "There is more to the Sorting Hat than what you have read about in the first three books." [Read the exact quote from The Boston Globe, 1999]
• Hogwarts had to be a boarding school because "half the important stuff happens at night!" [Read the exact quote from The Guardian Unlimited, 1999]
• There were lilies in Kew gardens called ‘Hogwarts.’ [Read the exact quote from Family Education, 1999]
• Hogwarts is in Scotland. [Read the exact quote from Barnes & Noble chat #2, 1999]
• One of Harry’s classmates ends up teaching at Hogwarts, and it is not Ron. [Read the exact quote from WBUR interview, 1999]
• JKR speaks of researching specific ghosts, implying that one or more of the Hogwarts ghosts are based on ghosts from folklore. [Read the exact quote from the Diane Rehm Show interview, 1999]
• JK envisioned Hogwarts as a "place of great order, but immense danger, with children who had skills with which they could overwhelm their teachers." Conversations with JK Rowling, p.38
• Initially there were only seven subjects to be studied at Hogwarts. Conversations with JK Rowling, p.39
• American wizards have their own wizarding school; they cannot attend Hogwarts because it only serves Britain and Ireland. [Read the exact quote from the South West News Service interview, 2000]
• Hogwarts teachers do not stay at Hogwarts over the holidays. Only Filch stays. [Read the exact quote from the South West News Service interview, 2000]
• Muggles can’t see Hogwarts; they "see a ruin with a sign saying it's unsafe ... they mustn't enter." [Read the exact quote from the South West News Service interview, 2000]
• JKR doesn't have a map of Hogwarts because "stuff just moves too much." But she does have a list of what floor everything is on. [Read the exact quote from the AOL chat, 2000]
• The MoM does not find out which children are magic. Instead, there is a magic quill in Hogwarts that records the birth of a magical child, and McGonagall checks it every year, then sends owls to those magical children who are turning 11. [Read the exact quote from the Scholastic chat #1, 2000]
• Witches and wizards don’t have to go muggle school before Hogwarts. [Read the exact quote from the Scholastic chat #2, 2000]
• There are about a thousand students at Hogwarts [Read the exact quote from the Scholastic chat #2, 2000]
• Professor Flitwick is the Head of Ravenclaw House [Read the exact quote from the Yahooligans! chat, 2001]
• Quidditch Through the Ages is a book from the Hogwarts library. [Read the exact quote from the Raincoast Books interview, 2001]
• Fluffy is roaming the Forbidden Forest, since "anything that is dangerous is released to the forest." [Read the exact quote from the BBC Blue Peter interview, 2001]
• A few of the Hogwarts professors have spouses, but the information is restricted – we’ll find out why! [Read the exact quote from the BBC Red Nose Day chat, 2001]
• Jo has a chart with every Hogwarts student that lists their house, magical ability, parentage and allegiances. She will need parentage info later "for the death eaters" [Read the exact quote from "Harry Potter and Me," 2001]
• JKR doesn't think Harry will become Headmaster of Hogwarts because an academic career just isn't right for him ("He's seen too much action"). [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• If a muggle saw Hogwarts, they would just see an old ruin with a sign "keep out, dangerous building." [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• Special messengers are sent to muggle parents to explain about Hogwarts when their child turns 11. [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• Can we believe everything the sorting hat says? JKR: "The sorting hat is certainly sincere." [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• JKR thinks twelve is the maximum number of owls one can achieve. [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• JKR told Alfonso Cuaron that there is a graveyard at Hogwarts, over near the other side of the castle to where Hermione punched Draco. The graveyard will play an important part in book 6 or 7. [Read Cuaron's cBBC interview, 2004]
• She also said that a sundial would make perfect sense because when the castle was built it was on an ancient Celtic site. [Read Cuaron's cBBC interview, 2004]
• What houses were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Remus Lupin in?
  JK Rowling says: "This is JK herself saying that they were indeed in Gryffindor!" [editor's note that Lupin is named twice and Pettigrew is not in this list]. [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• Can we believe everything the sorting hat says? JKR: "The sorting hat is certainly sincere." [Read the exact quote from World Book Day, 2004]
• Prefects can take points — Ron got it wrong on OotP. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• If a teacher is head of a Hogwarts house, we can assume they were in that house; that goes for ghosts as well. So Snape was "very definitely" a Slytherin. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• JKR: "Peeves isn't a ghost; he was never a living person. He is an indestructible spirit of chaos, and solid enough to unscrew chandeliers, throw walking sticks and, yes, chew gum." [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• Rowling drew a rough map of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade for Stuart Craig and the PoA film crew [screenshot] [Read the exact quote from the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD, 2004]
• Nicolas Flamel has died by now and will not teach at Hogwarts. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• The new Gryffindor Beaters will be "completely new finds by the new captain." They will not be either Creevey boy. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• Dumbledore has not requested the school song since book 1 because he has not felt as "buoyant;" times are getting darker. If he ever "suggests a rousing encore," you can assume he is on top form once more. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• Most wizard children are home educated before Hogwarts because they cannot be trusted to keep their magical abilities hidden from muggle schoolmates. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• Peeves "comes with the building" and doesn't really answer to Dumbledore. [Read the whole quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• The Sorting Hat has never been wrong. When it talks on its own it comes from "the founders themselves." [Read the whole quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• As one can guess from the end of Book 6, the founders of Hogwarts will play a role in Book 7. [Read the whole quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• Jo thinks that there are about 3,000 wizards in Britain, though she admits that being specific about numbers is not "how I think." [Read the whole quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• There are at least 40 students in Harry's year. [Read the whole quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• Dumbledore is primarily self-taught. He also had access to superb teachers at Hogwarts. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• Not everyone in Slytherin house is hateful. The house is important to Hogwarts to create balance. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• The Death Eater children are a small fraction of the total Slytherin population. In fact, some Death Eater children belong to other houses. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• The four houses “correspond roughly to the four elements.” Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Hufflepuff is earth, and Slytherin is water. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• Hagrid’s “Keeper of the Keys” title simply means that he will let you in and out of Hogwarts. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• Harry and Ron will never read Hogwarts, a History. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• There will be a new DADA teacher in Book 7. Something will stop Snape from teaching DADA in the next book. [Read the whole quote from ITV, 2005]
• Fawkes has always been owned by Dumbledore. She will not answer a question about his role in Book 7 "which probably gives you a big clue." Fawkes is Dumbledore's possession, not a Hogwarts possession. [Read the whole quote from ITV, 2005]
• It amused JK "to give an entirely practical piece of advice for the Hogwarts school motto," instead of the usual high-flying language. [Read the whole quote from ITV, 2005]
• JKR: "Ravenclaw will have its day!" [Read the whole quote from Owen Jones interview, 2005]
• A Hogwarts graveyard willl not play a role in the last book; it is something fans made up. [Read the whole quote from Owen Jones interview, 2005]
• JK would like to teach Defense against the Dark Art at Hogwarts as it's the most worthwhile. [Read the whole quote from Owen Jones interview, 2005]
• Mrs Norris is not an unregistered Animagus, but an intelligent (and unpleasant) cat. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• Lupin will not be able to overcome prejudice against werewolves and return as a DADA. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• Hogwarts needed to be somewhere fairly distant so that students could make all the commotion they needed and Muggles didn't come across it all the time. [Read the whole quote from BBC-Radio4, 2005]
• Madam Pince was made so nasty because if there had been a nice, friendly librarian half of Jo's plots would have been gone. Jo wanted Hermione to have to go and find the answers herself. [Read the whole quote from RCMH2, 2006]
• Nymphadora Tonks was in Hufflepuff House, while Moaning Myrtle was in Ravenclaw. [8 May 2007] [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]