Hogwarts castle, Hogsmeade, the Great Lake and the Forbidden Forest: how do you imagine their positions in relation to each other?

Dodgy paint diagrams encouraged.

Even better if you can include Hogwarts and Hogsmeade internal structure instead of just a block.

Here's my imagining:



I'm not at all happy with Hogwarts' internal structure, so consider what I have there a placeholder. Hogwarts' position is tricky, because there are all sorts of factors to take into account. I do like the way the movies have the castle irregular and full of courtyards, passageways, bridges, etc. I love how the owlery and the boathouse are kinda separate. But the big problem with the movie castle is the absence of grassy areas where students gather outside. It's all too rocky and cliff-like.

I'm more or less happy with my Hogsmeade, though I think it's probably a bit bigger. I liked adding some extra flavour like Hogsmeade Green with large houses around it for the rich people, plus a few more out of the way residences, including the Shrieking Shack.

 

Taure, Taure, Taure. Don't you know? You can't put Hogwarts on a map.

 

I always liked this one by Charles J. Mize, found in the lexicon.

There's always Rowling's scribble, but I still prefer the first one.

 

I imagine Hogwarts like big square building with five towers sticking out of it (that one in the middle is Dumbledore's). Hogwarts itself is on a cliff, surrounded by the lake. It's all set during Harry's fourth year, so there are dragons in the forest. These round things are mountains. I think that's how they are drawn in maps.

Oh, and that block below the Secret passage is the Shrieking Shack.

 

I think the whomping willow and the events of PoA are the death of all maps. The problem is:

- The willow needs to be between Hagrid's hut and the castle
- When walking from the willow to the castle, you need to pass by the shore of the lake (or an inlet of the lake)
- That shore of the lake needs to be within sight of the opposite shore
- The opposite shore can be reached by walking through the forest from Hagrid's hut

This conflicts so much with everything else. Even the guy in Sesc's link couldn't make it work - he had to have them go past Hogwarts when trying to get to the castle with the stunned Wormtail and Snape.

 

The problem is that it requires the forest and Hagrid's hut to be on two sides of the lake simultaneously.
This is because:

1. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus and unconscious Wormtail and Snape leave the whomping willow and walk towards the castle, away from Hagrid's hut and along the forest line (into which werewolf Lupin will run). Before they reach the castle they end up by the shore of the lake where the Dementors attack them.

2. Time turning Harry and Hermione go through the forest, entering it by Hagrid's hut, to go watch the event in 1, but they're on the opposite shore, from which Harry casts his patronus.

The forest is on both sides of the lake simultaneously, and both sides have been reached by walking away from Hagrid's hut.

 

You could explain it away by saying they were just on the other side of a small bay, could only be a few dozen meters and still hold the narrative well. Everyone has the lake as a fairly regualr shape, if you make it more craggy it works well.

 

The problem I have with your map, Taure, is that Hogsmeade is way too close. If Hagrid is 100m from the castle, then Hogsmeade would be 300m, walking on the path.

I've always imagined Hagrid's cottage being at least 200m from the caste, and Hogsmeade being at least 1.5km. They needed carriages from the train station!

 

I think it's not that you think my Hogsmeade is too close, but rather my Hagrid too far away. I imagine that being a good 10 minute walk.

 

They usually refer to taking a walk down to Hagrids or to his class, that would signify to me that its at least 5-10 minutes walk. I hardly call walking between rooms inside a school as "Going for a walk".

 

Okay, here's my version 2.0:



Changes:

I've flipped the map east-west so that Hogwarts entrance is now facing west.

I've made Hogsmeade bigger and further away.

I've split the lake into two sections, split by a rocky/cliffy prominence upon which you find the owlery.

Three is a high bridge across from the top of the prominence which allows one to walk a complete circuit around the smaller section of the lake.

I've added a large inlet across which Harry casts his patronus at the end of PoA.

I've improved Hogwarts internal structure.

I haven't put any topography in here, but I imagine it as being within a large valley surrounded by mountains to the north, east and west.

Two problems:

1. The willow is really far from the Shrieking Shack and you have to go under the lake to get there. Current solution: it's a magical tunnel that's shorter on the inside than the outside.

2. The station should be closer to the lake shore for the first years getting the boats.

 

Hmm... I always assumed the owlery was actually part of the castle proper rather than its own tower reached by a path.

 

So did I, but I needed the lake split into two parts - we have mentions of people walking around the lake in a full circuit. So that meant having a smaller section of the lake that you could go around, which meant having that prominence, and once I had the prominence I couldn't just leave it empty, so I decided to take a cue from the movies and put the owlery up there.

 

Magic*!

Okay, no... that is a conundrum.

Seems fairly sound (no pun intended).

While I hesitate to point to the movies for internal consistency, especially between different movies within the series, the Second Task seems to take place on a very large lake, while the 'lake' across which Harry watches himself nearly get killed by dementors seems like a rather small projection, somewhat boxed in by trees.

Lakes aren't swimming pools, and are rarely simple ovoids, unless they formed inside handy craters. A more irregular coastline could provide for a small section of lake with its own sides, while still being connected to the greater body of water.

Though, such a solution still might not work with the more carefully researched maps out there.

 

Moreover, if the grounds have any measure of the magical nature that the castle does, which could be likely ('Magic leaves traces'), they could be shifting in ways that make it hard, even if you know them well, to map it in any way that is applicable over any significant period of time.