Hogwarts map

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 26251

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., norbertschade at m... wrote:

> With input mainly based on the flight of Ron and Harry in the car 
to 
> Hogwarts and when Harry and Hermione left the castle as time 
> travellers I think the forest is to the west,

The forest is clearly to the west. That's stated (the sun sets behind 
the forbidden forest in PA). I didn't find that reference until after 
I'd drawn that map, so it has to redone one of these days.

 the Womping Willow is 
> closer to the forest than Hagrid's hut

I can't agree with you there. The willow is said to be alone in the 
middle of the lawn, while Hagrid's hut is mentioned several times as 
being right next to the forest. 

 and I'm concerned about some 
> more details.
> Did I miss a piece of info? I'd like to know if this is discussed 
> somewhere else in detail, as I'm a map freak.

Yeah, me too. No, really.  :)

The maps in the Lexicon are not definitive--only JKR can say for sure 
where things are--but they do place landmarks in correct positions 
relative to each other. The map of the ground floor is a good 
example. While we know the relative positions of things like the 
doors to outside, the staircase, and the antechamber, we have no idea 
of the exact size of the room, whether the walls are flat or full of 
nooks and crannies, etc. When I drew the map I tried to make as few 
assumptions as possible, but when you're actually drawing lines and 
calling them walls, you HAVE to just draw them somehow and you end up 
guessing. Another example is the map of Diagon Alley. The relative 
positions of the shops are correct to some extent, but since they're 
mostly based on the order in which Harry and his friends visit them, 
the map is chock full of assumptions--who says they visited them in 
the order they appear on the street, for starters. The map isn't 
valueless, but it's important to understand its limitations.

Steve Vander Ark
Chief Cartographer - A Wizard's Atlas
The Harry Potter Lexicon
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon