Who didn’t dream of spending their school years in Hogwarts castle? A big ol’ stone castle in the highlands, packed with magical artifacts and secret passageways, where you can learn how to become a real-life witch or wizard! The atmosphere of the common rooms and the library, the feasts at the Great Hall… everything about this castle is a total fairy tale (even taking into account the skulking Filtch and the possibility of a painful death if you happen to stumble across something you shouldn’t have).
However, even the most devoted fan of this magical series might be able to see that there are a few things going on at Hogwarts that just don’t make any sense.
10. Disapparating Is Banned
Admittedly, the inability to apparate or disapparate within the Hogwarts grounds comes in extremely handy throughout the Harry Potter series, as it prevents Voldemort and his Death Eaters from attacking the children. But before this, why is there such a strict ban on Apparition at a school - what were the kids being protected from? They don’t even start to learn how until they are of age, and it would seem to make sense for the teachers to be able to come and go at will… seems like maybe the school founders were a bit paranoid with this one.
9.No One May Enter The Restricted Section
The Hogwarts library is an incredible repository of knowledge - and while many of the books are available to all students, the Restricted Section is a bit of a puzzler. It makes sense that there might be books on magic that are only suitable for the older students, or with the permission of a particular teacher… but if these books of Dark magic are so terrible, why are they only separated from the rest of the library with a sign? Surely a magic school could come up with a little better security for this particular part of the school!
8. Only The Mauraders Knew All The Passageways
Again, this turned out to be quite handy for Harry and his friends, as the Mauraders Map showed them all the passages in and out of the school that no one else knew about. Except… why would a group of four students be the only ones to know about all the secret passages in and out of the school? The one to the Shrieking Shack makes sense, of course, but it seems a bit far-fetched that the only students who were aware of all the passages were these ones - including the caretaker and groundskeeper, who would presumably know them perfectly well.
7. Students Must Keep To A Strict Curfew…
On the surface, this seems to be a totally logical rule - students have to stay in their dorms after lights out, for their own safety (and because they are children and need a certain amount of discipline). However, it stops making so much sense when you realize that no bathrooms are ever mentioned inside the dorms - although they are repeatedly mentioned in the hallways. It’s also worth noting that detentions often take place at night, and there are no curfews in the dorms themselves - why bother having one in the halls, then
6. …Unless You Get Locked Out
The Hogwarts Castle curfew makes even less sense when considering the number of times that students reference being stuck outside of their dorms; having forgotten the password to get in, or been unable to solve the riddle. It’s suggested that students would even have to sleep out in the hallways if no one could let them in… which means that they would be breaking curfew, presumably. It seems that it’s ok to be in the hallways and out of bed as long as you are sleeping by the common room door, which makes absolutely no sense.
5. Pets Are Allowed, Even Hundreds Of Them
Finding somewhere pet-friendly to live isn’t an easy job, so just head to Hogwarts - where every student is allowed to bring a pet with them (a cat, a toad, a rat, or an owl… or a pygmy puff, once Fred and George started selling them). Except… with hundreds of students at the school, presumably, things start to get a little bit chaotic in the dorm rooms, with dozens of cats chasing rats and toads all over the place, while owls swoop in? Can’t be the most hygienic, either (not that we’d want Harry Potter without Hedwig and Crookshanks, of course!).
4. No Electronic Equipment (Even For The Muggle-Born)
The Muggle-born occupy an interesting space at Hogwarts - witches and wizards who had no clue this world even existed until their eleventh birthday, and who have to get used to an entirely new way of life. And that includes having no electronic equipment because it is against the rules at Hogwarts (and wouldn’t work, thanks to all the magic in the air). Which means that muggle-born kids aren’t allowed to call their parents, or their friends at home, and just have to rely on letters for their entire school year. Seems a bit harsh, really
3. The Castle Is Not Responsible For Tardiness
The castle involves all kinds of slightly frustrating pitfalls - nothing too dangerous, but annoying little things, like staircases that move of their own accord, or the include trick steps that will suck you in and keep you stuck. Which is all very interesting… but it seems that a Hogwarts rule states that even if it is the castle that prevents a student being on time to class, they are still dinged points. It seems that these students are expected to be on time, even if actual magic is attempting to prevent it - which is a lot stricter than most Muggle schools!
2. The Paintings Are Allowed To Visit Each Other
In most of the wizarding world, paintings follow some fairly strict guidelines. Paintings can talk, and the portraits can visit their portraits hanging elsewhere, or leave the frame. However, in the Hogwarts halls, paintings seem to have an ability that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the wizarding world rulebook - that they can wander freely through each other’s paintings, as long as they are within the school. Except not all of them… Phineas Nigellus claims that he cannot go wandering from portrait to portrait, only between his own two paintings. The rules of painting magic are clearly being bent in this castle.
1. No Magic In The Corridors
One of the weirdest Hogwarts rules is the one forbidding magic in between classes and in the corridors - and this is one that is routinely broken by pretty much everyone. After all, who could pack a few hundred young people into a castle, teach them how to use magic, and then forbid them from actually using it outside a classroom or dorm? It also makes no sense, as any anti-bullying rules would surely be about the intent of behavior - magical or non-magical, and students might even want to practice their magic while on the way to class… which is something most teachers would want to see!
