Hogwarts the Hogwarts Express that students take at the start of each school year. Students board the train from the also fictional and hidden Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station in London. The train arrives near Hogwarts, some time after nightfall. From there, first-year students are accompanied by the "Keeper of the Keys, Game and Grounds" (which was Hagrid during the first novel) to small boats, which magically sail across the lake and get them near the entrance of Hogwarts. The older students ride up to the castle in carriages pulled by creatures called Thestrals. When the first-year students initially arrive
Hogwarts staff Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1", which does not take place in Hogwarts. Rowling has stated that she always pictured Smith portraying McGonagall, and claimed the actress to be at the top of her list. She is portrayed by Fiona Glascott in "". Rowling named the character after the poet (and tragedian) William McGonagall, whose name she liked. Her first name, Minerva, comes from the Roman goddess of wisdom. Madam Poppy Pomfrey is the sole magical Healer of the Hogwarts hospital wing. She is loyal, highly skilled, non-inquisitive and tight-lipped about her patients, and very strict regarding the