Summary
Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Lily Evans, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, and Sirius Black all found solace and refuge at Hogwarts, each for their own unique reasons.
Hogwarts taught the characters that a happy home life was possible, and they formed deep bonds and found a sense of family within the magical walls of the castle.
Hogwarts Castle was the first real home that Harry could remember in Harry Potter, and he was far from the only one. Overall, the series put a lot of emphasis on the concepts of belonging and home—the idea that those who don’t belong elsewhere would always have a place at Hogwarts. This was represented in the various characters of Harry Potter, each of whom required a home for different reasons.
For some, Hogwarts was simply a place where they could be themselves without being forced to hide their magical ability. For others, it was an escape from abusive family members or the pressures and responsibilities of home. Still, there were also those who saw their place at Hogwarts School as proof that they were something extraordinary and considered the Castle their kingdom. Regardless of the reason, the characters of Harry Potter knew the fortress of magic would always have its doors open to them.
8 Harry Potter
Of course, Harry Potter is the most prominent character to consider Hogwarts Castle his home. He decided as much his very first year and ended the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie with the famous line, “I’m not going home. Not Really.” This mentality didn’t change throughout his years at Hogwarts, and year after year, Harry tolerated his time with the Dursleys until he could finally return to his true home.
Though Hogwarts was Harry’s first home, it wasn’t his last. After the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Boy Who Lived either moved in with Weasleys or returned to Grimmauld Place. Eventually, he made a home with his wife, Ginny, and had three children. It’s a comfort to know that, despite missing out on a happy home life as a child, Harry could find one in his adult years. Still, it was Hogwarts that taught him that such a thing could exist and was where he found the people that would become his family.
7 Lord Voldemort
Eerily similar to Harry, young Tom Riddle found Hogwarts Castle to be his first true home. When Harry first found the diary in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he greatly empathized with Riddle for the fact that he despised returning to his Muggle orphanage every summer. Still, there was a significant difference between Harry and the future Dark Lord—Tom Riddle saw Hogwarts as a kingdom he could rule. To Voldemort, the Castle was a fortress of magic only he could fully understand, making it the only home worthy of him. Ultimately, this was why Harry was sure that Voldemort had hidden a Horcrux at Hogwarts—he knew the Dark Lord would want a piece of his soul to remain at home.
6 Albus Dumbledore
There was no better place for Albus Dumbledore to have his talent recognized than Hogwarts Castle, but that wasn’t the only reason he loved the school. As a boy, Hogwarts was Albus’ only reprieve from the stressors of his home. His sister Ariana was chronically unwell, and his father had been sent to Azkaban Prison, leaving his mother to depend heavily on her sons. However, at school, Dumbledore was a talented student and leader with a bright future—it was an experience more befitting a man of his skill.
5 Severus Snape
Like Harry, Severus Snape saw Hogwarts as his only escape from abuse. However, like Voldemort, he also saw it as evidence of his own greatness. Severus’ father was a Muggle, and he confided in Lily that the man had been an abusive alcoholic. This led to his prejudice that Muggles were lesser than wizards. Snape detested his father, but the man couldn’t follow him to Hogwarts. The school became his haven and playground, where he mastered the art of potion making and invented dangerous spells under the name “Half-Blood Prince.”
4 Lily Evans
Not all who found a home at Hogwarts were brought up in unhappy or abusive families. In the case of Muggle-born witches and wizards, Hogwarts School was a place where they could finally be themselves among people who understood them. Lily Evans had been able to do magic since she was very small, but it frightened her parents so much that they told her not to do it. Once they learned that there was nothing wrong with her, they were excited and full of praise for their daughter. Still, Lily’s Muggle family could never fully understand her. It was her Hogwarts family that made her at home.
3 Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall grew up in Scotland (via Wizarding World) with a witch mother and Muggle father, though the latter knew nothing of the magical world until his daughter was born. Mr. McGonagall had been a minister, and it was imperative that none of his congregation learn that he was married to a witch. So, Minerva watched her mother lock away her wand and saw the strain that this put on their marriage. While at home, McGonagall was forced to ignore the existence of magic as well, but at Hogwarts, she could be free. This is why when she unexpectedly fell in love with a Muggle man, she broke it off, knowing she couldn’t live away from magic again—so Hogwarts remained her central home.
2 Rubeus Hagrid
Though excited to go to Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid had a perfectly happy home to return to on his breaks. Unfortunately, that changed during his second year when his father passed away. It’s unclear if Hagrid lived at Hogwarts year-round immediately after his father died—it certainly would have been challenging to house him anywhere else. However, when he was expelled, Hagrid was granted permanent residence in the groundskeeper’s hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. From then on, Hogwarts became Hagrid’s one and only home.
1 Sirius Black
Though Harry Potter’s Sirius Black came from a long line of pure-blood witches and wizards, he could relate a lot to Muggle-borns who found they could truly be themselves at Hogwarts. The Blacks were famously all Slytherin and were known for their affinity for the Dark Arts. However, Sirius was cut from a different cloth. At Hogwarts, he was sorted into Gryffindor, and he made friends with Muggle-borns and werewolves, which made him an utter disappointment to the Black name. At home, he was miserable around his disapproving family. However, like many other Harry Potter characters before and after his time, Hogwarts was a home where Sirius could be himself.
