Leaky Cauldron

"The Leaky Cauldron. If you have pea soup, make sure you eat it before it eats you."

- A talking Shrunken Head to Harry Potter while in the Knight Bus in 1993.

The Leaky Cauldron was a popular Wizarding pub in London. It was the entrance to Diagon Alley, and, indirectly Knockturn Alley. For much of the end of the 20th Century, Tom was the landlord. At some point, Hannah Abbott became the landlady, moving in with her husband, Neville Longbottom.

It was built by Daisy Dodderidge, who was the first landlady. The Leaky Cauldron was built in 1500. She said it was, "to serve as a gateway between the non-wizarding world and Diagon Alley." It rented rooms, had a bar, several private parlour rooms, and a large dining room.

To Muggles, the pub appeared to be a broken-down old shop front on Charing Cross Road. The rear of the pub, however, opened up onto a chilly courtyard and the entrance to Diagon Alley. To gain access, a witch or wizard tapped the bricks in the wall in a counter-clockwise order. A doorway to Diagon Alley then formed which then re-arranged back to the original wall after the person(s) walked through.

1991
"This is it -- the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

- Rubeus Hagrid in 1991

In 1991, Harry Potter and Rubeus Hagrid passed through the pub on their way to Diagon Alley. Tom, the innkeeper greeted Hagrid there like an old friend. This made it seem that Hagrid is something of a regular. Some other witches and wizards who were there at the time were Doris Crockford, Dedalus Diggle, and Quirinus Quirrell.

1993
In 1993, as well as stopping there for drinks, Harry Potter stayed at the inn for a time, having accidentally blown up his Aunt Marge. He also met Cornelius Fudge in a private room.

1996
While the Leaky Cauldron was a favourite hangout for the magical community, its patronage took a turn for the worse in the summer of 1996, during the beginning of the Second Wizarding War. With Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters moving in the open, many witches and wizards avoided public places as much as possible, including the Leaky Cauldron. When Harry Potter and the Weasley family passed through the Leaky Cauldron that summer on his way to Diagon Alley, they noticed that the bar was empty with the exception of Tom.

1998
On 1 May 1998, at the height of the war, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, with the assistance of Griphook the Goblin, staged a break-in to Gringotts Wizarding Bank. While passing through the Leaky Cauldron on the way to the bank, they noted that it was nearly empty. Tom bowed in fear at the sight of Hermione, who was disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange at the time.

After 1998
At some point after the end of the Second Wizarding War, Tom retired or died. Hannah Abbott then became the new landlady.

Structure
"For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite bald and looked like a gummy walnut"

- The Leaky Cauldron in 1991

The Leaky Cauldron was nested between a Muggle bookshop and a record store. Inside the pub, it was dark and shabby, with a bar and a number of tables in the shadows of the corners. In stark contrast to the grubby downstairs of the pub, there were some unexpectedly pleasant rooms upstairs where the passing wizard could stay for the night. These rooms were reached by way of a handsome wooden staircase, and contained comfortable beds, highly polished oak furniture, and a crackling fire which was always burning in the grate to welcome the visitor to their lodgings.

Beneath the stairs leading to the second floor, was a second set of stairs leading to the basement. The stairs come out on the right wall where two sitting areas containing red couch and chairs were nestled in each corner on this side. The front wall had a stage with red curtains in front of a lowered viewing area. The back wall was blank, but the left wall had another red sitting area, and a bar. However, the basement, it seems, had been locked off for no apparent reason.

Behind the scenes

 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as Hagrid and Harry approach the front door, the sign for the Leaky Cauldron clears from a blank, black cut-out to a stylised design with a cauldron in the background. In the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a different doorway, with a different sign is shown. It is never shown whether this is supposed to be an alternate doorway or a "new" main entrance. Also, Tom, the landlord was recast for the the third film. In the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, during the opening shot, the camera flies through the entrance into Diagon Alley, the entrance used is in Great Newport Street (just off Charing Cross Road), again, it is not mentioned whether this is a different doorway or just a different set.
 * "The Leaky Cauldron" is a chapter in the Scholastic version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * In Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the Leaky Cauldron has a basement, notice board, cinema room, and a back door.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4

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