The Middle Courtyard[1] (also known as the Transfiguration Courtyard) is one of the cloisters in the inner part of Hogwarts Castle. This courtyard has grass in the open area, in which a big tree has grown over the centuries. There is one massive iron Armillary Sphere that stands in the centre of the courtyard.[2]
In 1998, The Ravenclaw corridor was located in the top-most floor of the building that surround the courtyard, as seen through the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw.[5]
Behind the scenes
The Middle Courtyard through the films
In the first two films, the scenes in this courtyard were filmed in the cloister of Durham Cathedral. However, in the fourth film, the location used was the New College (Oxford) and a big tree is shown in a corner. In the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game), the courtyard is similar with the courtyard from the first film, but with a large pond instead of a fountain. The Oxford courtyard is also seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) but with a smaller tree and slightly different cloister windows. The courtyard shown in the sixth film (and video game) was built in Leavesden studios, most likely to accommodate the addition of the Astronomy Tower. The set has now been renovated into the newly enlarged Entrance Courtyard for Deathly Hallows.
The courtyard from first two films is similar to the courtyard from the sixth film and video game, except the new one has the Astronomy tower.
The Courtyard's centre fountain's shape changed during the middle of the first film (when Harry released Hedwig to the winter sky), but it was restored after the scene
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, during the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry appears to fly over the cloister of Durham Cathedral even though scenes of the First Task were filmed in the Oxford Courtyard. However, in the Hogwarts Castle replica of that film, a new courtyard is shown (see image on the left), closer to the Quad seen in the second film.
It is interesting to notice that the structure of the cloister with the towers surrounding it (except Astronomy Tower is similar to the the one from the cloister and towers from Durham Cathedral.
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