Owl Postal Service

Owls delivering packages for wizards via owl post

Vernon Dursley: "What does she mean, 'the normal way'?""

Harry Potter: "Normal for us, you know, owl post. That's what's normal for wizards."

— Harry Potter informing Vernon Dursley about owl post

Owl post was a wizarding system of sending messages or items using owls as the carriers. Besides the Owl Post Office, individuals and organisations with their own owls used them as their mail bearers — owls were employed by wizards in such numbers that was estimated that virtually all of them were either the property of the Postal Service or individual wizards. Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig, was used as his primary means of communicating with his friends and his godfather, Sirius Black. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had a number of owls that anyone at the school could use. They, along with students' personal owls, were kept in the Owlery.

History

Hogwarts use

At Hogwarts, owls live in the Owlery in the West Tower and deliver mail to students once a day, at breakfast – though more urgent messages are frequently delivered to Harry in his dormitory.

Hogwarts also has a number of school owls, which can be used by students who do not own an owl themselves. Harry used school owls on several occasions when he needed to contact Sirius without attracting attention. These owls seem to be used on occasion even to communicate across the school, such as when Hagrid sends a note to Harry at the end of his first week at Hogwarts, though this method seems to be given up by Harry’s sixth year, when notes are instead regularly delivered in the hands of students.

Beginning in Harry’s fifth year, all owl post into Hogwarts was searched and inspected as a security precaution. This was originally seen as an overbearing method of control by the Ministry of Magic and Dolores Umbridge, but once Voldemort’s return became public it was widely accepted. Intercepting owls can be done crudely or routinely. Hedwig was hurt when Umbridge intercepts her letter, but the Weasleys’ mail and Hogwarts mail is later searched as a matter of routine, with no harm coming to the animals.

Business use

Owls are also used for institutional deliveries, the first time we see an owl making a delivery is when one arrives with Hagrid’s Daily Prophet in the hut-on-the-rock. In this case, the owl had a pouch which it used to collect Hagrid’s money. Hermione Granger also took out a subscription to the Daily Prophet as well, and the owls that delivered it did not seem to collect anything.

Owls were also used by some businesses for Owl Order Service, to deliver goods. This service comes into prominent use, when a Slug Club Christmas party is approaching his sixth year, and girls buy love potions from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes through Fred and George’s Owl Order Service. Fred Weasley and George Weasley conducted much of their business for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes via an owl order service.

In 1995, the British Ministry of Magic enacted several laws regarding censorship of owl post.

Use of owls

"All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

— Rubeus Hagrid

Post owls are quite intelligent, and can usually find their mail's recipient with little to no direction.

Other birds can be used for delivering messages. Sirius Black, while in hiding, sent unspecified tropical birds as message carriers while communicating with Harry Potter. This lead Harry to speculate that Sirius was hiding in a warmer environment than England. However, the preponderant bird used for messaging was the owl. Muggles have their own form of post and therefore do not use owls, nor were they generally aware that owls or other birds could be used for correspondence.

Some magic is used by owls in finding their recipients; Hedwig, for example, is able to easily locate Sirius Black when he is on the run from the Ministry of Magic, even though Aurors are unable to do so. Hedwig also routinely hunted Harry down in Hogwarts, in Gryffindor Tower or even his classes, and Pigwidgeon successfully delivers a letter to Harry while he is on the moving Hogwarts Express. However, wizards cannot send an owl to someone they want to find and then “follow” the owl to discover the person’s whereabouts.

Owl deliveries

Letters

Year	Sender	Reciever	Notes
1991-1992	Hagrid	Dumbledore	A note letting Dumbledore know he had successfully picked up Harry.
	Cornelius Fudge		According to Hagrid, Cornelius Fudge often peppered Dumbledore with owls asking for advice as Minister for Magic.
	Hagrid	Harry Potter	Invitation to visit and Harry replied "Yes, please, see you later" — his first owl post letter.
	Minerva McGonagall		A note along with a new Nimbus 2000.
	Charlie Weasley	Ron Weasley	Agreement to take Norbert, after Ron presumably wrote to him to ask and Ron replied.
	Quirrell	Dumbledore	An urgent note, supposedly from the Ministry of Magic, to lure him away from Hogwarts so he steal the Philosopher's Stone.
	Hagrid	Various	Hagrid sent owls to James and Lily's old school friends to obtain photos of them for Harry.
1992-1993	Ron Weasley	Harry Potter	A "thick wad of envelopes" were sent over the summer, but Dobby intercepted them.
	Hermione Granger
	Hagrid
	Mafalda Hopkirk		A warning against doing underage magic, shortly after Dobby performed a Hover Charm.
	Hogwarts	Second years	Booklists arrived from Hogwarts, while Harry was staying at The Burrow.
	Ron Weasley	Hermione Granger	Ron used Errol to wrote to Hermione, and she replied with plans to meet them in Diagon Alley.
	Dumbledore	Weasleys	A letter regarding Harry and Ron crashing a car into the Whomping Willow.
		Dursleys
	Molly Weasley	Ron Weasley	A Howler when she finds out he took the car.
	Fans	Gilderoy Lockhart	Harry addresses envelopes while in detention
	Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore	Nearly Headless Nick	A letter rejecting his application to the Headless Hunt.
	Dumbledore	Azkaban	Letter to secure Hagrid's release
	Governers of Hogwarts	Dumbledore	The eleven governers of Hogwarts, other than Lucius Malfoy, barrage Dumbledore with owls asking for his return to Hogwarts
1993-1994	Ron Weasley	Harry Potter	Letters to wish Harry a happy 13th birthday
	Hermione Granger
	Hagrid
			Third year Hogwarts letter arrives with Hagrid's birthday gift
	Hogwarts
	Augusta Longbottom	Neville Longbottom	Hogsmeade letter directly to Professor McGonagall
			A Howler after he loses the Gryffindor Tower passwords
	Hagrid	Harry Potter Ron Weasley	An invitation to visit him and to discuss Hermione
		Hermione Granger	A letter to inform her that Buckbeak lost at his trial
		Ron Weasley	A letter to inform him that Buckbeak's lost his appeal as well
	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	Receives a letter on the Hogwarts Express, explaining the Firebolt, giving him permission to go to Hogsmeade, and giving Pigwidgeon to Ron
		Firebolt Company	Sirius says that Crookshanks took his Firebolt order to the Owl Office, where presumably it was then sent in
1994-1995		Harry Potter	Sirius wrote to Harry twice from his hiding place; the letters were sent not with owls, but tropical birds.
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	Harry writes to Sirius for the first time to let him know that his scar twinged.
	Ron Weasley	Harry Potter	Ron sends his first letter with Pigwidgeon to invite Harry to the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.
	Various	Ministry	A large number of people sent Howlers to the Ministry of Magic to complain about Quidditch World Cup security.
	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	Sirius writes Harry to let him know he's flying north, worried about Harry's safety
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	Harry responds to Sirius to ask him not to return to Britain, and sends the note with Hedwig
	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	Sirius writes back to Harry with Hedwig to let him know he's hidden in Britain
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	Harry sends a school owl to inform him that Harry's name was picked for the Triwizard Tournament
	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	Sirius replies and asks for a face to face meeting on November 22
			Pigwidgeon delivers congratulations on Harry's getting past the Hungarian Horntail
			Sirius sends a brown owl with a very short letter: "Send date of next Hogsmeade weekend by return owl."
			Sirius asks Harry to bring him food and meet with him on the next Hogsmeade weekend
	Trio	Percy Weasley	To ask whether he's seen Mr Crouch; he responds irritably
	Various	Hermione Granger	After Rita Skeeter's article defaming Hermione, she gets hate mail; Hagrid says he'd received some too
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	Harry continues to regularly write Sirius in the cave near Hogsmeade
	Fred Weasley	Ludo Bagman	They demand their money, though the trio doesn't figure it out until later
	George Weasley
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	Sends an owl to tell Sirius about his excursion into Dumbledore's Pensieve
	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	Sirius berates Harry for walking the grounds with Viktor Krum and starts sending daily owls
1995-1996	Various		Mafalda Hopkirk expells him from Hogwarts and informs him that his wand will be snapped
			Arthur Weasley tells Harry not to leave his house or surrender his wand;
			Mafalda Hopkirk again writes, rescinding Harry's expulsion and notifying him of a hearing
			Sirius writes to tell Harry not to leave the house
	Dumbledore	Petunia Dursley	Mysterious message, "Remember my last"
	Hogwarts	Various	Hogwarts booklists —  and prefects' badges —  arrive at number twelve, Grimmauld Place
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	Sends a cryptic message to Sirius about Umbridge and Hagrid; Filch accuses him of placing dungbomb orders but Cho backs Harry up
	Cho Chang	Her Mother	Sends a birthday message, as she meets Harry in the Owlery
	Percy Weasley	Ron Weasley	Percy sends an unexpected letter, urging him to distance himself from Harry
	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	A note —  "Today, same time, same place" —  but Hedwig is intercepted and injured en route to Harry
	Hermione Granger	Viktor Krum	We see Hermione write a letter to Krum, but never get confirmation that it is sent
	Molly Weasley	Various	A letter to Sirius, Harry, and her children that Arthur is alive after the snake attack, though it is sent with Fawkes rather than by owl post
	Gilderoy Lockhart		Gilderoy Lockhart announces that he still receives fan mail
	Various	Harry Potter	When his Quibbler interview is released, Harry receives a number of letters from those agreeing and disagreeing with him
	Percy Weasley	Daily Prophet	Sent an owl to the Daily Prophet when Dumbledore "confessed" to forming an army against Fudge.
1996-1997	Dumbledore	Harry Potter	Sends Harry a note to let him know he would be coming to pick him up at Privet Drive.
	Ministry	Sixth years	Owls deliver O.W.L. results to Harry, Ron, and Hermione at The Burrow.
	Hogwarts	Trio	Booklists arrived at the Burrow, with news that Harry was made Quidditch Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
		Ginny Weasley
	Bob Ogden	Gaunts	Sent an owl to notify the Gaunts he would be coming, but they ignored it.
	Parents	Students	Parents sent regular owls to their children at Hogwarts, to make sure they were okay after Voldemort's return.

Items

Year	Sender	Receiver	Notes
1991-1997	Daily Prophet	Various	A Daily Prophet for Hagrid and delivered to Malfoy, Hermione, Harry, and others in many places.
	Malfoys	Draco Malfoy	Packages of sweets, routinely delivered from home via the Malfoys' eagle owl
	Augusta Longbottom	Neville Longbottom	A Remembrall
	McGonagall	Harry Potter	A Nimbus 2000 broomstick
	Augusta Longbottom	Neville Longbottom	Forgotten items
	Kwikspell Company	Argus Filch	The Kwikspell course, though not explicitly stated, seemed to have been sent via owl.
	Ron Weasley	Harry Potter	A Pocket Sneakoscope, 13th birthday present sent with Errol and nearly killing him.
	Hermione Granger		A Broomstick Servicing Kit, 13th birthday, which Hedwig showed up to pick up
	Hagrid		A copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, 13th birthday present, sent with a school tawny owl
	Fred Weasley	Percy Weasley	Dragon dung, which Fred and George had delivered to Percy's office
	George Weasley
	Harry Potter	Sirius Black	A ham, a dozen cakes, and some fruit, that Harry sends to Sirius when he's hiding in Hogsmeade
	Various	Hermione Granger	Bubotuber pus, enclosed in hate mail
	Molly Weasley	Trio	Easter eggs, though Hermione's was very small.
	Hogwarts	Ron Weasley	Prefects' badges
		Hermione Granger
	Xenophilius Lovegood	Harry Potter	A copy of the Quibbler, received after he gave an interview
	Harry Potter	Various	Molly Weasley sends Easter eggs for her children and Harry
	Flourish and Blotts	Harry Potter	A copy of Advanced Potion-Making, which Hedwig brought Harry from Flourish and Blotts.
		Ron Weasley
	Fred Weasley	Students	Love potions, a part of the Owl Order Service
	George Weasley

Behind the scenes

• It is possible to make oneself impossible to be traced by owl post; Sirius Black and Lord Voldemort both were able to do so to avoid having the British Ministry of Magic find them
• According to W.O.M.B.A.T., it may be illegal to send mail-bearing owls across international borders without authorisation.
• The non-canonical Educational Decree Number Forty-Seven required Hogwarts students to submit to their post being searched for illegal contraband. In the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix novel, Dolores Umbridge had her Inquisitorial Squad examine the post of all incoming owls, apparently regardless of student consent.

See also

• Letter

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• 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 Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter
• Pottermore (First identified as Owl Postal Service)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened