
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 mentioning owl post[src]
Owl post is 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 use them as their mail bearers — owls are employed by wizards in such numbers that is estimated that virtually all of them are either the property of the Postal Service or individual wizards.[1] 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.
Contents
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 has a pouch which it uses to collect Hagrid’s money.[2] Later, though, Hermione takes out a subscription to the Daily Prophet as well, and the owls that deliver it don’t seem to collect anything.
Owls are 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[src]
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.[3] Hedwig also routinely hunts Harry down in Hogwarts, in Gryffindor Tower or even his classes[4], and Pigwidgeon successfully delivers a letter to Harry while he is on the moving Hogwarts Express.[5] 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's successfully picked up Harry |
Cornelius Fudge | According to Hagrid, Cornelius Fudge peppers Dumbledore with owls asking for advice | ||
Hagrid | Harry Potter | Invitation to visit and Harry replies "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 writes him to ask and Ron replies | |
Quirrell | Dumbledore | An urgent note, supposedly from the Ministry of Magic, to lure him away from Hogwarts | |
Hagrid | Various | Hagrid sends 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 intercepts them |
Hermione Granger | |||
Hagrid | |||
Mafalda Hopkirk | A warning against doing underage magic, shortly after Dobby performs a Hover Charm | ||
Hogwarts | Second years | Booklists arrive from Hogwarts, while Harry is at The Burrow | |
Ron Weasley | Hermione Granger | Ron uses Errol to write Hermione and she replies with plans to meet them at 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 (how did he send that?) | |
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 writes to Harry twice from his hiding place; the letters are 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 Quidditch World Cup | |
Various | Ministry | A large number of people send 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 | Sends an owl to the Daily Prophet when Dumbledore confesses to forming an army against Fudge | |
1996-1997 | Dumbledore | Harry Potter | Sends Harry a note to let him know he'll 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 arrive at the Burrow, with news that Harry is Quidditch captain | |
Ginny Weasley | |||
Bob Ogden | Gaunts | Sends an owl to notify the Gaunts he will be coming, but they don't accept it | |
Parents | Students |
Parents send regular owls to their children at Hogwarts to make sure they're okay after Voldemort's return |
Items
Year | Sender | Receiver | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991-1997 | Daily Prophet | Various | A Daily Prophet for Hagrid[6], 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[7] | |
Augusta Longbottom | Neville Longbottom | A Remembrall[8] | |
McGonagall | Harry Potter | A Nimbus 2000 broomstick | |
Augusta Longbottom | Neville Longbottom | Forgotten items[9] | |
Kwikspell Company | Argus Filch | The Kwikspell course, though not explicitly stated, seems to have been sent via owl[10] | |
Ron Weasley | Harry Potter | A Pocket Sneakoscope, 13th birthday present sent with Errol and nearly killing him[11] | |
Hermione Granger | A Broomstick Servicing Kit, 13th birthday, which Hedwig showed up to pick up[12] | ||
Hagrid | A copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, 13th birthday present, sent with a school tawny owl[13] | ||
Fred Weasley | Percy Weasley | Dragon dung, which Fred and George have delivered to Percy's office[14] | |
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[15] | |
Various | Hermione Granger | Bubotuber pus, enclosed in hate mail[16] | |
Molly Weasley | Trio | Easter eggs, though Hermione's is very small[17] | |
Ron Weasley |
Prefects' badges[18] | ||
Hermione Granger | |||
Xenophilius Lovegood | Harry Potter | A copy of the Quibbler, received after he gives an interview[19] | |
Harry Potter | Various | Molly Weasley sends Easter eggs for her children and Harry[20] | |
Flourish and Blotts |
Harry Potter |
A copy of Advanced Potion-Making, which Hedwig brings Harry from Flourish and Blotts[21] | |
Ron Weasley | |||
Fred Weasley | Students | Love potions, a part of the Owl Order Service[22] | |
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[23]
- 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
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- 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
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- LEGO Harry Potter
- Pottermore (First identified as Owl Postal Service)
- Wizarding World
- Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
Notes and references
- ↑ Writing by J.K. Rowling: "Owls" at Wizarding World
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ F.A.Q. Question on J. K. R. Official Site
- Articles with information from Wizarding World
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Articles with information from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Articles with information from Pottermore
- Articles with information from Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Articles with information from Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
- Communication