Shrieking Shack

Shrieking Shack
Location information
Location	Hogsmeade, Scotland, Great Britain, Europe
Affiliation	Remus Lupin Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Hogsmeade

"The Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain."

— Hermione Granger discussing the Shrieking Shack

The Shrieking Shack was an abandoned house in Hogsmeade. For many years, villagers thought it was haunted because they often heard screams coming from inside, and Albus Dumbledore encouraged the rumour, as he was the one who commissioned it, due to Remus Lupin's lycanthropy.

According to Nearly Headless Nick, not even the Hogwarts ghosts would enter it. The Shrieking Shack's entrance from the Hogwarts grounds was the base of the Whomping Willow. The trick was to poke the knot in the trunk, which paralysed the tree. The secret passageway could be seen on the Marauder's Map. The shack could also be entered from Hogsmeade through an underground passage.

History

Creation

"This house, the tunnel that leads to it-they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

— Lupin reveals the Shack's history

The Shack in the late 20th century

In reality, the Shrieking Shack was only used so that Remus Lupin would have a place for his monthly transformations into a werewolf in secret and in safety, during the time he was a student attending Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey used to escort Lupin into The Shrieking Shack before his transformation. The yells and shouts heard by the villagers were really Lupin biting and scratching himself due to lack of humans to infect.

The "shack" had no working doors or windows that allowed entry or exit. Access was through a tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow on the Hogwarts grounds, which enabled Remus to travel between the two locations unnoticed. His best friends — James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black — eventually discovered the truth and each became an Animagus: a stag, a black dog, and a rat, respectively. They accompanied Lupin during his transformations, as werewolves did not attack animals.

On one occasion, Sirius attempted to lure his arch-nemesis Severus Snape to the Shack on a night when Lupin was due to transform, hoping to rid themselves of Snape's spying. James intervened in time to save Severus, though not before Snape discovered Lupin's condition. He was, however, forbidden from revealing the truth.

1990s

1990–1991 school year

Jacob's sibling and Merula finding an unconscious Corey in the Shrieking Shack

During the 1990–1991 school year, Corey Hayden was kidnapped by Merula Snyde because they and Jacob's sibling "wouldn't stop poking around about 'R' and the Director", so she took Corey unconscious to the Shrieking Shack. Shortly after, Jacob's sibling was teleported by a Portkey to the Whomping Willow, where Merula was waiting, who guided them at wand point towards the Shrieking Shack, where the Director formally introduced herself to Jacob's sibling and revealed her true name as Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde, as well revealing to be Merula's aunt.

Verucca explained to Jacob's sibling that 'R' planned everything to get them to that point, including using Patricia Rakepick, Eustace Burke, and Kazuhiro Shiratori as pawns to get to them and make contact, while having Merula Snyde make Jacob's sibling willingly join 'R' and eventually lead them.

Verucca stated that it was the destiny of Jacob's sibling to become their leader, who however stated that they would never join 'R' after all they had done, but at that very moment, Peregrine, the father of Jacob's sibling, came out from the shadows, revealing himself to be the leader of 'R', much to the surprise of Jacob's sibling.

Downstairs in the Shrieking Shack, Peregrine had a private conversation with their child, in which he told them about his occupation and time with 'R', and that 'R' was not an evil organisation as they believed, but were benevolent who opposed the corrupt British Ministry of Magic, and sought knowledge, truth and justice. Upstairs, Corey Hayden awoke after having been unconscious, and he and Jacob's sibling departed after bidding farewell to Peregrine.

Jacob drinking the mind-enhancing potion in the Shrieking Shack for his father

Later, Peregrine and Verucca had Jacob wear the Crown of Mneme and take Dai Ryusaki's mind-enhancing potion to demonstrate mind control in the Shrieking Shack. Before the demonstration, their younger child, Merula, and either Penny Haywood, Barnaby Lee or Talbott Winger attempted to distract him and take his amulet, but he outsmarted them and paralysed his younger child's friend with the Full Body-Bind Curse, deciding he would be the test subject. Jacob wearing the Crown and having taken the potion was able to control their mind, but he was pained with his worse memories due to the Crown's curse. Peregrine demanded they continue to take down the Ministry and avenge Ryusaki's death. A surge of power from Jacob's head hit Barnaby. After Jacob removed it, Peregrine insisted that his younger child wear the Crown, they instead knocked it under a piano, allowing them to escape with Jacob and their friend via Apparition.

1993-1994 school year

The trio, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack

On 6 June 1994, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were led into the Shrieking Shack after a black dog, resembling a Grim, dragged Ronald Weasley — along with his pet rat, Scabbers — through the underground passage beneath the Whomping Willow. Inside, the dog revealed itself to be Sirius Black, the escaped Azkaban prisoner, in his Animagus form, shocking the children.

At that moment, Remus Lupin, then Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, arrived after noticing Peter Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map, despite Pettigrew being believed long dead, supposedly murdered by Sirius — the reason for Sirius's imprisonment. The truth was revealed: the origins of the Marauders, Lupin'a identity as a werewolf, Sirius's innocence, Pettigrew's betrayal to James and Lily Potter and loyalty to Lord Voldemort, and finally, to everyone's shock but Sirius's, that Scabbers was Pettigrew himself, who had been disguised as a rat and living with the Weasley family for thirteen years.

During the confrontation, Severus Snape followed Lupin and entered the shack, intent on capturing Sirius. Before he could do so, however, the children disarmed him. The seven — Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, Lupin, the unconscious Snape, and the bound Pettigrew — then left the shack together.

Battle of Hogwarts

Voldemort ordering Nagini to kill Snape within the Shack during the Battle of Hogwarts

The Shrieking Shack was later used by Lord Voldemort and some of his Death Eaters on 2 May 1998 as a hideout during the Battle of Hogwarts. Snape was killed by Nagini in this very building, while Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched helplessly from their hiding spot. They watched as Nagini bit into his neck on Voldemort's orders (as he incorrectly believed Snape to be the master of the Elder Wand), poisoning him with her venom. When Voldemort left, they approached dying Snape, who allowed them to take his memories before his death.

2010

By December 2010, the werewolf Abigail Grey was using the Shrieking Shack to hide whenever she transformed. One night, she was followed there by her friend, who was worried a werewolf had attacked her. When they realised she was the werewolf, they found her sleeping in a room in the shack. They decided to leave her there without disturbing her and left her a note.

Description

"It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up."

— A description of the shack

The interior of the Shrieking Shack

The Shrieking Shack was an abandoned house, with the windows and doors boarded up. The rooms and halls were all dirty, covered with dust, and the furniture was moth-eaten and broken. There was a chair in the foyer of the shack that had one of its legs ripped off.

In the foyer, a staircase led to the upper storey. In one of the rooms, there was a magnificent but dusty four-poster bed with rickety doors. This room was also where Peter Pettigrew was caught.

Behind the scenes

Concept art of the shack on Pottermore

• Severus Snape had a terrible history with the Shack. In 1975, Sirius Black told Severus that if he went under the Whomping Willow, he would find out what was wrong with Remus; this would have led to his death, as Remus was in werewolf form. On 6 June, 1994, Severus was disarmed, and knocked unconscious. On 2 May, 1998, Severus was ultimately killed in the Shrieking Shack by Nagini under Voldemort's orders.
• In the film adaptation Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Snape instead dies in the Boathouse.
• The Shrieking Shack is shown more as a large two-storey house rather than a shack in the film adaptations. The shack interior in the film adaptations were also very different from the books.
• The second moment of Chapter Fourteen on Pottermore, in which the Shack first appears, is titled "The Shrieking Shack".
• Given a werewolf's superhuman strength when transformed, Dumbledore likely enchanted the shack's structure to be abnormally durable and possibly added enchantments to make it impossible for Lupin to exit during his transformations.
• In the film adaptations, the walls of the shack are shown to slowly move.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Appears in flashback(s))
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Name seen on sign)
• LEGO Harry Potter
• Harry Potter for Kinect
• Pottermore
• HarryPotter.com
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac
• The Art of Harry Potter: Mini Book of Graphic Design

See also

• Encounter at the Shrieking Shack