Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Harry Potter: Magic Awakened & Hogwarts Legacy. |
- Snape: "...we'll get the letter, you and me."
- Lily: "Really?"
- Snape: "Definitely."
- Lily: "And will it really come by owl?"
- Snape: "Normally. But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."
- — Severus Snape explaining to Lily Evans why her letter wouldn't arrive by owl post[src]
A special messenger was a wizard or witch assigned to deliver the acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to Muggle-born people, explaining that magic truly existed, unless their parents or guardians had a wizard relation.[1]
Special messengers could also be dispatched under special circumstances. For example, in the case of Remus Lupin, whose parents thought there would not be an opening for him given Remus's affliction of lycanthropy,[2] as well as in the case of Harry Potter, whose guardians had not informed him about the existence of the wizarding world despite him being half-blood.[3]
A special messenger was tasked not only to inform the student about their magical abilities, but also welcome them into the wizarding world as a whole, introducing them to Diagon Alley and helping them purchase their school books, uniform, wand, pet, and other accessories.[4][5]
Known messengers[]
- Eleazar Fig (to an unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student, 1890)[6]
- Albus Dumbledore (to Tom Riddle, 1938;[7] to Remus Lupin, 1971)[2]
- Unidentified witch (to Ben Copper, 1984)[8]
- Rubeus Hagrid (to Harry Potter, 1991;[3] to an unidentified Muggle-born Hogwarts student, 2008)[4]
Behind the scenes[]
- Initially, Harry Potter simply received a normal Hogwarts acceptance letter, as would any wizard-born individual, since even though he was not living with wizards at the time, he was living with his aunt, who was aware of the existence of Hogwarts and the wizarding world. Harry's first letter was, however, sent by Muggle Mail. It was only when it was realised that Harry's letters were most likely being intercepted that Rubeus Hagrid was sent as his special messenger, implying that the messenger is also sent to insist on the soon-to-be student's admittance in case of interception.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Creator: Harry Potter
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Appears in flashback(s))
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
- Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
- Hogwarts Legacy
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 (The Prince's Tale)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Remus Lupin" at Wizarding World
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 4 (The Keeper of the Keys)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 4, page 48 – "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."
- ↑ Hogwarts Legacy (see this image)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 13 (The Secret Riddle)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, Side Quest "A Letter from Hogwarts"