On Saturday, November 12, a fire nearly engulfed the great hall of Hogwarts Castle in flames. Heroically, the fire was completely put out, and not with magic from wizards like Harry Potter or Newt Scamander, but instead, by brave firefighting Muggles.
In our world, the Christ Church Hall of Oxford University was the basis for the Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle in the Harry Potter films. This is the place where the sorting hat put Harry into Gryffindor, where Dumbedlore warned everyone of terrors lurking in the Forbidden Forest, and where every single year, a new Professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was introduced. The rest of Hogwarts Castle was filmed at Alnwick Castle, a completely different site than the Christ Church Hall. Though multiple locations for Hogwarts probably make sense: being in more than one place at the same time seems appropriate for the most prestigious magical school in the world.
According to numerous reports, the real Christ Church Hall did indeed catch fire but was subdued fairly quickly by local Oxford Firefighters. Though the sorting hat probably wasn’t present, it seems likely that it’s probably okay. And while a viral marketing campaign for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them can probably be ruled out as the cause of the fire, Voldemort’s involvement still seems pretty plausible.
This Muggle bravery just goes to show that sometimes the magic of the Potterverse is no match for firetrucks and also hoses at your side.
