Hogwarts Textbooks are the required school books used for study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each year, students receive a list of the necessary books for their upcoming classes along with their acceptance or end-of-year letters. These books are most commonly purchased at Flourish and Blotts, a large bookshop in Diagon Alley, although students can also acquire second-hand copies. While many textbooks resemble their Muggle counterparts—paper-bound volumes of text and illustrations—some possess distinct magical properties related to their subject matter. For example, The Monster Book of Monsters is notoriously aggressive and must be stroked along its spine to be subdued before it can be opened. Other books, like The Invisible Book of Invisibility, are completely invisible, posing a unique challenge to their readers. The practice of using second-hand books is common, and these copies may contain helpful (or harmful) annotations from previous owners, a fact that becomes central to Harry Potter's sixth year.
Beyond their primary educational purpose, Hogwarts textbooks serve as significant plot devices and a key method of world-building throughout the series. The annual list of books provides readers with an initial glimpse into the subjects Harry Potter and his friends will be studying, from Charms to Potions. Several specific books play crucial roles in the narrative:
The following is a list of known textbooks used at Hogwarts, categorized by subject.
The textbook for this subject changed nearly every year, reflecting the rotation of teachers.