Monuments in the wizarding world serve purposes similar to their Muggle counterparts: to commemorate significant individuals, historical events, or cultural ideals. However, they often possess magical properties, ranging from enchantments that alter their appearance to serving as powerful symbols of ideology. They can be found in both magical and Muggle-inhabited areas, sometimes cleverly disguised to avoid breaking the International Statute of Secrecy. These structures range from poignant memorials celebrating sacrifice to imposing statues broadcasting dark propaganda.
To Muggles, the monument in the center of the Godric's Hollow village square appears as a simple stone obelisk bearing the names of local residents who died in wars. However, when approached by witches or wizards, the obelisk magically transforms into a statue of a family: James Potter, Lily Potter, and their infant son, Harry Potter. The statue depicts James without his glasses, with untidy hair and his wand held aloft. Lily is shown with kind eyes, holding the baby Harry, who is wrapped in a blanket. The monument was erected to honour the sacrifice of the Potter family and their defiance of Lord Voldemort.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger visit this monument on Christmas Eve in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For Harry, it is a deeply moving and painful experience to see his parents memorialised in this way, a public testament to a family he never knew. The monument underscores the legendary status of the Potters' sacrifice within the wizarding community.
This colossal, grim monument was installed in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic after Lord Voldemort's successful coup in 1997. It replaced the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The monument featured enormous, “nobly carved” statues of a witch and a wizard seated upon thrones constructed from the intertwined, naked bodies of hundreds of men, women, and children, representing the subjugated Muggle population. The structure was designed to be a clear and intimidating symbol of the new regime's pure-blood supremacist ideology, asserting the dominance of magic over the non-magical world.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione witness this monument firsthand when they infiltrate the Ministry of Magic using Polyjuice Potion in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The monument serves as a chilling visual representation of the evil they are fighting against and the corrupted state of the Ministry under Voldemort's control. It is presumed to have been destroyed following the Battle of Hogwarts and the fall of the dark regime.
This is a standard Muggle war memorial, a stone obelisk erected in the graveyard of Little Hangleton to commemorate the village's war dead. It stands near the graves of the Riddle family.
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, this monument marks the destination of the Triwizard Cup Portkey. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory are transported to the graveyard beside it. During the ensuing duel with the newly-restored Lord Voldemort, Harry takes cover behind the obelisk to shield himself from Voldemort's curses.
Prior to Voldemort's takeover, the Fountain of Magical Brethren was the centrepiece of the Ministry Atrium. The fountain's statuary featured a group of golden figures: a handsome wizard, a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. All were depicted looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. While intended to symbolise harmony, Albus Dumbledore noted that the subservient poses of the non-human figures misrepresented the true state of inter-species relations. The fountain was heavily damaged during the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore magically animated the golden statues to protect Harry, and the centaur statue was destroyed intercepting a Killing Curse from Bellatrix Lestrange. The fountain was later removed entirely and replaced by the Magic is Might monument.