Shell Cottage

• Type: Residence, Safe House
• Location: On the coast of Cornwall, England, overlooking the sea near the village of Tinworth
• Owner/Residents: Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. It also served as a temporary residence for Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Mr. Ollivander, and the goblin Griphook.
• Key Features: A small, isolated cottage whose walls are encrusted with seashells. It is protected by powerful enchantments, including the Fidelius Charm.

Shell Cottage is the home established by Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour after their marriage in the summer of 1997. Located on a cliff overlooking the sea, the cottage is described as lonely but beautiful. Its most distinctive feature is its exterior, which is whitewashed and embedded with a variety of seashells, giving the cottage its name. The property includes a small, walled garden. The interior is small and cozy, with a light-filled sitting room offering a view of the sea, a tiny kitchen, and several small bedrooms on the upper floor. Following the fall of the Ministry of Magic and the increased danger to members of the Order of the Phoenix and their families, Bill cast the Fidelius Charm upon the cottage, making himself the Secret-Keeper. This turned Shell Cottage into a highly secure safe house for those opposing Lord Voldemort.

Shell Cottage becomes a pivotal location in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It serves as a refuge and a planning headquarters for Harry Potter and his friends following their harrowing escape from Malfoy Manor.

• A Sanctuary: After Dobby the house-elf rescues the prisoners from the cellars of Malfoy Manor, he uses Apparition to bring them to the shores outside Shell Cottage. Tragically, Dobby is fatally wounded by a knife thrown by Bellatrix Lestrange and dies in Harry's arms on the beach. Harry, wanting to honor him properly, digs his grave by hand in the cottage's garden, a significant act of grief and respect. He marks the grave with a white stone, upon which he carves the epitaph: “HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF.”
• Planning the Gringotts Heist: The cottage provides a safe haven for the trio to recover and plan their next move. It is here that Harry formulates the plan to break into the Lestrange Vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank to retrieve a suspected Horcrux. He negotiates with the goblin Griphook, who agrees to help them in exchange for the Sword of Gryffindor.
• Gathering Information: While at the cottage, Harry has crucial conversations with the other refugees. He questions the wandmaker Mr. Ollivander about the Deathly Hallows, specifically the Elder Wand, and learns vital details about wandlore and the connection between his and Voldemort's wands.
• A Moment of Joy: The grim atmosphere is briefly lifted when Remus Lupin arrives via the Floo Network to announce the birth of his son, Teddy Lupin, and asks Harry to be the godfather. This event provides a moment of hope amidst the war.

The group, including Luna Lovegood and Dean Thomas, remains at Shell Cottage until Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook depart for their raid on Gringotts.

• Sitting Room: A small, light room with a fireplace and a window that provides a clear view of the sea and the sky.
• Kitchen: A tiny kitchen adjoining the sitting room.
• Bedrooms: The cottage contains at least three small bedrooms on the upper floor, which housed Bill and Fleur, Harry and Ron, and Hermione and Luna respectively during their stay.
• Garden: A small, windswept garden surrounded by a low wall. It is the burial site of Dobby the house-elf.

• In the film adaptations Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, the Shell Cottage set was constructed on-location at Freshwater West, a beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The physical set was built directly on the dunes and was dismantled after filming concluded. (film)
• The filming location has since become a popular destination for fans, many of whom visit to pay tribute at the site chosen for Dobby's grave. (film)