The Owlery

• Type: Owl housing tower
• Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry grounds, Scotland
• Owner/Residents: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; school owls and students' privately-owned owls
• Key Features: Circular stone tower, draughty, windowless except for arrow slits, straw-covered floor, perches reaching the ceiling.

The Owlery is a tall, circular stone tower located on the Hogwarts grounds, separate from the main Hogwarts Castle. It serves as the roost for all the owls owned by the school and its students. The interior is a single, large, circular room with a stone floor covered in straw and a thick layer of owl droppings, which are never cleared out. The air is cold and draughty, as there are no glass windows, only narrow arrow slits. The top of the tower is open to the sky, allowing owls to come and go freely at all times. Hundreds of perches are fixed to the walls, rising all the way to the ceiling, providing roosting spots for the hundreds of owls residing within, from large Eagle Owls to tiny Scops owls like Pigwidgeon. The Owlery is constantly filled with the sounds of hooting, scurrying, and the rustling of wings. It is an essential facility for Hogwarts, as owl post is the primary method of communication in the Wizarding World.

The Owlery is a frequently visited location by Harry Potter and other students for sending and receiving mail, and it is the site of several important character interactions and plot developments.

• In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry visits the Owlery to send an urgent letter to his godfather, Sirius Black, after his scar hurts during a Divination class. Later, he goes to the Owlery intending to send a food parcel to Sirius and has an awkward encounter with Cho Chang, who is there sending a letter. This is one of their first significant one-on-one interactions. The Owlery is also where Hermione Granger receives hate mail after Rita Skeeter publishes a slanderous article about her in Witch Weekly.
• In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Owlery is the setting for Harry's first kiss with Cho Chang. Harry finds her there crying over both a negative article about him and her complicated feelings following the death of Cedric Diggory. During the same school year, Dolores Umbridge, under an Educational Decree, gives Argus Filch the authority to screen all incoming and outgoing owl post, a notice for which is posted in the Owlery.
• It is also where Harry receives crucial messages from Sirius Black and sends letters to him, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley using various owls, including his own, Hedwig, and Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon.

In the film adaptations, the Owlery is depicted as a distinct, tall, and somewhat isolated tower, visually reinforcing its separation from the main castle. The set design for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) features a large, open-air structure with intricate scaffolding for the owls to perch upon, and it serves as the memorable backdrop for Harry and Cho's growing connection.