Dinosaur Skeleton

• Type: Mundane Object / Landmark
• Owners: Unknown; stored within the Room of Requirement
• Maker: Not applicable

The dinosaur skeleton is described as a “great, dusty skeleton” large enough for Harry Potter to immediately associate it with a dinosaur. It was located within the Room of Requirement in its “Room of Hidden Things” configuration, stored amidst towering piles of miscellaneous objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. It stood near other notable items, including a stuffed troll and the Vanishing Cabinet used by Draco Malfoy.

The skeleton itself possessed no known inherent magical properties. Its primary function within the narrative was to serve as a significant landmark. Due to its immense size and distinctiveness, Harry Potter used it as a reference point to navigate the chaotic and cluttered interior of the Room of Hidden Things during his search for Ravenclaw's Diadem.

The origin of the dinosaur skeleton and the identity of the person who hid it in the Room of Requirement are unknown. Like all objects within the room, it was placed there at some point in Hogwarts' history by someone who wished to conceal it. The skeleton was presumably destroyed along with all other contents of the Room of Hidden Things when Vincent Crabbe cast Fiendfyre during the Battle of Hogwarts. The cursed fire consumed the entire room and its contents, leaving nothing behind.

The dinosaur skeleton appears exclusively in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When Harry Potter enters the Room of Requirement to find the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, he notes the massive skeleton as he makes his way through the mountains of hidden junk. He uses it to orient himself, remembering that the diadem was located on a wigged bust not far from the skeleton and the Vanishing Cabinet. Later, as Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger flee from the uncontrollable Fiendfyre, they are forced to navigate the collapsing piles of objects, passing the towering skeleton one last time before escaping the room just as it was consumed by flames.

In the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, a large skeleton is visible in the Room of Requirement. However, it is depicted as the skeleton of a dragon, possibly a Hungarian Horntail, rather than a dinosaur (film).