Tables

Tables are common pieces of furniture in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, serving practical purposes for dining, work, meetings, and study. In the magical world, however, tables are often enchanted to perform specific functions or are the setting for significant magical events, ranging from communal meals at Hogwarts to sinister gatherings of Death Eaters. They can symbolize community and warmth, as at The Burrow, or fear and oppressive power, as in Malfoy Manor.

Hogwarts Great Hall Tables

• The House Tables: Four long oak tables fill the main floor of the Great Hall, one designated for each Hogwarts house: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. These tables are central to student life, used for all meals as well as for studying and socializing. They are magically enchanted so that food, prepared in the kitchens directly below, appears directly upon them at mealtimes. During the Battle of Hogwarts, these tables were overturned and used as barricades and later as stretchers for the wounded and fallen.
• The High Table: Positioned on a raised dais at the far end of the Great Hall, this long table is reserved for the Hogwarts staff and official guests. The Headmaster's ornate chair is located at its center. From here, the professors oversee the student body during meals and official school events like the Sorting Ceremony.

Hogwarts Kitchen Tables

• Located directly beneath the Great Hall, the Hogwarts kitchens contain four large wooden tables that correspond precisely to the House Tables above. The house-elves place the prepared food on these tables, which is then magically transported upstairs to appear before the students and staff.

Tables in Residences

• The Burrow Kitchen Table: The scrubbed wooden table in the Weasley family's kitchen is the heart of their home. It is the site of countless chaotic family meals, conversations, and planning sessions for members of the Order of the Phoenix. The table represents the warmth, love, and security of the Weasley household.
• Number 12 Grimmauld Place Kitchen Table: A long, dark, and heavily scratched table dominates the gloomy basement kitchen of the Black family home. It serves as the primary meeting place for the Order of the Phoenix, where grim strategies for the war against Lord Voldemort are debated and planned.
• Malfoy Manor Drawing Room Table: A grand, ornate, and highly polished table is located in the drawing room of Malo Manor. During the Second Wizarding War, it is used by Lord Voldemort as a meeting table for his Death Eaters. The table becomes a symbol of terror, most notably when the captive Charity Burbage is magically suspended above it before being murdered.

Other Notable Tables

• Room of Requirement Tables: The Room of Requirement can furnish itself with any items its user needs, frequently providing tables for various purposes. It supplied tables for members of Dumbledore's Army to practice on and later provided surfaces for study when it served as a hideout for students in their seventh year.
• Professor Umbridge's Office Table: In her sickly sweet, pink office, Dolores Umbridge kept a small table with a lace doily where she conducted her cruel “detentions.” It was at this table that Harry Potter and other students were forced to write lines using the Black Quill, a cursed instrument of torture that carved the words into the back of their hands.
• Wizengamot Courtroom Furniture: While not a traditional table, the setting for Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing in the Ministry of Magic featured a single, straight-backed wooden chair in the center of the room where the accused sat. The members of the Wizengamot were seated at high benches arranged in tiers around it.

• In the film adaptations, the long House Tables in the Great Hall are depicted as massive, ancient wooden tables set with elaborate golden plates and goblets. The magical appearance of food is a recurring visual spectacle in the early films. (film)
• The design of the table in Malfoy Manor for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 emphasizes the cold, sterile, and imposing nature of the Death Eaters' headquarters, contrasting sharply with the warm, cluttered kitchen table at The Burrow. (film)