Villages

• Type: Community Settlement
• Location: Various locations, primarily across Great Britain
• Residents: Witches, Wizards, and in some cases, Muggles
• Key Features: Typically small, close-knit communities that serve as residential and commercial hubs for magical folk. Some are exclusively inhabited by wizards, while others are integrated with Muggle populations. They are often of great historical significance and may be protected by Concealment Charms or Muggle-Repelling Charms.

Villages are a fundamental aspect of community life in the Wizarding World, providing a sense of place and history for magical families outside of major urban centres like London. These settlements range from entirely magical enclaves to mixed communities where wizards live secretly alongside Muggles. The most famous all-wizarding village in Great Britain is Hogsmeade, which offers Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students a place for recreation and wizards a variety of shops and residences. More common are mixed-community villages like Godric's Hollow and Ottery St. Catchpole. In these locations, wizarding families such as the Potters, Dumbledores, and Weasleys have lived for generations, integrating into the local fabric while maintaining the secrecy of their magical lives. These villages often hold deep historical importance, serving as the birthplaces of famous wizards or the sites of significant events in wizarding history. The presence of wizards is often a well-guarded secret, known only to the magical inhabitants.

Villages serve as crucial settings throughout the Harry Potter saga. They are not merely backdrops but are central to the plot's development, providing shelter, history, and conflict.

• Hogsmeade: Acts as a symbol of increasing freedom and maturity for Hogwarts students. It is also a key location during the Second Wizarding War, housing a secret passage into the school via the Hog's Head Inn and serving as a battleground.
• Godric's Hollow: The emotional heart of the story. It is where Harry Potter's parents made their last stand against Lord Voldemort, where Harry received his scar, and where he and Hermione Granger later seek information about Albus Dumbledore's past and the Deathly Hallows. Their visit culminates in a terrifying ambush by Nagini.
• Little Hangleton: This Muggle village is central to Lord Voldemort's history. It was the home of his maternal ancestors, the Gaunts, and the site of the murders of his father and grandparents. Most significantly, its graveyard is the setting for Voldemort's rebirth.
• Ottery St. Catchpole: The area around this village, where The Burrow is located, represents home, family, and safety for Harry. It is a place of refuge and planning for the Order of the Phoenix.
• Little Whinging: While technically a suburb, this Muggle community functions as Harry's place of confinement and reluctant safety, due to the blood protection charm established by Lily Potter's sacrifice.

• Budleigh Babberton: A quiet Muggle village where Horace Slughorn was hiding in a Muggle's house before being coaxed out of retirement by Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter.
• Godric's Hollow: A famous mixed-community village in the West Country, once home to Godric Gryffindor, the Potters, and the Dumbledores. It features a war memorial that magically transforms into a statue of the Potter family for wizards to see.
• Hogsmeade: The only all-wizarding village in Great Britain, located just a short walk from Hogwarts. It contains numerous wizarding shops and pubs, such as Honeydukes, Zonko's Joke Shop, and The Three Broomsticks.
• Little Hangleton: A Muggle village that was home to the Riddle House and the nearby Gaunt Shack. The village graveyard was the site of Voldemort's return to a physical body.
• Little Whinging: A town in Surrey and the location of Number Four, Privet Drive, the home of the Dursley family where Harry Potter spent his childhood.
• Ottery St. Catchpole: A village in Devon, home to the Weasleys, Lovegoods, and Fawcetts. The Burrow is located on the outskirts of the village.
• Tinworth: A coastal village in Cornwall, where Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour established their home, Shell Cottage. The cottage served as a safe house for Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and others after their escape from Malfoy Manor.

• In the film adaptations, the English village of Lacock in Wiltshire was used as a primary filming location. Its streets were used for scenes set in Budleigh Babberton in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and for Godric's Hollow in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. (film)
• The Hogsmeade station in the films is Goathland railway station in North Yorkshire. (film)
• J.K. Rowling has stated that the name Godric's Hollow is significant, combining a “homely” and “safe” feeling (“hollow”) with a “grandiose” name (“Godric”) to reflect its dual nature as both a cozy village and a site of immense historical importance. (J.K. Rowling interview)