Urquart House

Location

Take a left at Puddifoot's off the High Street and walk until you run out of road. The side street dead-ends directly in front of the property.

Address

3324 Billingly Way
Hogsmeade Village

Residents

• Minerva McGonagall - owner
• Persnickity - house-elf

Animals

• An elderly indoor Kneasle that loved to sunbathe and nap named Hestia who does not get along with
• Fig, short for Transfiguration, who turned up as a stray and never left. Fig is likely a common cat and Kneasle mix who loves to chase gnomes around the garden.
• The spectacled owl, Hera, was reclusive. She liked to perch in the orchard to hunt rodents.
• Corky was a Sky Demon and was very attached to Minerva. He had a specialized paddock to help contain his weather manipulations but the flying pig was known for escaping.

History

• The cottage was built in 1886

• In 1926 the grounds were featured in Hogsmeade's first Magical Waterplants Festival

• Purchased by Elphinstone Urquart in the summer of 1982

• When Elphinstone Urquart and Minerva McGonagall wed in 1982, the couple moved into the cottage. It was a short distance for Minerva to be able to travel for work and Elphinstone wanted to make his new bride happy.

• The couple, along with Elphinstone's house elf Persnickity, lived happily for the next three years. When Minerva wasn't busy at Hogwarts she and her good friend Pomona Sprout liked to expand the garden.

• In 1983 the couple renovated an abandoned building across the pond from the cottage as a place where family could stay on visits. Her nieces and nephews were frequent guests.

• In 1985 Elphinstone was killed by a Venomous Tentacula, and Minerva moved back to Hogwarts.

• From 1985 to 1995 the grounds were abandoned, though Persnickity kept things from falling into disrepair.

• In 1995 the cottage began to be of use again as a safe space from the war. Having thrown herself fully into The Order of the Phoenix, Minerva McGonagall needed a place she could escape should the need arise. She used the grounds as a meeting place for her contacts and covert operations.

• After the Battle of Hogwarts Minerva briefly returned to living in the cottage over the summer of 1998 as damages to the castle were repaired.

• In 2005 Minerva retired from Hogwarts and returned to living in the cottage full time.

• Minerva returned to Hogwarts in late 2009 and the cottage was left empty once again.

• Since leaving Hogwarts for the second time in late 2011 Minerva is back to living in the cottage.

Enchantments and Protections

• Like the entire village, Urquart House is unplottable

• During the Second Wizarding War, a Fidelius Charm was placed on the property with Minerva McGonagall as secret-keeper. The enchantment has since been lifted.

• Anti-apparation spells on the cottage proper, but not the grounds.

• Connected to the Floo Network with a private connection to Minerva's office at the Ministry

The Property

• Urquart House - a small, two-bedroom cottage decorated in tartan, red, and gold. There is a loft where the house-elf Persnickity makes her home.
• McGonagall Flat - an old boat house turned apartment. Situated right beside the pond, the flat offers great views of the grounds. It serves as a guest house for friends and family.
• The pond isn't very large, hardly big enough for the row boat tied to its tiny dock. Once celebrated for being home to many rare aquatic plants, it has been neglected in recent years.
• The orchard is filled with plum and cherry trees.
• The greenhouse is large and having been filled by Pomona Sprout, the contents rival those at Hogwarts.
• Corky's paddock was once a storage shed adjacent to the cottage. It was redesigned and reinforced with weather dampening enchantments to keep the sky demon contained.
• The gardens are overgrown with herbs, flowers, magical plants, and gnomes.