Book Blogger Hop No. 128: Favorite Fictional Town

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

This Week's Question

Is there a fictitious town in a book

that you would love to live in?

What makes it so appealing?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth @

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

Okay, it's not really a town, but a school. However, there's also a town associated with this school, that would be a LOT of fun to live in, at least part of the year! What town and school am I referring to? Drum roll....... the school is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the town is Hogsmeade!! Both are located in Scotland. There's also a London street associated with Hogwarts, called "Diagon Alley", which every Hogwarts student must visit in order to purchase school supplies. 

It would be SO AWESOME to be a student at Hogwarts, and stay there while studying all of the fascinating courses they offer, since it's also a boarding school.

The courses are not only fascinating, but fun, as well! I would LOVE to learn how to turn a teacup into a mouse, play Quidditch on the latest Nimbus edition broomstick (although I'm not that good at sports, lol), learn all about how to care for magical creatures (such as a hypogriff), and engage in magic wand duels for practice! Just being inside the school is SO much fun!! The stairs are constantly changing position, for example, so you can easily get lost, but then you can always ask one of the many portraits hanging on the walls, and one of them will point you in the right direction. (Yes, the portraits all talk and move.) And then there's "owl mail"! You can actually receive regular mail at the school, delivered by an owl. Then you can also use the Marauder's Map, to find the location of the secret tunnel that leads to Hogsmeade!!  

The boarding aspect of Hogwarts is part of all the fun. There are four "houses", or dorms, each having the last name of its founder. The houses are Gryffindor (this is Harry, Hermione, and Ron's house), Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, which is the house in which the series villain, Voldemort ("He Who Must Not Be Named") stayed while he was a student at the school. You don't just decide which house you want to stay in, either. Instead, you are "sorted" into the house that's just right for you, according to your temperament, since each house is known for certain character traits. And just HOW are you "sorted"? Well, with the Sorting Hat, naturally! This is a talking magical hat that is placed on each new student's head. After a few seconds on the student's head, the Hat will suddenly announce which house the student is supposed to go into. And the sorting takes place in the HUGE banquet hall, where all school meals are taken. (When it's breakfast, lunch, or dinnertime, the meals all magically appear on the tables, once the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, waves his magic wand.)

As you can see, it's very, very entertaining (as well as educational) to study and live at Hogwarts!! Find out more about the school HERE!

A studio model of Hogwarts at 

Warner Brothers Studios in

Leavesden, Hertfordshire, England.

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to Wikipedia, Hogsmeade is "...the only settlement in Britain solely inhabited by wizards, witches, and other magical beings, and is located to the northwest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was founded by medieval wizard Hengist of Woodcroft.... Much of Hogsmeade's architecture reflects its medieval origin."

According to the fan site harrypotter.wikia.com, Hogsmeade "...is a picturesque little village of cottages and shops, with enchanted candles hanging in the trees during the holidays." Doesn't that sound FABULOUS? You can access the Hogsmeade page HERE. 

Hogsmeade Village in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".

(Wikipedia, Fair Use)

There are some fun, interesting places at Hogsmeade, such as Dervish and Banges, which is a shop that sells and repairs magical instruments, Gladrags Wizardwear, which sells clothes for magical people, Madam Puddifoot's, a small teashop which is a popular spot for Hogwarts dating couples, and Zonko's Joke Shop, which sells hilarious jokes and tricks.

And then there's Diagon Alley! Here's where all Hogwarts students get their magical supplies before the beginning of each school year. You can find shops like Flourish and Blotts, a bookstore where you can buy magical textbooks, like Predicting the Unpredictable, The Invisible Book of Invisibility, and Gilderoy Lockhart's Magical Me. Next to this bookstore is Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, where Hogwarts students buy their required black uniform robes. The shop also sells dress robes for important occasions. Then there's Magical Menagerie, where magical creatures can be purchased. (Hermione bought her cat, "Crookshanks", there.) And of course Hogwarts students must purchase their magical wands at Ollivanders! The full name of the store is Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. Here, the wand chooses the wizard or witch, and not the other way around!    

The window of Flourish and Blotts, displaying copies of Magical Me, by Gilderoy Lockhart.

(Wikimedia Commons)

 The upper windows of Ollivanders

(Wikimedia Commons)

As you can see, I would LOVE to live in the Harry Potter universe! I would stay at Hogwarts during the school year, and then get a room at Hogsmeade during vacations. Of course, if Harry and the gang are up for some adventures,  I will DEFINITELY want to join them! In that case, I'd prefer to live at Hogwarts all year round! 

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

If you're participating in this hop,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!!