Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing the complete history of the Forbidden Forest,
a common backdrop for important moments throughout the Harry Potter series for both Harry, his
friends, AND his enemies.
As many of you will remember, the Forbidden Forest is first introduced in The Philosopher’s
Stone as a scary, dark place where students are not allowed to enter, never mind roam
about and explore.
Of course, one very large caveat to this rule is if those same students ever find themselves
in a bit of trouble.
As much as it really makes absolutely NO sense what-so-ever, a punishment bestowed upon multiple
students over the years, including Harry, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Draco
Malfoy in the first installment of the series, is to send them INTO the Forbidden Forest.
This form of “detention” is meant to help Hagrid with random duties required in the
upkeep of the portion of the Forest that resides on school property.
As this was the detention they were given for merely being out of bed after hours, makes
one wonder what the punishment would’ve been for actually going into the Forest…more
time spent IN THE FOREST?
Like I said…it really doesn’t make any sense AT ALL.
Anyway, I’d like to start off today’s video with a brief summary of the Forbidden
Forest as we know it through Harry Potter.
Because, although there are many fantastical locations and magical places in which Harry
and his friends visit throughout the novels and films alike, it may not be immediately
apparent just how important the Forbidden Forest is to the series.
Now, it's a very typical trope for an enchanted forest – whether filled with “light”
magic or “dark” – to represent a way to achieve transformation for those who enter
it.
What I mean is that magical forests are often used as a literary device to be a catalyst
of change for any number of fictional characters.
They enter the forest as one version of themselves, and emerge forever transformed.
All this to say that I do, indeed, believe that there are quite a few transformations
that take place within the Forbidden Forest, many of which I will get into later in the
video.
BUT, in my opinion, it’s quite evident that the MAIN transformation that takes place in
the series is at the very end of the seventh book (which, as many of you will know, is
the eighth movie) and is directly related to the protagonist of the story: our dear
boy, Harry.
The scene that I’m referring to is the one in which Harry enters the Forbidden Forest
as a human horcrux of Voldemort, right before the Battle of Hogwarts breaks out.
Harry is ready to face immortality and make the ultimate sacrifice: die in an effort to
defeat the Dark Lord once and for all.
And yet, as we all know, in dying, Harry fails quite miserably!
As on his journey to the after-life, he ends up in Limbo, having, at long-last a frank
and honest discussion with former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, only to then COME BACK FROM
THE DEAD, without the fragment of Voldemort’s soul inside of him.
Without the horcrux inside of him, Harry is no longer connected to the Dark Lord.
In summary, Harry goes from condemned wizard harbouring a horcrux, to a very-much-alive,
confident young wizard, sans horcrux.
Delightful little bit of transformation, if I do say so myself!
No more connection to the baddy, Lord Voldemort.
The setting of the Forbidden Forest for all of this also makes complete sense given that
it has been said that this location is one of J.K.
Rowling’s absolute favourites within Hogwarts.
Of course, this little tidbit is not completely relevant to the Forest’s history itself,
but it certainly supports the idea as to why Rowling may have chosen a magical forest like
this to represent Harry’s final and most pivotal transformation of the series.
Alright, so, knowing that the Forest was likely created by Rowling as a meaningful place for
Harry to finally overcome his long-standing and ill-begotten connection with Voldemort,
let’s dive into the many smaller transformations and events that took place within the Forest
throughout the series.
Book 1: The Philosopher’s Stone
As briefly mentioned at the start of the video, in The Philosopher’s Stone, Harry, along
with Hermione, Neville, and Draco, were all sent into the Forbidden Forest as a form of
detention.
They were meant to accompany Hagrid in an effort to locate a unicorn known to have been
badly injured somewhere within the dark woods.
Since Hagrid isn’t – shall we say, the best with chil*dren? – he allows the group
to split up in order to cover more ground as they search for the injured unicorn.
Harry and Draco break off from the others, only to come upon a hooded figure feasting
upon the blood of the unicorn they’ve been looking for.
As we later find out, this hooded figure is actually a shadow version of Voldemort.
Upon being in such close proximity to the Dark Lord, Harry’s scar begins to sear with
pain and he passes out.
Fortunately for Harry, a friendly centaur by the name of Firenze finds him and assists
him back to the castle – but not before explaining to him that the dark, hooded thing
that Harry saw feasting upon the unicorn was actually Voldemort attempting to return to
his full strength by way of drinking the unicorn’s blood.
In terms of transformation, what we see here is Voldemort setting his path in motion to
go from the shadowy glimpse of his former self that he’s been stuck as for more than
a decade, back towards his full-strength as the Dark Lord.
Book 2: The Chamber of Secrets
Ah, yes.
The Chamber of Secrets presents us with a whole new perspective on what fearsome creatures
lurk within the Forbidden Forest!
For it’s within this installment of the series that we are first introduced to the
Forest's acromantula colony, a group of GIGANTIC spiders led by the acromantula, fondly known
by Hagrid as Aragog.
This is when we see Ron come face-to-face with one of his greatest fears – spiders.
And not just any spiders..ENORMOUS ONES.
I would say that Ron’s ability to accompany Harry into the colony’s home shows great
courage and growth for Ron.
So, although small, I would argue that this is our transformation within the Forest within
The Chamber of Secrets.
Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban
There’s also the few times that certain Care of Magical Creatures lessons took place
in the Forbidden Forest, which we see in great detail in The Prison of Azkaban.
For example, this is where Hagrid teaches the students about Hippogriffs.
It’s also where we first meet Buckbeak.
Of course, the Forbidden Forest plays a much larger part in terms of transformations later
on in the novel.
To start, it’s where Lupin runs to after he has accidentally transformed into a werewolf.
Presumably, he changes back into a human within the Forest…
There’s also a much more complex transformation which occurs to Harry within the Forest near
the end of The Prison of Azkaban.
At the Forest’s Black Lake, we see Dementors almost take the souls of Harry, Hermione and
Sirius – but not before a future version of Harry banishes the Dementors away with
his patronus.
This means that the Forest is the very first place that Harry is able to successfully cast
his Patronus.
This sets into motion a more confident version of Harry, allowing himself to realize that
he may be capable of more than he thought.
Book 4: The Goblet of Fire
Within the fourth novel and film, the Forbidden Forest is used as a way to conceal the dragons
that are to be involved in one of the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament.
As part of the magical inter-school tournament, the dragons were maintained by professional
Dragonologists, including Ron’s older brother, Charlie Weasley, during their time in the
Forest.
This is not particularly important, except for the fact that it’s about DRAGONS.
BUT, later in The Goblet of Fire, the Forest is the location in which a disheveled Bartemius
Crouch Senior stumbles into view.
With his emergence from the Forest, we are to later learn that who we thought was Professor
Mad Eye Moody, was actually Barty Crouch Junior in disguise.
Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix
In The Order of the Phoenix, much of the time Harry, Ron and Hermione spend in the Forest
is directly linked to a well-intentioned Hagrid.
Here, during one of his Care of Magical Creatures classes, we learn more about the mysterious
beings known as Thestrals, the horse-like magical creatures who pull the carriages of
students from the Hogwarts Express up to the castle.
These beings are invisible to most, and can only be seen by people who have witnessed
death, which becomes important later on in the series as a representation of the trauma
that Harry goes through after losing Sirius.
The Forbidden Forest is also where we are first introduced to Hagrid’s half-brother,
the giant named Grawp.
Later in The Order of the Phoenix, Hermione successfully manages to lure the nasty Defense
Against the Dark Arts Professor, Dolores Umbridge, to the Forest by pretending that Dumbledore
had hidden a powerful weapon there.
Although Hermione likely had no real plan, the group fortunately comes across a herd
of centaurs and Umbridge unwisely insults them.
She’s then carried off but Harry and Hermione are able to escape, thanks for Grawp’s timely
intrusion on the chaos.
Book 6: The Half-blood Prince
This is the only installment in the series in which Harry and friends – or foes – do
not find themselves entering the Forbidden Forest.
Book 7: The Deathly Hallows
And, of course, who could forget that the Forbidden Forest is the location where Harry,
at long last, comes up against Voldemort, meeting his death and returning from his version
of Limbo all in just a few short scenes.
This series of events begins with Voldemort issuing the following ultimatum to Harry from
his temporary headquarters in the Forest:
"I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest.
If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then
battle recommences."
Finally understanding what he must do, Harry enters the Forbidden Forest, and uses the
Resurrection Stone to visit one last time with the loved ones he has lost, including
his mum, dad, god-father, Sirius, and Remus Lupin.
It seems only fitting that a reunion of this sort happens in the dark and mysterious confines
of the Forest.
After gaining strength from their other-wordly visit, Harry drops the stone, leaving it among
the darkness as one of the many secrets now kept in the Forbidden Forest.
It’s mentioned later on that a centaur joining the Battle of Hogwarts steps on it, pressing
it into the forest ground, forever burying it in an unmarked area of the woods.
Honourable Mentions of the Forbidden Forest
Although not nearly as prominent as the scenes just discussed, there are a few other points
that revolve around the Forest throughout the Harry Potter series that deserve a mention.
For starters, there’s much talk throughout the series regarding Fred and George Weasley’s
preoccupation with the Forbidden Forest, although it’s never revealed why the twins may have
been so interested in the wooded area.
If I had to guess though, I’d wager that they’d seen something of interest on the
Marauder’s Map.
It would be interesting to know what exactly they were so keen to look for in the Forest
though…perhaps something to discuss in another video…
And let’s not forget that Hagrid’s hut was also located right on the edge of the
Forest!
Of course, Harry visited Hagrid frequently throughout the series, and always received
much value from his visits, emotional and otherwise.
But of course, all of this is just a mere glimpse into the ENTIRE history of the Forbidden
Forest – for our dear Harry only attended Hogwarts for a brief six years, as he was
trotting the globe in search of Voldemort’s Horcruxes during what would have been his
seventh year at the magical school.
And so, through the chronicles of Harry Potter, we are only given a very slight overview of
what has gone on in this forest over the centuries.
For example, when did it become known as the Forbidden Forest?
Why was a school for chil*dren built right alongside it?
With all this in mind, there’s likely an incredibly rich backstory for this mysterious
location.
So, let’s dig into the earlier history of this daunting wood…
The Early History of the Forbidden Forest
The Forbidden Forest, as it is primarily known amongst the students of Hogwarts, is also
referred to by the wider wizarding world as the Dark Forest.
As we’ve already discussed at much length, a portion of the Forest is located within
the grounds of Hogwarts, along the edges of the property.
It is incredibly old, with first known mention of it dating back to as early as the first
millennium.
In fact, it’s believed that the Forest was originally a small, simple wood, inhabited
and cared for by only a herd of lone centaurs.
As it was, no one quite knows exactly when it garnered its current reputation for harbouring
some of the most dark and dangerous magical creatures.
Or when it grew to such a size as it stands today.
It’s important to note, however, that the Forbidden Forest is also home to a few more
friendly magical beings as well.
Being that the Forest is so ancient, filled with gnarled beech, oak, pine, sycamore, and
yew trees that have lived for centuries alongside mysterious and sinister-looking black flowers,
the Forest is also said to hold many secrets, unbeknownst to the larger magical community.
Due to the lack of visitors from outside the Forest, there are very few paths, except for
near the entrances.
Even here those who dare venture inside are met with thorns and large roots known to make
it incredibly difficult to pass through the brush.
And yet, we know from characters like Bartemius Crouch Senior, who stumbled out of the Forbidden
Forest near the end of The Goblet of Fire, that it was possible to traverse the Forest
and access the ground of Hogwarts from the outside world simply by navigating your way
through it.
That said, I suppose, with all the dark and sinister creatures who live within the Forest,
it’s likely not quite as easy as simply walking on through.
Despite the level of difficulty required to make one’s way through the Dark Forest,
it does seem like a giant oversight by those who founded Hogwarts to have NOT built some
form of barrier between the school grounds and the outside world.
As it stands, it seems like an incredible flaw in the protection of the school’s students…but
I digress!
Due to its proximity to the school grounds – as well as what we know about the location
of Hagrid’s hut – it likely comes as no surprise that the boundary of the Forbidden
Forest was the home of many Hogwarts’ Groundskeepers, including and prior to Rubeus Hagrid.
The presumption here is that each Groundskeeper was charged with keeping tabs on the Forest,
and tending to any known altercations or other important matters that may have arisen within
it.
The first documented event within the Forbidden Forest – that we know of – occurred in
the late 1970s, when someone – presumably a student of Hogwarts – disturbed what was
known as the Forest Vault.
This vault was one of five legendary Cursed Vaults within the school, and upon its disturbance,
it unleashed a terrible sleepwalking curse upon the pupils of Hogwarts, which led to
many students venturing into the Forbidden Forest as they slept.
Tragically, this sleepwalking epide*mic resulted in multiple deaths and many injuries.
At this time, a Hogwarts’ student named Jacob attempted to break the curse with the
help of a centaur, who went by the name of Torvus.
Unfortunately, Torvus refused to hand over what Jacob required to break the curse, as
what the young wizard needed was a precious heirloom to the centaur, a jewel-adorned arrowhead.
This led to young Jacob stealing the heirloom, never to return it to the centaur or Forest,
as he was expelled before he was able to do so.
There’s also knowledge of a former Hogwarts’ professor who taught Care of Magical Creatures,
Silvanus Kettleburn, spending a significant amount of time within the Forest.
Tragically, he was the one responsible for sharing insight into how one could enter the
Forbidden Forest undetected by broom with a particularly troubled young witch, Patricia
Rakepick.
It’s said that this information led to Patricia having unauthorized access to the Forest,
which ultimately contributed to her ability to murder a fellow student, Rowan Khanna,
within the wooded setting.
Sadly, this is just one of the many tragic ends that other unnamed Hogwarts students
met within the Forbidden Forest, as it is common knowledge that more than a few pupils
disappeared into the forest over the years, never to be seen again…
And, with that, we’ve come to the end of another video!
What do you think?
Did I miss anything about the Forbidden Forest’s history?
What are your thoughts on the importance of this mysterious location and its proximity
to Hogwarts?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
And, as always, if you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like it and subscribe to
the channel!
Until next time…
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live