The Burrow

The Burrow was a country home and the family dwelling of the Weasley Family. Although it looked rickety and put together randomly, it was built with magic and was, therefore, quite strong. It was first introduced in the Harry Potter series when Ron, Fred, and George Weasley saved Harry Potter from his uncle’s house and brought him here. The house compound also had a lawn, a chicken coop, and a barn nearby. After Twelve Grimmauld Place was compromised, the Burrow became the official new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry always considered this the best house and a second home to him. It was probably also his favorite place after Hogwarts.

Why Is It Called The Burrow?

The Burrow is one of the most important and memorable dwellings in the Harry Potter series. Its mention brings about an immediate feeling of warmth and happiness in most Harry Potter fans as it was the first place that Harry found had a semblance to a home that he enjoyed living in, not including the house at Godric’s Hollow because he was very young then. After staying for eleven years in Privet Drive with his overbearing and rude relatives, it became a sudden glimmer of hope and promise that family is not necessarily as bad as he thought they were. Therefore, calling it the Burrow is probably a nod to how warm and cozy Harry Potter felt in this house. Furthermore, since there were a lot of members in the Weasley family, it is probably a reference by the writer J. K. Rowling herself to how rabbits and other rodents have a litter with a lot of children and live very comfortably in burrows.

The Weasley Family

The Weasley family is probably the most important family in the Harry Potter universe. This is because most of the members of the Weasley household are very important characters in the Harry Potter Series. Also, both Harry and Hermione eventually become members of the Weasley family. The Weasley family that lives in the Burrow began when Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley, who studied at Hogwarts together, decided to get married and establish a household in the Burrow. Arthur Weasley got a job in the Ministry of Magic, where he worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.

Molly Weasley became a homemaker and used her talents as a witch to bring up the family. Their first child was Bill Weasley, who eventually studied at Hogwarts too and became a curse breaker for Gringotts in Egypt. Their second son was Charlie Weasley, who also studied at Hogwarts and eventually started working in Romania with dragons. Their third son was Percy Weasley, who was the Gryffindor prefect when Harry joined Hogwarts, and eventually, he started working as an undersecretary to Barty Crouch, the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

They had two more boys right after. Fred and George Weasley were twins and were known to be very funny and notoriously witty. They went to Hogwarts together and were beaters in the Gryffindor Quidditch team when Harry was the seeker. Their next child was Ron Weasley, who was Harry’s best friend. He went to Hogwarts, too, and is one of the most important characters in the Harry Potter series. Finally, they had a daughter. Ginny Weasley was their only daughter, the little sister of the Weasley boys, and the youngest of all the Weasley siblings. She and Harry eventually got married to each other.

Where Is The Burrow?

The Burrow is situated near the village of Ottery St Catchpole in Devon County, England. It was close to the houses of some other wizarding families like the Lovegoods, the Fawcetts, and the Diggorys. The place where the Burrow existed was once a Tudor building with a large pigpen beside it. However, after Molly and Arthur Weasley graduated from Hogwarts, they decided to make this place their home. Eventually, the pigpen became the spot from which the Burrow started forming, with them making magical adjustments every time they had children. The house eventually became a several storied building with a few chimneys on top. 

How Does The Burrow Look?

The Burrow was a cluttered assortment of rooms put together with magic. It had a front yard and a garage nearby. The garage was used by Mr Weasley to put his Muggle artifacts including the Ford Anglia that he bewitched to fly. There was also a garden and an orchard with a hedge which would sometimes get infested with a number of gnomes. The garden was inhabited by chickens that would roam freely until the fence Harry had to once de-gnome the garden with Ron and the twins. The garden is described as being slightly shabby, with weeds growing everywhere and gnarled trees. There was also a green pond that was full of frogs that Harry and Dumbledore landed on after disapparating from Horace Slughorn’s place.

In the back garden of the Burrow was a stone outhouse that was converted into a broom shed. Ginny is said to have constantly broken into the shed to take her brothers’ broomsticks since she was six years old, as they would not let her play Quidditch.

The Burrow As A Home 

The Burrow was a very comfortable dwelling for the Weasleys and any guest who came by. The interiors were interesting and had a wide variety of furniture and gadgets. For instance, there was a clock in the living room that had the names of Mr Weasley and Mrs Weasley and all the Weasley children. The hands of the clocks all had different names, including “at work” and “in mortal peril” based on what every member of the Weasley family was doing. The kitchen also had an entrance from outside the house and was surrounded by old Wellington boots, old pipes, a ladder, and rusted cauldrons.

The kitchen was filled with a lot of things and was also one of the most frequent gathering places for the Weasleys. Ginny’s room was smaller in size and was on the first floor. She had decorated her room with posters of the Weird Sisters and the captain of the Holyhead Harpies, Gwenog Jones. Hermione stayed here when she visited, including the time she came for the Quidditch World Cup. Fred and George’s room was on the second floor, and it was common for there to be explosions there. The Weasley twins constantly worked on making new joke items and prank toys in their little workshop. Percy’s Room was also on the second floor. He kept to himself most of the time, and after he left, the room was uninhabited for a while. However, Fleur Delacour and Gabrielle shared this room before Fleur’s wedding. 

The fourth floor had Bill’s room. Charlie would use this room too when he came there, especially during the Christmas holidays, and Remus Lupin used the room too when he visited the Burrow. It is also assumed that Mr and Mrs Weasley’s rooms were on the same floor. The fifth floor had Ron’s room. Ron’s bedroom was small and right below the attic. There was a hatch through which one would access the attic. He had a poster of the Chudley Cannons on his wall, and during their long Horcrux hunt, he made a ghoul use that room as a disguise should any Death Eaters come in search of him on the orders of Voldemort. Harry often stayed in this room when he paid a visit to the Burrow. When he was first rescued from the Dursleys in the flying car, he was brought to this room by Ron, who was embarrassed about how small his room was. However, Harry really liked this room a lot. Interestingly, in the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Death Eaters did come to Burrow and attack it. Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback caused a lot of havoc, burned down the Burrow, and then escaped.

The Burrow – Like the Guggenheim in Bilbao

The Burrow may be an architectural salvage and may have several design flaws. However, it was built strongly with ample help from magic. It is very similar in effect to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and looks a bit like it in how its rooms were later attached based on need after the Weasley children were born. Therefore, despite not necessarily being considered an engineering marvel, the Burrow may be an interesting piece in a modern architecture exhibition.

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