| The Wizarding World
Magical Transportation
Apparating/Disapparating (esp. GF6)
An advanced spell which allows the caster to disappear from one spot and reappear in another almost instantly. Apparition is regulated by the Ministry. Use of the spell requires a license which is granted when a witch or wizard passes a test, demonstrating their mastery of the technique. Apparition over very long distances is unreliable (QA).
Portkey (GF6, GF10, GF32, GF34)
A Portkey is an enchanted object, often a piece of supposedly worthless junk, which when touched will transport a person to a preprogrammed location.
Knight Bus (PA3)
Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Can also be flagged down for low-cost transportation to any location in Britain. The driver is Ernie Prang and the conductor is Stan Shunpike.
flying carpet (currently banned in Britain) (GF7)
Hogwarts Express
Floo Powder (CS4, GF4) - fireplaces connected in the Floo Network
Floo Powder is thrown into a fireplace, causing the fire to burn brilliant green. This allows a witch or wizard to step into the flames, which do not burn them, speak the name of another fireplace location, and travel there in something of a dizzying whirl. It is important to speak the name of the destination very clearly and also to keep one's elbows tucked in. The Ministry of Magic maintains and regulates the "Floo Network" of fireplaces which are connected in this way. Non-Wizard fireplaces can be connected to the Floo Network on a temporary basis as needed (GF4).
broomstick
The most widely used and accepted form of magical transportation.
Flying Carriage
A huge, powder blue, flying carriage as big as a house is used by Beauxbatons students to attend the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. The carriage is drawn by twelve gigantic flying horses, all palominos (GF15)
Magical Ship
The students from Durmstrang arrived at Hogwarts aboard a magical ship which surfaced in the center of the Lake. "It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes." (GF15)
horseless stagecoaches
About a hundred stagecoaches wait for arriving Hogwarts students along a rough, mud road near the railway station. They are pulled by what Harry assumes are invisible horses, since they make the journey unassisted past the wrought iron gates and around the Lake to the castle. The coaches smell of mold and straw. (PA
A carriage was waiting for Lupin "at the gates" when he was ready to leave Hogwarts. It is unclear whether this was one of these same stagecoaches or why it would be stopped way back at the gates (PA22).
boats
The arriving first years travel across the Lake to the castle in a flotilla of small boats, propelled by magic. (SS6)
Gringotts cart
To reach the deep underground vaults of Gringott's Wizarding Bank, a goblin whistles for a small cart in which they and the visitor ride. The cart is self-propelled and apparently steers itself along the underground passages, because the goblin doesn't steer as it winds its way along railway tracks in the floor. The cart has only one speed: "breakneck." (SS5)
All forms of magical transportation are regulated and controlled by the Department of Magical Transportation, part of the Ministry of Magic. | |
