The Responsibilities Borne by Magical Schools

The castle complex of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was built atop a mountain. At its foot lay an enormous lake several times the size of the castle, known as the Black Lake.

Looking out from the castle across the Black Lake, there was a forest on the opposite shore. Within the forest was a path that appeared only during the major holidays each year. Following that path led to Hogsmeade Station in Hogsmeade Village, where Young Wizards boarded the train to return home for the holidays.

To the right of the castle and the Black Lake stretched a vast, level meadow enclosed by towering walls. Inside were Professor Sprout's greenhouses for cultivating plants, as well as the enormous Quidditch pitch.

To the left, beyond rolling grassy hills, lay the Forbidden Forest, stretching endlessly into the distance.

The area between the Forbidden Forest, the castle, and the Black Lake was dotted with many scattered features.

There was the Whomping Willow, whose hidden passage led to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade Village; the Cottage, which had once been caretaker Filch's quarters and later became Anton and his group's club; and farther on, the home of Forbidden Forest keeper Rubeus Hagrid, along with his garden and farmland.

Further into the Forbidden Forest were the habitats and breeding grounds of all manner of magical creature populations.

There was the habitat of the Acromantula, a 5X danger-level magical creature with lethal venom; the habitat of Unicorns, 4X danger-level creatures whose blood carried a dreadful curse; the habitat of Centaurs, 4X danger-level creatures skilled in astrology and forest hunting; the habitat of Thestrals, 3X danger-level creatures with formidable flying abilities...

There was also a paddock for Winged Horses, which were temporarily incapable of surviving on their own in the wild.

But the Forbidden Forest