The Hog's Head is another pub, which often attracts a more unusual and private clientele than the Three Broomsticks, and many of the customers hide their faces. The hanging sign on the front of the pub has a severed boar's head, leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. The pub itself is filthy, with the floor covered with layers of dirt, and the windows smeared with so much grime that little light gets through. The main floor is a single room, but there are additional rooms on the upper floors. Harry notes that the pub smells strongly of goats. The barman is Aberforth Dumbledore, the brother of Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
Despite its seedy reputation, the Hog's Head pub has been host to several important events in the world of Harry Potter. The inn was the headquarters of the 1612 Goblin Rebellion. A few months before Harry was born, it was here that the seer Sybill Trelawney revealed the prophecy connecting Voldemort and Harry during an interview with Dumbledore for the position of Divination teacher at Hogwarts, while Snape listens to the first part of the prophecy. It is also where Hagrid wins an illegal dragon egg (Norbert) while gambling with a disguised servant of Voldemort. In Order of the Phoenix, the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army is secretly held at the Hog's Head. It also serves as an evacuation point for the underage students directly before the Battle of Hogwarts. The children are sent to Hogwarts’ Room of Requirement and travel to the Hog's Head through a portrait of Ariana Dumbledore. In addition, during the Battle of Hogwarts, the Hog's Head is the gathering place for the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army who have gathered to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
The name of the tavern refers to an archaic unit of liquid measurement, the hogshead. It may also be an allusion to the "Boar's Head Tavern" from the play Henry IV, Part 1, by William Shakespeare. Much like The Hog's Head, Shakespeare's tavern is the haunt of some less than reputable characters.
Despite its seedy reputation, the Hog's Head pub has been host to several important events in the world of Harry Potter. The inn was the headquarters of the 1612 Goblin Rebellion. A few months before Harry was born, it was here that the seer Sybill Trelawney revealed the prophecy connecting Voldemort and Harry during an interview with Dumbledore for the position of Divination teacher at Hogwarts, while Snape listens to the first part of the prophecy. It is also where Hagrid wins an illegal dragon egg (Norbert) while gambling with a disguised servant of Voldemort. In Order of the Phoenix, the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army is secretly held at the Hog's Head. It also serves as an evacuation point for the underage students directly before the Battle of Hogwarts. The children are sent to Hogwarts’ Room of Requirement and travel to the Hog's Head through a portrait of Ariana Dumbledore. In addition, during the Battle of Hogwarts, the Hog's Head is the gathering place for the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army who have gathered to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
The name of the tavern refers to an archaic unit of liquid measurement, the hogshead. It may also be an allusion to the "Boar's Head Tavern" from the play Henry IV, Part 1, by William Shakespeare. Much like The Hog's Head, Shakespeare's tavern is the haunt of some less than reputable characters.