Preface: Hogwarts, A History

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Library


Off the shoreline of the Hogwarts Grounds, placed in the middle of the Great Lake, there is an island. The sparse land is not well known, as time has slowly softened its sharp points. Students don't use it any more, and staff have long since filed away all references to the place.

Yet, there was a time when the island was a hive of nocturnal activity. Not just the island itself has been forgotten by the depths of time, but the crumbling tower that stands upon it has suffered the same fate. It was the decision of Headmaster Dippet to construct the tower on the tiny, almost unnoticeable island. Seen as a trivial construction to some, the tower was not without purpose.

The Dark Lord steadily rose to power, and the Headmaster found himself, along with the students under his charge, in a tight spot. Hogwarts was not as safe as it should be, and its stone walls were targeted by Lord Voldemort, once known as Tom Riddle. Riddle, though charming at one point, was now one of the most powerful wizards in the community. It seemed that he would stop at nothing to take over everything in his path. The taste of power outside of Hogwarts was enough to drive him mad.

Dippet considered Hogwarts a likely target – after the nonsense with the Chamber of Secrets. The heir of Slytherin had caused enough panic before, and Dippet wasn't even sure back then that there was anything to panic about. But this time was different. The threat was very real, in the form of a single human being, and that made it more threatening.

So, Lockwood Tower was constructed. Students were assigned a shift every night of the school year. Their job: To keep a close eye on the grounds and point out anything suspicious. The Dementors had their jobs of course, but they weren't proving to be much help. They seemed more interested in feasting on students' happiness rather than keeping an eye out for the Dark Lord.

Every night, students would make their way out to the tower in pairs by boat, bringing along with them provisions to last the night. They would be rewarded for their efforts if they reported sightings of suspicious happenings. Quite a few students reported questionable activity regarding the Dementors, so House Points were rewarded.

However, the tower never spotted the Dark Lord because his downfall came quite unexpectedly. In an instant, Voldemort was defeated, and the wizarding community celebrated it for weeks on end.

And so, the tower on Lockwood Island was slowly forgotten as students graduated and slipped into their roles in the community. The world changed as it waited for the time when the tower would be used once again, and all those who knew about it hoped anxiously that the time would not be soon.