======Bathilda Bagshot's House======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** Residence
  * **Location:** [[Godric's Hollow]], [[England]]
  * **Owner/Residents:** [[Bathilda Bagshot]]; later occupied by [[Nagini]] under the control of [[Lord Voldemort]].
  * **Key Features:** A small, old cottage filled with extreme filth and the palpable presence of [[Dark Magic]] during its final occupation.
=====Description and History=====
The house of [[Bathilda Bagshot]] was a small cottage located in the wizarding village of [[Godric's Hollow]]. For many years, it served as the home of the celebrated magical historian, [[Bathilda Bagshot]], where she presumably wrote her seminal work, //[[A History of Magic]]//. The house was also the location where [[Rita Skeeter]] conducted interviews with Bathilda—likely through the use of [[Veritaserum]]—for her scandalous biography, //[[The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore]]//.
Sometime before [[Christmas]] of 1997, [[Lord Voldemort]] murdered [[Bathilda Bagshot]]. He then used her corpse as a grotesque disguise for his [[Horcrux]], the snake [[Nagini]], turning the once-respectable home into a trap for [[Harry Potter]].
When [[Harry Potter]] and [[Hermione Granger]] visited the house on [[Christmas Eve]], 1997, they found it in a state of extreme squalor. The air was thick with the smell of dust, unwashed clothes, and a faint, sweetish, rotting odour that Harry later associated with [[Dark Magic]]. The cottage was dark and cluttered with stacks of books, old copies of the //[[Daily Prophet]]//, and congealed food on dirty plates. The only light came from a few stubby candles and the wands of the visitors, revealing dust motes swirling in the air.
=====Role in the Story=====
[[Bathilda Bagshot]]'s house is the setting for a pivotal and terrifying confrontation in //[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]//. Seeking information about [[Albus Dumbledore]] and hoping she might be safeguarding the [[Sword of Gryffindor]], [[Harry Potter|Harry]] and [[Hermione Granger|Hermione]] followed the woman they believed to be Bathilda into her home.
Inside, "Bathilda" led Harry upstairs to a bedroom, separating him from Hermione. There, she revealed her true form as [[Nagini]] and attacked Harry. The ensuing struggle was desperate; Harry's holly and phoenix feather [[wand]] was broken by a ricocheting [[curse]] from Hermione, a significant loss that severed a tangible link to his past. During the attack, Harry's connection to [[Voldemort]]'s mind gave him a terrifying vision of the [[Dark Lord]]'s imminent arrival.
[[Hermione Granger|Hermione]] managed to rescue Harry, blasting [[Nagini]] away and using [[Disapparition]] to escape just as [[Voldemort]] arrived. The encounter at the house was a devastating failure in their quest for the [[Horcruxes]], resulting in the loss of Harry's wand and leaving them with more troubling questions about Dumbledore's past. Just before the attack, Harry noticed a photograph on a dressing table of the handsome, joyful young thief from his vision of [[Gellert Grindelwald]] stealing the [[Elder Wand]], standing beside a young [[Albus Dumbledore]], providing the first concrete link between the two powerful wizards.
=====Known Areas Within=====
  * **Living Room:** The ground-floor room which visitors entered first. It was exceedingly dirty, with a grimy fireplace and piles of clutter. It was here that "Bathilda" communicated with Harry in [[Parseltongue]], which he mistook for the hissing of an old woman.
  * **Upstairs Bedroom:** A small, equally filthy room where "Bathilda" led Harry. It contained a dressing table with a dirty mirror and the photograph of [[Dumbledore]] and [[Grindelwald]]. This room was the primary location of [[Nagini]]'s ambush.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
In the film adaptation, //[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1]]//, the scene is depicted with a heavy emphasis on suspense and horror. The interior of the house is dark and decrepit, building a tense atmosphere. The reveal of [[Nagini]] emerging from the decaying body of [[Bathilda Bagshot]] is a moment of graphic body horror created through visual effects. (film)