The Floo Network

• Type: Magical Transportation, Communication System
• Owners: Regulated by the Ministry of Magic
• Maker: Ignatia Wildsmith (13th Century) (Pottermore)

The Floo Network is a magical system connecting wizarding fireplaces. It is not a physical object itself, but rather a property bestowed upon the fireplaces connected to it. When activated with Floo Powder, the fire in the hearth roars and turns a brilliant emerald green. For the traveler, the experience is a dizzying, tumultuous rush. The world becomes a high-speed blur of colors and shapes as they are rapidly spun towards their destination. It is possible to catch fleeting glimpses of other rooms and fireplaces as one passes them. The journey is often accompanied by a loud roaring sound and a sensation of being sucked along a great pipe. Soot and ash are common side effects of travel, particularly for inexperienced users.

The Floo Network is a versatile and widely used method for both transportation and communication in the wizarding world. Its use is entirely dependent on Floo Powder and a correctly connected fireplace.

• Transportation:
  1. A witch or wizard throws a pinch of Floo Powder into a lit fireplace that is part of the network.
  2. The user must step into the emerald green flames and state their intended destination clearly and articulately.
  3. They are then pulled through the network to the destination fireplace.
  4. It is crucial to keep one's elbows tucked in to avoid hitting the grates of other fireplaces en route.
  5. Mispronouncing the destination can lead to arriving in an entirely incorrect location, as when Harry Potter accidentally said “Diagonally” instead of “Diagon Alley” and ended up in Knockturn Alley.
• Communication:
  1. The network can also be used for head-only communication.
  2. A user kneels before a connected fireplace, throws Floo Powder into the flames, and inserts only their head.
  3. After stating the destination, their head appears, wreathed in green flames, in the hearth of the target fireplace, allowing for real-time conversation with anyone present in that room.
  4. This method was used by Amos Diggory to speak with the Weasleys and Harry Potter, and frequently by Sirius Black to communicate with Harry from Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
• Limitations:
  1. The Ministry of Magic has the authority to monitor and control the network. Specific fireplaces can be watched or disconnected entirely. During Dolores Umbridge's tenure at Hogwarts, she arranged for all school fireplaces except her own to be monitored.
  2. A fireplace must be connected to the network to function. Muggle fireplaces, or those blocked by magical or mundane means (such as the Dursleys' electric fire), cannot be used.

The invention of Floo Powder, and by extension the Floo Network, is credited to Ignatia Wildsmith in the thirteenth century (Pottermore). Since its creation, it has become a staple of wizarding life, overseen by the Floo Network Authority at the Ministry of Magic. The price of Floo Powder has famously remained stable for a century, at two Sickles a scoop. The main atrium of the Ministry of Magic itself contains hundreds of gilded fireplaces set into the walls, allowing for the mass arrival and departure of Ministry employees.

The Floo Network plays a significant role throughout the series as a primary means of travel and a critical plot device.

• In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry's first use of the network results in him mistakenly traveling to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley, where he overhears a conversation involving Lucius Malfoy.
• In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sirius Black uses the Gryffindor common room fire to speak with Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, offering advice on the Triwizard Tournament. The Weasleys' attempt to pick Harry up from Privet Drive via the network goes awry when they discover the Dursleys have blocked their fireplace.
• In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dolores Umbridge's monitoring of the network forces Harry to use her office fire to check if Sirius is safe at Grimmauld Place. Deceived by Kreacher, Harry's actions lead directly to the confrontation in the Department of Mysteries.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, after escaping the Ministry of Magic with the locket Horcrux, the trio use the network to return to Grimmauld Place. However, the Death Eater Yaxley manages to grab hold of Hermione as she Disapparates, breaking the Fidelius Charm on the house and forcing them to flee.

• J.K. Rowling has explained that the name is a pun on “flue,” the technical term for a smoke duct in a chimney.
• In the film adaptations, traveling via the Floo Network is often depicted as the user's body dissolving into green, swirling smoke or a fast-moving spectral image, which then reconstitutes at the destination.