Magical Transportation
Apparating/Disapparating
(esp. GF6)
An advanced spell which allows the
caster to disappear from one spot and reappear in another almost instantly.
Apparition is regulated by the Ministry. Use of the spell requires a license
which is granted when a witch or wizard passes a test, demonstrating their
mastery of the technique. Apparition over very long distances is unreliable
(QA).
Portkey
(GF6, GF10, GF32, GF34)
A Portkey is an enchanted object,
often a piece of supposedly worthless junk, which when touched will transport
a person to a preprogrammed location.
Knight
Bus (PA3)
Emergency transport for the stranded
witch or wizard. Can also be flagged down for low-cost transportation to
any location in Britain. The driver is Ernie Prang and the conductor is
Stan Shunpike.
flying carpet (currently banned in Britain) (GF7)
Floo
Powder (CS4, GF4) - fireplaces connected in the
Floo Network
Floo Powder is thrown into a fireplace,
causing the fire to burn brilliant green. This allows a witch or wizard
to step into the flames, which do not burn them, speak the name of another
fireplace location, and travel there in something of a dizzying whirl.
It is important to speak the name of the destination very clearly and also
to keep one's elbows tucked in. The Ministry of Magic maintains and regulates
the "Floo Network" of fireplaces which are connected in this way. Non-Wizard
fireplaces can be connected to the Floo Network on a temporary basis as
needed (GF4).
broomstick
The most widely used and accepted
form of magical transportation.
Flying
Carriage
A huge, powder blue, flying carriage
as big as a house is used by Beauxbatons
students to attend the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. The carriage is
drawn by twelve gigantic flying
horses, all palominos (GF15)
Magical
Ship
The students from Durmstrang
arrived at Hogwarts aboard a magical ship which surfaced in the center
of the Lake. "It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were
a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes
looked like ghostly eyes." (GF15)
horseless
stagecoaches
About a hundred stagecoaches wait
for arriving Hogwarts students along a rough, mud road near the railway
station. They are pulled by what Harry assumes are invisible horses, since
they make the journey unassisted past the wrought iron gates and around
the Lake to the castle. The coaches smell of mold and straw. (PA
A carriage was waiting for Lupin
"at the gates" when he was ready to leave Hogwarts. It is unclear whether
this was one of these same stagecoaches or why it would be stopped way
back at the gates (PA22).
boats
The arriving first years travel
across the Lake to the castle in a flotilla of small boats, propelled by
magic. (SS6)
Gringotts
cart
To reach the deep underground vaults
of Gringott's
Wizarding Bank, a goblin
whistles for a small cart in which they and the visitor ride. The cart
is self-propelled and apparently steers itself along the underground passages,
because the goblin doesn't steer as it winds its way along railway tracks
in the floor. The cart has only one speed: "breakneck." (SS5)
All forms of magical transportation are regulated and controlled by the Department of Magical Transportation, part of the Ministry of Magic.
