What’s in my Backpack: Hogwarts Edition

I have been collecting Harry Potter memorabilia for well over 10 years now so I’ve had quite a bit of time to accumulate lots of Hogwarts bits and bobs.

It was only recently however that I came to the realisation that I have pretty much everything required to march off to King’s Cross and get on the Hogwarts Express to go off to Wizarding school myself. 

I don’t do much shopping these days but there’s one place that I still frequently grace with my debit card and that is the Harry Potter section of Primark.

Seeing a number of Hogwarts backpacks in there, I felt inspired.

Why not put all of that memorabilia I’ve invested in to use?

What could be better than a Potter themed “what’s in my backpack” post?

So here we have it – what’s in my backpack, the Hogwarts edition! 

NB. This is clearly from the backpack of a Hogwarts student mid-way through an identity crisis. Or a pickpocket. One of the two. There is an assortment of items from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw as well as characters Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter.

Leave me a comment below if you’d like house and character-specific posts! 

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you use my link to purchase any of the above products, I may gain a very small amount of commission.

It’s worth noting from the outset that as Primark’s Harry Potter range is updated frequently, some of these exact items will no longer be available. In every case, I have suggested other similar products that are available to purchase worldwide!

Hogwarts Daily Essentials

Hogwarts School Backpack

Hogwarts students were most often seen wandering around with satchels for school bags but with all those heavy books to carry that can’t possibly have been good for their posture.

I nabbed this cute black Hogwarts crest backpack from the Harry Potter section in Primark on Tottenham Court Road and it’s the perfect Harry Potter backpack for lugging around your Hogwarts essentials. 

There’s an incredibly cute range of kid’s backpacks from Jujube who have an official Harry Potter backpack collection. It includes designed inspired by Honeydukes, the Hogwarts crest and more. Check it out here.

Buy a similar replica Harry Potter Hogwarts backpack here.

Shop Jujube x Harry Potter backpacks here.

Or, shop a range of Hogwarts backpacks here.

Harry Potter Glasses 

Despite his wizarding ability, Harry still had to wear specs just like the rest of us muggles. Mine aren’t quite as round or as black as Harry’s but I heard that tortoise shell was more trendy these days. Sorry, Harry. 

You can get your own pair of Harry Potter glasses very cheaply on Amazon, including this glasses four-pack at incredible value!

I’m not sure why you’d need four pairs but perhaps if you were planning to brew your own polyjuice potion and turn all your friends into Harry Potter a la Deathly Hallows then this deal would suit you. 

Get a pair of Harry Potter glasses for yourself here.

Harry Potter Quill

Whilst wizards often laughed at muggles for their inefficiency, I still marvel that they used quills and ink pots most of the time. I guess Rita Skeeter was the only one ahead of her time with her magic (and mouthy) pen. 

You can get the official Harry Potter quill set from Noble Collection which comes with a beautiful ink pot too. There’s also this Hogwarts acceptance letter kit that comes with a quill, which is lovely.

Buy the official Harry Potter Noble Collection quill and ink set here

Harry Potter Wand

As well as know from the late Ollivander, the wand chooses the wizard. In this case, Neville Longbottom’s wand found its way to me. I’m not sure what that says about my magical ability but I’m not sure it’s too promising.

Courageous as he may be, he was not known for being the best with spells. I suppose it’s a step above Ron’s wand which snapped in too though so perhaps I should be thankful. 

Replica Harry Potter wands for each and every character are available from the Noble Collection and you can buy them here.

The Daily Prophet

Every wizard needs a copy of The Daily Prophet to peruse over their morning breakfast. Replica Daily Prophet’s can cost an absolute fortune but luckily I found a set of two Hogwarts notebooks from Primark for only £3. This “Daily Prophet” print notebook is, of course, one of the most iconic – “Harry Potter Undesirable No 1”. 

Buy your own replica Daily Prophet online here.

Quidditch Team in Training Water Bottle

JK Rowling never mentioned Quidditch team water bottles but all that zooming around in the air must be exhausting and it’s important to stay hydrated.

In much the same way that keen rugby lads would have the entire range of their official university sports kit in their bags, I imagine Hogwarts Quidditch players would have their own versions too.

Grab this Harry Potter water bottle from Primark UK whilst you can! And for more Harry Potter water bottle options:

Other amazing Harry Potter water bottles include this potions bottle and bag, this Skele-Gro bottle, this simple Harry Potter glasses and scar bottle for cold/hot drinks, this Hogwarts crest water bottle, an Aguamenti bottle to remind you to drink more and lots of others.

Hogwarts Textbooks and Exercise Books

Tom Marvolo Riddle’s Diary

We all know what happened the last time someone confided in this diary and I must admit I have been too afraid to actually write anything in it lest the ink disappear and Tom Riddle himself come crawling out.  

This is however a gorgeous leather notebook and one of my fave items of Harry Potter memorabilia I own. It looks exactly like the one they used in the films and is a fun item to keep around on your desk. 

Available from the Noble Collection on Amazon.

Hogwarts School Exercise Book

I found this Hogwarts School Exercise Book at the Warner Bros Studio Tour in Leavesden and completely fell in love with it. I’m not a Ravenclaw but those blue swirls were just too beautiful to resist!

This is quite a large thick composition book containing 140 pages, perfect for noting down everything Professor Snape barks at you in Potions class. 

You can also shop some gorgeous replica Hogwarts notebooks from House of MinaLima here.

Shop replica Harry Potter notebooks online here.
Shop beautiful Harry Potter Moleskins online here.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

Newt Scamander’s fame has skyrocketed over the past two years thanks to the new film adaptations of this Hogwarts handbook. Find out about all sorts of magical creatures that are mentioned in the series in prep for Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class! 

This edition contains a hilarious title page featuring a little written squabble between Ron and Hermione about why Ron hasn’t bought his own edition yet and is instead buying dungbombs and borrowing Harry’s book.

The latest edition does not contain this but instead has a foreword by Newt Scamander.

Shop the Hogwarts Library Collection here.

Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp

Pretty much everyone in the wizarding world is a quidditch fan so brush up on your knowledge of famous wizarding teams and exactly what all the rules are in Quidditch Through the Ages.

Again, this Comic Relief edition is no longer available as new but there is a new version available here:

Get the new Hogwarts Library Collection here.

Ravenclaw Book Sleeve

This item was also never mentioned by JK Rowling but I’m convinced that it’s something Hermione would have in her bag. A book sleeve is a material book cover for your paperbacks to avoid them getting damaged.

With all those potions ingredients and other risky spells going on around Hogwarts, I can imagine this sort of thing to be incredibly useful. 

This Ravenclaw house edition is from Booksac, a former Etsy boutique. Thankfully there are loads of other book sleeve sellers on Etsy and lots of Harry Potter related designs. Another book sleeve I love is this Marauder’s Map edition from FabricBound.

Shop Harry Potter book sleeves on Etsy here.

Honeydukes’ Sweet Treats

Chocolate Frog

Having a little bit of chocolate around is always useful during the dark times of Harry Potter just in case you find yourself facing a dementor.

Be careful with these chocolate frogs though, take your eye off it for a second and it’ll go jumping out the window, which Harry found out the hard way on his first Hogwarts Express ride. 

These are pretty pricey at around £12 each but worth it if for the beautiful box if you’re a Harry Potter superfan. These are produced by the Warner Bros Studio Tour and you view the latest range here. If you’d like to buy a mini chocolate frog without the box, that’s available here.

You can shop online for a variety of official Harry Potter sweets here.

Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean 

Always have a pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean on you so you can surprise your friends when they least expect it. Who’s going to be the unlucky one that picks earwax?

As above, the official version featured here is available from WB Tour London for £12. You can also buy it online here.

Buy a small pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans here.

Honeydukes Lollipop 

Harry pulled one of these right out of Neville’s hand in the Prisoner of Azkaban so I’m going to assume they were a favourite of his from Honeydukes Sweet Shop.

I’m not sure sharing lollipops is all that hygienic but I suppose when you’re stuck under an invisibility cloak, you take what you can get. 

These lollipops are available from the WB Tour London only.   

Buy a variety of other official Harry Potter sweets here.

Magical Items

Hogwarts Express Ticket 

You won’t be going anywhere if you don’t have your ticket for the Hogwarts Express so make very sure that you’ve got this one packed!

The tickets are designed by MinaLima Design and you can buy numerous different items from them with this print on them – oyster card holders, postcards, prints and more. 

Find out more about MinaLima Design here.

Time Turner 

I guess students aren’t supposed to have these as they can wreak havoc with the past, present and future but shhh! This keyring is super pretty and what’s cool is that you can actually spin all the different pieces round, just like a real time turner!

RELATED: Why The Prisoner of Azkaban is the Best in the Series

If you’re a keen student like Hermione, you’ll absolutely need one of these in your bag so you can make it to every single class on offer and perhaps even save some innocent souls.

I’d love to get my hands on the official replica time turner necklace which has the detailing writing round the edges too.

Buy the official Time Turner replica online here

The Marauder’s Map

The Marauder’s Map is definitely up there as one of the most important items on this list. Hogwarts Castle is an absolute nightmare to navigate at the best of times so you can look out for all the secret passageways and hideouts with this magical map.

Make sure no one else spots you with it though! It could be dangerous in the wrong hands… 

This postcard is from a postcard pack sold by MinaLima Design in House of MinaLima London. They sell a range of their prints online too here. MinaLima Design made all the graphics from the Harry Potter films – newspaper prints, book covers, posters, maps, tickets etc. 

Buy an official replica Marauders Map online here.

Yule Ball Invitation

The Yule Ball was possibly the biggest social event that Hogwarts ever hosted and one of the only times the students got to dress up! I’ll never forget Hermione’s gorgeous pink dress as she came down the steps with Ron staring up at her, drooling!

Get your Yule Ball Invitation in this Hermione Granger box from Noble Collection.

Spectrespecs

I’m not sure whether to believe Luna about these spectrespecs making wrackspurts visible but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

I got these a book entitled Magical Scenes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which contained numerous pop-ups and flaps but it doesn’t seem to be on sale anymore.

If you’re a die-hard Luna fan then you can purchase your own sturdy pair of plastic spectrespecs here.

Alternatively, you can make your own DIY pair at home by following these instructions.

Get your own pair of Spectrespecs here

Which essentials do you think you’d have in your Hogwarts backpack? Let me know in the comments below! 

If you liked this post, check out these:
Harry Potter WB Studio Tour Review
Harry Potter Tour of Oxford University
Christmas at Hogwarts: a Journey through the Years
Hogwarts in the Snow at Warner Bros Tour London

Pin now, read again later!

Laura

Founder & Editor of What’s Hot?

Laura is an award-winning travel and book blogger based in the UK. She studied French literature at Oxford University and is now an IP lawyer at a top law firm in London. She was named UK Book Blogger of the Year in 2019 and loves to combine her passion for books and travel with literary travel.

This article was first published in 2018 and updated in 2020.