Hallows, Deathly
See DEATHLY HALLOWS.

Hand of Glory
A withered hand which, when a candle is inserted into it, gives light only to the holder (CS4).

• Draco Malfoy asked Lucius Malfoy to buy him one just before his second year (CS4). Evidently he got it (HBP6)

• NOTE: The Hand of Glory is drawn from English folklore, described as a withered human hand whose fingers, when lit like candles, cast a charmed sleep on members of the household so the thief can rob the house. []

Hangman, Reusable
Magical toy for playing Hangman; one of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

• (HBP6)

hats

• hat, cursed

• Hat, Headless

• Hat, Shield

• Hat, Sorting

hat, cursed
Bill Weasley once had a penfriend from Brazil who was offended when Bill couldn't travel all the way to South America for a visit, so this person sent him a cursed hat that made his ears shrivel up (GF7).

Hat, Headless
The Headless Hat was invented by Fred and George Weasley. When placed upon a person's head, the head will become invisible, making it look as if the wearer is completely headless (OP24, OP26)

Hat, Shield
The Shield Hat was invented by Fred and George Weasley. It looks like an ordinary hat but functions as a Shield Charm, protecting the wearer against minor to moderate hexes and jinxes (HBP6).

• The twins intended this as a joke item ("challenge your mate to jinx you while wearing it"), not knowing that many people can't perform a decent Shield Charm. The Ministry of Magic ordered 500 of them for all its support staff (HBP6)

Hat, Sorting
See SORTING HAT.

Hiccough Sweet (U.S.: Hiccup Sweet)
Presumably one of these sweets makes the eater begin to hiccup.

• (PA14)

Horcrux
See HORCRUXES.

hourglass
Four giant hourglasses - one for each house - stand in niches in a corner opposite the main doors in Hogwarts' Entrance Hall; they automatically track house points (PS15).

• Each hourglass is filled with gemstones rather than sand, where each gemstone in the lower bulb of the hourglass represents a house point currently held by that house. (OP28, OP38).

• When house points are awarded, gemstones fall from the upper bulb into the lower bulb; when house points are taken, gemstones (if there are any) retreat into the upper bulb from the lower bulb (OP28, OP38).

• It is possible, though not common, for a house to be in negative points; judging from Snape's reaction when he was about to put the Gryffindor hourglass into this state, some sort of silent warning may be triggered to inform the point-taker when this is about to occur (OP38).

• Gryffindor's hourglass contains rubies, Ravenclaw's sapphires, and Slytherin's emeralds (OP28, OP38), reflecting the respective house colours. Presumably Hufflepuff's hourglass contains some sort of yellow gemstone, but this is not stated.

Howler
A Howler is a nasty letter sent to tell someone off. It arrives in a red envelope, smoking slightly. It must be opened immediately or it explodes. Upon opening, the Howler screams at the recipient in a voice magically magnified for maximum effect. Students at Hogwarts occasionally receive Howlers from their parents.

• After the flying Ford Anglia incident, Molly sent Ron a Howler to tell him off (CS6). (Fear of getting another Howler was what kept Ron from writing home and asking for a new wand to replace the one broken in that incident.)

• Neville's gran sent him a Howler after he was punished for losing the passwords into Gryffindor Tower during the 1993 - 1994 [Y13 - Y14] school year (PA14).

• Howlers were sent to the Ministry of Magic to complain about the "lax security" at the Quidditch World Cup. Percy had to deal with some of them. He said he had scorch marks all over his desk (GF10).

• When Rita Skeeter wrote gossip about Hermione, some readers of Witch Weekly sent Hermione Howlers (GF28).

• Dumbledore sent a Howler to Aunt Petunia, reminding her of her obligation to let Harry live at number four, Privet Drive (OP2).

• Ron expected to get another Howler after the twins left school (OP30), but didn't.