Painting of a hippopotamus

A painting of a hippopotamus hung at Hogwarts Castle in one of the topmost levels of the Grand Staircase.

History
On 31 October, 1993, Sirius Black attacked Fat Lady's portrait in a vain attempt to gain entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Scared, the Fat Lady ran away hiding in other paintings, including this one, where she hid behind the hippopotamus.

Behind the scenes

 * During the production stages of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, director Alfonso Cuaron was having difficulty deciding on a final design for this painting and its interaction with the Fat Lady. In order to "provoke" him into making a final decision, concept artist Dermot Power jokingly drew a piece of concept art depicting the Fat Lady lying in bed with a smoking hippopotamus that was strongly suggestive that the pair had just had sex.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)