Greyfriars and the birthplace of Harry Potter

     One of the the most historic spots in Edinburgh (pronounced 'Edinborough', heavy on the burrrrro) is Greyfriars.  The name comes from the Franciscan monks, who wore grey cloaks (the Dominicans wore black cloaks and were called Blackfriars).  It is a church in a spot that originally belonged to the Franciscans but after the Scottish Reformation—led by John Knox—became a Church of Scotland parish—or what we call "Presbyterian".  In 1638 many leading Scots signed a covenant there pledging to defend Presbyterian faith when it seemed to be threatened, especially by Charles I who wanted the Scottish church brought in line with the Church of England, under bishops chosen by the king.  A few years later support of these 'Covenanters' helped swing the victory of Parliament in the English Civil War, costing Charles his head.  When his son was restored to the throne as Charles II, he was even more determined to force compliance and many of the Covenanters rebelled, only to eventually be defeated (partly because of their disunity brought about by theological bickering).  After the final battle 1200 of them were imprisoned in part of the Greyfriars churchyard, and eventually most were shipped overseas into slavery.  Several hundred died in the prison, and several hundred more when the ship transporting them sank while they were locked in its hold.
   They took church rather seriously in those days.  I mean, I've heard people say "I'd rather die or be sold into slavery than be an Episcopalian," but still...
At the same time this was going on, adjacent to the churchyard and the area where they were imprisoned a school for orphans built as the bequest of a generous believer name George Heriot was built.  The school has four corner towers built around a central turret and subsequently became one of the finest schools in Edinburgh.  Its students are traditionally divided into 4 houses... starting to sound familiar?  Just outside the churchyard, with a view of the school and nearby Edinburgh Castle which sits on a spur of rock, is the Pink Elephant Cafe—one of the cafes a single mother named Joanne Rowley used to sit in and write a book about a boy wizard.  Take the school and sit it on the spur of rock and you have something much more like the description in the book than the image used in the movies...  That's the school in the background below—