Cursed Vaults

Cursed Vaults
Location information
Location	Various places in the Hogwarts Castle

Jacob's sibling: "Who created the Cursed Vaults? And why?"

Albus Dumbledore: "There are many theories. Some say they were crafted by one of the Founders, others say they were built by a paranoid Headmaster… As far as why, most of the speculation is too dangerous and implausible to indulge until we know the truth."

— Jacob's sibling talks to Albus Dumbledore about the Cursed Vaults

The Cursed Vaults were five vaults rumoured to exist at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that were believed to contain treasures dating back to before the founding of the school, such as gold, prophecies and various other powerful magical artifacts. Every vault had a different curse placed on it.

History

The origins of the vaults have been forgotten, although many theories have been circulated over the centuries. According to Albus Dumbledore, (who might have been intentionally vague to discourage Jacob's sibling from getting further involved with the vaults), stated that theories would have it that they were created by the Hogwarts founders themselves or a Headmaster who suffered from paranoia. The house ghost of Gryffindor House, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, however, later explained to the same student that since Hogwarts Castle was always meant to be a safe place, the school came to shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding and protecting that which were dangerous from falling into the wrong hands, and carrying the burden of the job remarkably well despite the fact that subsequent heads of the school and members of the faculty came to recognise how it to some extent compromised the security of the castle. 

The knighted ghost believed that while there was a general consensus among those who believed that the Cursed Vaults were real that they were most likely originally made to protect something dangerous by people wanting to take advantage of the school's ever-changing floorplan to make their locations more difficult to find, it was also possible that the vaults were created around something dangerous that could not be moved. Over the centuries, numerous individuals had been overheard discussing the Vaults by Sir Nicholas throughout his time as a spectral resident at the castle. Among them were the Professors Fortinbras and Bartholomew, who were involved in the creation of a 'circle of trust' consisting of a group of teachers and students who all worked together researching the vaults with the intent of putting an end the threat they posed to the safety of the school. Ultimately unsuccessful, both of the aforementioned teachers left behind the fruits of their work for those who came after, hoping that they might be able to solve the mystery. At some point during his school career, a student named Jacob went looking for those vaults, endangering the whole school in the process, for which he was expelled.

The vaults may have a connection to cursed ice found in the school. During the 1984–1985 school year, the ice that had been securely contained within a locked room in the fifth floor of the castle, which once nearly spread throughout the school, broke free from the room and began to not only spread once more, but also turned out to have become impervious to the Knockback Jinx, which previously had been sufficient to shatter it. Minerva McGonagall believed this was because someone tampered with the vaults.

Vault of Ice

Jacob's sibling, Penny Haywood and Bill Weasley open the vault

One of the vaults was located at the end of the Vanished Stairs hidden by a wall on the fifth floor. The magical door was covered in ice, and attacked those who touched it or tried to use the Fire-Making Spell on it. After Jacob's sibling, Bill Weasley, and a friend made their way into the vault using the Fire-Making Spell and defeated the Ice Knight, they found a broken wand and a book inside.

Jacob's sibling heard a warning from their brother which was spoken through the vaults, which the other two could not hear, telling them not to let "her" find the other four vaults. The book only contained drawings and scribblings.

Vault of Fear

Another one of the vaults, the Vault of Fear, was found by Jacob's Sibling and their friends in the 1986–1987 school year.

Vaults and locations

• Vault of Ice: Behind the Vanished Stairs on the Icy Corridor, Fifth Floor
• Vault of Fear: Behind the Restricted Section in the Hogwarts Library

Behind the scenes

• When venturing into the Vault of Ice, the player can choose between Ben Copper and Penny Haywood to bring along with them and Bill Weasley.
• When venturing into the Vault of Fear, the player can choose between Rowan Khanna, Nymphadora Tonks, and Bill Weasley to bring along with them, Tulip Karasu, and Barnaby Lee.

Appearances

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance)