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George Weasley: "Anyway, we’ve got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he’s found a new secret passageway out of the school."
Fred Weasley: "Bet it’s that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."
Fred and George Weasley regarding secret passages in Hogwarts to Harry Potter[src]
Secrets about the Castle - PM Sorting quiz

Hogwarts Castle contained many secrets

There existed many Hogwarts secret passages.[1] Most were internal to the castle, such as a stairway hidden behind a tapestry. Several led from the castle or school grounds past the boundaries, presumably to the nearby wizard village of Hogsmeade.

Passages out of school[]

The Marauder's Map[]

During the 1993–1994 school year, Fred and George Weasley revealed and gave the map to Harry Potter so he could use a secret passage to get to Hogsmeade, since he didn't have a signed permission form, and Dementors were patrolling the boundaries. They said they acquired it from Argus Filch's Office during their first year at Hogwarts (the 1989–1990 school year). They demonstrated the map, showing seven secret passages leading to Hogsmeade, and which one was most likely known only by them.[2]

These seven were:

Whompingwillow

A path from beneath the Whomping Willow leads to the Shrieking Shack

The Vanishing Cabinets[]

Peeves - Bob Venables PM

Peeves is the one who smashed one of the two vanishing cabinets, after being convinced to do so by Nearly Headless Nick

The Room of Requirement[]

Due to the nature of the Room of Requirement, it was possible that several passages to different locations outside of Hogwarts could be accessed from it.

Individuals who knew about secret passages at Hogwarts[]

Blocking the passages out of school[]

Around 1993, Fred and George Weasley reported that one passage on the Marauders Map had its ceiling collapse, and was impassible.

The 1996–1997 school year saw even stricter security measures on the castle, including the use of Secrecy Sensors to stop smuggling in of Dark objects and sealing the gates and boundaries to unauthorised entry. Since the Marauders, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black had re-joined the Order of the Phoenix the prior year, Professor Dumbledore may have blocked the known secret passages on the Marauders Map.

The passage into Hogwarts by the pair of vanishing cabinets was blocked when Peeves damaged the one at Hogwarts in the 1992–1993 school year, until Draco Malfoy repaired it in 1996. It is unknown whether the Ministry seized or destroyed the vanishing cabinet at Borgin and Burkes after the Battle of Hogwarts but before the fall of the Ministry of Magic to prevent its further use as a passage to Hogwarts. The one at Hogwarts was likely destroyed by Fiendfyre in the Room of Hidden Things.

In 1997, Aberforth Dumbledore said that all the old passages into the school (meaning the 7 on the map) were blocked. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Fred and George Weasley said they'd help guard these passages against the Death Eaters.

When Aberforth left his pub to join in the Battle of Hogwarts, the secret passage through the Room of Requirement was closed by Augusta Longbottom. It was unknown whether anyone opened it or could have opened it from his pub, though over a hundred students and staff now knew where it was.

Secret passages within the castle[]

There were various minor secret passages within Hogwarts, which usually acted as shortcuts. Argus Filch reportedly was familiar with all of them, so he could quickly cross the castle in pursuit of rule-breakers.

The Marauder's Map also showed rooms and secret passages inside Hogwarts that the Marauders discovered,[2] but not those they did not discover (e.g. the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and the Room of Requirement, but the latter may also have been due to its Unplottability).

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Hogwarts secret passages - Pottermore
  2. 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 10 (The Marauder's Map)
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 14 (Percy and Padfoot) - "There used to be a pretty roomy secret passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor, you might have enough space to practise jinxes in there."
  4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 17 (Cat, Rat and Dog)
  5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 18 (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs)
  6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel)
  7. The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 29 (The Lost Diadem)
  9. 9.0 9.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 28 (The Missing Mirror)
  10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 28 (Snape's Worst Memory)
  11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 27 (The Lightning-Struck Tower)
  12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 29 (The Phoenix Lament)
  13. 13.0 13.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
  14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16 (The Chamber of Secrets)
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