The Fake Door in Hogwarts?

[Lou]

I noticed when I was re-reading the first book that it mentions a door that, supposedly, isn't a door at all and it's just there to confuse people. Does anyone think that this door might acctually be there for a reason?

(I'm really sorry if there is already a thread about this, but I couldn't find one, and I'm sorry if I put this in the wrong part of the site)

[wHotOOkmYtAcO]

I noticed when I was re-reading the first book that it mentions a door that, supposedly, isn't a door at all and it's just there to confuse people. Does anyone think that this door might acctually be there for a reason?

(I'm really sorry if there is already a thread about this, but I couldn't find one, and I'm sorry if I put this in the wrong part of the site)

Do you where in the books it is? I don't recall there being a fake door.

[SquibOnline]

I don't recall reading that, which book?

[anabel]

It's in the first book when Harry is learning his way about Hogwarts. The chapter describes how confusing it is for new students, with hidden doors, doors that are not really doors at all but just walls pretending, trick steps on the stairs and a staircase that leads somewhere else on Fridays.

[PLIMPY]

Here's the part in the book where it is refered to, if anyone is interested. I went ahead and put in bold the part this thread refers to.
SS/PS American paperback version pages 131-132
There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickeled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.
I always saw this section as helping us to create an image of Hogwarts, which sort of seems to be its own entity. This is a place unlike any that you find in your everyday life, so that needs to be developed, although there are things here which become somewhat important later on (or at least relevant). You have to like tickle the pear to get to the kitchens, and in GoF Harry gets his foot caught on the stairs after leaving the prefects' bathroom. I think that it sets us up to not think it so unusual that there would be a room of requirement, and in some ways shows the importance of something like the mauraders map which shows hidden corridors and how to access them. I also think that this would be important if the war did indeed move into Hogwarts because having an intimate knowledge of the grounds could be important.n I suppose the fake doors could be important if someone were to try to spend time opening a door that was really a wall (if you were in danger and trying to run it could possibly lead to your death), but beyond that, I'm not exactly sure what someone would do with a wall that could pretend to be a door. :huh:

Originally Posted by Lou
I noticed when I was re-reading the first book that it mentions a door that, supposedly, isn't a door at all and it's just there to confuse people. Does anyone think that this door might acctually be there for a reason?
Are you thinking that it might be a real door just that nobody knows how to use or somthing else in particular it could be used for? I'm not sure if I'm imaginative enough to figure out the possible uses of doors that are actually walls.

[Padfoot212]

the point of the doors is probably just to mess with people. hogwarts is like that and the fake doors were probably just an ingenius thought of dumbledore to mess with the children. hes a funny guy.

[GodricHollow]

Or, maybe it's a security measure, I mean come on, your not going to let kids sit in a class room when LV's invading are you?

[Soothsayer]

Remember that "Gryffindor" sounds an awful lot like "Griffin door," so it certainly seems possible (if not probable) that a door will have a key role somewhere.

If you read some of the "color" threads you see that there are some interesting points about the door to Dumbledore's office, having silver or gold knockers... I can't remember specifically, sorry.

Another interesting note you just reminded me of (though more related to the numbers thread): There are 142 stairs at Hogwarts. This is yet another hidden reference to the number seven = 1 + 4 + 2.

[natemac]

JKR is one tricky author.

I always saw this section as helping us to create an image of Hogwarts
I agree.

I think there are rooms that Dumbledore or Filch doesn't even know about, like the COS. There has to be. Rooms that haven't been open since the place was built.

[rotsiepots]

I think Plimpy has the right idea. That description of Hogwarts is creating an image of Hogwarts as a school with its own character, rather than just a passive building. Hogwarts is a significant part of the story and establishing that it has mischievous walls and a character of its own helps to indicate the many differences between Harry's dull life with the Dursleys and his new life in the magical world.

I don't think there's much more to it.

[WitchyWitch]

I think that the reference to the doors really being walls is just setting up the story. However, in the fourth book, Dumbledore says that even he doesn't know all the secrets of the castle and mentions a door that only opens when you need it. This later becomes the secret meeting place for Harry and the others.

[Kidney Pie]

Well there are false doors in Egyptian Tombs. A man can not enter the door, but a spirit can. I wonder if these are doors for ghosts to use? I mean, I suppose they can just walk through any wall they want, but maybe they have special rooms in hogwarts where they can meet.

[Alastor D]

As the quote PLIMPY posted clearly is about an unspecified number of doors, not any particular thing we could call 'the door', I fully agree with her and rotsiepots. It really seems to be just a part of the general feeling of the castle. Nothing more, I'm afraid.

[The Gurg]

At first I thought that this was simply just to get an image across of Hogwarts, but what you are saying, is possible. I know that Dumbledore and Filch would know quite a bit about the school, but Dumbledore mentions the Room of Requirement at the Yule ball in passing and there was a mention of Filch getting cleaning products when he was low of it by Dobby, so not even the two people that would know the most about Hogwarts do not knokw all the secrets. I like your way of thinking. JKR always surprises Harrys audience.

[Raven_Girly]

i'm not sure there is any significance behind this, but i spose its possible. but i think it might have been mentioned by now .we're already up to book five and as far as i know it hasn't been mentioned since the first book

[Giebfried]

yeah, i remember reading that in the first book. it didn't play a big role (i think harry and ron tried to go through it and couldn't or something) but who knows? it's interesting . . . :cool:

[anabel]

If the door is mentioned in the first few chapters of HBP then it will be important later. That is how Jo works. Some of the things she mentioned in passing in early books are brought up again in passing in later books where they inevitably turn out important. For example we are reminded that Parvati has a twin in GoF, when we haven't heard of her since she was sorted, and later she goes to the ball with Ron. There are loads more examples but I can't think of any right now. Can you?

[MagicMuggle]

There are loads more examples but I can't think of any right now. Can you?



How about Sirius's Mirror? We all know that there ia a signifigance there... :)

Anyways..As for the door, I always thought it was the castle's way of playing tricks on you... ;)

[Gwenog Jones]

Yeah, I think it was brought up to describe the atmosphere at Hogwarts. Besides, what significance could a wall have?

[anabel]

How about Sirius's Mirror? We all know that there ia a signifigance there... :)

Anyways..As for the door, I always thought it was the castle's way of playing tricks on you... ;)
What I meant was things that we read about quite briefly in the first book and forget about. Then Jo reminds us of them in a later book where they play an important role later. For example the trick steps are mentioned in book one. In book four they are mentioned again quite early on and prove important when Harry gets stuck on his way back from the Prefects Bathroom.
There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on Friday; Was it just in the film that the moving staircase led them to the forbidden corridor?
However you are right that Sirius's mirror will probably be important and Jo will probably mention it casually beforehand to remind the reader about it.

[PLIMPY]

Originally Posted by anabel
Was it just in the film that the moving staircase led them to the forbidden corridor?
That does only happen in the movie, in the book they are trying to run from Filch after Malfoy tricks them into going into the trophy room thinking that they were going to duel. They end up running through a hidden passageway behind a tapestry and before ending up in the Charms corridor, and it seems as though the door to Fluffy's room is at the end of the charms corridor (although I could be wrong), which is a little strange since so many people went through there on a daily basis, but yeah, the moving staircases weren't to blame.