Chapter 5 - The Secret Passage Way
James woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. He looked around his room filled with four other beds. The five four-poster beds had scarlet curtains hanging from the corners of them. James saw that Tom still had his curtains drawn which meant that he was still sleeping. The three other beds had boys named Jeffery Jordan (son of Lee Jordan), Hayden Sept, and Logan Fredrichs, in them. They were all snoring away. September 1st this year was on a Friday, so everyone had Saturday and Sunday to get reacquainted with the castle, and the first years had orientation where they were shown where all their classes were. James remembered his orientation from his first year, and he got so confused. He remembered trying to find Professor Flitwick's charms classroom by the library and would end up in the transfiguration courtyard.
James took this time to check out the Maurders Map that Teddy had given him. He dug it out of his clothes from the day before, and grabbed his wand. He then drew the curtains on his four-poster bed so that no one could see what he was up to. James very carefully unfolded the old piece of parchment and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," and tapped the map with his wand.
Right before his eyes the map came to life. It seemed to be a map of the Hogwarts castle. He could see everything in the castle on this old piece of parchment, and he also noticed that there were little footprints that looked as if they were walking around, and their name was floating above the footprints. James looked for the Gryffendor tower, and he found it. He could see himself in his bed up in the boys dormitory. This was the coolest thing that James had ever seen. He looked down the grand staircase and saw that Mr. Goyle was pacing in the entrance by the Great Hall. James couldn't help but giggle a little bit. Mr. Goyle was the Castle Caretaker. Apparently he went to school with James' dad, and so he had some kind of grudge against James because he had a grudge against Harry when they were in school. But, this map would help James steer clear of Goyle, and that was a great help.
James also noticed that there were a few secret passageways in the castle. There seemed to be five different portraits on the grand staircase that would lead you to other places in the castle. There was one that was on the second floor landing of the grand staircase that seemed to lead right to the library. James was very curious to find out how that secret passage way worked. Once he figured them all out he was sure to never be late for another class again. James got more and more excited at the prospect of knowing all the secret passage ways when he suddenly remembered that him, Tom and Alice were going to go to the library today to look up old Daily Prophet articles about his dad. James decided that he was going to get up for breakfast, so he tapped the map again and said, "Mischief Managed." James folded up the parchment and put it away safely in his trunk.
As James walked down the grand staircase, he noticed the portrait on the second floor landing.
"Excuse me? What is your name?" asked James
"Pardon me? Oh, my name is Basil Von Fronsac," replied the portrait."Ok, Mr. Von Fronsac, do you guard a secret passage way?" asked James, hesitantly. He didn't want anyone to over hear him talking to the portrait.
"Well, young sir, I do indeed. But, before you may pass, you must find me the answer to a question. As I am a Ravenclaw myself, I am always wanting students to learn and acquire more information. So, my quest for you, young sir, is to discover where Rowena Ravenclaw came from."
"Ok, I will find out that information. Thank you Mr. Von Fronsac."
"You are welcome, young sir. Please, tell me, what is your name?" asked the portrait
"I am James Potter, sir."
"You wouldn't happen to be a descendent of Harry Potter, now would you James?" asked the portrait.
"I'm his son, actually," said James a little flushed.
"Well, your father knew these passage ways well. I hope that you discover the answer I am looking for. Good luck on your journey, Mr. Potter."
James was baffled. He could just find out where Rowena Ravenclaw came from and he would have a secret passage way open to him, that took him right to Charms and the Library. That would cut off so much time for him to get to his classes. Now all James had to do was find a Ravenclaw student who would know the answer and tell him the answer. James assumed that most of the Ravenclaw's knew where their founder came from, but the trick was getting them to tell him.
James continued down the grand staircase to the great hall for breakfast. As he walked down the stairs he noticed another rather large portrait on the first floor landing. James made a mental note to go and talk to him, to see if he led anywhere else in the castle.
James walked right into the grand hall, and as he did so he noticed Rose already up and dressed and eating her breakfast.
"Hi Rose," said James as he approached her.
"Oh, hi James. Orientation is today, so I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be late," said Rose. James wondered why she offered this explanation without being asked.
"Hey Rose, you're smart, right? Do you happen to know where Rowena Ravenclaw came from?" asked James, thinking that Rose just might know, and he wouldn't have to go ask a Ravenclaw student.
"Why, yes, actually. I do know. I was reading, Hogwarts, A History for some light reading -"
"LIGHT reading? You are so much like your mother!" exclaimed James.
" - and I came across information about each one of the founders. It is believed that Rowena Ravenclaw hailed from Great Glen in Scotland. Why do you want to know?" Rose was looking more and more curious.
"Oh, no reason. Just a little bit of knowledge gathering. You know...wanting to learn a little more about Hogwarts." James was starting to get antsy because of Rose's question.
"Well, if you really want to know more, you should really read Hogwarts, A History. It is just packed with all kinds of information. It even tells you why the ceiling here in the great hall looks like it does. It was bewitched to look like the sky outside. Very interesting fact in that book. I'll let you borrow my copy if you would like."
"Ummm, sure Rose. Just leave it in the common room for me. I'll read it right away," said James absentmindedly. He was actually curious about the book, because he thought it might give him more information on the castle.
James, not wanting to seem suspicious, proceeded to eat his breakfast. The kitchen staff had made eggs, toast and bacon for breakfast, which usually James loved to eat, but he was very distracted. He so desperately wanted to go back to that portrait on the grand staircase to deliver his information.
Finally James finished his breakfast and he made his way out of the great hall. Rose had finished her breakfast before James, and he was pretty sure that she went up to get that book for him.
As James approached the portrait he started to feel his heart race. James checked to make sure that there was no one around to see him, and he approached the portrait once again.
"Excuse me, Mr. Von Fronsac?"
"Yes?"
"The answer to your question is that Rowena Ravenclaw came from Great Glen in Scotland," James said confidently.
"That is correct, Mr. Potter. Now, if you ever want to pass through my portrait all you have to say is, 'Studious Success'. And remember, a healthy mind is an inquisitive mind."
"Thank you Mr. Von Fronsac. I promise to keep learning!" James bounded up the staircase back up to the Gryffendor tower.
"Flibbitygibbit," said James to the portrait of the fat lady.
She swung open and James ran up to his and Tom's room.
"Tom, Tom, Tom! Wake up, Tom!" hollered James.
"Whuddya want?" asked Tom a little upset that he had been woken up.
"Get up, get up! I have to show you something! I wish that we could get into the girls side to get Alice. She will want to see this!" James was all excited about the new secret passage way that was open to them. He wanted to share it with his friends as soon as he could.
"Alright, alright. Keep your pants on. I'm getting up! What could be so important that you had to wake me out of a dream where I just won the Quidditch World Cup?" asked Tom.
"You were playing Quidditch in your dream?" asked James, a little surprised.
"No, no. I was the owner of the team. It was great!"
"Fine, whatever. Come on!" James said impatiently.
The two boys hurried out of the common room and down the stairs. They stopped infront of the portrait of Basil Von Fronsac.
"What are we doing here?" asked Tom.
"You'll see," answered James. "Studious Success," James said to the portrait.
"You may pass, Mr. Potter" answered the portrait, and it swung open. James and Tom climbed through the entrance behind the portrait. It was a dark tunnel, but it was high enough that the boys could walk upright. James, who was in the front, stretched his arms out to feel in front of him to make sure they didn't walk into any walls. Before their eyes adjusted to the dark James felt a door in front of him. He pushed, and the two boys were in a different corridor.
"Wow! This leads right to Charms, and the Library," said Tom in wonder.
"Yeah, I guess it does!" answered James. He wasn't quite ready to tell Tom about the Maurder's Map just yet.
"How did you know about this?" asked Tom.
"Well, I just had a feeling that this portrait was blocking something, so I thought I would ask him. Turned out I was right." James was getting that nervous feeling again, hoping that Tom would just let that explination be enough.
"You were right, Alice will be upset that she missed this. Let's go into the Library first and see if they have those old daily prophet articles, and then we will go and find Alice."
"Sure, Tom," replied James.
The two boys made their way down the second floor corridor, and to the Library.
When they got there they went to the librarian. She was an old, sharp featured witch. Her hair was all frazzled and her nose was long and pointy with a hairy wart on the end of it. She resembled what muggles so often sterotype as a witch. James was quite afriad of her, because she was not very nice. Her library had to be quiet at all times, and she would get after those students who would whisper among themselves.
"Excuse me?" asked James to the librarian.
"Can I 'elp you?" asked the librarian, in a cackley voice.
"Yes, we were wondering if you kept records of the old daily prophets. We are looking specifically from 1991 to 1997. Do you have those?"
"I fink so, bu' I need to go frough 'em firs'. Come back in an 'our an' I'll 'ave 'em for ya," she replied. James was a little concerned as to why she was being so nice.
"It's alwasy so nice to see fose younguns wan'in' to learn," James heard her mumbling as she walked away. James just knew that he would have to be nice and quiet when him, Tom and Alice came back.
As the boys turned to leave the library they saw another portrait that was quite low to the ground. James wondered if it guarded a secret passage way too. Instead of waiting until he had his map again, he thought it wouldn't hurt to ask the portrait.
"Hello?" James asked the portrait.
"What do you want?" asked the portrait back.
"Do you guard a secret passage way?" asked Tom
"Yes, I do, but it is only for teachers and staff memebers. Why?" asked the portrait.
"Well," said James, "we were hoping to use your portrait as a short cut around the castle. Is there any way that we can get the password?"
"I really do enjoy the news. If you bring me a headline from the daily prophet, then I just may give you the password... as long as the headline is a good and juicy one."
"Ok! Thank you so much!" said James.
James and Tom quickly got out of the library and headed back to the portrait of Basil Von Fronsac.
"Studious Success," said James quietly.
"A healthy mind is an inquisitive mind," replied the portrait as it swung open.
James and Tom bounded up the grand staircase, once through the portrait, and headed towards the Gryffendor common room.
Rose was in the common room, and James got a great idea.
"Hi Rose."
"Oh, hi James. I have that book for you here, if you would like it."
"Thank you. Ummm... Rose? Would you be able to go up to the girls dormatory and see if Alice is still up there?" asked James.
"Sure," replied Rose, and she was off, up the stairs to retreive Alice.
Sure enough, Alice was still sleeping, and was rather unimpressed at being woken up.
"Alice, we need to show you something, and we have asked the librarian to look up those old Daily Prophet articles for us. Get dressed and we can get you something to eat, then head back to the Library. We, also have something really wicked to show you. You are going to love it," explained James excitedly.
"Fine," said Alice, in a rather foul mood. "But it had better be good!" Alice slowly made her way up to her room, and after what the boys thought was forever, she was back downstairs, with her long blond hair pulled back in the typical Alice-type braid.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Alice in a harsh tone. "I'm hungry. Let's go get some breakfast.
The three of them headed down the grand staircase once again to the great hall. When James and Tom saw the portrait of Basil Von Fronsac they just looked at eachother and smiled. They were both so happy to have an easier way around the castle.
After Alice ate her breakfast, rather quickly because of the boys prodding her to hurry up, the three of them got up once again, and were heading up the grand staircase.
"Where are we going?" asked Alice. "We need to go this way to get to the Library." She was pointing up to the left side of the grand staircase.
"Just trust us," reassured Tom as him and James headed up the right side.
"Ok," said Alice, but she was not so sure that the boys knew what they were doing.
When they reached the portrait of Basil Von Fronsac James quietly said, "Studious Success" and the portrait swung open. Alice's eyes were as big as saucers.
"Where does this lead?" she asked.
"You'll see," replied James.
The three of them made their way through the tunnel to the second floor corridor.
"Wow!" exclaimed Alice. "We are right by Charms and the Library!"
"Yup!" said James with a bit of pride in his tone.
"That is so cool. Do you know if there are any more?" asked Alice.
"Well, we know for sure that there is one behind that funny portrait in the Library, but we need to bring him a good and juicy headline from the Daily Prophet first. I looked in today's issue, but there wasn't anything good," explained James. He didn't want to admit that he knew there were at least five more that they hadn't found yet, because that would mean that he would have to tell them about the Maurder's Map. James wanted to keep that his own little secret for just a little bit longer.
"Wicked," whispered Alice.
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