Corridors Informational

"Hurry, we're late!"
"My bloody bag's broken!"
"Merlin's moustache, where's my homework?!"

When students flood out of class, the corridors come alive once again. Chatter reverberates off the arched ceilings and dropped pens occasionally tap against the wooden skirting boards. The occasional owl floats happily above a sea of bodies, perhaps looking for an owner or just keeping an eye out for any dropped treats.

Here and there, odd portraits hang off the walls. Their petty complaints join the din - always droning on about the sunlight bleaching their canvases through the many-paned windows, or the clumps of students accidentally jostling their frames. Some of the more good-humoured fellows often try and direct the students into 'sticking to the right' in order to avoid some of the chaos. However, the confused cries rising from the commotion should be a fair indication that they are seldom successful.

Among the disarray, some lucky students occasionally stumble upon a more secretive part of Hogwarts' passageways. Magically extending broom cupboards stretch out behind smooth stone and small hollows lie undiscovered behind threadbare old tapestries. All it takes is a second for someone to disappear, leaving their friends wondering how they acquired such a 'foolhardy invisibility cloak'. It is only later, when they give in and share their hiding spot, that the knowledge about the hidden cubbies spreads.

When night falls and the stone floors have been cleaned and cleared, silence descends upon the corridors. Torches burn steadily in metal sconces spaced evenly along the walls and shadows creep across cracks in the stone. The torchlight flickers in the bizarrely-twisted suits of armour from various pranks and practical jokes which took place throughout the day. Teachers, prefects, and the occasional nocturnal pet pad throughout the halls enforcing the rules and waiting patiently for the cycle to reset itself.

Morning bustle, evening din and nighttime silence. The ultimate Hogwarts symphony.