Dungeons

You're probably not supposed to be here.

There are only a handful of reasons why students would, in theory, utilize the labyrinth of dungeons and corridors that accounted for a large part of Hogwarts' lowest level. The first was potions class, the second was being a Slytherin student headed to your common room or dorm, and the third was that someone was so unbelievably lost that they had ended up here by pure chance.

The winding halls and plethora of hidden spaces, however, make this a popular area for misconduct and secrecy. With so many nooks and crannies, and the echoes of footsteps near impossible to conceal here, it made it an ideal hiding place from professors, prefects, and peers.

Aside from the rooms used by the Potions class and Slytherin house, a large number of cell-like rooms populated the twisting corridors. A few, a handful had been repurposed into seating areas, but most of them remained untouched from their last uses. Chains and shackles remained bolted from the wall, a grim reminder of the violent history of the school, both past and in recent decades. Small piles of what seem to be rat bones litter the corner of several of these cells, sometimes seemingly arranged in intentional patterns.

The stone walls and floors of the dungeons kept the subterranean area significantly colder than the rest of the castle, even in summer months. Humid air seems to stick to your body, adding a chill to whatever you're doing down here that you're likely not meant to do. A large statue of a sleeping dragon rests at the entrance of the dungeons, an illusion of safeguarding for these troubled halls.