For our next photographic journey through the Wizarding World, let's travel into the main hall and up the moving staircases to take a closer look at the enchanted rooms and corridors of Hogwarts Castle! Enjoy the spectacular scenes from the movies and books inspired by LEGO’s recent gift-with-purchase set 40577 Grand Staircase.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, Gryffindors! While you are here, your house will be like your family. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before studying the various magical disciplines and learning the difficult spells, concentrate on finding your way to your classes!”

It might not be as grand as Eric Law’s massive staircase MOC we wrote about last year, but this small set is full of storytelling potential if you add the right minifigures, poses and lighting.

The Enormous Living Castle

There are a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, narrow, rickety ones... some that lead somewhere different on a Friday, some with a vanishing step halfway up that you have to remember to jump. There are doors that won’t open unless you ask politely... and doors that aren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.

It's also very hard to remember where anything is because it all seems to move around a lot. Keep an eye on the staircases: they like to change! The people in the portraits visit each other: so does the Fat Lady, guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. You should wait for her, and say the password so that she'll let you in.

Nearly Headless Nick (Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower) is glad to point new students in the right direction. Don't ask if he had a nice summer: his request to join the headless hunt has been denied. Now his only hope is that Gryffindor will win the House Championship this year: Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron is becoming almost unbearable. He's a Slytherin ghost, and we're going to meet him very soon...

The Ghosts Of The Night

Neville's first day at Hogwarts wasn't easy: he broke his wrist during the Flying Lesson and had to spend the rest of the day in the hospital wing. Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey mended his bones in about a minute using a bottle of Skele-Gro.

Neville was returning to the Gryffindor dormitories when his Remembrall suddenly glowed scarlet. A Remembrall is a magical clear ball with gold around it. When the smoke in the ball turns red it means you've forgotten something... But now Neville didn't need a Remembrall to understand that he forgot the password again! The Fat Lady was not impressed.

Neville couldn't get back to bed so he had to sleep in front of the entrance to the dorms. And that's when he saw the Bloody Baron, a horrible ghost with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood...

The nights at Hogwarts are rather dangerous, that's why nothing gives a student the right to walk about the school after sunset.

After Dark

However, Harry found a way to bypass this forbiddance. He got an Invisibility Cloak for Christmas, and now the whole of Hogwarts is open to him in this cloak! He can go anywhere and the caretaker Argus Filch will never know!

Filch has a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch’s. She patrols the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she’ll whisk off for Filch who’ll appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knows the secret passageways of the school better than anyone. But with the cloak, they both don't have any chance to catch Harry!

The Secret Of An Animagus

Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, is even more attentive than Mrs. Norris. His aim is Ron's rat, Scabbers. Poor Ron, if he only knew! Scabbers isn't an animal, he's a dangerous criminal in an Animagus form, but the three friends don't know about it yet, so Harry helps Ron save the rat.

As Harry opens the door, something brushes against his leg. He bends down just in time to grab Crookshanks by the end of his bushy tail and drag him outside.

“You know, Ron was right about you... There are plenty of mice around this place - go and chase them. Go on, Leave Scabbers alone.” And Harry nudges the grumpy Crookshanks down the spiral staircase with his foot.

There's more to this story than meets the eye. Later on, Scabbers is chased by a big black dog (Sirius Black) who scared the Fat Lady—so she was temporarily replaced by Sir Cadogan. Cadogan spends half his time challenging people to duels and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords, which he changes at least twice a day.

Ron became the predictable obstacle to Sirius' next attempt. After Black’s recent break-in, Professor McGonagall found Sir Cadogan's explication non-comforting: "This man had the whole week’s passwords on a piece of paper!" Who wrote down this week’s passwords and left them lying around? Neville, it was you again!

Quidditch Final Match

Harry had to skip the last Quidditch match of the year because of detention in Snape's dungeon. It was late when he hurried out of the door, racing back up the stone steps, straining his ears to hear a sound from the match, but all was quiet... It was over, then.

He hesitated outside the crowded Great Hall, then ran up the marble staircases: whether Gryffindor had won or lost, the team usually celebrated or expressed their disappointment in their own common room. “Quid agis?” he said tentatively to the Fat Lady, wondering what he would find inside. Her expression was unreadable as she replied: “You’ll see.”

Victory!

A roar of celebration erupted from the hole behind her. “We won!” yelled Ron, brandishing the silver Cup at Harry. “We won! Four hundred and fifty to a hundred and forty! We won!”

And this ends our exploration of some scenes that took place on Hogwarts Grand Staircase. We’ll be back in the Wizarding World in a few months, but until then, let's celebrate with Harry and his friends!

Have you ever felt like the stairs were moving under your feet? How do you remember all your passwords? Let us know in the comments!

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