How could Fred and George think there's a new tunnel if they had the Marauders' Map?

Question

In Sorcerer's Stone we find Fred and George checking out a new passageway out of school:

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you.

But shouldn't they know there's no new passageways out of school? They have the Marauders' Map!

For the map to have shown it, the original makers must have known about it. Hence why the map doesn't show the Chamber of Secrets of the Room of Requirement. (Citation Needed) — Skooba, Oct 30 '17 at 16:47
@Skooba My belief is that the Room of Requirement didn't show up on the Marauders' Map because the RoR's concealing magic was stronger than the MM's revealing magic. (Think unbreakable wall vs unstoppable cannonball.) See also Is it possible to hide from the Marauders' Map? — Rand al'Thor, Oct 30 '17 at 19:02
Can you clarify or edit your question. Do you have any reason to believe that Fred and George think there is a new tunnel? As opposed to feigning excitement to keep the existence of the map secret. — Scott, Nov 01 '17 at 00:56
The answer to your question is in your question. they knew, and they were sure of it. — Bernard the Bear, Dec 07 '19 at 15:31

score 42 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 30 '17 at 16:53

42

Yes, that's exactly the meaning of the passage you quoted!

They don't really think it's a new passage - hence the line:

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week."

They're so confident in their knowledge of all the secret passageways of Hogwarts that they don't think anyone can have found a 'new' one - if Lee thinks he has, it must just be one they already know about.

(At the time this book was written, JKR probably hadn't come up with the idea of the Marauders' Map yet, so this line is just a way of showing how knowledgeable and confident Fred and George are in the secret geography of Hogwarts. But in-universe, at this point, the Marauders' Map is of course the - or at least a - reason for their confidence.)

answered Oct 30 '17 at 16:53

Rand al'Thor

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But would have happened if the passage was created after moony et al left the school? Would it have appeared on the map? – Armin Oct 30 '17 at 21:12
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@Armin It's not that easy to just create a new secret passageway out of a 1000-year-old building. But quite possibly yes - just like the map shows new people who appear in the school, maybe it would show changes to the layout too. – Rand al'Thor Oct 30 '17 at 23:03
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but it isn't unheard of. Case in point: the passage to the shrieking shack... – Armin Oct 30 '17 at 23:05
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@Armin the passage to the shrieking shack was on the map, but iirc the twins left it alone because of the tree or because it was blocked off or something like that – Stephen S Oct 30 '17 at 23:12
@StephenS the passage was on the map because it already existed when or, better said, because moony et al were at Hogwarts. But there could other newer passages that they couldn't know because they didn't exist yet... – Armin Oct 30 '17 at 23:15
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@Armin ask a question about whether the passage from the room of requirement to Aberforth's inn appeared on the map – Stephen S Oct 30 '17 at 23:16
"[tunnel] that we found in our first week"; is the Marauders' Map even relevant at this point (first week) in their school career? When did they find the map? They'd presumably been doing a bunch of exploring without it. – Roger Lipscombe Oct 31 '17 at 09:56
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Upvoted for the parenthetical. – T.E.D. Oct 31 '17 at 10:01
@RogerLipscombe No, presumably they didn't have the MM yet by then - but see the paragraph in brackets. – Rand al'Thor Oct 31 '17 at 10:03
"But in-universe, at this point". I read "at this point" as "in our first week", not "while talking about Lee's find". I'll concede that I need more coffee. – Roger Lipscombe Oct 31 '17 at 10:06

score 32 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

They already say they suspect it's one they'd found already.

While they do go to check out the new passage that Lee Jordan says he's found, one of them is fairly sure it's a passage they already know about, and found in their first week.

“Anyway, we’ve got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he’s found a new secret passageway out of the school.’

‘Bet it’s that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel)}}

They might be going because they're curious, or because they're friends with Lee, but they don't think they're necessarily going to discover a new secret passageway out of this.

How could Fred and George think there's a new tunnel if they had the Marauders' Map?

2 Answers2

They already say they suspect it's one they'd found already.