With Albus recovering in his chambers, Astor could not plan his next attempt on the Lord's life. Instead, when he could escape from the kitchen, he explored the castle grounds to see if he could find anything useful and to learn its layout better. Hogwarts had seen better days; the windows had collected years of dust, cobwebs filled the corners, and the rugs and fabrics had suffered years of moths and carpet beetles. Astor mused about his need for a weapon while wandering the hallways; at that moment, he noticed a door that he had not seen before, although he was sure he had passed this same corridor before without noticing it. The door was large and heavy and opened with a creek. Astor took a surreptitious look to see if anyone could see he was snooping where he shouldn't. After convincing himself that he was alone and unseen, he entered a large, cavernous room. It was a hall with a ceiling so high he could scarcely see its summit. The room was filled with hundreds of empty plinths, and a sea of broken pottery was on the marble floor.