The Room Of Requirement
"Him, I've heard of." Everybody, well everybody who knew about Wizarding History, had heard of Tobias Dragon, the best mate of Merlin. He journeyed with Merlin across the world to help defeat Morgana. Merlin, being the one who fought the final duel, took all the glory. Tobias had been killed by a spell during a battle between the two Wizards and Morgana's forces. It is said that his death was what gave Merlin the strength to kill Morgana. Tobias Dragon was a legend.
"Through Potions, no doubt," Percival laughed. Toby had come up with several powerful potions, such as Polyjuice and Felix Felicis, and was famous for his work in the Potions community.
"And History of Magic!"
"I don't know how you pay attention in that class."
"I don't," Andy stated, "I have a quill that writes down everything Binns says. That way I can just read over it later."
"He was a bore, even at school," Percival told her. "Pranking him was good fun. He used to get in a right huff."
"Did he always speak monotonously?" Percival hummed a yes, thinking back to the time when Binns had tried to tell everybody the history of goblin wars. Nobody had listened. History of Magic was better back then, Professor Girdy always used to set them fun homework.
~|~
Percival looked at Andy's empty seat for a moment before following her out of the exit. He saw Andy's back heading for the dungeons, but instead of following her, he zoomed up to the clock tower. When Percival arrived, he said 'Time' to the wall. The bricks rearranged themselves, much like the entrance to Diagon Alley, and revealed a small room Percival had been told about by Salazar Slytherin many years ago.
There were bookshelves that reached the high ceiling along two walls, carpets strewn about the floor, a pointless fireplace, and a four-poster bed with white sheets, dark-green hangings and black wood. Windows lined the wall next to the bed, and they were enchanted not to be seen from the other side. The bookshelves were full of not just books, but all types of objects. There were pots, pencils, toys, and a variety of ornaments. The pots themselves were full of things like buttons and paperclips. It was an organized mess.
There was three particularly thick books on one of the top shelves, and one open at a worn-down desk, that Percival wrote in every night. Two of them were full, the third half finished, and the last still blank. They were records of every prank Hogwarts had seen since 992 AD. Percival heard the bricks close behind him as he sat down at the desk and wrote five entries in the book.
Date: 03/09/1992 Prank: Covering shoes in glitter Prankee: Katie Bell Pranker: Fred & George Weasley
Date: 03/09/1992 Prank: Pelted with water balloons on the way to class Prankee: Alicia Spinnet Pranker: Peeves (Percival Time)
Date: 03/09/1992 Prank: Stupid answers in test Prankee: Gilderoy Lockheart Pranker: Time (Andy Clock)
Date: 03/09/1992 Prank: Giving incorrect spell that resulted in Pixie Pandemonium Prankee: Gilderoy Lockheart Pranker: Andy Clock
Date: 03/09/1992 Prank: Turning socks green and white stripes instead of grey Prankee: Draco Malfoy Pranker: Blaise Zabini
After recording all the pranks and mischief, Percival lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Poltergeists could never sleep, but being able to relax was nice. Percival's eyes strayed to the wand box that was gathering dust on one of the bottom shelves. His wand lay inside it, but it hadn't been used in over 800 years. It was dogwood and a unicorn tail hair, slightly supple and 10 1/2 inches.
Percival could still remember the elation of casting his first spell, and the feel of a wand in his hand. He shook his head slightly, clearing his thoughts. The poltergeist knew he should get rid of it, but he had grown an attachment. Besides, you never know when magic might be helpful.
The clock chimed 7pm loudly and Percival sighed. He had cast his first spell exactly 1,000 years ago.
~|~
Andy exited the kitchens, excitement filling her mind. She didn't know why she was excited, it was only looking over a recipe and making sure they had all the ingredients. Andy said 'Pure-blood' to the wall and entered the Common Room. She was met with a rather bizarre sight.
It was chaos. Pure and utter chaos.
Music was playing loudly, there were drink and food tables, and the furniture had been pushed to the side of the room to make space for a dance floor. Every year group was joining in, so it was only water, juice and butterbeer at the drinks table. Andy was sure when it was time for the first, second and third years to leave, the real party with the upper years would begin.
"Andy!" Magnus shouted over the music. He was making his way towards her through the crowd. When Magnus got closer, Andy saw he was carrying a chest. Engraved on the lid was a dragon curled around a circular clock. The numbers were Roman numerals, and the hands pointed to seven o'clock. Once Magnus reached Andy, they both left the Common Room.
"That was loud," Magnus said when they were a little way down the corridor.
"Trust me, it's been louder," Andy laughed. Magnus chuckled.
"Does Slytherin always have a start-of-year party?"
"'Course. Although, first, second and third years have to leave at seven. Then the older years go a bit hectic. Nobody ever sleeps that night."
"How do you get up in time for lessons?"
"Normally we do it on a friday, and sleep in on the saturday. But the Quidditch team have practice on Saturday morning, so the organizer moved it forward a day."
"At least we have History first thing, and not Transfig." Andy hummed in agreement as they climbed onto one of the moving stair cases. Magnus led Andy up to the seventh floor corridor. He walked three times in front of the wall opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and an arched door appeared on it. Magnus pushed the door open and walked inside. Andy followed, and gaped at her surroundings.
She was in a small room with a wooden floor and tables scattered about randomly. A cauldron sat on one, next to a book-stand, and piles of books were on the others. A clock hung on one of the walls. In one of the corners, the was a pile of bean-bags and a rug on the floor. Fairy-lights were dangling from the ceiling, which appeared to be enchanted like the Great Hall.
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement." Magnus said as he placed the chest on one of the tables. Andy was speechless. Magnus watched her expression with a smile on his face. "I was like that too, when I first came here."
"It's amazing. How did you find out about it?"
"It was in my Great-Grandfather's journals. He was an explorer, and found the Room in his sixth year. So, which potion are you brewing?"
"Veritaserum."
"I've been meaning to brew that one for a while." Magnus opened the chest and started taking bottles full of ingredients out of it. Andy took Moste Potente Potions out of her satchel and lay in on the book-stand, open to the page on Veritaserum. Andy read the page out loud.
"Arguably the most potent truth serum in the world, Veritaserum is a substance strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Three drops is said to induce the drinker to spill even the darkest and most well-guarded secrets. There are methods of resistance which vary in degrees of success, such as utilizing its antidote or Occlumency.
It is most effective when used on one who is unaware and unprepared to attempt resistance. Despite its efficacy, Veritaserum is not used to coerce confessions of guilt or innocence in trial as it is considered to be unreliable and unfair - much the same as Muggle Polygraph test results.
Only an advanced potion maker should attempt to brew Veritaserum. The process is complex, and the finished product must mature over the course of one full lunar cycle (approximately twenty-eight days.) If done correctly, the potion will be odorless, colorless, and almost indistinguishable from water.
Ingredients:
• Standard Potioning Water – 250ml
• Vial of Ptolemy – 50ml
• Powdered Moonstone – 200g
• Adder's Fork – 1
• Jobberknoll Feathers – 12
• Sopophorous Beans - 6
Part I
• On the day of the new moon, pour Standard Potioning Water into an iron cauldron and bring to a simmer
• Pour Vial of Ptolemy into cauldron with an anti-clockwise motion and allow to simmer for ten minutes
• Stir Powdered Moonstone into the mixture one spoonful at a time, dissolving thoroughly
• While the mixture simmers, carefully slice Adder's Fork lengthwise to divide the tongue into halves and drop into cauldron
• Raise heat and bring mixture to a rolling boil
• Drop Jobberknoll Feathers into cauldron, stirring clockwise one time between each feather
• Remove cauldron from flame upon reaching a rolling boil
• Quickly crush Sopophorous Beans with the flat of the blade of a silver knife and add to the mixture
• Allow mixture to cool before straining into a bottle for maturation
Part II
• Leave bottle in a dark, cool undisturbed location for the duration of the cycle
• On the night of the full moon, place bottle in the moonlight to absorb the light for four hours
• If this last step cannot be performed due to weather conditions, the potency will suffer to a degree."
"I've got Jobberknoll Feathers, Sopophorous Beans, Adder's Fork, and Vial of Ptolemy," Magnus said, "but we'll need to get the Powdered Moonstone and Potioning Water from the Potions classroom. It shouldn't be to hard, as they're both common ingredients."
"We don't have Potions for the rest of the week, and it would be nice to start brewing on Saturday."
"I'll ask Professor Snape tomorrow after school." Magnus suggested.
"Right. How do I get in here?"
"Walk in front of the wall three times picturing the room. It can change to whatever you need. When we need a dark, cool undisturbed place, we can simply picture a small, dark and cool side-room to put it in.
"Good thinking. Curfew's soon, we should probably head off," Andy said, after looking at the clock on the wall. Andy and Magnus left the Room of Requirement and walked side-by-side back to the Common Room. The wall slid open as the school clock's chime echoed down the corridor, marking seven o'clock. The two Slytherins exchanged a glance, both of them for some un-known reason grinning.
~|~
"Where were you?" Daphne demanded the moment Andy stepped through the doorway.
"With Magnus."
"For one and a half hours? You expect me to believe that!" Daphne exclaimed as Andy dropped her satchel on the floor by her bed. Lily stayed on her bed plaiting her dirty-blonde hair, watching the conversation.
"Well, it's what happened, Daph."
"So, you weren't sneaking off with some boy without telling me?"
"I'm thirteen, Daphne. I am not in a romantic relationship."
"Who's not in a romantic relationship?" Summer asked as she entered the dorm.
"Andy–"
"I should hope so. She's only thirteen." Summer said. Summer was fourteen, as her birthday had been on the 1st September.
"But–" Andy cut Daphne off.
"I'm right here, you know."
"Relationships aside, what do you think Time's start-of-year prank will be?" Lily asked. Andy hadn't told anybody about Time being her alias, even her parents. Only Percival knew.
"Maybe they'll prank Dumbledore. He'd probably laugh it off." Summer suggested.
"Or they'll enchant eagles to follow the Ravenclaws around." Daphne added.
"What about making it rain hair-dye?" Lily wondered.
"She's already done that," Andy said.
"She?" Daphne asked.
"I just think of Time as a girl, that's all."
"It would be cool if Time was a girl," Summer said. The music from the party wouldn't let them get to sleep, so they stayed up talking about Time and their Summers.
~|~
Magnus slipped into his dorm unnoticed. Terence was ranting about how Malfoy was now the Slytherin Seeker. Usually, somebody kept their position on the team until they left, then tryouts for their spot would be held. But Draco Malfoy was now seeker instead of Terence. Magnus didn't have a care for Quidditch and completely ignored Terence, opting to continue reading his Great-Grandfather's, Henry Dragon's, journals. The particular one Magnus was reading at the moment was about Henry's expedition to an island off the coast of New Zealand to find a rare magical beast called a Janspup.
"Hey, Peter?" Charles asked. Peter hummed to show he was listening. "How many werewolves showed up to the signing of the 1637 Werewolf Code Of Conduct?"
"None, since nobody wanted to own up to being a werewolf. The prejudice against werewolves was quite high in the 1600s." Peter loved History of Magic. Not the lessons, he found them boring, but he found the History interesting, and researched by himself in the Library. Charles scribbled words on his parchment. He was lying on his bed doing his homework.
"Are you only doing your homework now, Charles?" Magnus asked with a laugh. He had finished his earlier.
"It slipped my mind, Magnus. I was playing chess with Lily. She, of course, had finished her homework before we began. It's only the third day of school and I'm already swamped in work!"
"Imagine how those of us who aren't organized with their timetable feel," Terence said. He always crammed everything in the night before it was due, or just did as much as he could over the weekend. Charles picked a piece of this muggle thing called cardboard off his bedside table as threw it to Terence.
"I made you a timetable for studying, free-time, Quidditch etc," Charles said.
"You do not know how much I need this. Look," Terence held up the cardboard and pointed to a highlighted yellow square. "It even has 'Extra cramming time, just in case'!" Magnus chuckled lightly and went back to reading. Eventually, he decided it was time to go to sleep. Magnus rummaged around under his bed before pulling out a box.
"What's in there?" Peter asked. Magnus flicked open the lid.
"Sleeping potions, among other things. Take one sip and you'll be out in a minute. Exactly a minute. Want one?"
"With that party going on, I'll need it," Peter said, so Magnus handed him a small vial of the sky-blue potion.
"I may as well have one too," Terence said. Magnus tossed it across the room, and Terence caught it with his seeker reflexes.
"I'll pass, thanks. Need to finish this essay and another one for Charms for tomorrow," Charles said.
"Just copy off mine." Peter said, gesturing to the roll of parchment on his bedside table. Peter took a sip of the potion and got under the covers of his bed. His breathing soon evened out. Terence did the same.
"Sure you don't want one, Charles?" Magnus asked. His friend nodded and turned back to his essay. Magnus took a sip from the vial, placed the box under his bed and lay down.
~|~
Percival left his room, which he had dubbed as 'The Time Room', and made his way down the corridors of Hogwarts. He managed to set up a large pile of water-balloons filled with dye in an unused classroom that he could use later, before he ran into Professor McGonagall, who was doing rounds. Percival made himself solid-looking, and in the dim light, he didn't think McGonagall had noticed his previous transparentness.
"And what are you doing out so late at–" McGonagall cut herself off when she realized she had no idea who she was talking to. "What is your name?" she asked.
"Time," Percival replied, smirking, before running off faster than a wizard could run, leaving a bewildered-looking McGonagall far behind him. He stopped running and let his feet lift off the floor when he was out of her sight. Percival glided along the corridors, being careful to avoid prefects and teachers, thinking up prank ideas. Percival... A voice said. Percival froze. Come... He knew that voice. Come to me... No. It could not be happening again. Percival... Percival was probably just... imagining things. Yes, that was it. Just a ghost of his past. But if being at Hogwarts had taught him anything, it was that ghosts can be very much real.
“Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.”
-- Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses