The Room of Requirements
Well, that battle is still on. It just takes me longer to write a chapter.
Hphphp
The next morning Harry did call Dobby, who showed him the Room of Requirements. It was located on the seventh floor, across the castle from the Gryffindor dorms. It was an easy trek since everyone was still asleep.
“Dobby, how does it work?” he asked the elf. All he could see was a tapestry of a man teaching trolls to dance. There was no door anywhere.
“You must be pacing here three times, and think of what you is being needing,” his little friend answered, pointing to the part of the wall that he needed to use.
So, Harry paced in front of a blank wall, feeling silly, but he trusted Dobby. On the third pass, a door appeared. He opened it and looked inside. There was a miniature obstacle course that was floating in the air, and it had some ground maneuvers. There was an archery range, as well as an area where they could practice with the stun wands. The room even provided some test wands for them to use.
Harry ventured inside, and then took his bag off. He called the queen. He was sure she’d like it. There were many things that he could see that would help improve the men.
“What?” she said, in her usual way. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the boy. It was more that she didn’t want him to think that she was subservient to him.
“I’ve got a place to train,” he said, waving to the training area. “If you want to call the men out, they can get started,” he added, making sure to pose it as a suggestion. He didn’t want her to think that he was trying to boss her around. While she did say she’d do anything he asked, it was only polite to continue asking, and not demanding.
“Thank you,” she said, then dove back into her home. Soon enough, every able-bodied doxy was running drills or training on distance weapons. The generals were calling out orders in the language they used. It was mostly like buzzing, trilling and whistling, but the troops seemed to understand it.
He ran a few kidnapping drills with them, but soon they wanted to just do the courses. So, Harry let them do their thing and joined the queen who was watching.
“What do I call you? I mean, I’ve been calling you Queenie in my head, and out loud a few times,” he asked, hoping he hadn’t offended her by calling her that.
“Queenie is fine,” she said, never having had a name before, and that one would work just as well as any other.
“Did your men find out anything last night?” Harry asked the queen as she flew up to his shoulder where she rested. He really wanted to know what people were saying. He hoped he wasn’t going to start the new school year with a bad reputation. Second and fourth year had been enough for him.
“Not really, there was a lot of talk about you, but most of it was neutral. There were a few that were bit for bad-mouthing you. But only once, so they will only be sick for the day. I don’t want them to do it too often. That might cause them to spray for pests,” she said, watching her men train. They needed to make sure they were undetected. “I’ll order them to use the prank arrows for now,” she said, still gazing forward.
“Well, that makes sense,” Harry agreed, thinking that them spraying would be a bad thing. “How are they retrieving those. I meant to ask you ages ago,” he asked, having put it off long enough.
“There is a very thin string attached to the arrow. They simply have to pull it back,” she answered, making Harry feel foolish that he didn’t think of that. It was a simple solution.
“Oh,” was all he said.
“I never thanked you for saving my family,” she said, looking ahead and not at the wizard.
“Yes, you did,” Harry pointed out. “When I first suggested the bag, you gave your thanks then.”
“Yes, but you’ve done so much since then. I know I come off as neutral, maybe even a tad stuck up, but I am thankful to you for what you’ve done. Me and mine will support you in your fight with the Dark Lord,” the queen said, knowing that the boy needed all the help he could get.
“You are very welcome, and you have my thanks in return,” the teen said, looking at her profile. “Tell me more about how your men think. I mean, do they just follow your orders? Are you still a true monarchy?” In his mind he was still comparing them to bees.
“Yes, that is the nature of the doxies,” she answered, doing just that by barking out an order for one of the generals that needed to train more on archery and not the obstacle course. The general took his men to the targets, and they started shooting the arrows. Harry got to see how the strings worked.
“So that’s why they have a military mindset?” he asked, looking on as one of the platoons started using the wands that the room provided. They were pretty good at shooting off the spells and hiding the wands. He thought that was another good idea, that way there were no wands lying about that would have to be explained. He knew the twins weren’t going to sell them to the public. Maybe to friends, and the law enforcement, but no one else. They were working on a joke wand that would shoot off a prank spell, but the stunner wands weren’t going to be sold.
“Yes,” was all she said, not wanting to talk to him about how they were developing their own ways, that differed from the normal doxy way. He could find out later. “I’d better go and check on my men,” she said, done with the emotional stuff.
“I’ll just figure out this room,” Harry said, looking around to see if there was anything written about said room. He racked his brain and soon had a few thoughts on the Room of Requirements. He wondered if it could do more than just be a different place for every time someone called it. He had long felt that the castle was sentient, and he believed that this room might be a representative of that.
“Room?” he said in a tentative voice. He felt ridiculous speaking to nothing that could be seen, but magic wasn’t logical. If he was going to talk to a room, he had no recourse but talk to the air.
There was a feeling all around him, like the room was listening but couldn’t respond. It wasn’t oppressing, more like a small wind on his ear. It felt friendly yet reserved.
“Can you communicate with me?” Harry asked, watching the doxies do their drills on the obstacle course. He wondered if they could feel what he was feeling. However, they didn’t seem to. They just went about their business.
There wasn’t a negative answer, but it wasn’t positive either. More like a shrug, if the air could do such.
“Hmmm, how about you try and do what I ask, or give me a book that will answer what you can’t?” he tried, thinking that it would be the best way to test it.
There was a positive feeling this time.
“I need a way to get people in the castle, can you create such a thing?” the teen asked as he turned around the room in case something changed. A door appeared at the right side of the room, away from the entrance. It was a sturdy wooden door that had a rune carved in it, but Harry had no clue what that rune represented.
He went to the door and opened it, and on the other side was a tunnel that looked like it went on forever. There were lights, but they were dim. As if it didn’t want to draw attention, which was weird. Maybe there wasn’t enough magic to make them brighter, he just didn’t know.
“I’ll take that as a yes then,” Harry said, happily. He then went to the entrance and lit his wand to see how far down the tunnel went. “I’m going to follow this to see where it ends,” he said, and did just that. It wasn’t a creepy tunnel by any means, it was actually nice and smooth. After walking for twenty minutes, he came out at the Shrieking Shack, but he was overcome with the knowledge that he should not leave the tunnel. Like it would close if he did. “This will work,” he mumbled to himself as he made his way back.
It wasn’t as long returning as it seemed descending. In no time at all, he was back in the room.
“Can you do the same for the Chamber of Secrets?” he asked, wondering if it could make a tunnel anywhere around the castle area. The Shrieking Shack was not part of the castle proper.
The first door disappeared, and another door took its place. He moved to open it, and he was joined by the queen.
“I want to come with you,” she said, her voice firm. She flew to his shoulder and latched on to his shirt.
“Why?” he questioned, not sure what the purpose of her joining him could be.
“I would like to see the snake that you slew,” was her answer. If the truth had been told, then it was a monster of a serpent.
“How did you know about that?” he asked, knowing he had never told her.
“My spies,” she said, fluttering her wings.
“Oh,” was all he could say to that. The people in Grimmuald Place must have discussed his school years. He wondered why, then brushed it off as a question for later. They made their way down the tunnel and soon it opened up into the chamber. Again, he didn’t leave the tunnel, but he could see the whole of the room.
The snake was still there and quite preserved. It looked like it had been killed only moments ago. The rest of the chamber looked the same too. Even the dark stain on the floor where he had bled and killed the diary.
“There must be a stasis charm on the chamber,” Harry said, looking in awe at the giant snake. He couldn’t believe that he had killed such a beast. He didn’t know if he could do it again, but probably if his life was on the line. That’s when his luck was the best.
“You killed that?” the queen asked, flying all over the basilisk. Her wings were buzzing something fierce, like she was agitated or excited. “As a child?” she asked amazed.
“Yeah, it was mostly luck, and I had help,” Harry said, with a small bit of pride. He looked on from the entrance of the tunnel, wondering what she was thinking about.
“I am glad to be a part of your army,” she said, puffing up with pride. “If you could slay this massive monster, then you are a man to follow.”
“Thanks, I think,” Harry said, motioning her to come on, so they could return to the room. After they trekked back, Queenie went back to her troops, and he called Sirius. “Sirius,” he said when his godfather appeared in the mirror, “I found a way to get the goblins in and get them to the Chamber of Secrets.”
“That’s great,” Sirius enthused, glad that that problem was solved. “How?” he asked, his face a picture of curiosity.
“Just get everyone to the Shrieking Shack sometime tonight or tomorrow night,” Harry said, hoping it was tonight, since classes started tomorrow, and it would be harder to sneak out when everyone was doing homework. Especially the fifth and seventh years. They had tons of homework and were in the common room all hours of the night.
“I can get them there tonight,” the other man said, much to Harry’s relief. “What do you need from me?” he asked as he looked to the side as if listening to someone.
“Nothing you weren’t going to bring anyways,” Harry said, wondering who was there with Sirius. Probably Moony, or Moody. They seemed to hang around his house more than other Order members. “You can tell the goblins that the snake is still intact.”
“Okay, I’ll have Bill tell them today. I’ll call you when I have a time,” the dogman said still tilting his head to the side.
“Alright,” the teen said, seeing that his godfather was busy. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Sorry, Harry, I was talking to Remus before you called. He said that he wants to come too,” Sirius said, looking at the werewolf again.
“Why? There’s nothing for him to do,” the confused boy said, not sure if that many people should come.
“It’s only one more person, and he’s already in the know,” his godfather said, looking at Harry this time.
“Fine, I guess. I mean, it’s not like I have a say in this,” Harry said, this time more receptively. “Just keep it simple,” he added, looking at the doxies who seemed to be having a meeting. He couldn’t understand what they were saying, but there were many glances his way.
“We’ll be there tonight,” Sirius said, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand.
“Okay, let me know what time,” Harry said and signed off.
Morning transitioned into afternoon, and Harry finally let his hunger direct him to the Great Hall. He had had a great time training with the doxies, who seemed to get along with him better. It must have been the queen telling them about the basilisk. Whatever it was, they followed his orders better, and they were more protective.
He met Neville, Hermione, and Ron at the table. He dished up some tomato soup and grabbed a roast beef sandwich.
“What did you guys do this morning?” he asked to start off the conversation.
“We spent most of the morning looking for you,” Ron grumbled, seemingly put out at that.
“Where were you?” Hermione asked, looking scoldingly at Ron.
“Training,” Harry said between sips of soup.
“For what?” the bushy-haired girl asked, then realized how easy the question was and said, “I mean, why didn’t you invite us?”
“I was training on what to do if I get kidnapped again,” Harry said, hoping to stop that line of questioning.
“Why…” was as far as she got when Neville interrupted her.
“That’s a good idea. Do you think we can join next time?” the shy boy asked, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.
“I guess, but I need to do it alone sometimes. You would more than likely not be around if it happens again,” Harry explained as simply as he could without mentioning his army.
“That makes sense, I guess. However, I would still like to join,” Neville said, looking to the other two, who nodded their heads.
“What if we are there?” Hermione asked with an inquisitive eyebrow. “We’ve been there before when there’s trouble,” she pointed out, reminding Harry of all the times they were indeed there.
“I don’t have a problem with you joining sometimes,” he reiterated, putting his spoon in his empty bowl. “I just need to do it by myself sometimes,” he added again, picking up some crisps to go with his sandwich.
“I understand,” Hermione said, turning back to her salad and cheese sandwich.
“I get it,” Ron said as he tuned back in the conversation.
“Me too,” Neville said, giving Harry a clap on the shoulder.
“Sorry you wasted your morning looking for me. I was hidden pretty well,” Harry said to the trio.
“That’s fine, just let us know next time you want to be alone,” Hermione said with a forgiving nod.
“I will,” he promised, not wanting them to follow him next time. It would be easier to claim time alone than sneaking off. “I’m going back to where I was this morning and training some more. Next time, you guys can join me,” he added, thinking hard on whether or not to tell them about the Room of Requirements. They still had the same issues as telling them the rest of his secrets. Well, not Neville, he might keep them. However, he didn’t know the boy well enough, yet.
“I want to go to the library anyway,” Hermione said, finishing off her lunch, and putting her fork on the empty plate.
“I’m going to see if anyone wants to play chess,” Ron said, having spent the summer without the game as no one in his family would play him anymore. They said it was a waste of time.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I’ll find something. I always do,” Neville confessed, used to being by himself.
Harry felt a stab of guilt at that statement. He wanted to be Neville’s friend, and he was going to be, he just didn’t know how. He came to a decision and said, “How about you come with me.” He could go to an empty classroom for now. The army was invisible, so he didn’t have to worry about his bodyguards being seen.
“Are you sure?” the blondish boy asked, perking up at not having to spend the day bored out of his head.
“Yeah, Ron and Hermione have something to do, you can come with me, and I’ll help you in DADA,” Harry said, thinking the boy needed the help. Especially with Snape as the teacher.
“That’d be great,” Neville said, wolfing down the last of his lunch.
They left the Great Hall shortly after that. Harry took him to a room near the RoR. It was a simple empty room, with nothing in it. Not even dust. The house elves must keep the whole castle dust free, because this room had an air of disuse.
Harry and Neville spent a majority of the afternoon going over the past years DADA. Harry had no clue as to why the other teen couldn’t get them right without a great deal of effort. He had the movements and pronunciation correct. Something was blocking him from getting the spells to work.
“I don’t get it,” Harry said after two hours of working on the problem. “You’re strong, I can feel it, you’re doing everything correctly, so your spells should work.”
“I don’t understand it either,” Neville said, dejected. “I can feel it working right until it leaves my wand,” he added as an afterthought.
“Where did you get your wand? It looks old,” Harry asked, looking at the chipped-up wand that his new friend held.
“It’s my father’s,” the shy boy said, also looking at the well-worn wand.
“Isn’t your father still alive? and I don’t mean that in a cruel way,” Harry asked, hoping he didn’t offend Neville by inquiring.
“Yes,” was the succinct answer.
“I don’t mean to upset you, but that might mean that that wand already has an owner, and it doesn't want to work for anyone else,” Harry suggested, putting a hand on Neville’s shoulder.
“I never thought of that,” Neville said, thinking that that might be true. He didn’t’ know much about wand lore, but it did make a bit of sense.
“Talk to McGonagall,” Harry suggested, hoping that it would work. The last thing Neville needed was for Snape to have another excuse to ridicule him. If he had a proper wand, then he would excel in DADA.
“Do you think she’ll help? She doesn’t have a good track record,” Neville asked remembering all the times she hadn’t helped in the past.
“Maybe, I mean, this is academics, so she might be more inclined to listen,” Harry said, hoping that that was true.
“Okay,” the other teen said, putting his wand in the holster on his arm. Harry thought that that was a good idea and made a mental note to get one.
It was then that his mirror vibrated. He knew it was Sirius and that he had to end this session. “You go find her, and I’ll finish up some stuff I have to do before class tomorrow,” he said, leading the shy boy to the door.
“I hope you’re right,” Neville said, turning towards the Deputy Headmistress’s office.
Harry went in the opposite direction and came to the RoR. He quickly called up a room that was a simple sitting room. He flopped down in one of the chairs that were in front of an empty fireplace. “Sirius Black,” he said to the mirror when he pulled it out of his inner robe pocket.
“Oh, good, you found somewhere to talk,” his godfather said, looking behind the boy and seeing a blank wall.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you all about it tonight. Did you have a time?” Harry asked, stretching a bit. It had been a grueling morning.
“Yeah, we’ll be there at midnight. That’ll give you time to sleep a bit, and us time to do everything we need to do,” Sirius said, looking concerned at his godson’s weary visage. “Did you train too much today?” he asked.
“Maybe a bit,” the boy confessed, breaking into a huge yawn.
“Take it easy the rest of the day, and make it an early evening,” Padfoot suggested with a small smile.
“I will,” Harry promised, yawning again. “I’m going to go find something to keep me awake for a while. I’ll see you at midnight. Remember, stay in the shack,” he said, getting up and pacing.
“Will do,” Sirius said, and they said goodbye and signed off.