Our two enemy worlds - A Harry Potter Romance

Chapter ten : The Room of Requirement

Harry and Daphne arrived in the left-hand corridor in front of a stone wall at the end of a large hallway. No door, no other exit. A real dead end. All that surrounded them was this filthy tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy's attempt to teach trolls to dance ballet.

-Harry, why did you bring me here ? There's nothing... We're not going to train here in full view of anyone, are we ?

-Close your eyes," he said calmly.

-Uh...Frankly I..., she stammered hesitantly.

-Do you trust me ?" he asked, looking her straight in the eyes.

-Yes, I do.

-Then close your eyes," he insisted in a voice that was meant to be reassuring.

Daphne sighed but complied. Once her eyes were closed, she heard Harry moving back and forth between her and the stone wall. " What was he doing ?" she mused. As his behaviour became increasingly strange, Daphne had to resist opening her eyes. She was about to break down when a strange noise was heard. It was both strange and familiar. It sounded as if the stone was cracking and instantly reforming. It reminded him of the sound the bricks in the Crossroads passage made when one took the shortcut from the Leaky Cauldron.

Suddenly the noise stopped and a few seconds later Harry said, "You can open them".

Daphne was stunned. There in front of her was a huge dark wooden door covered with wrought iron ornaments in the shape of arabesques. She turned to Harry in amazement.

-But how ?" she asked in amazement.

-That's the magic of Hogwarts. It's called the Room of Requirement.

-This school never ceases to amaze me," she said, thinking back to what she had just experienced with the lady in the painting. The castle seemed to hide mysteries around every corner.

Harry walked towards the door and it opened in front of them to reveal a bluish light.

He turned towards her and tilted his head inwards as if inviting Daphne in.

She took a deep breath and followed him. The room was huge. Great white stone arches formed the ceiling and joined the floor to form massive columns, a lively fire crackled in a large fireplace, and large mirrors covered most of the room's walls. In the centre was a mannequin on wheels with a wand in its hand, a sofa that looked most comfortable, and a massive shelf containing dozens of books. Daphne also noticed an old chest with a rusty lock attached to it, sitting in the left corner of the room. She was curious to know what it might contain.

-How come I've never seen or heard of this place before ?

-I didn't know it existed either until Dobby told me about it. But come to think of it, all of us have used it before without even realizing it. In fact, this room appears for whoever needs it, and inside it materialises what is wanted. It was used by Fred and George as a broom cupboard when they had to hide from Filch.

-If I understand correctly, its contents and even its entire configuration change according to our desires ?

-Yes and no, let's say the room guesses what you really need.

Daphne walked to the middle of the room and looked at everything in it.

-What do we start with ? she asked excitedly, turning back to Harry.

-Mmmh...well, Expelliarmus ? I know it's a pretty basic defensive spell, but it's always been very useful to me, even in the most inextricable situations.

-You mean when you found yourself facing...

-Yes," he replied as his face darkened.

There was no need to specify what or rather who they were talking about. Although Daphne didn't know the details, the incident that had brought Harry face to face with the Dark Lord had been reported to the entire magical community. Some of course, like the Ministry or a large portion of the wizards who preferred to remain in denial, chose not to believe it.