Power, Freedom and a French Flower

Upgrading a wand

AN: Hey guys and welcome to Chapter 16.

This fic is over 70k words already...pretty incredible considering my own bachelor thesis was only like 20k words.

I hope you guys still enjoy it. Keep up the feedback and the reviews!

2nd of June 1993

Chapter 16

It was almost time. Soon Harry could sneak back into the Chamber and ask Salazar what he knew about Rowena's room. Harry was hoping that Salazar knew of a way to connect the two rooms and create something like a bridge between them.

But could the room truly defy space as a dimension like that? The Chamber and the ROR are literally located on opposite sides of Hogwarts: One on the seventh floor and the other even lower than the dungeons. Could magic overcome this distance?

Harry checked the Map to see if there was anyone in front of the room or patrolling the seventh floor. Dumbledore was still in his office, as were Snape and McGonagall. Some other staff members were in the staff lounge and Filch was down on the first floor. It was time to go.

He put on his cloak and exited the room, carefully making his way down to the bathroom. He ignored Myrtle and opened the sink to step down into the Chamber.

"There you are! You have been gone for some time!" Salazar greeted him.

"I found Rowena's Room, Sal. I have to say... it's even more impressive than yours." Harry chuckled.

"I don't care how impressive you find it. The fact that my heir discovered another founder's room before any of their's discovered mine is satisfying enough. Tell me about the room!"

Harry explained how he found it and recounted the most important parts of the manual and the room's features. He also told Salazar about the imposing threat that is Albus Dumbledore.

"That room sounds truly spectacular. It will be great for dueling exercises. You can also just use its resources. I could imagine that it was used to hide illegal items or anything a student quickly wanted to get rid of, very often over the last 1000 years. Is there a way to make the room show you everything that it has collected so far?"

"Yes, there is!" Harry replied excitedly. "According to the manual you simply have to ask for 'The Room of Hidden Things' to see it.

"That is indeed very useful. You should take a couple of hours and wander through that room. Who knows what hidden treasures you might find there!"

"What about Dumbledore?"

"Your Headmaster, yes... Well, you could always just use one of the other two entrances to the Chamber, if you are worried about him blocking the one in the bathroom."

Harry stared at the portrait, dumbstruck.

"Are you kidding me... There are other ways to enter the Chamber and you have never told me? You had me go into a girl's bathroom for over three months?"

Salazar chuckled: "I think it's a very humbling experience. Why else do you think I created it in the first place? But yes, there are two more entrances you can use. One is located outside the Castle on the grounds. How else could my basilisk defend the school, if it killed half its students leaving the bathroom already?

The last entrance is in a broom cupboard around halfway along the corridor on the first floor. To open it, simply say 'Open' in Parseltongue. The staircase will directly take you to the ante-chamber."

Harry just shook his head: "You could have really told me this earlier, Sal. Nevertheless, thank you for sharing it with me. I will make sure to use a different entrance from now on. How would I find the one leading out to the grounds?"