Hey! I know I haven't updated this story in forever, but I've gotten back on track and hopefully will have more chapters up on each of my stories ASAP. I'd appreciate any ideas and suggestions that you might have. Ciao! --Not always a Bookworm


Chapter 6--The Room of Requirement

Celendine led them up the staircases and stopped on the seventh floor in front of a blank stretch of wall across from a tapestry of a man getting clubbed by some trolls. She gestured triumphantly.

"See?"

The foursome looked around, not sure of what they were supposed to see. Celendine sighed, and walked up to the blank wall, and paced in front of it a couple times. Suddenly, a door appeared in the wall. Lily and Hugo gasped. Celendine smiled. Arita stepped forward and was the first to enter.

She looked around the mysterious room in amazement. Each corner seemed to have something different in it. One corner was obviously for her, as it had bookcases and soft cushions each with a lamp hanging over it, perfect for a good read. She walked over and examined the books. She selected a couple and turned around to see what the others were doing.

Lily was squealing in excitement in her corner watching little model quidditch players race around on little brooms on top of a table. There was a small shelf nearby with books like Quidditch through the Ages; Famous Hogwarts Quidditch Players; and Basic Flying Tips and Tricks. There was also a piece of paper pinned up on the wall. Lily glanced up and noticed it. She took it off the wall and looked at it closer.

"Dumbledore's Army?...Hey, my mom and dad are on here! So is Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron!"

Hugo left his corner filled with what looked like models of magical creatures like dragons, unicorns, centaurs, sphinxes, thestrals, and phoenixes that were moving and came and looked over her shoulder. Sam came over as well from his corner of exotic books like The Monster Book of Monsters; How to become a Master of Pranks(by George Weasley); and Jinxes, Curses, and Tricks: A book on how to do everything concerning school, enemies, dating, and getting your sister out of the bathroom in the morning. Arita came over and looked also.

"What is this?" Sam asked. They all looked at Celendine.

"Dumbledore's Army was a student-led rebellion back when Harry Potter was in school. Apparently a ministry official came and took over the school and forbid the use of defensive magic in school. So several students came together as a group and Harry taught them spells in secret. They called themselves Dumbledore's Army, the D.A. for short." she looked over at Arita. "It's all in Hogwarts Today, you'll read it later." Arita nodded.

"So what is this place?" asked Lily.

"The Room of Requirement. It appears whenever you need something. You just pace in front of the wall and think of what you need. The room will do the rest."

"Sweet!" exclaimed Hugo.

"But either way, we have to be getting back." Arita reminded them. "Class is almost over."

They left the room together, Lily holding a model of her father, Hugo holding a model of a centaur, Sam clutching Jinxes, Curses, and Tricks, and Arita holding the books she had grabbed: The Book of Advanced Spells; Animal Magic: The one guide you'll ever need concerning magical beasts; and what seemed to be an old spellbook.

As they said goodbye to Celendine, the others started chattering excitedly about the Room.

"Hey guys?" Hugo, Sam, and Lily looked up at Arita. "Um, we have free period now, right? So I think I'm going to go back, take a longer look at these books." They nodded, and Arita ran back to the Room. She paced in front of the wall, thinking, I need a place where Rascal and I can study these books together in peace. After three turns, she opened her eyes and saw the door. She reached for the handle, but just then a voice sounded from behind her.

"Hiding, Callister?"

Arita closed her eyes for a moment in exasperation, then slowly turned around.

"Scorpio. What a surprise. You're already out of the Hospital Wing?" Scorpio grinned.

"Why, yes I am. Fortunately, it was a clean fracture, so it was easily healed." he walked up closer and leaned against the wall nonchalantly, close to Arita. "So," he smirked.

"So, what?" Arita asked impatiently.

"So, what do you say?"

"Say to what?" Arita sighed. "Listen, I don't have time for this..."

Scorpio put a finger on her lips. She pulled away and glared at him. He chuckled. "What do you say to hooking up with me?"

Arita stared at him for a minute, then slapped him full and hard in the face. "Jerk!" she yelled, then turned and entered the Room of Requirement, the door vanishing behind her. Scorpio rubbed his stinging cheek and scowled at where the door had been.

The Room was completely different from before. Now it seemed like Arita had stepped into a clearing in the forest, with trees all around and sunlight filtering down from above. She sat on a rock perfectly shaped like a stool and called to Rascal with her mind. Soon he emerged from the trees and came over to her. He nuzzled her cheek.

"What's up?" he inquired.

"I got these books from the Room of Requirement. I wanted to look over them."

Rascal was looking at them. "Well, I think that with your little 'problem', you should read Animal Magic first."

"Right." They sat there for a while, reading through the whole book and finding nothing. Arita sighed.

"Well, nothing there. Might as well take a look at this one." she picked up Advanced Spells. She practiced difficult spells for the rest of the timeuntil the bell rang. She stuffed the books in her bag, the old spellbook getting pushed down to the bottom.

"Bye Rascal!"

She ran to the quidditch pitch to meet up with the others for flying practice. She found Bianca and Lily, and went to stand next to them. With a look of disgust she noticed Scorpio staring at her haughtily.

"Hey!" Bianca exclaimed. She lowered her voice down to a whisper. "Lily told me all about the Room. Is it really as cool as she says it is?" Arita laughed.

"Yeah. I'll show you later."

"Sweet!" Bianca grinned, then turned to face Madame Hooch.

"Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Madame Hooch." they all chorused.

"You are here to learn to perfect the art of flying. Professor McGonagall has kindly purchased new Firebolts for the school, as you can see here." she indicated the rows of brooms lying at her feet. "I want each of you to stand by a broom. Put your right hand over it and say 'Up !'"

The students did as she directed. Arita's, Scorpio's, Lily's, and Hugo's brooms shot up into their hands, while other brooms rose slowly or didn't move at all.

"The brooms know a good flier when they sense one! Good job you four!" congratulated Madame Hooch. "Come on, the rest of you! Put some emphasis into your voice! Show the broom you want to fly!"

Poor Sam, trying his best, shouted, "UP!!" the broom flew up and whacked him in the nose. Arita gasped. A trickle of blood flowed from his nose.

"Oh dear," muttered Madame Hooch. She hurried over to him. "Come on, hospital wing." she looked over at the four still standing there with brooms in hand. "You four, go to the Quidditch Pitch and practice flying. I'm trusting you to watch out for each other." she turned to the rest of the class. "As for you, I'll be back as soon as possible. Anyone so much as says 'up' will be in detention before you can say 'snitch'." She hurried off with Sam and Arita, Lily, Hugo, and Scorpio headed toward the quidditch pitch, Arita giving Bianca a sympathetic smile.