Year 3 ~ Chapter 11
When Rosie came out of the girls bathroom she was surprised to see Cho standing outside waiting patiently for her to check if she was alright. Cho gave her a hug and told her that she didn't need to feel embarrassed because people were probably staring at Goyle rather than her. Rosie was a bit taken aback at Cho's kindness since she'd never been in this kind of situation before, she'd always been the strong one who had supported her friends not the other way around. As the girls headed down the corridor, back towards the Great Hall they spotted their suspicious Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher loitering next to a large tapestry on the wall. Rosie and Cho were about to turn and walk down a separate corridor before Rosie noticed Mendacallius take out his Probity Probe from his coat and step to face the wall opposite the tapestry.
'Wait… hold up.. what's he up to?' Rosie said as she grabbed Cho's arm and they hid at the end of the corridor as not be seen. Mendacallius looked around nervously, checking for anyone watching him. When he thought he was alone he closed his eyes as to concentrate harder and began to pace up and down. All of a sudden the wall next to him started to move and a metal door frame slowly became visible. It grew in detail and structure until finally it stopped and there stood a large rusting castle door as if it had been there the whole time. Mendacallius walked through it, looking satisfied, before closing it behind him. Rosie knew exactly what was behind that door, for she'd read with Sophie that the Room of Requirement could be accessed in this way. Rosie ran over to the door before it began to disappear and she stood by it for a moment thinking as hard as she could about the Room of Hidden Things. She turned to Cho, who was still hiding in the corner, looking both terrified and amazed.
'Trust me' Rosie said as Cho began to gingerly walk over to the entrance. 'I think I know what this is, we've got to follow Mendacallius.' Rosie cautiously and quietly opened the door, she didn't want to make Mendacallius aware of the girls presence. Once inside they found themselves completely blown away by the size and volume of the room. The size of a small cathedral it was crowded full of mountains of objects piled up high like pyramids. Some of the piles were so high the girls struggled to see the top. Just simply where the girls stood could a range of bizarre random objects be found: a miniature piano, double ended broomsticks, an entire suit of armour, dozens of round tables stacked upon each other and trunkfuls of what looked like chestnuts.
'This is amazing' Cho whispered as she fiddled with a giant mound of books to her left.
'Come on, we've got to see what Mendacallius is up to,' Rosie took Cho's hand and they silently walked through the jungle of items.
'What do you think he's trying to find?' Cho whispered as the girls passed a large bird cage with what looked like a skeleton of a giant bat inside.
'A dagger… the Dagger of Mortahepta I think it's called. It's got something to do with that wizard Thanatos Altair.'
'I hope you're joking' bothered Cho. 'I did read that book last night and it almost gave me nightmares. That Dagger can't seriously be being kept in a school can it?'
'Yeah… and I think Mendacallius is trying to find it right now. Let's just hope we've got this all wrong and he's not finding it at all, let's just hope he's searching for something nice like… pumpkin pastels or —' Rosie held her breath and grabbed Cho. They'd spotted Mendacallius. He was slowly walking around with the golden probe in hand, waving it around the objects to check if any were enchanted.
'Let's just leave Rosie,' Cho pleased, 'We could get into so much trouble'. But Rosie wasn't listening, she was intently staring at Mendacallius as he stopped waving his probe and hovered over a small table. On it was a jewellery box, an old radio and what looked like a piece of spare blue silk cloth. He picked up the cloth, Rosie could see that something was wrapped inside it. She moved closer, peering through the strings of a harp as she watched the Defence Against Dark Arts professor. Mendacallius slowly unwrapped the item to reveal a tarnished silver dagger, it had a long wide blade and it was adorned with a single large amethyst on the handle.
Cho squeezed Rosie's arm, 'We've got to go'. Mendacallius abruptly looked round in the direction of the girls. Rosie began to back away slowly but the sleeve of her robe caught the edge of an overflowing jewellery box which rattled as she brushed past it. Mendacallius started to sharply head in the direction of the girls. In a panic they turned and fled in the opposite direction, heading for the door. As they ran Cho nearly slipped on a piece of fabric draped on the floor and she cursed herself as Rosie grasped her hand and they continued for the door. The girls could hear Mendacallius' footsteps getting louder; their hearts were racing as they dived out the exit and sprinted down the corridor.
