Chapter 2: The Room of Requirement Discovery
:Out in the hall everything was silent. Not a single person lingered. Beneath his cloak, Harry scanned the map for any signs of teachers or other students. Professor Dumbledore was pacing his office while Professor Snape patrolled the third floor corridor. No one was on the same floor as him, which was a relief. He would just have to sit and wait until the floors started to clear.
As he walked across the floor, Harry began to think about his wish of knowing more about his parents. There had to be a way. There just had to! Come on, think! I'm a wizard, there's got to be a way! Harry thought.
For the next fifteen or twenty minutes Harry stared absent-mindedly at the map while he paced and thought about his wish. He completely forget to keep checking the map for any signs of people coming up to the same floor he was on. Think, Harry, think. You should know this. THINK! He thought over and over again.
Finally, Harry came to his senses. He tuned back into the world and scanned the map once more. With a tiny cry of fear, Harry saw that Professor Snape and Mr. Filch were on the same floor, headed straight for him! Run, run, run! A little voice inside his head screamed. He followed that voice and ran for his life.
Harry sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him in the opposite direction of Snape and Filch. He stopped for a breath around a corner and looked at the map. The two little dots were still moving down the hall, getting closer and closer to Harry's dot on the map.
What am I going to do? thought Harry. The hall in which he stood was a dead end with no doors. If he went in the direction of the two staff members he would be caught for sure.
By now he was breathing hard. Harry's hands were shaking like mad. He had been caught many, many times in the hall late at night and the first few times he wasn't afraid at all. But by now, he knew the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall would surely give him a week-long detention, which meant no Quidditch practice. One day of detention was bad enough, but a whole seven days? No way would he risk that.
Harry was afraid that he was going to drop either his wand or his map and be discovered. There wasn't anything you couldn't hear in the silence of the halls at night.
Again, he had to tune back into the world around him. Afraid of what he might see on the map, he stole a glance and realized the two little dots were closing in on his dot. Harry looked around the corner and saw the two men walking with lanterns in their hands. They were swinging them back and forth as they searched for stray students.
Harry knew he had to do something, and fast. Then, out of the corner of his left eye, Harry saw a staircase leading up to a large wooden door. He had never seen this before. He knew this was his escape route.
Quickly, he dashed across the hall. He climbed the steps two by two. Then with a quick pull, he opened the door, raced inside, and slammed the door shut again. Harry could here Snape's sharp voice calling. "There's one up here, Argus!" He yelled.
Harry ran down the hall and slipped around another corner. When he heard Filch's calls, he ran as fast as a bullet. He just kept running and running, turning this way and that. With each turn he hoped he would lose Snape and Filch, but he still heard their voices getting closer.
With a few more turns, Harry ran out of breath. He couldn't run anymore. He sank down on his bottom and scanned the map. By now he was far away from Snape and Filch. They were too dim-witted to find him with all of the turns he made.
With a sigh, he leaned his head against the wall. But his head hit the wall too hard. "Damn it!" Harry whispered. He rubbed the back of his head.
Then his mind swirled again and he lost all trace of place and time.
His wish floated back into his brain. Harry would do anything, and he meant anything to get inside his parents' thoughts deeper than ever imaginable. The wizard world was a wonderful place. There had to be a spell somewhere, or some kind of potion or concoction.
Once again, he came back to Earth. The pain in his head had subsided. But, somehow, he couldn't see. Then he realized that there was a smudge on his glasses so he took them off and began wiping them with his sleeves.
He placed the glasses back onto his face and stood up. He checked the map and there was no one in sight. Harry rolled the map up and took off his cloak. Then he began pacing the strange hallway he was in.
Harry didn't know where he was. He was on a different floor than the Gryffindor Tower, that was for sure. As he walked the floor, he noticed a wonderful tapestry hanging on the wall. It looked like some kind of knight. Hmm, that looks familiar. But Harry didn't give it much thought.
He sat down below the tapestry and began thinking of his wish once more. If there was a way, why couldn't he find it? If there was a way, then how did it work? If there wasn't a way, how would he battle his curiosity and that painful feeling that always filled his heart?
God, I wish there was just a way to know my parents' thoughts! Harry screamed inside of his head.
Suddenly and out of nowhere, a door appeared on the wall opposite Harry. He stood up on an impulse. He held his wand out and examined the door. Then he realized it. He had been in this place before! It was the Room of Requirement, the room that seemed to come out of nowhere. He had visited it in his fifth year when he started Dumbledore's Army.
A happy feeling filled Harry. Maybe this was his answer, maybe not. He made up his mind. Wand in hand, he reached for the door knob and slowly opened the door, hoping this was the answer to his prayers...
A/N- Wow! Is that a cliffhanger or what? I'm writing this the same day I put the first chapter out. It's amazing, I got reviews on my first day! Thanks you guys who gave me compliments! Keep going and maybe I'll have this whole thing done by week's end!
Well, there it is, folks. The second chapter that my reviewers have been vying for! Okay, so only two people said they wanted to know more. Hey, at least I'm honest! ENJOY! And don't forget: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!
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