Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters. Only the events in this story are mine.
A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers: SerpentSlaveChik, Spork or Foon, kagomepotter, dont'trunwithscissors, Demented Chook, Scorpion29, Dead Mans Hand, lillinfields, Phoebe Halliwell, carriegrl, SlytherinSnake-Goddess, and Miki23. I appreciate your comments, and I hope that you will enjoy the coming chapters as well. :)
Chapter 7: The Room of Requirement
Small sounds kept tickling Harry's ears, making him jump and look around. Each time, he started in alarm, yet even as the fear coursed through him, he knew that he was safe and invisible under the cloak.
Heart pounding, Harry ascended the staircase to the fifth floor. The portraits on the walls were whispering; Harry was sure that they could hear him creeping up the stairs. He hurried on.
On your right after the statue of Librus the Loathsome, Harry recited to himself. Panting, he reached the landing and turned to the east wing. Where was the statue? There were statues on both sides of the hallway. Harry had rarely walked through this part of Hogwarts.
Suddenly, he came upon a statue of a smug youth holding a book in his marble hands. Harry was seized by an image of Hermione, and he stifled a giggle at the thought of a book-carrying statue of Hermione the Horrible.
He tapped the wall to the left of Librus. For a moment, there was nothing, but then the wall opened. His heart leaping into his mouth, Harry stepped in.
The room was entirely dark. As the wall slid shut behind him, Harry jumped involuntarily. "Professor?" he called softly, slipping the cloak from around his shoulders.
"Harry," came Snape's whisper, and candles flared into light. The Room of Requirement was small tonight, its walls made of dark gray stone. Snape stepped forward and took Harry's hand. "I have soundproofed the room."
He led his student to the red couch, and they sat down. Snape waved his wand; a table bearing two glasses and a bottle appeared before them.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Are you trying to get me drunk, Professor?"
Snape's mouth twitched. He uncorked the dark glass bottle and poured a red liquid into the glasses. Then he turned to Harry. "This is sparkling grape juice, completely non-alcoholic. We wouldn't want to do anything that we would later regret."
Harry snorted. "Like what?"
"Like . . . well, any number of things. Forgetting where we are, for one thing. Leaving the room and telling someone about us." The older man handed one glass to Harry.
They drank, and Snape presently set his glass down. "Are you in the mood to do some work?"
"What kind of work?"
Snape motioned to the pile of books in the corner. "I have checked out some books from the library. We would do well to read about the Soul Potion -- who has drunk it, for example, or how it is made. It has been years since I studied it."
"You don't know much about it?" Harry asked, draining his glass.
The professor shook his head. "No. Do you have any idea how rare it is?"
"Professor Dumbledore said that it's only made a few times every century," Harry supplied. "Is that what you mean?"
"Partly, yes." Snape picked up Rare Potions of the Last Seven Centuries. "It is one of the most difficult potions to brew, I remember that much. Someone drank it about thirty years ago; I know that as well."
"Who drank it then?"
"I don't know. There was a big stir in the Potions community because we knew that someone had managed to gather all of the necessary ingredients. I was younger than you are now; my parents were involved with the effort to discover who drank the last Soul Potion. They wanted to study the potion's effects."
Harry leaned back and gazed at Snape. "It sounds very complicated."
Snape nodded. "Yes. They were certain that someone had taken the potion, but they could not find out who. Some of the wizards are still working on that puzzle today. It was one of the most advanced --" He broke off abruptly as Harry kissed him.
For a moment they were silent, basking in one another's touch. Harry took the book from Snape's hand and laid it upon the table. "Let's read about it later," he murmured, stroking Snape's knee.
Snape shuddered and shut his eyes for a moment. "This is important, Harry -- you must understand -- we must do this soon --"
Again, his words were cut off when Harry kissed him. Snape's reluctance seemed to melt as he pushed Harry gently down onto the sofa. The boy moaned as his teacher descended upon him.
Suddenly, they broke apart, for the couch had transformed beneath them to a large double bed. Harry laughed, somewhat breathlessly. "Convenient. I wonder whether this room knows what we're doing."
"Careful," murmured Snape. "It might hear you, and it might reveal this to someone later."
"If it doesn't hear me," said Harry, "it will certainly see us, anyway, won't it?"
"That is true. Very well." Snape smiled and kissed his student once more.