Chapter eleven
The Come and Go Room
The next day, things took an unexpected turn. Filch had hung up another decree from the ministry of magic, stating: All student organisations are henceforth disbanded, any student in noncompliance will be expelled. To say that the DA were gutted by this was an understatement, what was worse was that for the next few days, Spyro, Cynder and Sparx were unable to patrol the corridors due to a potential rebellion from the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. It was a sad time, and as the days trudged onwards towards a week, a lot of the members started losing hope that a safe place to train would ever be found.
Elora was one of the few that kept a brave heart, she wanted to make the group proud, so each day she would go to Harry to offer different places they could train; the hidden rooms underneath the 3rd floor corridor? Completely sealed off. The Chamber of Secrets? No easy way of getting out if they were found. The Trophy Room? Too small and inaccessible during the day. Despite this, Elora wasn't giving up hope, and that was what led her to the answer.
One day, Elora was roaming the halls of the 7th floor, longing to find a perfect room for the DA to train in when all of a sudden, in a wall that used to be completely bare materialised a large, fancy looking wooden double door. As curiosity took over her entire body, Elora pushed the doors open and saw a sight that amazed her; it was a large room with plenty of space with walls that seemed to be mirrors, there was even a gentle fire burning in a fireplace at the far end of the room. It was perfect!
Elora rushed through the corridors and out towards Hagrid's Hut, and was glad that not only were Spyro, Cynder and Sparx home, but Harry, Ron and Hermione were there too! They were all surprised that she had burst into the hut like that, so once she got her breath back, she blurted out,
"I need to show you all something!", and without waiting for a response from any of them, she zoomed off back towards the school, with her friends following her in bewilderment.
"it's a wall" Sparx pointed out in confusion, "what's so special about a wall?", he as well as most of others were watching an overexcited Elora stare at a wall with anticipation,
"it doesn't make sense" the girl declared, "I was walking past this wall and all of a sudden these double doors manifest as part of the wall". Cynder looked at her friend sadly,
"I'm really sorry Elora, but if there was something there, I would be able to sense it, and I can't feel anything" this disappointed the whole group because, due to being brought up by Malefor, Cynder could see through powerful concealment charms, even Harry's invisibility cloak, so if she couldn't sense something hidden there, there was nothing there at all.
"don't worry guys," Spyro pointed out "we just need to find somewhere safe for all of you to train in self-defence, and I am sure we will find one eventually." Everyone looked at Spyro in awe, there mouths were hanging open and their eyes were wide, this made the dragon feel uneasy, "I know it was a good hope builder but…" he was cut off by Cynder, who pointed to the wall behind him. Spyro turned around to see a large, fancy looking wooden double door in the place where there was a bare wall before.
"I knew it!" Elora gasped as she stepped forward and pushed the doors open.
"you've done it, Elora" Hermione exclaimed once the doors had shut behind them, "you've found the Room of Requirement" everyone was in awe of the room they found themselves in,
"What is this place?" Spyro asked in confusion,
"it's also known as the Come and Go Room" Hermione explained, "the Room of Requirement only appears when a person has real need of it and is always equipped for the seeker's needs."
"So… say you really needed the toilet…" Ron asked, causing everyone to look at him questioningly,
"Charming, Ronald" Hermione stated sarcastically, "but, yes, that is the general idea."
"It's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, "It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back."
That night, Cynder couldn't sleep. She was too excited that they had found a safe place to train at long last. But there was also something that worried her about this: the wizards and witches of the DA would only be learning how to defend themselves with magic, which would be effective against Death Eaters, but not on Grublins, as they were resistant to all forms of magic. So, for all the evening whilst Spyro and Sparx slept, Cynder was planning ways to prepare the DA for everything that would be coming for them.