Chapter Eleven: Shocks and Findings

SS cautiously approached his friends. They were all staring at their astronomy books since they had a test tomorrow. As SS walked closer Al pulled out a bag of cookies he had snagged from the kitchen and handed them to the girls. Rose smiled and Hope took five. Al laughed as he watched her stuff her face like a squirrel. SS took a deep breath, hating himself for what he was about to do.

"SS, great job yesterday at the game. Want a cookie?" Al asked when he saw his best friend. SS shook his head and stood before his friends. Al scrunched his brow, knowing that something was wrong. Rose glanced up from her notes and squinted.

"What?" Hope demanded, apprehension knotting her stomach.

"I have something to tell you," SS told the group.

"Then tell us," Rose said slowly, almost fearing what he would say. SS took a deep breath and stared up at the tall arching ceiling of the library.

"James is gone," he whispered simply and softly. Rose broke her quill. Hope slammed her book shut. Al's jaw dropped. "He left last night with his friends, Irons and Atwood. I woke up last because I heard something. When I looked out my window I saw the three of them flying away on brooms with their trunks attached. I think yesterday's Quidditch match was the final straw. I'm so sorry."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked slowly, as if willing it not to be true.

"I'm sorry," SS repeated.

"Well, it's not a huge loss," Hope put in and went back to her book.

"He's my brother. It is a huge loss," Al gasped, shell-shocked.

"Come on, Al. We all saw this coming," Hope told her friend.

"I didn't," Al muttered, tears filling his eyes. He blinked quickly. SS sat next to his best friend and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Love has blinded you. You didn't see it, but it was brewing for a while," Hope explained to Al.

"Why do have to say it like that?" Rose demanded. "James is my cousin, Al's brother. He's with Albany. We don't even know if they'll be safe. We have a right to worry."

"Sorry," Hope mumbled. "But if James left then he must have known that it was safe."

"Not necessarily. James likes to show off, jump into danger. It doesn't matter if it's safe. James craves adventure," Rose protested. Al swallowed hard and stood up, shoving his books into his bag.

"I think I've studied enough. I'm going to go back to my common room," Al announced and rushed out of the library. The three remaining friends stared after him.

James was gone. He had turned away from the light and embraced power, dragging Atwood and Irons with him. And all that was left was a confused and heartbroken Al. Sure, James could be difficult and mean. But he was still his brother. Their shared blood should mean something.

Al walked the halls, consumed by his worry, not noticing the time or realizing that he was supposed to be in Transfiguration right then. He was so distraught that he didn't even know where he was, where he had been, or where he was going.

And due to that fact, Al had no idea that he was walking down a seventh floor hall. That is why Al didn't notice the beginnings of a door appear on the wall to his right. It took him a moment to hear the strange creaking behind him.

Al whirled around, wand out, terrified of attack. But then he noticed that it was just an old and badly burnt door swinging lazily on its rusty hinge. Al walked closer. He had never seen this door before. Was it just the usual Hogwarts magic or something more?

Al pulled open the heavy door, expecting something amazing, and saw that all that was in the room was air. The wooden floor was very burnt and some of the boards were broken. The walls were a plain beige and were covered in scorch marks. An open window in the ceiling let in some sunshine, but not much. To summarize, the room was very boring and dull and badly burnt.

Al was disappointed. He had been expecting something amazing. But this room was just a room. He turned to go. But then he felt a tingle run down his spin. He turned back. A wooden post with a sign on it was slowly rising out of the ground, like a plant. But it stopped when it rose two feet. Al walked closer, curious. The sign on top of the post was a faded black board with a piece of chalk resting in the ledge on the bottom. Suddenly the yellow piece of chalk sprung up and began to write on the blackboard. Al leaned closer so he could read the words it was writing.

"Welcome back Madame. I've missed you," the chalk wrote.

"I'm a boy," Al told the sign. It felt strange but his voice seemed to make the room seem less empty. And it was easier talking to this sign then remembering the news SS had brought him earlier.

"Strange. I thought I sensed the presence of my Mistress, Helga Hufflepuff. Who are you?" the chalk wrote under its previous statement, as if it could hear Al.

"I'm Al. What, who, are you?" he asked the sign is disbelief.

"I'm the spirit of this room," the chalk answered.

"What room is this?"

"Why, this is the Room of Requirement," the chalk told him. Al's jaw dropped. His father had told him about this room. It had been an amazing feat of magic but fiendfyre had destroyed the room in his father's seventh year. Al couldn't believe it was still functional.

"How are you still here? I thought this place was destroyed?" Al gaped.

"Those foolish boys damaged me severely. But I survived. However, I will soon fail. I used all my energy to appear because I thought you were Helga and would be able to heal me," the chalk wrote, drooping slightly.

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Al asked.

"No. Not unless you are as powerful as Helga Hufflepuff. But thank you. You are very kind," the words said. Al sighed and pulled out his wand. It was a soft brown, made from alder wood, with a unicorn hair inside, 9 1/2 inches long.

"REPARO!" Al called out softly and pointed the wand at one of the walls. Golden light streamed out of his wand and hit the burnt beige surface. One of the burn marks disappeared. Al stared in wonder. Should he be able to do that?

"Did you just fix a section of my walls?" the chalk asked, moving extremely fast.

"I... I guess I did," Al admitted, examining the brown wand. How had he done that? Fiendfyre was extremely powerful and the damage was supposed to be irreversible.

"Do it again," the chalk ordered.

"REPARO!" Al said again with a little more confidence. Even more burn marks disappeared and a hole in the wall mended itself. "I'll be right back. I've to go find Rose!

"Wait!" the chalk wrote, but Al was already gone.

"Rose!" Al yelled as he ran into the library. Madame Heydt glared at him.

"What are you doing here Mr. Potter?" she demanded. Al flinched at his last name but Madame Heydt didn't notice. No one ever did.

"I'm looking for Rose. I need her help," Al hurriedly explained. Madame Heydt rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I surmised as much. But what are you doing here? Are you not supposed to be in class?" she said sharply, lowering her spectacles. Even though she was six feet tall, she still wore insanely tall heels so she could tower over everyone.

"Uh, I, um, lost track of time. I'll go to class right away," Al told her, swallowing his embarrassment and shame. James skipped classes. Al did not. He was a good boy.

"See that you do," Madame Heydt dismissed him and turned back to a stack of books she was inspecting for damage.

Al sighed and headed out the door. He climbed one staircase, turned right, and climbed another one. He had never missed a class before. What was wrong with him?

As he ran past closed classroom doors a chime sounded throughout the castle. The doors flew open and students filled the halls like a flood. Al squeaked in fear of seventh years and scurried to a window seat. As he climbed up on top of the bench he searched the crowd for his cousin's familiar frizzy red hair. But he found nothing in the sea of tall people.

"Al, what are you doing?" a girl asked him as he slumped on the bench. Al looked up and saw his cousin Roxy walking toward him. Her Gryffindor tie was lazily slung around her neck and a stack of books were resting in her arms.

"I was looking for Rose but I don't think she's here," Al admitted, hoping his cousin could help her find his friend.

"Is she in the library?" Roxy suggested. Al shook his head. "Do you know what class she just had?"

"I don't even know what time it is," Al sighed and looked down. "James left this morning."

"I heard. I'm really sorry," Roxy told him softly and sat next to him. "If it's any consolation, I never really liked him."

"Roxy!" Al cried, indignant.

"Kidding, kidding," Roxy laughed. "Honestly Al, you have to lighten up."

"I'm plenty light," Al grumbled and stood up. "I need to go find Rose."

"Al!" Roxy called after him but Al pretended not to hear. He ran towards the Great Hall and on his way ran into SS.

"Where were you? Leon said you missed Transfiguration!" SS demanded, worry evident in his voice.

"Sorry. Do you know where Rose is?" Al asked his friend as he looked around the hall.

"I think she stopped by the library," SS told him. Al groaned. He was just there!

"Thanks!" he gasped and took off running again.

Rose groaned as yet another branch of her family ran dry. She had been studying the records her mother had given her for weeks now and had found nothing. She traced the ancestry of every single person on the list but it always came up dry.

Rose flipped open another muggle book and began tracing another branch. She scoured every book for any mention of her relatives. She went back years, decades, and even centuries. Finally, she got to the time of Rowena Ravenclaw.

Rose flipped another page and nearly screamed aloud. There. Right in the middle of the page was a thin black line connecting Harriet York to Avery Granger. There it was. Proof that she was indeed the descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. Emotions whirled through her like a hurricane. Her brain seemed to be frozen. This meant something. Something huge.

"Hey Rose," someone said softly. She glanced up and quickly slammed her book away, pushing into her bag before anyone got a chance to read the title. Al stood before her, his black hair messier than usual. "What are you reading?"

"A book for an extra project I'm working on," Rose answered quickly, guiltily looking away. Al didn't notice.

"I found something and I need your help. Can you come with me?" Al asked hurriedly, trying to get all his words out at once.

"Sure. What is it?" Rose replied, standing. Al grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door and up the nearest set of stairs.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" Al laughed. Suddenly SS and Hope ran up from the basement stairs.

"So, where we going?" Hope asked in singsong voice. Al just led on.

"Well this ought to be interesting," SS remarked as he followed his friend.