Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of J.K .Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

This chapter was beta'ed by Kathleen and LoveLeVampyre from the Project Team Beta.

The Room of Requirement

Earlier...

"OK, OK, now I bid adieu to all you gentlemen," declared Hermione leaving and starting to make her way through the throng of students in the Great Hall.

After getting out of the Great Hall, she made her way up to the seventh floor. She wanted to check out the Room of Requirement before her meeting with the Founder's tomorrow.

Continued...

As Hermione made her way up to the seventh floor, she let her mind wander. Now that she had time to herself, she remembered what had led to her meeting with the Founders. Even though she had Harry's invisibility cloak, she had panicked and turned the knob on her Time-Turner.

She was taking all the classes Hogwarts had to offer. Professor McGonagall had pulled some strings to get a Time-Turner for her so she could attend all those extra classes. However, she admitted to herself not long after the term started that Divination and Muggle Studies were not her cup of tea. In fact, she could teach Muggle Studies.

The current syllabus focused on things invented before the Industrial Revolution. The teacher was someone who, from the sound of things, had never set foot in the Muggle world. It was really no wonder that wizards were unable to stay inconspicuous, especially at King's Cross Station.

As for Divination, she believed the class should only be attended by those who truly had the gift of the Inner Eye. Professor Trelawney sounded like a fraud. Hermione had heard from the older students that each year she'd predict a student's death. Students only attended the class to get an easy grade and a good laugh.

She had by now reached the tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach the trolls ballet. She stood in front of the wall opposite to it. She didn't know what she wanted to ask from the room.

After a minute, she decided to see if the room could produce a place where she could relax while reading books. I need a comfortable study where I can read books. She paced across the blank space of wall three times while repeating this in her head. On the third turn, a dark, mahogany door materialised in front of her. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her. The corridor was empty. The students were usually found hanging out in the Great Hall, the common rooms, and the library.

Slowly, she opened the door. She let out a gasp of pleasant surprise. The wall opposite to the entrance overlooked the forest and the sun let in the light through the glass French windows. The floor was wooden. There was a red couch in the middle of the room and some black-coloured beanbags lying around. The walls on either side of her were cream-coloured. A desk, the same mahogany colour as the door, with a chair pushed to the left side, was just behind the couch. As she turned around to close the door, she was once again surprised to find bookshelves on either side. It was beautiful.

Immediately, she began browsing through the collection and came across a book on detecting curses called Cursed Objects: How to Detect and Remove Curses. On seeing the book, she remembered the bracelet she had received from the Founders. She had slipped it in her pocket, thinking she'd have a look at it later. Making her way to the couch, she took it out of her pocket. Pulling her feet underneath herself, she made herself comfortable. She read through the book. The sun set above the forest. She was completely immersed in her book, not even looking up when torches lit around the room.

Finally, she found a paragraph that looked promising.

Curses can be good and curses can be evil. If you suspect an object to be cursed, do not touch it with bare hands. Protective dragon hide gloves are recommended while dealing with cursed objects, especially when you are not quite sure whether it is safe or not. First of all, to reveal the curses, we have to look at the material of the cursed objects. A spell used to reveal whether an object is cursed or not may work on gold but not on wood.

Determine the material of the object in question and turn to the respective page.

Hermione looked at the bracelet again. It looked like it was made of either platinum, palladium, white gold or sterling silver. It didn't have a grayish or yellowish hue to it which meant it was not sterling silver or white gold.

Platinum and palladium have similar properties being from the same metal family. She decided to see if the room could provide two similar bracelets, one made of platinum and other made of palladium; and a weighing scale. Just as she thought it, a weighing scale and a glass bowl containing 2 bracelets appeared on the table in front of her.

She put a bracelet each on the weighing scale. The bracelet on the right was heavier which meant it was platinum. She then replaced the bracelet on the left, the lighter one, with the one given to her by the Founders. The scale gradually levelled out to equal. Thus, she found the bracelet was made of platinum.

Platinum, pg74

To detect if the object is cursed or not point your wand at the object. With a swish and a flick, say the spell 'Revelio magicae'.

It went on like this for few hours. Finally, she had fully investigated the bracelet, revealing it was really meant to protect the wearer. To say it had some protective enchantments would be an understatement. It was interwoven with them and it was enchanted again after its crafting. Even the metal used had protective properties. The bracelet could protect her from anything short of the Killing Curse. The Imperius and Cruciatus curses' effect would be dulled. Smiling, she put it on her wrist.

She donned the invisibility cloak and slipped out of the room, trying to be as silent as possible. The dark corridor looked darker than usual and the rustling of her robes and the cloak was amplified in the silent night.

She reached the Fat Lady's portrait without coming across anyone. She double-tapped the portrait three times. Just as she thought of knocking again, Harry opened the door, looking at her through heavily lidded eyes, his hair in disarray and glasses askew.

"Finally, you're here. I thought you'd be there till early morning. Well, I'm off to bed," Harry muttered. He went up the stairs, calling out behind his back, Good night, Hermi. See you in the morning."

Hermione stared at him for a moment and sighed gratefully. "Thanks, Harry."

Translation

Revelio magicae=reveal magic

If anyone knows a better spell please do recommend it to me. It is the only thing that came to my mind. FYI, the info about platinum is true.

Here's the fourth chapter, finally! Hope you like it. If you came across the Room of Requirement, what is the first thing you'd wish for? For me, it would be a room filled with books or a portal to travel to any timeline I wish to visit. Lemme know in a review.