Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Escalation" by Bobmin356. Dumbledore's manipulations are undermined by muggle technology which he doesn't understand. Short, but very funny.
Chapter 19 - New Beginnings, Old Problems
Friday, January 1, 1995, Early Morning.
Albus Dumbledore sat enjoying a very early morning tea and light breakfast. He always savored the quiet, peaceful atmosphere of early mornings, but he found the first of the year to be especially delightful because so many people tended to sleep in, recovering from parties the night before. Sitting in his office, basking in the dawn light in the knowledge that few were awake and active, he couldn't help but feel reassured that events were well in hand.
Recently his thoughts had been turning more and more to one troubling topic: Jasmine Potter. Unlike everyone else around him, he hadn't truly been surprised when her name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Oh, the tampering with the Goblet itself had been a bit of a shock (and a clever bit of magic that he still had yet to figure out); but considering all that had happened to the girl over the previous three years, it would have been more of a surprise if something dangerous hadn't come her way. He was confident, though, that she could overcome the challenges of the tournament just like she had all the others she had faced. If nothing else, he suspected that she'd be protected by the demands of the prophecy.
His primary concern was that he still didn't know who had gotten past his protections and entered her name in a way that ensured her participation. Such ignorance on his part limited his ability to guide events to serve the greater good.
Another growing concern involving Miss Potter was her circle of friends. The falling out with the youngest Weasley boy was unfortunate, he reflected, but not a crisis. Any estrangement from the Weasley family probably won't affect their participation in the future fight against Voldemort, whenever it starts, especially given the growing closeness to young Ginerva. It won't have any impact on the political capital I'll need to deal with Tom's servants in the Ministry and in the Wizengamot when the time comes.
Taking another sip of tea, Dumbledore pondered the new romantic relationship with the Longbottom heir. That has both positive and negative implications, he thought. Support from the Longbottom family would be good, but Augusta's antipathy towards me might lead to a rift between Miss Potter and myself. I cannot afford that. There is also the risk of Mr. Longbottom revealing to Miss Potter things that I've needed to keep from her until she is older.
On the other hand, he considered further, his presence in her life is better than Miss Granger's. Too close of an association with a muggleborn might upset the light and neutral families that want to see a heroine and savior who is firmly a part of our world. He didn't share the prejudices most of magical society had against the muggleborn, but he had to concede that Miss Granger might tend to pull the girl away from wizarding culture and encourage her to be too critical of wizarding traditions.
Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix familiar, looked over at the headmaster and grew sad at the feelings and ideas being transmitted through the bond. The old wizard was still firmly on the side of the light, but honestly, some of Albus' priorities had taken a bizarre turn over the last fifteen years. Sometimes he seemed to be so focused on managing the particulars that he lost sight of the larger picture. Even worse was when he contemplated sacrificing his ideals for the sake of some practical gain.
The phoenix understood that a man in his position often had to make hard decisions, but was his isolation affecting his judgment? Albus had always been loath to rely on others if he could avoid it, but he was doubly so since the end of the Blood War. Fawkes knew that the wizard was deeply concerned about the ongoing influence of Voldemort's supporters in magical society, and he feared that anyone he brought too deep into his confidences could fall prey to legilimency or even threats against their families. Still, this just wasn't healthy. Surely there were others capable of helping him shoulder the burden?
Fortunately nothing so awful had happened yet that Fawkes felt the need to break the bond, but the phoenix wished that something could be done to improve the situation. The last time the immortal bird had been able to intervene directly was when saving the girl in the Chamber of Secrets — and even then, it was only possible because no one else had been there to see the use of phoenix tears. Given Fawkes' position, it was inadvisable to act too openly or too often. Only the girl and the headmaster knew for sure what had happened, and that's the way it had to remain.
With a ruffling of feathers brought on by a sudden chill, Fawkes settled down to doze and perhaps think a bit more on what could be done.
Overall, Dumbledore concluded, completely unaware of the thoughts of the phoenix in the room, the relationship with Mr. Longbottom probably has more negatives than positives, but interfering successfully wouldn't be easy. I'll have to wait and watch. Most relationships among people their age tend not to last too long anyway. If he ends up simply a good friend of hers, replacing Mr. Weasley, that might work out for the best overall.
Looking at the letters and paperwork that had piled up on his desk over the past week, he sighed. Other duties outside the school had forced him to neglect some of his work here, and he really needed to deal with it before it built up much further. Unfortunately, he had prior commitments for this day, just as he did at the start of every year.
First he needed to make a trip to the cemetery in Godric's Hollow, then he needed to stop by the Hog's Head to see if Aberforth would deign to talk to him this year. The response would probably be the same as always, but that never stopped him from trying. His quest for forgiveness and reconciliation had been a part of his life for so long that he could scarcely imagine what things would be like without it. One thing was certain: it served as a useful reminder that true change was possible, as he himself knew so well, and therefore every opportunity for repentance must be given.
I'd be a hypocrite to do otherwise, he thought, not for the first time.
Friday, January 1, 1995, Morning.
Hermione knocked on Professor McGonagall's door while Jasmine adjusted her robes. Both witches were wearing what they hoped was sufficiently nice clothing for their meeting at Gringotts. They had never received a reply to the letter they had sent to the bank, so they didn't know if there were any specific protocols they should follow. All they could do was look their best and arrive at the time they had originally requested.
Minerva McGonagall let her lionesses into her office and gestured them over to her fireplace. "Normally it's not possible for just anyone to floo into my office, but I'll be opening it up for the two of you for the day," she explained. Reaching up to the mantle, she opened a small blue jar and held it out to them. "Here is some floo powder. Use it to go to Diagon Alley; from there you will have to walk to Gringotts. Keep the hoods of your robes up so no one recognizes you. And for Merlin's sake, don't forget to stay polite, no matter what happens!"
Hermione elbowed her girlfriend at that last reminder and was answered with a roll of Jasmine's eyes for her trouble. One after the other, the two witches stepped through the floo and exited in the Leaky Cauldron at the end of Diagon Alley. Moving quickly through the shadows, they made their way out the back of the bar, into the alley, and up to Gringotts. It was still early enough that few shops were open, and there were few people to observe or delay them.
Once inside the bank, they approached the nearest teller window, where Jasmine announced herself. "Good morning, my name is Jasmine Potter. I sent a letter earlier this week that I wanted to come here at this time to learn about the status of any vaults that might belong to my family. I never received a response, so I don't know if there is someone in particular I should ask for."
The goblin teller looked Jasmine up and down, then also seemed to examine Hermione as well. "Did you request a response, or request anything that required a response?" he asked.
"No," Jasmine replied. "I've never done this before so didn't know what the standard practices were. I sent the letter because I thought it might be rude to just show up with no advance notice and expect help with what might be a large project."
The goblin gave her another appraising look at that, then told her to wait while he checked on the status of her meeting. He directed the two witches to a waiting area over to the side of the lobby, where they stayed for nearly fifteen minutes until a goblin wearing what appeared to be a nicer suit came up to them. "Is one of you Jasmine Potter?" he asked brusquely.
Jasmine lowered the hood of her cloak and responded, "Yes, sir, I am."
The goblin frowned and said, "Your presence here is most unexpected. Follow me."
The witches gave each other a questioning look before rushing to catch up with the goblin. He was shorter than they but walked incredibly fast.
Once all three were seated in a fairly nice office, the goblin introduced himself. "My name is Knobshaft — I'm a senior account manager here for Gringotts. Miss Potter, why did you not follow the instructions you were sent?"
The two witches once again looked at each other in confusion before Jasmine replied, "Mr. Knobshaft, I haven't received any instructions from Gringotts on anything. Ever."
The goblin frowned at this, then picked up a file and pulled out a piece of parchment. "Did you send us a notification that you wanted to meet with someone today at this time about your family accounts?"
"Yes, sir," she answered.
He then handed her the parchment he was holding and asked, "Is this the letter you sent?"
She only needed to look for a few seconds to answer, "Yes, sir, that's what I wrote and that's my handwriting."
She then handed it back to the goblin, who pulled out another piece of parchment and said, "And you maintain that you didn't receive a copy of this response?"
"No, sir. I didn't know if a response was to be expected, so I didn't think anything of it," Jasmine answered, starting to get nervous at the goblin's attitude. He didn't offer her a copy of the second parchment.
Knobshaft set the two pieces of parchment aside and began to look at the rest of the contents of the file. After a lengthy silence, he looked back at the witches, eyes travelling from one to the other and back again. He finally seemed to make some sort of decision and ordered them to remain where they were seated before leaving the office.
"Hermione, do you have any idea what's going on?" Jasmine asked.
"Not a clue, Jas, but he didn't look too happy," Hermione answered with a worried look on her face.
After a few minutes, Knobshaft returned in the company of a second goblin, this one even better dressed. He looked over the contents of the file with Knobshaft for a minute before addressing the two witches. "Is it possible that you received our letter and forgot?"
Jasmine and Hermione looked at each other, then Jasmine replied, "I won't claim to be perfect, sir, but I am absolutely certain that I never received any letter from you. I've never received anything at all from Gringotts, in fact. I can't say for sure that the delivery owl didn't get lost or anything like that; I can only say that I never saw one."
The goblin nodded in understanding and said something to Knobshaft in their own language, then left.
"We're willing to believe you," Knobshaft began. "It's very concerning to us that you never received anything — either our most recent letter or anything else. We began to suspect that something along those lines might be happening, however, when your letter implied that you hardly knew anything about your family's holdings, at least beyond your trust vault. Then I started pulling your records and noticed that neither you nor any representative of yours has been in for any meetings, and nothing official had been done with any of your family accounts since the demise of your parents. Nor were there any recommendations made for investments, which means your holdings have not grown as they could have. These are all red flags, though the first is obviously the most serious. That's why our response instructed you to delay coming here. We need to do a complete audit of all your accounts, and that takes time. Until that is complete, we will be unable to give you the sort of information that you deserve."
Knobshaft watched as the two witches looked at each other. A series of expressions flickered across their faces, accompanied by subtle shrugs and other gestures, yet they didn't speak a word. Finally, having apparently arrived at some agreement, they turned back to him.
"Why does it take so long?" Hermione asked. "Are Jasmine's family accounts that complicated?"
"No, Miss Granger," Knobshaft responded, now very curious about the exchange he just witnessed and surprising the witches that he knew Hermione's name. "The reason why it takes so long is that in a full audit, everything must be checked at least once and verified by hand. Normally magic keeps track of what's in a vault, but in an audit a team of goblins checks everything personally. Typically magic is used to retrieve parchment records, but in a full audit a team of goblins manually goes through the records to verify that everything needed has been retrieved. We work as quickly as possible, but all that labor takes time."
"Oh. Well, thank you for taking the time to verify everything, Mr. Knobshaft," Jasmine said, still a bit unsure of herself. "How much do I owe you for this service?"
"It's just Knobshaft, Miss Potter, or Account Manager Knobshaft. Because we are responsible for ensuring that your accounts are taken care of, you aren't paying for this audit — we are, because we called for it."
Both Jasmine and Hermione were surprised to learn this. "Thank you for that information, Account Manager Knobshaft. I hope nothing is missing — I only just learned a couple of weeks ago that I might have anything beyond my trust vault. Do you...do you think there's something really wrong?"
Knobshaft looked carefully at the witch before answering. "Technically, I'm not supposed to say anything about an audit before it's completed. However, off the record, I really don't think that anything serious like fraud or theft has occurred. However, if anyone were to try to commit fraud, keeping you from learning about your accounts would be one of their first steps. Our treaties with the wizards obligate us to protect your accounts, so we have to take even the possibility of fraud very, very seriously."
"Better safe than sorry, then?" Jasmine asked. When the goblin nodded, she continued, "Um… do you need anything from me?"
"I'm glad you understand," Knobshaft replied. "No, Miss Potter, we should have everything we need already. We'll get in contact with you when we're ready to meet."
"How will you do that?" Hermione asked. "It doesn't seem as though she's getting any letters you send."
Knobshaft's eyes widened at this. "Indeed — I should have taken that into account. Gringotts mail is normally very secure, and we never have to worry about letters not being received. The privacy and security of communications from us to our customers is in fact something else that is supposed to be guaranteed by treaty with wizards. Hmmmm… don't worry, Miss Potter. We still have some time. We'll find a way to contact you."
"Very well," Jasmine said, "I guess there isn't anything else we can do here now, so..."
"One moment, please, Account Manager Knobshaft," Hermione interrupted. "Might we have a copy of the letter you sent?"
Smiling now for the first time (a rather toothy smile that Hermione found even more disturbing than his previous coldness), Knobshaft used goblin magic that neither witch understood to create a copy which he handed over. As she reached for it, Hermione saw his eyes narrow suddenly as his gaze seemed to focus on her outstretched hand. Just as she was beginning to wonder if she had done something wrong, she saw his glance shift to where Jasmine's hands sat loosely folded in her lap.
Our rings! she realized with a start. The enchantments on them are goblin magic — can he see through them? Quickly she took the proffered parchment and tucked her hand under the folds of her robes. Though she tried to act as though nothing had happened, she couldn't miss the measuring look he gave both of them.
Jasmine, for her part, seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and hadn't noticed anything. Hermione gave her a nudge with her right hand to bring the her girlfriend's attention back to the meeting.
"Thank you once again," Jasmine said, realizing that they were done. Both witches stood and gave the account manager a small curtsey before leaving his office.
"Such a curious pair of witches," Knobshaft murmured to himself, pleased to have seen that they treated goblins politely, unlike so many humans. It was their behavior towards each other, though, that had him most preoccupied. He sat there for a few minutes, tapping his fingers on his desk and reflecting both on what he had seen and what the teller had reported to him before the meeting started.
Then he looked over some of the documents in his file, noting the rings that had recently been removed from the heirloom vault and how one of them had been reforged. So they were indeed matched rings, he concluded. According to the description in the vault records, they were old Potter family pledge rings. And when rings have been in a family that long, the family magic typically doesn't allow anyone but an established couple to wear them — a Potter and their mate, betrothed, fiancé, or some such pairing. Somehow, then, they are a couple. But how? What exactly is their relationship?
Finally, he shook his head as he came to a decision. He didn't know what it all meant, but it was definitely unusual. More importantly, he suspected that, Account Manager or not, whatever was going on was above his pay grade. As per long-standing orders regarding certain unusual situations involving their clients, he pulled out a piece of parchment and began writing a report for the Senior Branch Supervisor for London, Earchewer, to review.
Friday, January 1, 1995, Morning.
Jasmine and Hermione didn't waste any time getting back to Professor McGonagall's office. They would have liked to browse the shops of Diagon Alley, especially with many of them opening up by the time they were making their way out of Gringotts, but they wanted to talk to her about the missing letter as soon as possible.
Minerva was startled to see them return so soon and grew quite concerned when they sat down and told her the story of what had happened that morning. All three witches sat in silence for a while as they reflected on all the new information and what it might mean.
Speaking up first, Hermione said, "As disturbing as it is to learn that the goblins think an audit is necessary, there's nothing we can do about it right now, is there? For the time being, it looks like it's a Gringotts matter, and I assume we can trust them to solve problems in their own bank."
Minerva nodded at that, saying, "The goblins aren't very forthcoming when it comes to information about how they operate, but I think you're right. If there is a problem, they'll find it. And if there isn't, which seems to be the opinion of the goblin you talked to, then you haven't lost anything."
"That leaves us with the issue of my mail," Jasmine added. "I'm sure that Gringotts will investigate since their mail was affected, but what if they aren't the only one? If the problem is closer to me than to them, they might not be able to locate it."
Minerva nodded again. "Quite true, Miss Potter. And I have a suspicion about where to look. There can't be very many people who have the power to intercept or redirect mail, who have a desire to control what you know, and who have enough access to you to carry out such a thing."
Jasmine lowered her head into her hands and moaned, "Dumbledore..."
Hermione reached out and put her hand on Jasmine's shoulder while Minerva continued, "Indeed, Miss Potter. And as bad as that is, there is a further problem. If the Headmaster has done something to redirect Miss Potter's mail, then it is likely that he is reading at least some of it — especially anything official. If he has read that letter from Gringotts, then he'll know that she has contacted them about her inheritance.
At that, Hermione got a slightly panicked look in her eyes and whipped out the copy of the letter which they had been given by Knobshaft. She handed it to the older witch, who found that the contents of the letter were fairly straightforward: Jasmine Potter was informed that her accounts were being audited for possible errors and that if she wanted to access them, she would have to contact Gringotts first. Once the audit was completed, she would be contacted with more information and a time for a meeting, if she wished to hold one.
Setting the letter down, Minerva's worried look softened considerably. "This is much better than I feared. For whatever reason, they didn't bother to mention Miss Potter's original letter to them. He may worry that Miss Potter has been in contact with Gringotts, but the letter doesn't come right out and say it. This means he will probably watch you more closely, though with the tournament I imagine he's already doing that anyway."
All three witches were heartened slightly at the news, but it didn't lessen their worry much overall. "Is there any way to find out how my mail is being redirected and who is doing it?" Jasmine asked.
"I'm honestly not sure," Minerva answered. "I only know that such a thing is possible, not any particular methods or spells by which it might be done. I'll see what I can find out, but I'll have to be very careful and discreet."
"Thank you," Jasmine said with a grateful look at her professor. "I'm not sure what we'd do without your help." Jasmine and Hermione stood to depart, determined to find something fun to do for the rest of the day in order to distract them from their mood.
"Oh, before we go," Hermione suddenly said before she reached the door, "Professor McGonagall, would you be willing to give me a pass to the Restricted Section of the library? I've been trying to do research on the topics we've been discussing, and I want to make sure that my research is thorough."
Minerva gave the brunette witch a long, speculative look before saying, "Very well, I think you can be trusted with this. I want you to be careful, though. It's quite unusual for students to be granted this privilege before they have completed their OWLs. Don't give me any reason to regret doing this."
Hermione was practically bouncing while her professor wrote out her pass. She wanted to be solemn and mature, but she simply couldn't hold in her excitement. Access to new books and knowledge always did that to her. "Thank you ever so much, Professor McGonagall," she said as she reverently accepted the pass.
After that, both young witches left, leaving behind a Deputy Headmistress who was growing more and more concerned about the activities of her boss.
Saturday, January 2, 1995, Morning.
Hermione would have liked to have spent all day Friday in the library's Restricted Section, but in light of yesterday's revelations she had deemed it more important to spend time with Jasmine so they could recover from the bad news. She honestly wasn't sure what might be worse: that something might be wrong with Jasmine's vaults in Gringotts or that someone, especially the headmaster, might be redirecting and reading her mail. Both would be incredible invasions of privacy.
Mostly the two young witches had just sat and talked. They couldn't quite bring up the energy to go out and do anything; Jasmine wasn't even interested in flying her broom, which was unusual and worried Hermione. Still, talking and cuddling behind the bed curtains was good for them. Jasmine's life being what it was, finding time to relax and do nothing would never be easy, so seizing the opportunity when it presented itself was probably a good idea.
Now, though, Hermione needed to focus her attention on the books in front of her. The Restricted Section! Madam Pince had been suspicious of the validity of the pass and actually checked with Professor McGonagall before letting her in. The nerve! Eventually, though, she had made it past the ropes barring entrance to what she had long regarded as the holy of holies in Hogwarts.
Jasmine had snuck in here once, back in first year, and Hermione had managed to convince Professor Lockhart to give her a pass in second year, but that had only been for one visit. As daft as that wizard was, even he knew better than to give a second-year witch a completely open-ended pass to dangerous magics. This was her first unrestricted access to the Restricted Section and she wanted to savor it.
After breathing in deeply the scent of the books and basking in their presence for a few minutes, she finally got down to work: researching attitudes regarding sex and sexuality while keeping an eye out for material on marriage, just in case. She knew that the Restricted Section was primarily to keep dark and dangerous magic out of the hands of younger students, but she had high hopes that she'd uncover something useful, even if it was only contained in notes and oblique references.
She would work all morning, right up until lunch, but when she left she wouldn't have anything to show for her efforts.
Saturday, January 2, 1995, Afternoon.
When the four Gryffindor friends gathered in the training room that afternoon, it was only the second time they had met to work on the clue supposedly contained in the golden egg. That first time hadn't produced anything but headaches as they kept being assaulted by the egg's screeching, but they were all optimistic that this second meeting would be more productive.
Each had spent time researching a different aspect of the egg in the hope that when everything was brought together, it would at least point them in the right direction. There were still nearly two months to go until the second task, but they were all anxious to help Jasmine get through it.
"Alright," Hermione announced after everyone was seated at a table around the golden egg. "We've all completed our separate research. I don't know how much information you've all dug up, but I have lots and lots of notes about these runes." A collective groan rose up from the others, but Hermione resolutely ignored them and pressed on. "Before we go into the small details, though, we should all just present a summary of what we found. That might help move our discussion in the right direction."
"Agreed," said Neville, anxious to prevent this meeting from becoming an extended lesson on obscure runes. "I'll go first. Put simply, the relief on top of the egg is of a real plant. It's kelp, a plant that grows in water. Most kelp is found in the ocean, but this relief is interesting because it very clearly shows the one species of magical kelp that grows in fresh water."
"So," said Jasmine, "it's unique and specific? Then it's probably not an accident." Neville nodded in agreement and everyone became a bit more attentive, recognizing that they were making real progress already.
"That matches my research," began Hermione. "The runes on the egg do a lot of different things, most probably related to how it functions. What I found noteworthy is how many of them are related to water. In fact, I can't figure out a purpose for some of those water runes. There is a series that protects from fire, which is the opposite of water, but I assumed that was because of the dragon fire. But what do all the water runes do? I don't know."
Hermione was clearly a bit embarrassed at not having found a definitive answer, but what she did have at least confirmed the direction in which Neville's research pointed: that water would play an important role in either discovering the clue or in the task itself.
"I'm afraid my research didn't prove to be quite so helpful," Ginny said as she brought out her notes. "I found that eggs are produced by birds, reptiles, and fish. There is also a mythical animal called a plat-eye-puss that was a mammal which laid eggs, but that doesn't seem relevant. I was thinking..."
"Wait," Hermione interrupted. "Did you say platypus?"
Ginny flipped through her parchment before answering, "Yes, that's it, a platypus. According to the myths, it had a duck's bill, webbed feet, a beaver's tail, hair, was a mammal, laid eggs, and was highly venomous. Luna was with me when I read the story, and she laughed at how ludicrous such a made-up creature was and wondered if anyone had ever been gullible enough to believe in them. That's really saying something, considering..."
Hermione interrupted once again, but this time by repeatedly banging her head on the table.
"Uh, Ginny," Jasmine said a bit hesitantly, "the platypus is real."
"What?" she exclaimed incredulously.
"Yes," explained Hermione, who had stopped banging her head, "It's often called the duck-billed platypus and can only be found on the continent of Australia." Ginny looked at her as if she were mental, so Hermione promised to get a book from the muggle world that would provide evidence and more information.
"Well," Jasmine said, "it seems like the egg itself doesn't point in any particular direction. It is consistent with animals in the water, though, so it doesn't contradict what Neville and Hermione found." Everyone nodded at that, then she continued, "I'm afraid my research was even less helpful than Ginny's. There are a number of different animals that screech when they communicate, especially birds. I didn't find any aquatic animals that did so, but I could go back to focus on that."
The four Gryffindors sat quietly for a few minutes while they considered the evidence.
"The easiest thing to try right now," Neville offered, "might be to just get it wet and see what happens."
"With an Aguamenti charm?" Ginny asked.
"Sure, why not?" replied Neville.
The others agreed, so they cleared a corner of the training room where they could place the egg. After everyone had applied their bubble head charms, Jasmine opened the egg, then backed off a few paces and hit it with an Aguamenti charm. Nothing special happened.
After the egg was closed again, Ginny suggested that they all blast the egg with water at the same time. Since no one had any better ideas yet, Jasmine repeated the earlier process, and this time four Aguamenti charms hit it. Everyone noticed that Jasmine and Hermione produced the strongest charms by far, with Jasmine's being only slightly more powerful than Hermione's.
After the egg was closed again, Hermione said, "I think there might have been some changes in the screeching. I didn't hear anything I recognized, but there was a difference."
"I agree," Ginny said. "So more water helps, but what else can we do?"
"We need to find some way to immerse the egg under water while also being able to listen," Jasmine said. "A tub of water probably wouldn't be large enough. A big bathtub or a pool would be best. It would provide enough space for all of us."
"If only one of us were a prefect," Hermione said, "we'd have access to the prefects' bathroom — I've heard they have a huge tub in there."
"Does anyone know where we'd be able to find a pool or tub..." Jasmine started to ask the room at large when suddenly there was a pop and Dobby was standing beside her. "Huh?" Jasmine said. "Oh! Can you help us, Dobby?"
"Missy Jazzy is needing something?" asked Dobby.
"Well, Dobby, that golden egg," she said, pointing to the dripping egg in the corner, "is supposed to give me a clue that will help me with the second task of the tournament. We haven't figured out how to get the clue yet, but we want to try to submerge the egg in water — preferably in something large enough for at least one of us to be underwater as well so we can hear what happens when we open it. A pool or large tub would be nice, but we can't access the prefect bathroom. Is there anywhere else in the castle we can get something similar?"
Dobby looked to be in deep thought for a minute before abruptly jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, yes, Missy Jazzy! Dobby knows! Missy Jazzy and friends can use Come and Go Room!"
Jasmine slapped her face with her palm while Hermione asked, "What's that, Dobby?"
"Come and Go Room is being a special Hoggywarty room that be providing whatever is being needed. Hoggywarty elveses also be calling it 'Room of Requirement' sometimes. If you be needing cleaning supplies, room is becoming closet full of cleaning supplies. If you be needing potions lab, room is becoming big potions lab."
Hermione's eyebrows rose in understanding. Looking over at Jasmine she said, "And if you need a room for a romantic dinner, that's what you get?"
Jasmine looked sheepish and said, "Oops."
Turning back to Dobby, Hermione continued, "I remember Dumbledore telling a story during the Yule Ball dinner about discovering a room full of chamber pots, but he could never find it again after that one night. Could that be the same room?"
Dobby nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, Missy Hermy, that be sounding like Come and Go Room."
The other two were smart enough to ignore the annoyed looks Hermione was giving Jasmine. Once they all gathered up their stuff, Dobby led them through the seventh floor corridors to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. "Just be walking back and forth three times and be thinking hard of what youse be wanting," Dobby explained.
Hermione tried first, walking back and forth while thinking of a large, heated pool in which they could submerge and listen to the egg. Almost immediately a door appeared, and everyone gaped in amazement when it opened. A large, heated pool was exactly what the room provided.
They were tempted to dive into the pool right then and there, but it was nearing dinner and they needed to spend time later in the evening going over homework. Classes for the new school term started in just 36 hours, and they wanted to be ready. Fortunately they had already intended to come back and keep working on the egg the next morning, so they simply arranged to meet by the Room of Requirement... and to bring swimsuits, too.