The Potter Timeline
Chapter 63 - The Room of Hidden Things
When he was seven, Harry took a field trip with his primary school class to visit Parliament and Westminster Abbey in London. He remembered being awed by the high Gothic arches of the nave as they toured the inside of the venerable church where countless kings and queens had been crowned. The ceiling seemed impossibly high to the boy and he wondered at the building's enormous size.
As he and Hermione reentered the Room of Requirement, Harry thought he'd walked right back into that old Abbey. There it was, the same high-vaulted ceiling resting above an array of glazed windows through which shone...sunlight!
'What?! How is this possible?!' Harry wondered in bewilderment as he and Hermione gazed at the enormous space around them.
While he understood the Room was enchanted to become whatever its user needed - in size, shape, or content - it was mindblowing to find it so huge - that it could contain a cathedral-sized space at least half the size of Hogwarts itself! But there was one striking difference between this "abbey" interior and the one at Westminster.
It was as though the entire wizarding population of Britain had dumped all their unwanted objects inside, filling the nave, choir, and presbytery to the brim. It was the biggest pile of junk Harry had ever seen.
Literal mountains of books mixed with broken furniture, old paintings, clothing and textiles of various sorts, statues, cages filled with creepy skeletons of bizarre creatures, empty or partially empty potions bottles and vials were strewn throughout.
As the two stepped forward, gawking at the collection of items lying from one end to the other, Harry noticed several suits of armor with a bloodstained battle axe and several swords lying next to them. What looked like the end of a huge catapult was sticking out of one pile of old books, and near the top of another mound of discarded volumes, a fanged frisbee and a broom with a broken tip flew in circles as though chasing one another. The teens could hear banging, clinking, and rattling sounds coming from everywhere, as though some invisible construction crew was hard at work.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Dumbledore asked the pair as he stepped in behind them, his hands clasped behind his back while gazing at the objects himself.
"Is this the 'warehouse' Professor Lupin spoke about?" Hermione asked the wizard, unable to peel her eyes away from the piles of things around her, particularly the books.
"Indeed. Some refer to it as the 'Hiding Room', a place where many generations of Hogwarts students or staff have discarded unwanted items or have hidden objects for reasons both good...and nefarious."
The old man stepped over to a set of books neatly stacked on top of one another several meters high. He then leaned over and pointed down behind them.
"This is where Professor Trelawney likes to hide her bottles, as you can see."
Harry and Hermione looked down to find several mounds of empty sherry bottles that had been piled there for who knew how many years. They then resumed gazing about. Harry saw a number of large alleyways and small paths winding between the piles, turning this enormous junk heap into a maze of sorts.
"I thought this would be the ideal place to have a chat without having to ascend to my office or walk about the grounds with our disagreeable friends the Dementors hovering over us," Dumbledore said while gazing at an alley to his right.
"This way is the most pleasant, I think," he continued while moving down the alley.
Harry and Hermione followed, still staring at the incredible collection around them.
"So, you were wondering what Professor Snape was referring to when he called Harry 'the chosen one'," the headmaster asked Hermione.
"Yes, sir," she answered.
"Well, if the two of you recall, during our conversation about a month ago concerning what happened to your parents at Godric's Hollow, Harry, I mentioned that Voldemort had gone after you for a specific reason. That reason concerned a prophecy the Dark Lord was informed of. A prophecy uttered by Professor Trelawney herself, in fact, before you were even born."
Hermione and Harry exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"There's another prophecy about me?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"What does it say, exactly?"
The headmaster stopped and turned to face the teenagers. He then gazed up at a set of windows high above two piles of objects which nearly reached the bottom of the sills.
"Now, let me see if I can remember it correctly as it's been many years," he said while placing a hand on his chin in thought.
After a moment, Dumbledore's eyes lit up.
"Ah! Yes!" he uttered with a smile. He looked at the pair.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal..."
When Dumbledore spoke that last phrase, Harry's brow furrowed and he thought of what Stan Shunpike said at Hogwarts' entrance.
"...you're a marked one..."
The headmaster continued.
"...but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
Dumbledore chuckled.
"I'm delighted I still remember it so precisely. I wrote it down and memorized it after Sybill uttered it all those years ago as it seemed important at the time. And it turns out, I was correct."
Dumbledore resumed walking along another large alley in between a mound of broken student desks on one side and several oak wardrobes on the other. One of the wardrobe doors rattled as though a Boggart was hiding inside. The headmaster went on.
"As I intimated to the two of you and Mr. Weasley yesterday, our divination professor is a rather strange bird. When she tries to predict the future, she fails most miserably, I'm afraid. But on occasion, when she is not trying, her true gift comes out with an utterance just like you witnessed. I was about to turn her down for the divination post, in fact, when she suddenly gave this prophecy during our interview, which, by the way, she herself has no recollection of uttering. It therefore seemed a wise thing to engage her services despite her many inaccuracies and overdone manner. As it turns out, I was correct in that as well. True gifts of prophecy are very rare in our world. It would be foolish to not pay attention when one discovers them, even if they reside in the most...unlikely of persons."
But Harry was thinking about the prophecy itself.
"So...Voldemort chose to go after me simply because I was born in the seventh month, July, to my parents who...defied him three times?" he asked.
"Correct, Harry. And the keyword in your question is 'chose'. Voldemort made the choice to mark you himself. You are therefore considered the 'chosen one' as a result. And as it turned out, Voldemort ended up fulfilling the prophecy because of it. Your older self's testimony is proof of that. However, it might surprise you to know that you were not the only boy born in July to parents who defied the Dark Lord. Your fellow Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom, also holds that unfortunate distinction."
Harry and Hermione exchanged surprised looks.
"Neville?" Harry asked the headmaster with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, Harry. Neville's parents, Frank and Alice, were once very well-known, respected Aurors in our community. And they also became members of my Order just like your parents. They were two of the most brilliant and courageous people I have had the pleasure of knowing."
"Did Voldemort murder them as well?" Harry asked.
"No. They are still alive, though in a very sad state, I'm sorry to say."
"What happened to them?"
"They were captured by Voldemort's Death Eaters not long after the Dark Lord went after you and your parents. They were then tortured into insanity by a particularly vicious Death Eater by the name of Bellatrix Lestrange, who is, by the way, first cousin to your godfather, Sirius Black."
The teens exchanged stunned looks. Harry recalled Sirius saying he'd spied on his cousin, "Bella", in Azkaban.
"So, that's why Neville said the Dementor on the Hogwarts Express made him think of his parents," Hermione threw in.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied, "after Frank and Alice were found wandering about in a senseless, stupefied condition, they were taken to St. Mungo's and admitted into the Janus Thickey Ward, the one right next to the new...Harry Potter Ward, as you might recall. They have resided there to this day. Neville's grandmother, Augusta, takes him regularly to visit his parents, though they have no recollection of, or any ability to relate to, their own son, due to their madness."
Harry frowned as did Hermione. Poor Neville. Harry felt sympathy for their friend now as the two boys seemed to share a similar fate with regard to their parents. Dumbledore continued.
"Before all of this, of course, Voldemort was informed of the first part of Trelawney's prophecy by a certain person who happened to be in the vicinity when she uttered it. The Dark Lord, understanding that the prophecy spoke either of you, Harry, or of your friend Longbottom, chose to go after you. And the rest, as they say, is history."
Hermione and Harry were in thought over this as the three followed the makeshift alley between the mountains of junk. This little "road" now veered back in the direction of the Room's entrance, but on the opposite side of the enormous abbey interior.
"Professor, the power spoken of in the prophecy, the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, I'm guessing it's the power in my blood due to my mother's sacrifice, right?" Harry asked.
The headmaster stopped and the teens stopped with him.
"I would guess that as well, Harry, as it was that power, the power of your mother's love that rebound Voldemort's curse when you were an infant and prevented his two soul shards from taking full possession of you last year," he responded.
But a puzzled look now came over the professor's face as he stroked his beard in thought.
"However, in light of what our centaur friend Ronan said, as well as your older self, I've been wondering if the power to vanquish the Dark Lord involves something else as well."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"If you look at those fateful events, the night of your parents' murders another way, Voldemort wound up killing himself. The protection in your blood, Harry, is just that, protection, not a power to be used like a weapon, per se. It might be said that your mother's love was the power which enabled the protection in the first place. But you did not destroy Voldemort's body through a deliberate act. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Harry looked at Hermione, then back at the wizard.
"I think so."
Dumbledore clasped his hands behind his back and resumed walking, the teens walking beside him.
"The question is, then, how did your older self ultimately defeat the Dark Lord? He informed you that Voldemort hit him with the killing curse in the Forbidden Forest, and that he found himself in the same whited-out King's Cross station like you did during the Lift, correct?"
"Yes."
"Though he did not specify precisely what occurred after, in particular that which led to Voldemort's demise, it seems a foregone conclusion that the other Harry's final encounter with his enemy went off in a rather different fashion than when the two of you were infants. And on that count, something he did mention might provide the clue."
"What's that?"
"The Gaunt ring, my boy."
Harry and Hermione again exchanged surprised looks.
"Do you mean what you said about the ring being a potential weapon?" Harry asked.
The professor stopped and gazed at the teenagers with a serious expression.
"Yes, Harry."
He resumed his stroll among the heaps. The pair followed, both curious what he would say next.
"If there's one thing that defined Tom Riddle, and still defines Voldemort to this day, it's his obsession with death, or rather, avoiding death at all costs."
"Hence the name he gave himself," Hermione threw in with a slight smile at Harry. Harry smiled back, remembering their discussion of Voldemort's name while working on their Arithmancy assignment.
Dumbledore nodded at her, seeming impressed by her statement.
"Indeed, Hermione," he replied, "and as we've discussed before, his creation of the Horcruxes was central to this end. But what surprises me is how he treated the Gaunt ring."
The headmaster stopped once more and gazed up at the windows in thought.
"...he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and shall save many stars with a power most glorious..." the wizard uttered, as though in a world of his own.
After a moment, he turned to face Hermione and Harry once more.
"If young Tom Riddle knew what the ring actually was, he most likely would not have made it into a Horcrux. And he most certainly would never have hidden it in his grandfather's old shack. Indeed, I surmise he would not have allowed it to leave his side under any circumstances. Therefore, he clearly did not know what was in his possession. And that, my dear pupils, could very well be the full meaning of both prophecies."
Harry frowned at Dumbledore's enigmatic words, desperate to know what he was talking about.
"Professor, what exactly is the ring?" he asked in frustration. Hermione nodded, equally anxious to know.
The wizard sighed and gave them a sad expression of concern.
"I told the pair of you I would not explain it yet as it seems way too early - you both are still young and have much work ahead of you. However, since you are asking, and thanks your godfather, Sirius, we now know that Voldemort's servants may be on the move, I will answer your question..."
Harry and Hermione brightened up at this.
"...in an indirect fashion."
The brightness turned to puzzlement. Dumbledore continued.
"How do you find Professor Babbling's Study of Ancient Runes class thus far?" he asked.
Harry and Hermione gazed at one another with furrowed brows at this seeming out-of-the-blue question. Harry shrugged.
"It's okay, I guess. Just basically learning a new set of alphabets," he replied.
"I find it fascinating...headmaster," Hermione answered to no one's surprise though she was as mystified as Harry over the question.
Dumbledore nodded.
"I see. Well, to answer your question concerning the ring, and in the interest of furthering your academic progress, which is why we're here in the first place, I'm going to give you a homework assignment. Consider it an assignment for the Order of the Phoenix as it one day might become an important factor in our operations."
The teenagers again exchanged astonished looks. This was intriguing, to say the least. The headmaster continued.
"If you are successful with it, you will have the answer you seek, and we will discuss this topic further afterwards. Agreed?"
They nodded.
"Yes, sir," Harry answered.
Dumbledore smiled.
"Very well. Expect the assignment from me within the next few days, once I've located the particular object central to it. And you may take your time on it. It's more important that you stay ahead of your current, required classwork. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," they both uttered, still very curious as to what the "assignment" could possibly be.
"Excellent," the man said with another smile, "now, let us depart as I have some school business to attend to this evening, and the two of you no doubt have studying to do."
They both nodded. Dumbledore then led them off the main alley along a smaller path that wound in a zig-zag shape between several mountains of books. Up ahead, the space before the door to the room, which was not so cluttered with junk, appeared.
"Did you ever hide anything in here, professor?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yes. Numerous books and other personal effects many years ago, when I was a student. On occasion, I would hide here myself to escape some rather nasty bullies from Slytherin House who liked to play pranks on me now and again. In fact, once, during my fourth year, I..."
But the old man suddenly froze, staring at something a few meters from his position. Hermione and Harry followed his gaze, curious what he was staring at.
Directly in front of them was a large wooden cupboard, its doors scratched and stained as though someone had thrown acid on it. Sitting next to the cupboard, on top of an old wooden crate, sat the bust of a surly-looking wizard with a chipped nose. But the headmaster's gaze wasn't on these particular objects. It was on something to the right of the cupboard: a pile of worn-out books sitting partially covered by a green cloth. Something metallic lay beneath the cloth, part of it sticking out and glittering in the light from the windows above. Puzzled, Harry looked back at Dumbledore to find him wide-eyed and stunned.
"Professor? What is it?" he asked, turning his gaze back to the books, unable to fathom what the man was staring at.
"Why...I can scarcely believe it!" he uttered, almost to himself.
"Scarcely believe what?" Hermione asked him on pins and needles.
But Dumbledore didn't respond. He pulled out his wand and walked up to the mound of books. He then reached out and with the wand's tip pulled back the green cloth. After removing it completely, the two teens saw the object underneath was a tarnished tiara of some kind.
An intricate band of silver, containing sparkling white jewels was crowned at its front with beautiful metalwork in the shape of a bird with outstretched wings. The bird's body was composed of a single large, oval-shaped jewel, royal blue in color. Beneath this bird, and winding its way on either side of the band was wording of some sort.
"Harry," the headmaster said with a serious gaze upon the object, "you know how to handle dark objects now. I'll let you do the honors once more."
Harry gazed at Dumbledore first, then back at the tiara, remembering the headmaster's request to pull the Gaunt ring from behind the stone during the Summer.
"Yes, sir," he replied with a nod, retrieving his own wand.
He pointed it at the tiara.
"Aliquetrim!"
The band rose from off the books and moved toward them, hovering in the air. Light from above reflected off the metal and caused the jewels in it to sparkle brilliantly. The tiara seemed to almost glow.
"Can either of you guess what this is?" Dumbledore asked, still gazing at the item and seeming mesmerized by it.
"It that...Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem?!" Hermione asked, a wide-eyed, astonished look on her face.
"I believe it is," the wizard said, "but let us examine it closer to be sure."
He reached up and touched it once, testing whether it was protected by a curse, just as he did with the ring back in the summer. Satisfied it would not harm him, Dumbledore pulled the tiara from the air and Harry returned his wand to his pocket. The headmaster gazed over its face, particularly at the words etched into the band in an elegant cursive. Harry and Hermione both leaned in to read them.
Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
"On first glance, this does indeed seem to be the diadem of Ravenclaw. What an astonishing, coincidental find! I mentioned last year that I would undertake a search for the founders' artefacts as we suspected Riddle may have converted each into one of his Horcruxes. Alas, much of my initial searching proved fruitless. I even scoured the memories from Riddle's diary once more for any clues he might have left. And while their are several memories concerning his own search for the artefacts, none contain any hint as to whether he found them, turned them into a Horcrux if so, or if he hid them somewhere inside Hogwarts. If this is Ravenclaw's actual diadem, and Riddle did convert it into a Horcrux, that would suggest that either he or someone he trusted hid this here much later than Riddle's school years. Whatever the case, we are most fortunate to have discovered it."
"Ravenclaw's actual diadem, professor?" Harry asked.
"Yes, my boy. It's possible this is a replica. One never knows what one may find in the Hiding Room. It could turn out to be fake. Therefore, I shall examine it carefully and let the pair of you know. If it is one of Riddle's Horcruxes, I shall destroy it like we did the ring, and we shall be that much closer to reversing the Dark Lord's efforts toward immortality. Now, as I don't wish to be seen carrying it, and certainly don't want a potential dark object on my person, how can I best conceal it?...Ah! Of course!"
The headmaster marched to a another mound of books which reached higher than Harry and Hermione's heads. The volumes in this mound all looked the same, as though someone dumped an entire lot altogether. Dumbledore grabbed one and held it up in the light, wiping the dust from the cover which revealed its title in faded, flaked gold lettering.
In Pursuit of Historical Inquiry - A Life
Cuthbert Binns
"Is that...Professor Binns' book?" Hermione asked with a squinty expression.
"It is indeed," Dumbledore replied while opening the front cover which revealed a messy, handwritten signature inside, "our esteemed professor wrote this memoir a few years before he died, before becoming our first...non-corporeal teacher. He issued the book to all his students one particular year and signed them. He even made it required reading for his History of Magic class at one point which did not go over well as the book's a bit self-congratulatory, not to mention extremely boring. This is why you see a myriad of them discarded in the Hiding Room."
Harry and Hermione grinned, knowing Binns' inflated sense of self-importance. The headmaster continued.
"I suppose the professor won't mind if one of his books serves a more...useful end."
He set the book down on the floor and retrieved his wand. Pointing it at the open book, a flash of light burst from the wand and a moment later, a hollow space had been magically carved out of the book's interior.
"There, now," he uttered with a smile.
Dumbledore then placed the diadem inside the hollow space, closed the book, and retrieved it from the floor. Placing his wand back in his robes, the professor smiled at the teens.
"Shall we?"
They nodded and the three of them departed the Room of Requirement.