Chapter 10: The Room of Requirement

Lily dropped into the seat beside Tom's, much to his delight. History of Magic had always been a very dull subject as far as he was concerned, but this year they shared a class time with the Gryffindors. Lily frequently sat with Severus, which was understandable given the closeness between the two siblings, and Tom certainly enjoyed sitting next to James. But the days when Lily chose the seat next to his were always great days, even if he still had to listen to Professor Binns prattle on in his monotone voice.

"You seem happy for someone who's about to sit through everyone's least favorite subject," Tom teased.

"Maybe I'm just happy to see you," Lily said with a grin. Tom returned her smile.

"Good morning," Professor Binns said as he floated in through the wall. "Today we will be discussing the Goblin Rebellion of 1612." He was a ghost, the only ghost on the Hogwarts staff, which sounded very exciting when Tom had first heard about it. But despite being an undead disembodied spirit, Professor Binns was one of the most boring people Tom had ever met. He had a voice that seemed specially designed to put people to sleep, himself included. And he didn't seem to notice what his students were doing, never pausing his lecture for anything.

So, Professor Binns began his spiel, and Tom rested his head in his hands, wondering how long it would be before he fell asleep. Lily picked up her quill and began writing, ever the diligent note taker. Suddenly, Lily stopped writing and slid her parchment over to Tom. Tom sat up and made eye contact with Lily, who smiled and winked at him before turning her attention to Professor Binns. With a raised brow, Tom glanced down at the parchment.

Hi, Tom. How's your day going?

Tom smiled. So, Lily wanted to pass notes. This was easily shaping up to be the best History of Magic class ever, though admittedly it was a low bar. He picked up his own quill that he'd gotten out to at least create the illusion that he was going to pay attention to the lecture, but instead used it to write his reply under Lily's original message.

I didn't know Lily Snape was the type of person to pass notes in the middle of class.

Tom passed the parchment back to Lily, who rolled her eyes as she read his message, though she was smiling. She wrote out a reply and passed it back.

It's History of Magic, Tom. Professor Binns basically just recites the textbook from memory, I can read anything I miss later.

This was true enough. Professor Binns had been at his post so long that he had long since memorized the teaching material, and rarely did anything with it other than reciting it aloud each class. Tom wrote out his reply.

We both know you already read the chapter in the textbook.

Lily shrugged as she wrote back.

You know me too well. Of course I already read it, which is why I don't have to pay attention now. What's your excuse?

Tom made a show of being appalled by what he was reading before replying.

Hey, you started it! I'm beginning to think you might be a bad influence on me.

Lily grinned and shook her head before writing.

Maybe I just wanted to be the only one who knew the material. That way I have an excuse to schedule a study session so I can share my great knowledge.

Tom's heart fluttered in his chest as he wrote back.

And I would hail you as a hero, completely forgetting that you were the reason why I was distracted in class in the first place.

Lily gave Tom a look that said she knew full well that he wouldn't be paying attention even if they weren't currently passing notes. She wrote back.

You never told me how your day was going.

And so they continued to pass notes back and forth for the rest of class, which went by way too quickly for Tom's liking. He'd never been so disappointed for Professor Binns to stop talking.

"Well, that was a nice class," Tom said as they packed up their things.

"Yes, I too find the goblin rebellions particularly fascinating," Lily said with a wink. "See you around, Tom."

Harry found, as he returned to his own head, that, despite the extenuating circumstances, he was rooting for them. And he wished he'd gotten a chance to get to know them both a little better. And above all, he was sure that he was going to be devastated by some of the memories that were yet to come. He could only hope that, at the end of it all, he would still like Tom as a person, and that they would get a chance to spend more time together.

Harry knocked lightly on the door of Uncle Severus's office as he entered. His uncle was bent over some papers on his desk, quill in hand, but looked up when his nephew entered.

"Come in," Uncle Severus said as he set down his quill, giving Harry his full attention.

"I wanted to thank you," Harry said as he approached the desk. "I heard you helped me to the Hospital Wing after the Quidditch match."

Uncle Severus nodded. "No thanks necessary. I'm glad to see you feeling better."

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey cleared me to leave yesterday," Harry said, referring to the matron of the Hospital Wing. "I would have come by, but Umbridge gave me detention. She didn't like me claiming there was another dementor attack."

"Yes, well…," Uncle Severus paused as if looking for the right words. "She's the type of person who needs to be right. Very… stubborn." Harry considered 'stubborn' to be one of Umbridge's more tame qualities, but he nodded. "Regarding the attack… It seems we've been a bit complacent in thinking that they couldn't happen at the school. You'll need to be more careful."

"I know," Harry said. "I won't wander about on my own."

"Do you think it's wise to continue your involvement with the Quidditch team?"

The question surprised Harry, but he tried to brush it off, saying, "I'll be more careful, Uncle. Now that I know the dementors can still find me on school grounds."

Uncle Severus considered this and nodded. "Very well. But don't wander off like that again, winning a match is not worth the risk."

"I won't," Harry promised. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were just upset that your team lost."

This got the tiniest of laughs from Uncle Severus, but still it was a laugh, the first time Harry had ever made his uncle laugh. He'd rarely known his uncle to laugh at all, and so filed the memory away as a win. "I've already accepted the fact that Slytherin will never win another Quidditch Cup until you've graduated," Uncle Severus said. Harry took the rare compliment and smiled.

It wasn't long before Umbridge made good on her promise to crack down on the school. Once again, students gathered in the Entrance Hall after classes, waiting for a promised important announcement.

"Why does she have to keep doing this in the Entrance Hall?" Ron complained.

"So she can hang her ugly plaques in an area with a lot of foot traffic," Hermione said, looking up at the ordinances with disgust. As if on cue, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Umbridge stepped out carrying even more plaques.

"More ordinances?" Harry said with a groan.

Umbridge set the plaques down on the floor and addressed the gathered students. "The first three ordinances did not have as big an impact as I'd hoped," she said. "It is clear to me that the Hogwarts student body requires additional guidance. Therefore, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I am pleased to introduce the following three ordinances."

Much like when she was instating the first three ordinances, Umbridge waved her wand and sent one of the new plaques up high on the wall to join the first three. "Ordinance number four; no unapproved student gatherings of more than three students at a time."

"You don't suppose she knows about Dumbledore's Army?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged, though he had to admit that it seemed a little pointed.

Umbridge continued, sending up another plaque. "Ordinance number five; I, Delores Umbridge, representative of the Ministry of Magic, reserve the right to inspect all ingoing and outgoing mail."

This was received with an uproar, as students were shocked at the blatant invasion of their privacy. Harry doubted very much that Umbridge would waste her time reading most students' mail, but was willing to bet a lot of galleons that anything he were to send or receive would be inspected thoroughly.

"Order!" Umbridge exclaimed, trying to regain control of the crowd. "This is exactly the attitude that necessitated the ordinances in the first place. You've only got yourselves to blame."

The crowd settled down, though most students were staring daggers at Umbridge, who seemed not to notice as she waved her wand to send the final plaque up to the others. "Ordinance number six; I, Delores Umbridge, representative of the Ministry of Magic, reserve the right to inspect all student dormitories at any time."

Harry's heart sank, his thoughts immediately turning to the journal. If anyone's hands were the wrong hands, Umbridge's were. He had to find a safe place to hide it, and fast.

"Along with the sixth ordinance, I would like to announce that we will be conducting searches of every dormitory. We'll be starting with Gryffindor as soon as I can coordinate it with your head of house." And with that, Umbridge left before anyone could utter a protest.

Harry immediately turned to his friends. "I have to hide… it. Now." Thankfully, Ron and Hermione didn't need a further explanation.

"How thorough do you think these searches are going to be?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sure she'll be taking her time in ours," said Harry.

"Library? There are lots of books there, it'll blend in," suggested Ron.

"Too risky, anyone could come across it there."

"Need to hide something?" Neville asked as he made his way toward them.

"Yes," Harry confirmed quickly. He could always trust Neville to help without asking additional questions, which was one of the things he liked most about him. "It's very important, Neville, do you know a place?"

Neville nodded. "Go get it and meet me on the 7th floor."

"Thank you," Harry said before he, Ron, and Hermione scrambled toward Gryffindor Tower. Umbridge couldn't get in without the password, which she would need Professor McGonagall to give to her. And Harry knew that McGonagall would never give Umbridge the password if she had a say in it, but with the Ministry of Magic backing Umbridge up, McGonagall would have to give her the password eventually. The question was whether they had days or mere hours before the inspections began.

After snagging the journal, with Harry hiding it under his robes as inconspicuously as he could, they met up with Neville who was patiently waiting near the seventh floor landing of the Grand Staircase.

"Where are we going to hide it up here?" Ron asked.

"Okay, before I tell you, you need to promise not to laugh," Neville said, suddenly seeming hesitant.

"We're not going to laugh at you, Neville," Hermione insisted.

Neville nodded. "Okay. Follow me, I'll explain on the way." The four of them started walking down the corridor. It wasn't lost on Harry that they were currently breaking ordinance number four. The last thing he needed was for Umbridge to suddenly show up and catch him breaking ordinance number four while trying to avoid consequences from ordinance number six.

"So, where is it that we're going, exactly?" Harry asked.

Neville sighed. "This happened last year. I was walking down this very corridor, only I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I tripped over that rug." He pointed to the rug as they passed, taking careful steps as he went along. "And when I fell I hit my head on that statue." He pointed to a statue of a wizard with a tall, pointed hat.

Hermione winced. "Ouch, Neville. That must have hurt."

"It did," Neville agreed. "And I was bleeding, and looking for a place to clean up. But I didn't want to just wander around the school like that until I could find a washroom, and that's when it appeared." He stopped suddenly in front of a large blank wall.

"What are we looking at?" asked Ron.

"Well, nothing yet," said Neville. "Harry, start thinking about what you need. A place to hide something from Umbridge."

Harry was confused, but did as Neville asked. He thought about how he was in need of a place not only to hide Tom's magical memory journal, but also where he could view the memories in private. If Umbridge was going to reserve the right to check dormitories at any time, this inspection was unlikely to be a one time thing. Not for Harry, at least. He needed a more permanent solution, somewhere other than his dorm room where he could keep the journal and view its memories and guarantee its safety.

Suddenly, the wall began to change, and a large wood and iron door appeared where there had been nothing but stone.

"Woah," said Ron.

"What is this?" asked Hermione.

"Apparently it's called the Room of Requirement," said Neville. "It transforms itself depending on what you need."

"Neville, that's brilliant!" said Harry. Neville smiled modestly.

"Well, go on, Harry. Open the door," said Ron.

So, Harry did. And what he found was a cozy study with a nice little desk and chair, a fireplace, a plush seating area with a couch and a couple armchairs, and a soft rug spread across the floor. Umbridge would never be able to find the place, nor would the other students, and Harry could return to the room whenever he wished to view Tom's memories. Harry and his friends hurried inside to check the place out and drop off the journal. It fit perfectly inside what turned out to be a felt-lined desk drawer, as if the drawer were made for the journal.

"This room would be perfect for Dumbledore's Army," Hermione said. "Not this room specifically, of course, but I'm sure the room could transform into something suitable."

Harry nodded. "We should let Fred and George know. We'll have to be extra careful not to draw suspicion with the new ordinance about large gatherings."

"Is it true that Umbridge added a whole new set of ordinances just because of a jinxed chalk prank?" asked Neville.

"She absolutely hates disorder," Hermione said. "If one simple prank was enough to drive her to all of this, imagine how she'll react when she's being bombarded by similar instances at every turn."

Harry chuckled. "Once Dumbledore's Army really gets going, she's not going to last a week."

The Room of Requirement did, in fact, have the ability to transform into the perfect meeting space for Dumbledore's Army. It supplied them with an entire shelf of books on magical pranks so that they wouldn't run out of ideas. There was a large chalkboard where they could plan and schedule. And there was plenty of empty space where members could practice the spells they would need to pull off their pranks. Fred and George wasted no time in calling a meeting after they saw the place, though word had to be spread by mouth as they couldn't risk Umbridge using her new Ministry given power to intercept their mail.

"The first order of business is to come up with a better communication system. Owl mail is now compromised," Fred said once everyone was gathered in their new meeting space.

"We will instead be reaching out about meeting times using a new little trick we learned," said George.

The twins nodded to each other, took out their wands, and waved them in unison as they said, "Expecto patronum!" Two little white magpies appeared and fluttered their glowing wings as they settled on invisible perches. It seemed to Harry that producing a full patronus was much easier when not actively under attack, which thankfully was the case now. What he didn't know was how they planned to use them for communication.

With their patronuses before them, Fred and George touched their wand tips to their throats. Fred said, "The meeting is now in session, come at once."

Then George said, "The magpie flies at night."

Fred waved his wand again while saying, "Ron Weasley, Hogwarts." His patronus took flight and then disappeared, only to suddenly reappear in front of Ron, who nearly jumped out of his skin.

"The meeting is now in session, come at once," the magpie said in Fred's voice before fading out of existence.

Then it was George's turn. He waved his wand and said, "Angelina Johnson, Hogwarts." Just as Fred's had done, George's patronus disappeared and reappeared before Angelina.

"The magpie flies at night," the magpie said in George's voice. This was met by a round of applause from the members of Dumbledore's Army.

"We will be using 'the magpie flies' as our code, followed by a time," Fred announced.

"The meeting will always be the following day at the time specified," said George.

"The code for emergency meetings is 'the magpie flies at once,'" said Fred.

"Now for the main event," said George. "It's time to plan the first big prank of Dumbledore's Army." Everyone cheered.

"Let's get started," said Fred.

"Well, it looks like the Cannons were actually able to beat the Falcons this week," Harry said. He and Ginny were occupying a bench in the corridor, huddled behind the latest issue of The Daily Prophet. They were perusing an article on the latest Quidditch match played by the Chudley Cannons, Harry's favorite team.

"They haven't had a very good season, it's nice to see them finally get a win," said Ginny, another big Cannons fan.

"Yeah, well Gudgeon's been off his game. I wonder if he's distracted or something, seeking takes a lot of concentration."

"Well, not everyone can be the youngest seeker this century," Ginny countered. Harry blushed.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing?"

Harry and Ginny looked up to see Umbridge staring at them. "Just reading the paper, Professor," Harry said in a tone that suggested he was confused by the question.

"The Cannons finally won," Ginny cut in.

"Who are you?" Umbridge asked.

"Ginny Weasley," said Ginny. "From your fourth year class?"

Umbridge looked disgusted. "How many of you Weasleys are there?"

"Do you need something, Professor?" Harry asked.

Umbridge opened her mouth like she was about to reprimand him, but seemed to notice that he wasn't currently breaking any of the ordinances and closed it. "Just be sure to get back to your dormitory before curfew," she sputtered out before continuing down the corridor.

"She really doesn't like you," said Ginny.

"No, she doesn't," Harry agreed. "It's a bit rude to not recognize one of her students."

Ginny shrugged. "She hasn't bothered to learn most people's names. Doesn't seem to take her teaching job too seriously, she mostly likes the part of her job where she makes rules and sets detentions."

"So much for her and the Ministry being so concerned about our education."

Just then, a single gobstone slowly rolled across the floor by their feet.

"That's the signal," Harry said.

"Let's go," said Ginny. She set the newspaper down on the bench and reached beneath it to the teapot full of water that she'd been hiding behind her legs. Harry reached for the water pitcher that he'd also been concealing beneath the bench, and the two of them were on the move.

Other members of Dumbledore's Army were already starting to gather outside of Umbridge's office door, carrying water in whatever containers they'd been able to find. Hermione was just finishing up the lockpicking spell she'd been practicing in her free time, and Ron pushed down the handle to open the door.

"Good luck," Hermione said as Harry and the others hurried into the office.

Umbridge's office was incredibly pink. Everything from the rug, to the curtains, to the upholstery on her chair was pink. And she seemed to have a thing for cats, made evident by the dozens of cat photos that were plastered all over the walls. Harry couldn't picture the cat that could possibly like Umbridge.

"Spread out. Quickly, now," said Fred, who carried his water in a bucket. The water bearing members of Dumbledore's Army spread out around the room and found places to put their containers. They set them on the desk, the bookshelf, a side table, the floor, anywhere they could.

"Frog spawn soap at the ready," said George. Everyone pulled a bar of frog spawn soap, a product that several of them had stocked up on in Zonko's, out of their pocket and held it over their water receptacle of choice.

"Three…," Fred said, starting the countdown.

"Two…," George said.

"One," the twins said together.

Everyone dropped their soap in unison.

"Go!" said George, and everyone bolted.

Ron shut the door behind them and Hermione quickly redid Umbridge's locking charm. Everyone else scattered, back to their original posts. Harry picked up the gobstone and rolled it back in the direction it had come from, letting Neville and Luna know that the mission was complete. Ginny picked up the newspaper, and she and Harry ducked back behind it just as Umbridge returned, right on schedule.

"Still here, Mr. Potter?" Umbridge asked.

Harry looked up, trying to act surprised to see her again. "We won't be much longer, Professor. We don't want to miss curfew."

Umbridge's eyes narrowed, but she walked on, headed straight for her office. Moments later, she let out a blood curdling scream. She came running out of her office, frogs hopping along behind her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Umbridge shrieked. "You!" She pointed straight at Harry, who put on his best fake surprise face.

Harry quickly got to his feet, pretending to be startled by her outburst. "Professor, what are you talking about? What's going on?"

"Don't give me that!" Umbridge barked. "I know you're behind this, you little brat!"

"Ugh, look at the frogs!" Ginny cut in, pretending to be disgusted by the creatures despite the fact that Harry knew she had a history of catching frogs in the creek near the Burrow.

"Woah, why are there so many?" Harry asked, backing up as more and more frogs hopped into the hallway.

Ginny shrieked as one hopped in her direction. "That's it, I'm out," she said and hurried down the corridor out of sight.

Harry continued to back up as the frogs drew nearer. "How many frogs do you keep in there?"

Umbridge was turning purple. "I know it was you! And I'm going to prove it, Potter, just you wait. You will regret this!" And with that, Umbridge stormed off in a huff.

Harry watched her go with mock bewilderment until she was out of earshot. Then he smiled.

"Yes!" George Weasley called as he came out of hiding. Fred ran up and gave Harry a tackling hug before picking up one of the frogs and spinning around in a circle.

"I can't believe that actually worked!" Neville said as he and Luna walked up from their post around the corner.

"It's quite thrilling being a lookout," said Luna.

Ginny ran up behind them and Harry wrapped her in a hug. "You were brilliant!" he said. Ginny smiled.

"I figured it was important to look surprised to make it more believable that we'd just been reading the paper all the time," she said.

"I appreciate that," said Harry. "I knew she'd want to blame me."

"What a rush!" said Hermione. "When's the next one?"

"I can't believe Hermione Granger is this stoked to break the rules," Ron teased.

But Harry knew how she felt. For once he felt like he was actually doing something useful, like he had the power to fight back against Umbridge and her tyranny. And he was itching for the next opportunity.