Chapter 16: ‘Lost and Found’ Room

Hogwarts Castle, Somewhere in the Scottish Highlands

November 23rd, 1992, 0:14 PM

Erik immediately got to the doors and pushed them open while saying.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirement!"

The Aurors and Unspeakables were flabbergasted with what they were looking at. The room that they were looking at was gigantic. They couldn't make heads of how long the room was because they couldn't see the end of it. And the most impressive thing is that the room was filled of stuff. There were piles and piles of random stuff everywhere, some almost reaching the roof.And the tall roof just added to the room size.

"W-What is this place?"

Auror Hammer said while looking at all the stuff around.

"This is one of Rowena's greatest creations. She called it The Room of Requirement. It's a room that can be anything that a person wants it to be. Do you need a quiet room to study? The room will turn itself into one place that attends your needs. Do you need a place to learn how to swim? The room will turn into one place that attends your needs."

Erik explained to the group behind him. One of the Auror continued to question.

"But how? I can't even start to comprehend how to come with something like this."

"The idea behind it is quite simple actually. The room has a special designed ward that extends out to the door. This ward 'reads' the person that walks through the door, and if in a short interval of time the same person walks by it three times thinking about the same thing, the room uses conjuration to attend to that person's needs. If the person has a clear idea of what he wants, the room will take that image and conjure a copy for you that will last from the time that the door is opened until the time that it is closed and has no one inside. For example, if you were tired and wanted to take a nap in your own bed and asked the room for it, it would probably take the image of your head of what your bed looks and how it feels and conjure an identical copy of it for you. It would too, probably, decorate the room around your bed to look just like your own bedroom. Another example, if Director Bones here wanted, let's say, a place where she could train her Aurors in live combat, the room would probably provide her with a door with a live battle scenario, with conjured enemies that would behave alike."

The Aurors and Unspeakables now had an idea of the sheer number of possibilities that the room could provide.

"Of course the room has its own rules. It can't create food. It can't create real life. And you can't take items from inside the room out of it. The unique exception to the last rule is this room here with this exact configuration."

Erik made a gesture with his arm like he was presenting the room to all.

"The Hogwarts' house-elves call this the Room of Lost Things. It is the base of the Room of Requirement. When it's not in use, it retains this configuration, and all items here are real. During Hogwarts' more than a thousand years of existence, hundreds of thousands of wizards and witches came to the castle, and every item lost or forgotten by them ends in this room after they leave the castle. Of course the room is not only a 'lost and found' room, but it's also a deposit for old stuff that is not used anymore, or if let's say, a person wanted to hide something, the room would provide with this configuration to the person."

"So you are saying that the Dark Lord…"

Director Bones commented after listening to Erik's explanation.

"Exactly! Some time, during the period that he was a student here, Tom Riddle must have found this room. Later, with his horcruxes ready, he decided to hide one of them inside Hogwarts and used some opportunity to get access to this room and do it. He probably took the opportunity to hide the anchor for a malicious ward here too."

"Malicious ward?"

Auror Robards asked after Erik finished.

"Yes. The supposed curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office? If Professor Flitwick is right and the 'curse' is as old as he says it is, you all must have heard about it, even if in the school's rumour mill. It has been active in the last 40 years or so."

The Aurors nodded at that. It was well known between them about the DADA curse. It lowered the standard of all the recruits that they were receiving at the DMLE in the past. They practically had to teach all the content over again. It is a nightmare!

"The curse was in reality a malicious ward that took an entire school year to charge, and discharged at the last school week in some way that forced the teacher to not come back the next year. The anchor for such a ward is inside this room. Tom Riddle must have casted it after hiding one of his Horcruxes. Really ingenious of him if you ask me."

He took a pause, and continued.

"He sabotaged two generations worth of teachings in Defense Against the Dark Arts just to make him ascension to power easier."

The ministerial group were shocked. But they really had to admit it. It was a really ingenious plan. It was rare for a good seedling in Defense to appear in the last 30 years, and before that, their parents' generation could be considered all monsters at the subject. True warriors with a wand in hands. Big notes to the ones that fought in the Grindelwalds' War, like Fleamont Potter and Arcturus Black.

"Good thing that we will end it today. With the reactivation of the original wards and the drainage of the accumulated energy of the malicious ward, we can, and will, locate the anchor and destroy it."

Erik told the group with a small smile on his face.

"And with that in mind, I would like to ask you, Director Bones, for your help. I don't really see the actual Professor for DADA still in office by the end of the week. It doesn't need be in this same week, but I would like that you to allow one of your Aurors to teach until we got a good replacement."

Director Bones looked at him directly. But before she could say anything, Erik continued.

"Of course that we would pay for the days that the Auror would be here. If you wish you could even send more than one Auror, so they can teach different years."

Director Bones was still looking at him, thinking about the idea. Erik saw the doubt in her eyes and resolved to 'put a nail in the coffin'.

"We can even work a schedule so that the DMLE can use the Room for training, maybe?"

That did it. That offer sold the idea to Director Bones, but she had to play the 'hard to catch' game.

"We will talk about it at another time, Lord Ravenclaw. I'm sure we can come to an agreement that makes both parties happy."

"Good!"

Erik said with a big smile on his face. He noted that one of the Unspeakables was fidgeting, holding himself to not talk.

"Maybe we can make such an agreement with the Unspeakables too. An instructor for NEWT classes maybe?"

Erik added looking to the group of three cloaked wizards. The one that was fidgeting before stopped and looked at one of his colleagues, probably his leader. The cloaked wizard in question gave a brief nod.

"We will talk about it, Lord Ravenclaw. I bet that we have some people very interested in checking this room."

He said without looking at his colleague.

"Good! We will talk more about it during the week. Right now we have some stuff to recover."

Erik said while clapping his hands.

"If you would follow me, we have some walk ahead of us."

Lord Ravenclaw then started to walk using the trails between the piles and hills of old stuff deposited in the room during the years. The group was following him right behind.

After five minutes of walking through sinuous trails, the group made their first stop in front of a big pile of old sofas. Erik looked at the pile and snapped his fingers.

*snap*

As the sound travelled through the room, a big white magic circle materialized in front of him at about 50 centimeters of the floor. The magic circle was big enough that encompassed the entire pile of old sofas. Moments after, the pile of sofas started to shake, making the Aurors draw their wands at the fear of the pile to drop on them. Soon the shaking stopped, and the pile of old sofas that was above the magic circle started to float, stopping at a height of about three meters above the ground. The ministerial group were looking at the floating sofas with unblinking wide eyes.

"Let's see what were you hiding~"

Erik said while approaching the base of the old sofas pile. Dragging some sofas to the side, Erik exposed to the group what appeared to be an arrangement of candles. Fifty-one identical red candles were arranged in a spiral shape with a big black one right on the center of the spiral, making it the 52nd candle. Erik looked at the arrangement, analysing it entirely. After he reached his conclusion he said to the group.

"Smart arrangement. Fifty two candles in total, one for each week of the year. I imagine that as the weeks go by the candles will light, and when the big black candle lights, the energy is discharged to curse the current DADA teacher in office, blowing out all the candles and resetting the arrangement. Do any of you want to check it out?"

Erik offered the group. Aurors Robards and Shacklebolt, together with the three Unspeakables, took the offer and approached the candles arrangement, starting to analyse it and cast diagnose spells themselves. While they were analysing the arrangement and trading notes, Director Bones asked Erik while looking around at the big piles of random stuff.

"Lord Ravenclaw, what will happen to all the stuff here?"

"If nobody comes forward to reclaim a lost item, after ten years here the item's ownership is given up and it is transferred to the castle. And looking at the quantity of stuff already here, it's time to clean it."

*groan*

They heard a groan coming from Selena. Erik chuckled at it.

"Items that are in good condition or that are in salvageable condition will be analysed for future use. That being if they can be reused at the castle, or if they can be auctioned. I imagine that we can find some really good 'pearls' here that could give the school a good fund to better the infrastructure of the school's education. Imagine the price that a book, or even a jewelry piece, that a student lost 800 years ago could fetch in today's market?"

Director Bones had to agree. Old stuff could reach a really good price if auctioned to the right people.

"Of course there are some items that could never be auctioned. Those will have to be treated in accorddance to each case."

"Worst case they will have to be ridden off permanently."

Erik said first, with Selena following his line of thought.

The group finally concluded their analysis and went back to stand behind Erik and Director Bones. Nodding at them, Erik said.

"Done? Good, Joan, be a dear and destroy the arrangement for us."

The armored maiden, Joan, noded and slowly walked to the candles arrangement border, drawing her sword. With a quick movement, she plunges it into the floor, making a bright light appear over the arrangement. Leona hides behind Erik at that. The light brightens up for a moment and goes out. Joan takes her sword back and sheats it slowly. The candles' arrangement was gone. Totally erased. She slowly walks back to the group and says.

"Done~."

"Thank you Joan. Let's continue, shall we."

*snap*

Erik says inviting the group to continue, snapping his fingers after. The pile of old sofas that were being held back in the air by the magic circle slowly goes back to its original position, making the magic circle disappear when all is in place. Erik then starts walking again through the sinuous trail between the piles and hills of old stuff.

After four more minutes of walking, Erik turns right in a crossroad and stops abruptly. Glaring at the dead end of the trail. The group is confused with the sudden stop. Selena quickly catches what he is looking at. There, at the end of the trail, above an old cabinet, was a faceless mannequin bust. And on its head, glowing in both their senses with a mass of disgusting black tentacles, is a silver tiara encrusted with blue jewels.

No. Not a tiara. A diadem… Ravenclaw's Diadem. With righteous anger bubbling inside her chest, Selena yells.

"HE DARES!"

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