47 The Menesters Room

On the seventh floor, right in front of a tapestry of Barnabas the Nutcase, Soisen waited patiently with Hermione for the arrival of Silvia, who should have just finished her Transformation lesson, the last one of the day.

-Welcome, Silvia," said Soisen as he interrupted his conversation with Hermione and looked to his right, which was empty.

-How did you know! -Silvia canceled her spell of disillusionment and looked at Soisen with a puzzled expression. Invisibility, muffling sound, hiding scent, etc.

-The tapestry swayed as you walked past, most likely running, since walking you wouldn't have been able to generate the draft needed to make it happen. We are in a place without air currents, the rest is logic.

Hermione looked at Silvia in surprise, because she didn't notice such a small detail!

-Forget it, you're the great genius Galegold! -Silvia raised her hands with frustration and some humor mixed in -So, where is this magical place you were saying? -she commented as she looked around. She had passed this corridor several times last year when she was lost at Hogwarts and apart from the funny tapestry, there was nothing really outstanding.

-Bear with me and imitate exactly what I'm doing, don't speak until I'm done - Soisen walked past the clear wall thinking what he wanted with strong concentration. The two witches followed him without asking too many questions, though they looked at each other quizzically as they walked through the same spot twice more, making no apparent sense.

Hermione was about to ask if he was pulling their leg, but no sooner had she parted her lips than she saw grooves begin to appear in the wall where there was nothing, and a large door began to take shape.

-Let's go in," Soisen said as he sped up.

Once the trio entered through the door and it closed behind them, it vanished and before long a Ravenclaw student peeked into the hallway.

-Strange, I could have sworn I heard someone's footsteps in here.

Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Menesters, Soisen looked around contentedly while Silvia and Hermione had their mouths wide open.

The circular room was divided into parts. On the right, there were three tall shelves with flying books whose titles Hermione never saw. And she had access to the forbidden section of the library!

To the left, a workbench with simple but well-kept tools. Several boxes with wood, bones, and other simple practice materials were neatly deposited beside it.

The front area had several dummies for practicing dueling spells, targets that floated in a random order to improve aim, iron boards for harder spells, and some other DADA practice props.

And in the central part, a big table with all kinds of fruits and drinks next to different armchairs that screamed "I'm comfortable!" just by looking at them.

-What do you think? -Soisen asked, even though the expressions said it all -Interesting?

-Just... How come no one knows about a place like this?! -Hermione shouted after her brain rebooted.

-That's not all.

-What do you mean by that? -asked Silvia, she was already surprised enough.

What more could they need?

-I'd like to practice some simple potions in that free corner," she said aloud.

And to the complete shock of the two witches, several crucibles, potion tables, knives, vials and in short, everything they would need to prepare some basic potions began to appear. Some seemed to grow out of nowhere, others fell from the roof and there were also those that rose from the ground.

The only difference was that compared to the crafting workshop, there were almost no ingredients at her disposal, but that was never a problem for Soisen as she carried the trunk with her.

Sylvia and Hermione looked away from the potions equipment and looked at Soisen with an expression that betrayed the common question they wanted to ask him.

-Welcome, both of you, to the Hall of Menesters," Soisen announced as he raised his arms to his sides and lifted his chin in a dramatic pose, "A place that helps (within its means) those with strong needs.

Do you want a place to read in peace? It will become a nice private library.

To be able to practice your art without distractions? You have the tools at your disposal.

Fortify yourself away from prying eyes? The mannequins are really sturdy.

Love to swim but feel shy? A temperature-controlled pool will be here for you.

-It's almost like the Galegold house," Hermione murmured.

-Not quite," Soisen shook his head, "While it is true that my House is very well equipped compared to the other four, the Menesters' Hall could be considered semi-conscious to a certain extent. You need only express your need and it will try to satisfy you. Of course, it is not omnipotent. As you may have gathered, things like basic equipment she has no problem supplying, but you can't ask her for something like a steady stream of phoenix feathers.

-I want some sewing tools," said Silvia suddenly.

On the craft table, several needles fell from the ceiling with different sizes and materials. At the same time, the floor opened like a drawer and revealed some watermelon-sized balls of different colored wool. Several books of sewing patterns were spit off the walls and landed neatly on the table.

Sewing for Beginners, by Fliti Cos.

How to avoid turning your fingers into a pincushion, by Cornard Secy.

Colors and their magic combinations, by Guliar Fatirou

-Now, do you understand what all the secrecy is about? -Soisen asked.

Silvia and Hermione nodded like woodpeckers. Silvia tried the tools and was delighted. Hermione tried to find the boundaries of the Great Hall and Soisen took a quill and parchment and began to write down the plan he had in mind.

-Come closer - Soisen pulled the two witches out of their worlds -These -he showed them a parchment that with a flick of his fingers, split into two identical copies -These are the homework I'm going to give you and I want it completed before the summer, when you won't be able to practice magic freely unlike me.

-Occlumancy..." Hermione began to read, "Protego, Expelliarmus...".

-Incendio, Aguamenti, Palalingua... Patronus?

-Patronus," Soisen nodded, "It's not necessary to become a body, many don't make it that far, casting a mist stream is enough. It's not like we're going to face Dementors! But it's always good to know more spells than less. I also wanted to add other things, but then it would affect your studies when I'm gone.

What he gave them could be considered the short and very reduced version of what Nagini helps you learn and practice, but it was enough for two students who wouldn't be able to hold a protective shield for more than a few seconds.

-I understand why learn most, but don't you think Palalingua is very childish?

-Childish? Think about it, for some strange reason, someone suddenly attacks you and casts this glued tongue curse on you. How will you defend yourself if you can't utter any spells? -seeing his expression change, he nodded slowly- Exactly, unless you can cast magic without words, you are simply defenseless. But don't think too much, focus on learning what's on the list according to the instructions and next year you can try to learn to cast magic non-vocally.

-Like you? -Hermione never saw Soisen pronounce the spells they learned, except for the first few times -Is that why your eyes turn gold when you do magic like this?

-Yes, like me - Soisen nodded and his head suddenly froze -What did you just say? -Now he was the one who was confused.