章 33: Chapter 32: Room of Requirement
My stomach was rumbling after focusing fully on creating 'Furtim' however I had no time to get food as my last class Astronomy was still set for midnight tonight. Immediately after testing out 'Furtim' a couple more times I darted off towards my final late lesson of the day. Walking through the hallowed halls of Hogwarts so late was interesting as there were already prefects walking around scouting certain areas. None seemed to question me though as I walked through the castle, probably already briefed on the fact that an astronomy class is being held for some first years tonight.
Astronomy is an interesting class to say the least, it was a class solely based on the study of stars and movement of planets. It made one realise that whether you were muggle or a wizard, the universe beyond our skies was something all beings craved to learn about. Whether the stars above us were created upon the foundation of magic in this world or if there was a more scientific approach, everyone wanted to reach out into that starry sky and understand it more.
I was just barely able to get to class on time as I rushed through the castle at a fixed pace. I started off in the Slytherin Dungeons after all and needed to get to the peak of the Astronomy tower so it was a fair distance. As I walked out onto the highest level of the Astronomy tower, I saw some tired first years playing with telescopes looking up at the stars above. It was a beautiful night sky, one that allowed for all to view it with ease. I walked over to an unoccupied telescope and took a look myself. I never held much interest in looking out beyond my own world even in my previous life, sure I was curious what lied out in the expanse of space but it was something that I believed humans wouldn't reach in my lifetime. Magic though was a conduit of miracles and the fact it existed in this world made me wonder if the stars upon high were truly as out of reach as initially believed.
Eventually Aurora Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, arrived to class and started to teach us. The lesson matter just involved using the telescopes to inspect Jupiter upon high and learning the names of Jupiter's moons. Jupiter had many moons so it made it difficult for most to memorise the names of them all however I was aware of most of them even before this lesson. Europa, Ganymede, Io, Callisto were just a few I already had knowledge of.
Looking up at the planet upon high gave me mixed feelings, that was a different Jupiter to my previous life and the starry sky was a different space to my past life as well. If this world had magic was the very fabric of this universe based of magic itself? It was a question that would follow me to the ends of my life on this earth.
I didn't expect to feel so many mixed emotions looking up at the stars in the sky but it left me with many feelings of expectation, wonder and melancholy….
"Now first years, since we have some time left let's see if we can predict the next eclipse with the Orrery…"
Sinistra spoke and gathered us around the Orrery in the Astronomy Tower. The Orrery was a model of the sun, planets and moons of the solar system. It was an interesting piece of equipment to say the least as the astronomical objects within floating inside the glass ball within the centre. The remainder of the class was spent with Sinistra explaining how the Orrery works and predicting the next eclipse.
Soon after predictions were made, the class ended and we were ushered off back to our dormitories. For me however, I had a different plan in mind as I headed off towards the toilets on the way down first, casting myself with 'Furtim' and heading off immediately towards a certain room…
.
'Furtim' was truly an effective spell and well worth the time spent forging it. As I walked through the castle I made no sound, couldn't be seen and there wasn't even any scent emitting off of me. The prefects I sometimes passed had no clue I was even there. If someone had an inkling I was around and used 'Revelio' I might be in trouble however since I cloaked myself so meticulously there was no way anyone would have that inkling in the first place.
I was relaxed knowing my spell was working correctly, walking through the castle I eventually arrived at my destination. A big wall ahead of me, nothing significant about it at the moment. Looking around I noted that nobody was nearby on this floor. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
I need a place to train out of sight, a place to gain knowledge on subjects hard to find knowledge on and a place to brew potions. A study, a massive study was what I needed for myself.
As these thoughts repeated in my mind and my desire for them grew, the wall in front of me started to change. The blank large wall started to change in colour and form a door for one to walk into. Opening my eyes, I smiled looking at the sight ahead of me. I was unsure what would lie within considering what I desired however I hoped that desiring all these different aspects would allow this room to create a place for me that held all I needed instead of just part of it each time. Walking in and out changing the layout would be time consuming in the long term.
Opening the large black doors, I walked on through into the room, what welcomed me was a large expanse. The room was split into three different sections from what I could see. To my immediate left there was a library that was expansive, filled with books upon books some of which weren't even in bookshelves and just in piles. To the right of me was a potion brewing area, I could even see some materials there. Ahead of me though was the craziest part of the room. 3 times bigger than the previous two 'zones' was a massive area with combat dummies like Harry used in the Order of the Phoenix.
Since I desired a study with all these things within, the Room of Requirement didn't disappoint. It created a place for me where all three could be used. I was thankful at how useful this room was. Immediately I started to check out the library zone of the RoR, looking through all the different books. There were many books that weren't relevant to me, historical works on different parts of wizarding society. There were some books though that detailed spells that were interesting. The main boon though was a certain pile of books in the corner, the most old and ancient looking books within the RoR.
Crouching down next to the pile I started to scan through the pile of ancient looking books. After some sifting, I found some books that were of great interest to me. It was a book on Occlumency.
Occlumency up to this point for me was my weakest subject. After all I had no method to work with and mainly used books that detailed the 'effects' of Occlumency to create the method in my own right. Honestly the fact I even put some 'walls' around my mind at this point was incredible with what little I knew on the subject. Reading through the book I had in my hands there was far more detail on how to practice Occlumency and it even detailed the deeper effects of what Occlumency could do.
I knew that the RoR was an OP tool within the Harry Potter world that most sought to abuse but for it to lay out knowledge like this for me and create this perfect place for me to practice was still mind-boggling to me. What sort of magic created this place?
Within the library zone there was a desk to read on, heading over to the desk I placed the books on Occlumency amongst some other things there ready to read. After placing them, I headed over to to potion zone and took a look at the apparatus' there alongside the materials. The materials weren't anything too special, a lot of basic potions making materials however it was better to have more than less. A couple of the ingredients here were actually used in the Animagus potion I sought to create after all. After having a quick look around, I was satisfied with this zone as well. Finally, I headed into what could be deemed as the combat zone of the RoR. It was a lot bigger than the other two zones, like a large football field. I was in awe at how big the RoR could get in response to the users needs.
As I stepped into the combat zone the combat dummies started to move around me, doing all sorts of manoeuvres making it difficult for me to track them. At first, I thought this combat zone was purely to test a wizards reaction time and casting ability/accuracy however after some time the dummies actually started to cast spells my way, shocking me to the core. I narrowly dodged one spell as another quickly followed. Pulling out my wand I sent a spell towards the spell coming towards me, causing a minor explosion as the two collided. This wasn't a one-on-one fight though as the other dummies saw an opening, casting spells whilst I was distracted.
I whipped my head around towards the oncoming spells and used 'Furtim' to vanish. As I did so the dummies looked around for a moment before returning to their spaces. I un-casted 'Furtim' as I got out of the combat zone panting.
That was certainly a lot more exhilarating than I expected. I didn't expect the dummies to cast spells at all. This room was far more intuitive than I realised. Then again, it was a room that designed itself based on the users 'needs' so there's a chance that when I desired to practice combat it designed this combat zone as the level I should be at or aim towards. Harry's 'Dumbledore's army' had each other to practice combat on so they didn't require these sorts of combat dummies however with me being the loner man I am, the room noted this fact and created a combat zone that allowed me to fight against these dummies as if I was fighting another wizard, giving them movement and the ability to cast spells. The dummies themselves seemed to be 'charged' by the room when they headed back to the spaces they came from. The ambient magic within the room charged them like a battery allowing them to cast that simple spell.
It would allow me to get used to high-speed combat, however the diversity of the spells they use was non-existent so I'd need to be mindful that a real fight wouldn't just include a single spell but a multitude of different ones.
Overall though I was satisfied with this room. It had everything I needed to work towards my next three goals. Having this sort of privacy and space was incredibly helpful to me in the long term and with the combat zone I would even be able to practice duelling at a higher level, especially considering my previous targets were trees outside of New Leaf. Reaching into my pocket I took out my extension pouch. Reaching within I took out the beautifully adorned box I found in Merlin's vault. Opening it, I grabbed the wand inside.
Setting the box back into my extension pouch I held a wand in both hands. It was… weird to say the least having both wands in each hand but it didn't feel too unnatural. Stepping into the combat zone I decided to start practicing with both wands to see if it was viable in the long term to use both in combat. The dummies immediately fired up again as I walked into the zone and came zooming around me attacking me. Using my own wand, I casted 'Spongify' on one of the dummies legs causing the dummy to keel over due to its own top weight, falling face first on the floor. As this dummy was dispatched with another one casted a spell from my flank. Lifting up Merlin's wand I attempted to cast a spell from it to negate the oncoming spell.
The difficulty in this action though was far greater than I could have anticipated. All my magic was focused on heading towards my first wand and now I was redirecting it to my other wand as fast as I could. With the control I had, I was able to do it however it was a close call as the spell was casted, blocking the oncoming spell and causing me to have to jump back a few steps due to the recoil of the blast right in front of me.
The conundrum seemed to be that using a wand at normal output was possible however when I switched to the other wand, I was redirecting that output, spending valuable time in doing so. There were two ways I could rectify this. It was either I practiced enough so that the switch between wands was fast and non-existent or that I controlled my output to go to both wands simultaneously.
Both rectifications had their pros and cons. Practicing to switch outputs fast would definitely allow me to seem as though I was casting from two wands at once but the delay would forever remain even if I practiced for years. I already had far above average control of my magic and I was still feeling this distinct delay so the amount of control required to have that delay be non-existent was immense. As for the other method of having magic flow to both wands simultaneously, this one was a bit more viable however millions of times more difficult.
If successful with the second method, I would be able to cast both wands at once with no delay. The problem was I was essentially splitting my output between two wands meaning the spells cast would be weaker. Also, to cast from both wands at once required me to almost split my mind in two, as If I'm drawing a circle with one hand and a triangle with the other.
So, the main conclusion here was, at least in my mind, two wands wasn't a viable method of combat as there would always be limitations. Having two guns didn't necessarily mean you were better than someone with one good gun in a fight. More firepower could be helpful but it expended more focus. In the long term it seemed ridiculous to chase this method of fighting as wandless magic was something that I would practice down the line as well which negated the need for a wand to even be in my hands.
I continued to fight the dummies for some time before stepping out of the combat zone, my clothes tattered and broken. As the wounded dummies headed back to their stations they seemed to be fixed up, good as new which was a relief meaning I could go wild on them if I wished. I took my wand, casting a 'reparo' onto my clothes fixing them up. I had mixed feelings about my findings in the end. I could on the one hand learn how to use both wands however on the other hand it would probably be a method of fighting I would end up discarding due to its inefficiency compared to other methods of duelling.
Sitting down on the floor I started to use the breathing method to regain my magic. Hogwarts was saturated in ambient magic so this breathing method seemed to fill me up with magic far quicker than when I used it back at New Leaf. It would be interesting if in the long term I could use this method passively, always keeping my magical capacity full… That would take some immense concentration though.
After 'filling' myself up I heaved a breath. I had a lot to think about duelling wise. Using the breathing method made me remember one thing though.
"What happened to Pandora in the end…"
…
Nothing appeared. As far as I was aware Pandora's accident happened between 1990 and 1991 so the event might not have come to pass yet. I hoped that my words were enough to sway her fate somewhat. If there was no [Canon Shift] message near the middle of next year I could only assume my words weren't enough and Pandora had indeed passed away…
Standing up, I took in a deep breath again and walked back into the combat zone. This time putting Merlin's wand away and using only one wand. I continued to fight, walk out the zone, use the breathing method and fight again for a while before I felt my body clock tell me it was probably soon to be morning and my stomach was now roaring at me considering I hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday. Heading towards the exit of the RoR I looked back at my new 'study' I would be getting used to for the years to come.
With this place as a base for me, I would only grow faster now than before.
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