Stacie Redmond and the Room of Requirement

Chapter 5 - Brooms And Hidden Rooms

I awake on a sunny Saturday morning to remember that there are Quidditch tryouts.  I jump out of bed and throw on some clothes.  Running downstairs, I see Sirius sitting by the fireplace and I stop by to say hey.

"Hey, Sirius!" I say brightly.

"What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just getting ready for tryouts," I tell him.  "You gonna watch?"

"Sure, why not?" he says in answer.

I leave the room, grinning like an idiot, though I have no idea why.

After breakfast, I begin to feel a little queasy. I tug on my Quidditch robes and head out to the pitch where Kiera Simmens is waiting.

I see James waiting in line, and jog over. "Hi," I say.

"Good luck, Stace," he tells me.

"Good luck," I reply.

One by one, students are called up to try out. Some people play really well, others are just awful. Soon, James us called. He flashes me a thumbs-up as he walks out. He ends up being the best Chaser yet.

I'm being called up now. The Golden Snitch is released and I'm searching for it. I see it suddenly and make a dive. Catching it, I dismount my broom gracefully, and am greeted by loud cheers and clapping.

After the tryouts, Kiera walks over to me and tells me I'm the new Gryffindor Seeker.

***

Back in the common room, people rush to congratulate me on becoming Seeker. "That was incredible!" Lily gushes.

"57 seconds in and you caught it!"

"Bloody brilliant, that was!"

"You did amazing!"

The compliments keep pouring in, and before long, I'm exhausted. I keep saying I'm tired and want to go up to my dormitory but the crowd won't let me. They keep pressing in from all sides. Finally, Lily shouts, "GUYS! LET HER REST!"

I hurry upstairs, taking my chance. Thank goodness!

I change and get into bed, falling asleep faster than I can ever remember.

***

I wake up to see Sirius standing over my bed. "Wha-- How'd you--?" I stammer, pulling the sheets up to my chin.

"Remember how James and I levitate ourselves? That's how," he says with a smirk.

"Well, you shouldn't be up here," I scold.

"Too bad," he says.

I glare at him for a while before sitting up. "Well? What do you want?"

"See, I could tell you, but the thing is you'll probably try jinxing me, so... I think I'll go the safer route," he tells me.

"Like you ever care about being safe," I scoff.

"True..."

"Are you going to tell me ot not?!"

"Alright, alright! We've come up with a way to accompany you and Remus during your 'times of the month'," he says mischievously, air quoting.

"If you mean my--"

"No! Not that! I meant with the furry little problem," he explains hastily.

"Oh, well, how d'you reckon you can do that without getting sliced to bits?"

"Animagus," he whispers in my ear excitedly.

"Okay..." I say. "But where do you expect to learn this?"

"You'll see," he tells me. Ugh. I hate it when he is so secretive!

I get up from bed and follow him to the boys' dormitories. "James! Remus! Peter! Wake up!" Sirius shakes them awake. "Meet us in the library!"

We set off down the staircases to the library. About halfway there, though, we get separated. I'm shunted to the seventh floor where the floor is relatively clear. I accidentally ram into Severus and his group of friends just now, and look up to see his scowling face staring down at me. I immediately get up and make a run for it, turning a corner. Dead end.

I walk past the wall three times, desperately thinking how I need a place to hide.  As though it hears my thoughts, a wrought-iron door appears in the wall.  I open the door and see a huge room.  I hustle inside and shut the door.

"What is this place?" I gasp in amazement.  I have never seen the cathedral-style room in my life, and I am quite impressed.  Everything I could ever need is here at my disposal.  Poking around the shelves, I see many things I've never seen before.

"This is incredible," I murmur to myself as I inspect a bag of black powder with the label Instant Darkness Powder.

I grab the bag, stuffing it into my pocket.  I also see things like a Sneakoscope, a little ball which I know to be a Dungbomb, having set off a few in my first year, and some other items that I knew none of the names to.

I see a peephole in the wall, and check out.  Nobody there.  I hear loud footsteps going in the other direction.  I wait until they have faded away completely.  Slowly, I open the door and sneak out.  The corridor is deserted, so I make a mad dash to the library.

I'm out of breath when I try to tell the guys what happened.  "Room--opened to--request--hiding--seventh floor--Snape--Dungbombs--Darkness Powder--Sneakoscope--insane!"

"What?" they all ask, intrigued.

"Oh, come on!  I'll show you!" I say, exasperated.  I lead them to the same place, and James breathes, "The Room of Requirement!  Stace, this place is Hogwarts legend!"

We ask for a place to hide, just like I had earlier, and I lead them inside as soon as the door appears.  "WOW!" James exclaims.

"This is so cool!" Sirius agrees.

We all stare around the room before Remus says we need to leave.  "Oh, alright," Sirius finally says grudgingly.  We troop out of the room and head back to the common room, library quite forgotten.