The corridors of Hogwarts were emptier than they'd been in months. The first task of the Triwizard Tournament was underway, and nearly the entire castle had made its way to the grounds to watch the champions face dragons. Even Peeves was suspiciously absent, probably gone to watch the mayhem. For the first time in a long while, the four boys had a moment of quiet.
James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew stood at the foot of the seventh-floor staircase, breath clouding slightly in the cold stone corridor. They had been chasing a myth for nearly a year now, a room that revealed itself only to those in desperate need, something whispered in elf riddles and ancient books. Now, they had a chance.
"It's now or never," James said, glancing up the stairs.
"No one to stop us, no one to tell us off," Sirius muttered. "If this doesn't work, I'm throwing myself off the Astronomy Tower."
Peter gave a weak laugh and shifted nervously from foot to foot. "You're sure we're in the right place this time?"
Remus nodded slowly. His fingers clutched the spine of a thick book he'd barely slept without. "There's a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet… three steps past that, if you think hard enough about what you need… the room appears."
They made their way up, quiet as shadows, and stopped before a stretch of empty wall opposite the ridiculous tapestry. James looked at the others. "So... who walks?"
There was a long pause. Then Sirius, with his usual grin, clapped Remus on the back. "You do it, Moony. If anyone's desperate enough to find this place, it's you."
Remus blinked. "What if it doesn't work?"
"Then we all walk into a stone wall and break our noses," said James with a shrug. "But I think it will."
Remus gave a quiet breath and turned to face the wall. He didn't rush. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought: We need a room that will help us find the secrets of Hogwarts, to protect the people we care about. A room to help us understand the castle. A room that wants to be found by those who are looking for the truth.
Then he began walking. Once… twice… thrice. As his foot fell the third time, something shifted.
The wall shimmered.
Then, silently, a door appeared—elegant and ancient, with carvings that curled like ivy.
Peter gasped. Sirius just stood there, dumbfounded. "Bloody hell."
Remus reached for the handle, but just as his fingers brushed it, a cold, familiar voice interrupted the moment.
"And what, exactly, do we think we're doing?"
They all spun around.
Snape.
He stood at the top of the staircase, robes like ink, eyes glinting with suspicion. "I watched you sneak up here, Potter. What is this? Some new trick to impress your fan club?"
James stepped forward, blocking the door with his back. "Just stretching our legs, Snivellus. Not that it's any of your concern."
Snape's eyes flicked toward the door, which was very much his concern. "That door wasn't there before."
"We're very persuasive," Sirius offered with a smirk.
Snape took a step closer, wand twitching. "What are you hiding?"
Before he could press further, another voice—this one calm, clear, and unbothered—called from down the corridor.
"Professor Slughorn is looking for you, Severus."
Snape's head whipped around and his gaze softened, Lily Evans his forever favorite person in Hogwarts.
Lily stood there, arms folded. She didn't look angry—yet—but her eyes were sharp.
"He said he needed your help with a… smoking Puffapod."
Snape hesitated. His gaze darted from Lily to James and back again. He walked up to her and said, politely, "Lily…you do realize whatever they are doing is dangerous, right?"
I know"
"Don't just take sides! Do you even know what they are doing?"
Lily said nothing. Then, with a sharp flick of his cloak, snape turned and left without another word.
As he passed Lily, she took out her arm in front of him to stop him and said in a voice loud enough for him to hear, "Snape…You didn't see anything."
And Snape, to everyone's surprise, didn't reply. And went away. He was hurt. He had no concern about the four getting themselves killed, he would have wanted that actually in his heart. But lily siding with them in this was something, he never wanted to witness. Whenever he would look at james and lily together, he would feel angry and disgusted.
Lily walked up slowly, her eyes scanning the four of them, then the door behind. "Whatever this is," she said softly while pointing her finger, "be careful. Hogwarts magic… doesn't always play fair."
James tried to act casual. "You worried about me, Evans?"
"I'm worried about the castle," Lily said coolly.
She turned to go, then paused and glanced back over her shoulder.
"Maybe a little," she added softer this time and then disappeared down the corridor.
Remus gave a small, knowing smile. Sirius and Peter exchanged a look, then burst out together in an exaggerated teasing, "Ooooooooh!"
James tried to look unaffected, but a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Well," he said, brushing imaginary dust off his robes. "I guess she does like me."
Then Remus look back at the door. His hand was on the doorknob again. He looked back at them once and then pushed open the door. Inside, the room was vast.
Wider than seemed possible, filled wall-to-wall with objects of impossible origin. Shelves of maps, glowing globes, scrolls that floated mid-air. Runes hummed in the walls. A massive, enchanted blueprint of the castle pulsed in the center, alive with movement—tiny flickers of light darting through corridors and staircases like stars.
James stepped inside slowly, mouth slightly open. "This is where the castle keeps its secrets," Remus whispered. I read this is called the Room of Requirements, the room that presents itself when the someone looks hard enough….