I Can Cast a Memory Charm

Later that day, Hermione headed alone toward the Gryffindor dormitory. Even now, she still could not quite believe everything she had seen that day.

It had all been far too incredible, leaving her feeling as if she were still in a dream.

Hermione had originally thought this attempt would lead nowhere. She had already prepared herself to come back and seek out Noah and the others another time.

But what she had never expected was that Noah and the others would agree right away!

Of course, simply agreeing was not the important part. What truly mattered was that Noah and his group brought her to the eighth floor.

"Why did we come here? Is this where you all study?" Hermione asked curiously as she followed Noah and the others.

She had heard that Noah and the others rarely went to the Common Room to read. They seemed to have their own place for activities.

But no one knew where it was. After every class, aside from regular meals, no one ever saw them.

"Just follow closely, Miss Granger. Some things aren't convenient to discuss here," Noah reminded her quietly, then said nothing more.

Seeing the group remain silent, Hermione had no choice but to keep quiet as well. A trace of worry rose within her.

Was she about to join some organization that violated school rules? Or perhaps an outright illegal organization?

Just as Hermione's thoughts began running wild, Noah suddenly stopped beside a wall covered by a tapestry, which immediately struck her as strange.

What was going on? Why stop here? Was this like a train station or something?

Hermione did not remember there being a place like this on the eighth floor. The eighth floor was Gryffindor territory, and she had come here plenty of times.

Seeing Noah take the lead and walk into the wall, followed by the eager Evan and the other two, Hermione hesitated for less than a second before decisively following them in.

If she wanted to study with them, she needed to understand them properly. And if things truly went wrong, she could always ask Professor Dumbledore for help, couldn't she?

The moment she stepped through the wall, Hermione was stunned once again.

The room was countless times larger than she had imagined, and bookshelves filled every corner. Each shelf was packed with all kinds of books!

Hermione did not need to think to know that this place must contain textbooks from every upper year!

This was truly an ocean of knowledge!

Hermione firmly believed that if someone who loved studying entered this place, they would surely gain unimaginable rewards!

Besides the bookshelves, all sorts of equipment stood in the center of the room. Even the equipment required for Potions was there.

Naturally, it also had everything needed for Charms Class. There were all kinds of practice props, practically everything one could want!

"W-what is this place?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Alright, let Noah explain this place to you, Miss. Damn it, where are Professor Snape's notes? He's been asking all sorts of bizarre questions lately. Even though he's asking Noah, who knows whether he'll ask me next time? I don't want to be watched by a snake."

Kate and the other two had no intention of answering Hermione's questions. In their eyes, that was Noah's responsibility.

Besides, Noah was far ahead of them. They needed more time to catch up to him.

As the three scattered into different areas and began rummaging around for the books they wanted, Noah shrugged and casually snapped his fingers. A table and two chairs slowly appeared before them.

"Have a seat, Miss Granger. We do have quite a few things to discuss properly. I imagine you have many questions as well, don't you?"

"Call me Hermione. And yes, I do have many questions. Everything here is too incredible."

After they sat down, Noah stroked his chin and considered where he should begin.

But after thinking it over, he felt that he was the one in the stronger position. Why not simply tell her what he wanted and was willing to tell her?

"Alright, Hermione. Ask whatever questions you have," Noah said with a smile.

"This... what is this place? Also, do Professor Dumbledore and the others know about it?" Hermione swallowed before voicing the doubts in her heart.

"This place is called the Room of Requirement. I don't know who built it, nor am I interested in finding out. Its purpose is to fulfill any request within a certain 'reasonable range,' and my request was to gain more knowledge."

"So it became like this?"

Hermione pointed at the countless bookshelves behind her and the books piled upon them, too numerous to count at a glance.

"Yes, exactly," Noah nodded.

"As for your second question, it's a little more complicated, but I can explain it simply. Professor Dumbledore knows about us, and he knows about this place. He also agreed to some things for us and gave me a few requirements."

"What things?" Hermione felt somewhat relieved at that. At worst, she could ask Professor McGonagall about it later. Still, she very much wanted to know what Professor Dumbledore had required and agreed to.

Noah smiled faintly. "On the night we dealt with the troll, we met with Professor Dumbledore. Evan, the others, and I all felt that this place was very suitable for us. More precisely, it was perfect for wizards like us, wizards with an intense thirst for knowledge."

"But we all knew that if there were too few of us, we would not be able to keep using this place as our base of operations for long. So, we had planned to slowly gather like-minded people first, then tell Professor Dumbledore everything once we had enough members."

"Unfortunately, I was rather unlucky. I happened to obtain Professor Snape's notes and learned his magic. I used that magic against the troll and was discovered, so I had no choice but to confess everything to him ahead of time."

At that point, Noah paused. He noticed Hermione's face had reddened slightly. Clearly, she thought Noah and the others' plans had been disrupted because of her.

Noah smiled slightly and did not explain. Wouldn't it be better if she misunderstood?

"So I told Professor Dumbledore about our plan and named our organization the Mage Alliance. This is our base of operations. Professor Dumbledore agreed with our idea, but he gave us one requirement: the Alliance's members must come from all four Houses."

"All four Houses?" Hermione's heart stirred. She seemed to understand why they had been so happy when she said she wanted to join them.

"That's right, Hermione. Aside from Ravenclaw, we need members from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin as well. Then, at the end of this school year, he will officially recognize us. Do you understand?"

"I... I understand."

Hermione nodded. Noah had explained it clearly enough. If she still did not understand, then she truly did not deserve to join them.

And she had already made up her mind to join them!

Looking at that sea of books, coupled with the thoughts she had already had before, Hermione simply had no resistance to this place at all.

Still, Hermione had another question. "Noah, if... I mean, if someone decides not to join after talking with you, what will you do?"

"It's simple. I'll cast a Memory Charm on them and make them forget everything about this place. Wouldn't that solve it?"

"..."