Before Iris and Luna's eyes.
Various ropes hung from strange metal frames.
Walls covered in protrusions.
Nearby stood stone pedestals and barbells.
Cypher was already sprinting wildly inside a huge wheel like a hamster.
"Cypher! Come over here and explain! What is going on here?"
The wheel's creaking forced Iris to raise her voice and shout.
"Coming, coming!"
Cypher agilely leaped out of the wheel.
He skipped over to the two girls.
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement!"
Iris was having none of it. She reached out, pulled Cypher in front of her, and made him stand properly.
"Tell me the truth. How do we get into this room? Wait! Room of Requirement? Hand over the rules for using this place too!"
Cypher did not mind Iris's imperious manner. He scooped her up, spun her around once, and set her back down.
Only then did he speak.
"This afternoon, I wasted quite a bit of time because I only thought of portraits in picture frames and forgot that tapestries could have portraits too."
"Luckily, I had a sudden flash of inspiration in the end, and happened to run into an open portrait."
Cypher wore an expression that said that was all there was to it. Iris and Luna tactfully let the matter drop.
When the time was right, they believed Cypher would tell them.
"From now on, we just need to go to that tapestry we saw earlier, walk back and forth three times while firmly thinking of a place we need, and this magical room will open."
A need in one's heart? Wait! A need in one's heart!
The smile vanished from Iris's lips. She asked expressionlessly,
"Then what were you thinking about just now?"
Iris's tone was dripping with sarcasm, and Luna also glared at Cypher with an unhappy expression.
Yet Cypher, at this moment, remained completely oblivious.
He was trying hard not to let his gaze drift toward the equipment off to one side.
So this was the answer he casually gave.
"Of course, a room where we can train our physical fitness! Look at the obstacle nets, balance beams, simulated climbing walls... Not to mention, we can practice magic here without anyone else knowing!"
The more Cypher spoke, the brighter his eyes became.
Iris and Luna both raised a hand to their foreheads.
Hopeless...
Their little romantic world had been shattered!
"We really need to learn the Disillusionment Charm soon. Otherwise, if we keep coming to Gryffindor territory so often, someone will notice us eventually."
Iris squatted on the floor with her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, speaking to Luna beside her, who sat in the same position.
"Yeah! Are you hungry?"
Luna asked in return.
"I am! We spent a lot of energy looking for the entrance this afternoon."
Iris complained.
Meanwhile, Cypher was still training his arm strength.
Watching Cypher sweat profusely in the distance, the two girls sighed together.
As silence fell, Luna began considering how to obtain the Disillusionment Charm.
They needed the Disillusionment Charm to enter the Restricted Section, but needed to enter the Restricted Section to learn the Disillusionment Charm.
Learning the Disillusionment Charm from someone else would be far too difficult.
If they asked a professor, would that not expose the three of them for sneaking around at night every day?
Wait, there was one professor they could threaten.
Luna looked toward Iris and saw that Iris was watching her.
She softly said, "Disillusionment Charm," then made a stirring motion.
Iris understood.
She smiled, nodded, and gave Luna a thumbs-up.
But how could they threaten him?
Luna furrowed her brows tightly, light flickering in her blue eyes from time to time.
Seeing Luna's distress, Iris opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words she had been about to say.
She had just wanted to ask her grandfather.
But it was not merely her sixth sense.
Reality was right in front of her—her grandfather seemed to be hiding some secret from her.
It had been this way ever since she could remember.
He let her learn all sorts of offensive white magic and everyday spells as she pleased, and he had always been willing to guide her.
But whenever it came to defensive spells, he always found one excuse or another to turn her down.
He had even persuaded every professor she could reach to refuse to teach her spells.
As a result, Luna had also been dragged into this and lacked suitable defensive magic.
Thinking of that, Iris felt a little sad.
She curled up miserably.
Fortunately, Luna noticed and reached out to comfort Iris.
The two girls began whispering to each other off to one side.
Who knew how long passed before Cypher grew hungry.
He finally stopped.
Seeing that he was covered in sweat,
he was just about to tidy himself up with a Cleaning Charm.
Then he caught sight of some writing behind the door.
Cypher cleaned himself as he walked toward the back of the door.
Following Cypher's footsteps, the two girls noticed it as well.
The three gathered behind the door.
Iris read softly.
Room of Requirement User Manual
One: Only one room could be opened at a time.
Two: Only people with the same thoughts could enter an already opened room.
Three: You could state your needs before the painting in the room.
Simply put, only those with the same password could enter the same Room of Requirement.
That made the three of them even more determined to make this place their secret base.
Moreover, if they lacked something or needed a new room, they only needed to walk again before the painting beside the door.
Without hesitation, Cypher stated that he wanted a bathroom.
Even with magic, it did not feel the same as taking a shower!
After coming out, he felt refreshed.
Cypher volunteered to press himself against the door.
After listening for quite a while, he said,
"Let's go! There's no one outside!"
They walked down the stairs.
Cypher was being verbally denounced by the two girls.
"Look at the time! It's already dark! Oh no! We haven't eaten dinner tonight. We're going to starve to death!"
"What a perfect opportunity!"
Cypher suddenly smiled.
"Iris, take us to the kitchen. Tonight, I'll cook for you!"
"Huh?!"
Luna and Iris stared at him in astonishment.
They arrived at the basement level.
Iris found the painting of a fruit bowl.
She reached out and scratched it, and the pear in the painting turned into a green handle.
"To be honest, this is our first time coming to the kitchen too. Helena told me where it was a long time ago."
Pulling open the door, the three entered the kitchen.
Before them was a large room with a very high ceiling.
It was as large as the Great Hall above.
Many gleaming copper pots and basins were piled along the surrounding stone walls, while a huge brick fireplace stood at the far end of the room. Four long wooden tables stood inside, arranged exactly like the four house tables in the Great Hall above.
Food would be sent through the ceiling to the tables in the Great Hall, but the three of them did not know that.
The enthusiastic House-elves they had expected did not appear.
In fact, Headmaster Dippet had assigned all the House-elves to patrol the castle's security.
They could only come to the kitchen to work at designated times each day.
Most of the time, they served as the castle's guards.
That was also why the Great Hall only opened for brief, fixed meal times.
Did anyone really think Hogwarts dared call itself the safest place in the country with only a few professors who were never even at school?
Fortunately, Hufflepuff's young wizards often came here to scrounge meals.
There was cooled bread here, but there were fresh ingredients as well.
As they ate the steaming beef ramen Cypher made, loaded with extra vegetables and meat,
the two girls narrowed their eyes in satisfaction.
"Go back and get some rest early. We need to get up early tomorrow."
"I'm not asking you to build muscles like professional athletes, but you can't be out of breath after running a few steps. You can't just drink Stamina Potions whenever you want."
A true mood killer! Cypher got beaten up!
Before you continue