Room of Requirement

The Quidditch matches were still going on.

But Glenn had little interest in watching another one.

A Slytherin-versus-Gryffindor match had already been enough to make up for the regret of missing out on Quidditch a hundred years ago.

For Glenn, food, cultivation, and even animal husbandry—which he hadn't had the chance to try yet—were what truly interested him.

Besides improving his ability to handle all sorts of sudden incidents and strengthening his ability to fight enemies,

the process of gradually growing was also quite interesting.

Under Glenn's careful attention, the Dittany had completed self-pollination and, after half a month, successfully produced eight deep-brown fruits.

That meant there would be eight Dittany seeds inside, ready for planting!

On the day the fruits were about to fall, he took the rare step of asking for leave and stayed in his dormitory to keep watch.

With a soft rustle, the fruit swayed precariously on its branch.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The next moment, before the fruit could hit the soil after breaking free of the branch, Glenn stopped it in midair with a Levitation Charm.

The reason he had to do this was that Dittany fruit had two layers of husk.

The outermost husk was extremely hard, serving to protect and contain the magic within.

Some magic was stored between the outermost husk and the second layer. It could sense whether the seed had touched soil.

Once it sensed that it had touched soil, this magic would dissolve the outermost husk.

The magic would also merge with the dissolved husk and carry it into the soil, creating suitable growing conditions for the real seed inside the second husk.

Out in the wild, this usually wasn't a problem.

But in a small pot, it absolutely wouldn't do—that would mean two Dittany plants, one large and one small, growing in the same pot.

Emergency intervention was essential. Otherwise, the result would be that both plants died at the same time, with almost no chance of anything else happening.

That was why Glenn had waited for the fruit before it fell, so it wouldn't touch the soil and dissolve its outermost husk.

"I need to find somewhere to plant them." After putting away the eight seeds, Glenn thought to himself.

In fact, he'd had this idea before, but it hadn't been urgent at the time.

Now that he had the seeds, though, the sooner he got started, the better.

But aside from the greenhouses, where in Hogwarts could he find a place suitable for large-scale cultivation?

Not to mention the pots, soil, and suitable climate—all of which were essential.

And if he wanted the Dittany to grow to the same quality as before, it would even need to bathe in moonlight...

It was no exaggeration to say this sounded utterly fantastical. Most people would probably think it was a joke.

But sometimes, magic really was that wondrous.

Besides, Hogwarts Castle itself had been built with Ancient Magic—so perhaps a place that appeared when needed wasn't impossible after all.

With that thought, Glenn set down the now somewhat bare Dittany, stood up, opened his dormitory door, and walked out.

"Stop! Fight me! Filthy dark wizard, you'll never escape in front of a friend of Merlin!" A loud, gruff voice rang through the corridor with startling force.

If a new Hogwarts student had been walking alone down the corridor and heard that roar, they'd probably have been scared out of their wits.

In fact, Hogwarts hadn't been invaded by dark wizards—not yet, anyway.

The voice came from a portrait in a frame. It belonged to a grumpy old man riding a plump little pony, dressed in full armor—Sir Cadogan.

In the students' eyes, he was a mad knight.

He was always stopping them with his booming voice and saying incomprehensible things about fighting to the death.

If he noticed someone but they pretended not to see him, Sir Cadogan might even chase after them on his pony, from one portrait frame to the next, shouting "Coward!" over and over.

It was a little irritating, but it wasn't as if you could actually reach into the frame and hit him.

So most students avoided the corridor where Sir Cadogan was, preferring to take a detour.

For Glenn, though, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing—at least he was less likely to be noticed on this route.

And what if Sir Cadogan in the portrait started pestering him...?

"Stand and duel, you mongrel!" Sir Cadogan shouted without a trace of courtesy at a student who was about to pass by.

"Slytherin coward, come back here, you craven coward! Don't you dare run—fight me!"

At this, the student in the black-and-green Slytherin robes stopped.

"What's wrong? Afraid? Come taste my sword!" Perhaps it had been too long since a student had stopped in front of him. Sir Cadogan drew a battered iron sword from its scabbard and shouted from atop his pony.

What was surprising was that the student really did turn around.

He had a handsome face, a remarkable bearing, and a kind smile.

"Very well, Sir." As he spoke, Glenn pulled a portrait in an ornate frame from his money pouch and placed it beside Sir Cadogan's.

Inside the frame was Glenn himself, only more mature.

He looked about four or five years older—in Hogwarts terms, roughly like a fifth-year student.

The moment the frame was placed on the wall, the "Glenn" inside it came to life. After nodding to the real Glenn, he walked to the edge of the frame and disappeared.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Glenn continued toward his destination, the corners of his mouth lifting just a little.

He'd wanted to do that for ages!

At last, he stopped on the Seventh Floor of Hogwarts.

More precisely, he stood before a blank stretch of wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching Trolls to dance ballet.

Professor Weasley had said a hundred years ago that all he had to do was concentrate and walk back and forth along the corridor three times.

With that in mind, Glenn focused...

The next moment, before he'd even managed to walk back and forth three times, an old-fashioned wooden door appeared in the wall, its surface adorned with ornate patterns.

It had appeared almost out of thin air.

Glenn stepped forward and turned the bronze handle.

He closed his eyes and pictured a familiar scene...

With a click, the bronze handle turned.

The wooden door swung open slowly, revealing a magnificent hall with an immense amount of space...

This was the Room of Requirement.