Chapter 21: 21. A peaceful place
The Room of Requirement was now a very busy place.
Cedric and Neville, good friends, started to frequent the room with much more focus, studying and training very hard. It was difficult to have a place where I could stay, think calmly, have a moment of peace.
But an idea occurred to me.
One that I really liked.
Using old Harry's memories, I teleported to the Chamber of Secrets. The basilisk's corpse was still here, leaving an unbearable smell of death and rot. Very calmly, I put the carcass in 'my pocket'.
"Dobby? Winky?" I called the pair of elves, who quickly appeared beside me.
"Harry Potter, sir, summon Dobby?" said the ever-cheerful elf.
"What does Master Harry need?" the ever-helpful elf also spoke.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, my friends." I smile at the pair, "Can you clean the air in the chamber and after I open the door, maybe find a way to make the place more pleasant and habitable?" I ask, looking at the pair.
Without wasting time, Winky just waves her long, thin fingers, and the smell begins to disperse, returning to a more breathable air. I look at the little girl in admiration, and give her a smile.
"Efficient, thank you, Winky." I say the little girl, making the elf jump for joy. Dobby stares at me expectantly, at the same time his gaze goes towards the Chamber.
Looking at the real entrance to the Chamber, the one behind the statue, I close my eyes, searching for the right word to access it.
"$Shuwish$" the word comes out of my mouth. Soon, I knew that if I were to put it in English, it would be more like an exchange, but a single word in parseltongue, there were many translations in the common language. It was more the intention of the word, than the word itself.
Unlike when the basilisk came out, this time, it wasn't the statue's mouth that opened, but the statue itself. Looking at the interior space, there was a wide open area, with a doorless doorway on the back wall.
Taking out my wand, I began to advance slowly, allowing my eyes to adjust to the low light. Dobby, being the helpful elf that he was, quickly conjured a luminous orb, which he kept holding in his hand.
As I passed through the entrance, I saw a large room. Bookshelves with several books, unfortunately, rotten and illegible, adorned the wall to the right. Opposite the bookcase, on the left wall, was a large and spacious bed, which seemed to have been defeated by time.
On the other side of the room, a small but spacious table, with what seemed to be the remains of papers, ink and quill, with a chair fallen to the floor, with one of its legs broken, and the other three very thin.
Besides that, a chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, there were spaces for new candles, and the ceiling itself seemed lost in light, since only darkness could be seen.
"My friends, can you clean and change the furniture in this room? You can keep the same layout, but with newer and safer objects." I ask, looking at the elves.
"Dobby will find the best objects for the room, Harry Potter, sir. Winky can clean and make the environment more pleasant." says the elf, excited.
"Thank you, my friends. When you're done, you can go back to your duties. I hope the Potter house isn't giving you too much trouble?" I ask the duo.
"No, Master Harry. The Potter manor is as good as new. Its protective magic has been renewed and improved as requested. The goblins sent everything to the master butler, and we've been keeping it clean and airy for when Master Harry visits the house." Winky says.
"Have the objects I asked for already been delivered?" I ask Winky in surprise, but the one who answers is Dobby.
"Yes, Harry Potter sir, they were delivered to Master Wolf, since he was easier and more accessible to the goblins. Master Wolf said he had already understood Harry Potter sir's idea, and delivered one to Master Granger's house, to Master Black, and kept one for himself.
He saved the others for when Harry Potter sir visits him at Christmas or the end of school, Harry Potter sir's decision." the elf finishes.
"Why didn't Remus tell me?" I was a little irritated by that.
"Master Wolf said that with Harry Potter sir in the tournament, putting more things on his mind might distract him, and anything he can do to ease his burden, he will." Dobby says.
I just sigh.
My small anger turned to relief at once. At least he was following my train of thought, not making things up and throwing me around.
"Thank Remus for me, please." I say to Dobby. "How is Sirius?" I ask, since it had been a while since I had spoken to them.
"Master Black says that Master Harry is an inhuman cub, for letting Master Wolf take care of him. Even when they are out walking around, Master Wolf, as Master Black said, keeps a very tight leash on him." Winky explains.
I don't know why, but I started laughing uncontrollably.
"Serves him right." I say when I manage to control myself a little later. "Tell Sirius, if he misbehaves, he will be castrated." and just saying that, imagining Remus's face laughing at him, and Sirius sweating cold, I started laughing again.
----
It was dinner time that same day, when I received a note via elf from Sirius. Besides the threats of infecting me with fleas, and how he could very well, piss on my bed every night, he still remained calm and affirmed that he would not throw his freedom away.
Dobby and Winky had also finished arranging my place of peace, with Winky even installing a kind of natural air exchanger, in short, she made a magical hole in a wall, so that it wouldn't have that usual musty air.
Now, I had only one concern, and I was relieved that it wasn't too heavy. After pulling Hermione aside, she began to teach me how to dance. Just like the original Harry, dancing in pairs, or even alone, was something I didn't have much of in my life, this one or the last.
Then Cedric and Cho put us in line, explaining that this was a traditional witch dance, which was quite different from the non-magical one we were practicing.
For comparison, while she and I were practicing the tango, the traditional witch dance was the waltz...