Daily News: The Prophet of Hogwarts

Chapter 19 The Room of Requirement: The Pile of Clutter

Even though no one knows who the mysterious man was when he was studying at Hogwarts, or whether the rumor is true.

But as soon as she said this, Penelope slammed her hand on the table: "Think about it yourself, is it appropriate to compare Ryan to Voldemort?!"

The mere mention of Voldemort sent chills down the spines of some young wizards born into wizarding families, causing them to tremble.

Pablo Pierce followed suit: "I don't want this kind of talk at Hogwarts, I really don't. The Ravenclaws shouldn't let baseless rumors spread like wildfire."

At this moment, the Ravenclaw prefect, whose brilliance was usually overshadowed by Ryan, displayed his powerful majesty. He looked at the group of people wearing black and gold armbands and said, "Ryan is completely different from the Mysterious Man. Moreover, the Adventurers' Club was personally announced by the Headmaster."

His meaning was clear: even if the mysterious man did establish a small group at Hogwarts, it was never officially recognized.

Ryan's Adventurers' Club, however, was recognized by the principal and professors, making the two organizations quite different.

The student, realizing his slip of the tongue, quickly defended himself, saying, "Ryan is certainly different from the mysterious man. Many have received his help over the years, and we are all sincerely grateful. Otherwise, we wouldn't wholeheartedly support him."

"On this point alone, the mysterious man who only knows how to threaten people with fear is far inferior to Ryan."

The fact that the group slammed their fists on the table had already attracted a lot of attention. Fortunately, they all kept their voices down, and the other students assumed that these top students were arguing about some academic issues.

Someone tried to smooth things over and change the subject: "Approximately how many people from the four academies are eligible to join the clubs?"

"There should be around twenty people who passed the assessment, from various colleges and grades. Our college had the most passers, but they were all upperclassmen or middleclassmen; none of the lowerclassmen passed. It's still unclear how many were invited."

"Are there really any young wizards who can pass Ryan's test?" someone asked.

"Why not?" Penelope said. "Can't you see? Ryan's questions are not simply testing a wizard's magical skills, but rather looking at each respondent's innovative ideas and learning ability."

Even younger students aren't necessarily lacking in good ideas. Hermione Granger, a little girl from Gryffindor, passed the test. She was also the only first-year student to pass.

"First-year students, that's amazing."

Everyone looked at Hermione Granger at the Gryffindor table and smiled at her.

Hermione met their gaze and quickly smiled in response. It was the first time the little witch, who had just entered the magical world, had received a gaze that was not one of jealousy but one of affirmation and recognition, and she was overjoyed.

"My God, she should be a Ravenclaw." Seeing this, Ron leaned closer to Harry and whispered, his eyes constantly glancing at the invitation in Harry's hand.

Mr. Harry Potter

Because of the foreshadowed future, you are cordially invited to join the Adventurers' Club. The first gathering will be this Friday after the last class.

Ryan Wales

Ron's eyes gleamed with envy as he watched Harry put on the armband. "Harry," he said, "do you think I might get an invitation too?"

"...Maybe." Harry couldn't bear to say anything that would discourage his friend.

The three Weasley brothers, who had passed the test, rolled their eyes in unison, perhaps the most synchronized they had ever done so.

...........

"The Room of Requirement... I think I've been there before. It's probably a room for people who really need it. I remember that time I was in a hurry to get to the restroom..."

Dumbledore said he seemed not at all worried about the prophecy Lane had spoken of.

This confident demeanor reassured Professor Flitwick and Lane.

"Why don't we go and take a look at the Room of Requirement?" Dumbledore suggested.

The three of them went out and arrived at the House of Requirement after only two steps.

"So, what kind of room should we be hoping for now?" Flitwick asked.

Dumbledore's voice was cheerful: "I suppose this Room of Requirement isn't anyone's private room, at least not now. And it's rarely discovered, is it?"

"In that case, why don't we try to create a room here that can be used to hide things?"

Ryan explained the security measures he had in the Room of Requirement: "Headmaster, I don't think this will be very effective. For example, my own room in the Room of Requirement is fixed with a unique name."

"Others would find it difficult to enter my actual room even if they tried to chant 'Ryan Welsh is in the Room of Requirement.' They would simply wander into any of the other rooms and think they had successfully entered mine."

"A fixed, personalized name?"

"Yes, Headmaster. I will stay in several different rooms in the Room of Requirement, but only one of them is the room I use to store important items. It is also the room that I have given a name to and can only enter by silently reciting the name each time."

Dumbledore understood: "What a brilliant idea! This way, even if an outsider wants to enter your room, without the room's name, they can only open the doors to the other rooms."

"Ryan, are you worried that the person hiding things here has the same idea as you?"

Ryan nodded.

"Don't worry, Ryan. To be honest, you may not be the most magically talented student I've ever seen. But you are the most meticulous thinker I've ever met."

Dumbledore said, "There will hardly be any students like you, I am quite sure of that."

"I think the headmaster is right. The young wizards who can find this place must have a strong sense of curiosity. At their age in school, they are bound to think they are unique and won't be as cautious as you."

"That's probably because they won't be subjected to the beatings of past magic masters during their holidays..." Ryan said helplessly. He was originally just an average person, but his meticulous logic and cautious behavior were all honed by generations of magic masters.

Ancient, wild, and untamed magic, even after hundreds of years, still possesses immense power. A moment's carelessness in the face of such magic could lead to a personal test of whether death truly exists in this world.

"I'll give it a try. I'll just say we need a room to hide things."

"Of course. We're just trying it out," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Ryan took two steps forward, silently repeating himself as he went back to the tapestry.

When he walked past for the third time, the door appeared.

"It seems we've made some progress," Dumbledore remarked as he entered the room. "It seems quite a few students have managed to find this place."

Ryan and Professor Flitwick followed him inside.

What comes into view are messy, towering mountains.

The mountain was made up of things left behind by thousands of students from an unknown era. Ryan saw many notebooks, crucibles, clothes, flying brooms and other items among them.

The various artifacts were covered in dust, bearing the marks of time, as if to testify to the long history of this place.

This is arguably the world's oldest pile of junk.

"Headmaster, I have good news and bad news," he said to Dumbledore, who was standing in front of him.