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[HP] 73: How to Trick the Room of Requirement
🕑 Added 2025-08-03 15:01:02 +0000 UTCThe magical glow washed over Louis’s body—but it had no effect. The Snake Talisman’s invisibility wasn’t something the counterspell for the Disillusionment Charm could dispel.
And indeed, there were no signs of the twins anywhere nearby.
“Mr. Filch, as you can see, there’s no one here,” Professor Flitwick said gently. “I can assure you that no student could escape right under my nose—even with a Disillusionment Charm.”
Well, Professor, with your height, technically nothing is under your nose.
Louis stifled a laugh and shook his head.
What Flitwick was really saying was that even if there were students sneaking around, they must’ve escaped through Filch’s blind spot, not his. He was poking fun while maintaining professionalism, ensuring Filch would stew all night in frustration.
And honestly, it wasn’t wrong—how could a Squib like Filch possibly trap students who knew advanced concealment magic? He couldn’t even see through a basic Disillusionment Charm.
The twins were probably toying with him—pretending to be cornered and then slipping away at the last second just for the fun of it.
“But…” Filch tried to say something more but was quickly cut off.
“That’s enough, Filch. It’s late. You should get some rest—your age won’t tolerate this kind of staying up,” said Flitwick, turning with a wave of his wand. “Apologies, I’ll be taking my leave.”
As the professor disappeared down the corridor, Filch stood there with a greenish-purple face, then turned and stormed off in frustration.
The hallway fell quiet again.
Louis, once certain both figures were gone, stepped forward to open the Room of Requirement.
“A room suitable for brewing potions…” he muttered, pacing past the blank wall three times.
But the smooth door did not appear.
“…?”
Louis reached out to touch the wall, frowning in confusion.
There was only one reason the Room of Requirement wouldn’t appear—it was already in use. The room couldn’t accommodate two conflicting needs at once, so it simply wouldn’t open.
But who would be using it at this hour?
Suddenly, Louis thought of a possibility.
“Did those two accidentally run into the Room of Requirement? They didn’t escape?”
He stared at the bare wall, unable to understand it.
He was talking about the Weasley twins.
Weren’t they supposed to have mastered the Disillusionment Charm? And didn’t they have the Marauder’s Map? How did they get cornered? How incompetent were they?
Absolutely ridiculous.
“Whatever, I’ll just let them know. The professor and Filch are gone. They can give up the Room of Requirement now.” Louis decided to find the specific room they had entered.
That was easy enough. Judging by the situation, they were probably just looking for a place to hide.
Unless, of course, they already knew what the Room of Requirement could do—or whoever’s inside isn’t them at all.
Only one way to find out.
Louis was about to use the phrase “a place to hide” to activate the Room of Requirement’s door. If someone inside had the same intent, the door would still open.
But just as he was pacing the hallway for the third time, he suddenly stopped, an intrigued look on his face as he examined the smooth wall.
“There’s someone inside right now… and the room is currently in ‘hide mode.’ So what happens to the Room of Hidden Things—the junk storage room I used before? What state is that in? And what if someone barged into that version while this version is in use?”
Louis was tempted.
He had left a crystal orb marked in the junk storage version earlier—he could teleport straight in.
The Room of Requirement worked like a quantum object. Its state was undefined until someone invoked it with a specific need. Once occupied, that state became locked in.
“So… if someone forces their way into a different version of the Room while it’s already occupied in another state, what would happen?” Louis’s eyes gleamed. “There’s a good chance the Room of Requirement would glitch.”
And that could help him complete the “Perfect Draw” activation task.
Still, Louis hesitated. After all, this sounded a lot like asking to die. Who knew what kind of danger lurked in the Room’s alternative state?
“I won’t die, sure… but if I end up entangled in some disgusting mess, it’d still be a pain.” He furrowed his brow, trying to come up with a safer plan.
As for the twins’ safety? Louis didn’t give it much thought. If there was real danger, he’d step in—but going out of his way to play hero? Yeah, no thanks.
Suddenly, he remembered something—something he’d long forgotten.
Louis reached into his storage space and pulled out a faint golden voucher covered in intricate patterns.
“A One-Time Stand-In Experience Ticket!” he shouted reflexively, then laughed.
“Man, I sound like a blue robotic cat,” Louis shook his head to clear the odd thought and focused on the item in his hand.
The One-Time Stand-In Experience Ticket granted the user a temporary stand-in—like a surrogate self. Shame it was one-time use; if it had been at perfect rarity, it would’ve been so much more useful.
The stand-in was fully controlled by the user and counted as a type of puppet. While any damage it received would be reflected back to the user, Louis wasn’t afraid of injuries. What mattered was whether the stand-in could absorb the more troublesome effects.
And if he encountered anything bizarre that even the Horse Talisman couldn’t fix, he could just let it latch onto the stand-in. Once the ticket expired, the stand-in would vanish with the problem.
Perfect.
“Use.”
Louis activated the ticket. As a golden flame consumed the voucher, a surge of lively energy poured into his body.
He felt his vast spiritual power stir and condense, forming a massive cocoon behind him. Something inside it was pulsing—alive.
Suddenly, a pale purple arm burst through the cocoon.
It was long and slender, not appearing particularly strong, adorned with irregular light blue crystals embedded along its surface—dazzling and regal.
As the stand-in inside the cocoon awakened, it tore it open slowly, fully emerging into the world.
It stood tall at 1.9 meters, wearing a high top hat. Its body was draped in thick crimson curtains, through which its translucent purple form shimmered faintly.
Its face was the most peculiar—a swirling void devoid of any features. Within the vortex, countless mask-like visages flickered in and out of existence.
The stand-in stood silently before Louis. Without any commands, it remained perfectly still, and Louis didn’t sense any intelligence from it.
Good. It wasn’t a sentient stand-in—that made it much easier to control. No guilt, no worries about it developing a mind of its own or trying to overthrow him.
“Welcome to the world, even if only temporarily—my stand-in,” Louis said, as if greeting a new friend, and extended his hand.
Under his command, the stand-in slowly reached out and shook it.
Like a puppeteer orchestrating his masterpiece, Louis’s stand-in had officially arrived!
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