Keep Breathing ♢ James Potter

14 | Entry 7 - The Room of Requirement

September 8, 1976

Dear Diary,

Today was Potters and I's first tutoring session together. We meet on the 7th floor, where I introduced him to the Room of Requirement. James was quite perplexed when he first saw it. I'm guessing that he hadn't seen it before today.

Anyways, the session was alright today. We reviewed the notes we took from our last DADA class. We decided not to practice any spells until the next time we met. It was best to get a good foundation before accidentally sending one of us to the hospital wing.

While it was awkward at first, James and I were able to make good progress. I do hope that he keeps his promise about keeping this room a secret. I wouldn't want anyone else coming here, especially my brother.

After our session, I finished my Prefect rounds with Remus Lupin, the Gryffindor Prefect, before coming to my dorm to write this diary. I'll write more as the year goes on.

A.B.

-

Astrid leaned against the wall of what seemed to be an empty corridor on the 7th floor. But Harry and Astrid both knew that there was more in this corridor than what meets the eye.

Harry watched as his father tripped over his feet in the corner of his eye as he turned the corner and spotted Astrid. James's eyes filled with confusion as he looked at the girl and around the corridor.

"Well, you know if you wanted to kill me, you didn't have to take me to an empty corridor to do it. Could have just done it in the forbidden forest. It would be easier to hide the evidence there."

Astrid couldn't help but scoff at the boy's sense of humor. A smile painted onto James's face, as he became convinced that the girl was only trying to mask a laugh.

"While I appreciate the advice, that is not what I am planning on doing. Not yet anyway."

James's eyes traced the girl as she walked back and forth in deep thought in front of the empty wall. Amazement soon washed over his confusion as he watched a door appear against the wall.

"Wow- what? How did you..." James's voice trailed off as he tried to make sense of what he had just seen.

Astrid slightly chuckled as she rolled her eyes before grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him through the doors, with Harry following swiftly behind them.

As Harry walked it, he was amazed. He had seen this room before. It was the same room that Harry discovered everything he went to read the diary. There was the couch that stood in front of the fireplace, the different equipment he had used for practicing spells with Dumbledore's Army, and shelves filled with books on Defensive spells.

Astrid explains to James as the boy looks around the room. "This is the Room of Requirement. If someone is in great need of something, it reveals itself as what is needed. Not many people know about it and I intend to keep it that way. So, James-"

James spun around and looked at the girl once he heard the serious tone in her voice.

"Don't tell anyone of this place. It's best if it's kept a secret." While Astrid seemed stern, there was a slight softness in her voice, almost as if she was hoping that James would keep her haven a secret.

Harry watched as James turned towards the girl. He smiled softly before leaning onto the couch and replying to the girl. "Of course. Now, why don't we get started."

Harry watched James and Astrid converse for the next hour as they reviewed their notes from Professor Dankworth's lesson. It was awkward at first, watching the pair try to figure out how to work with one another and study for their exam. But over time, Harry could tell they began to slowly become more comfortable.

Harry noticed that when James got comfortable, he began to slouch more and move his arms freely. By the end of the tutoring session, James was no longer stiff in the presence of the girl.

Astrid on the other hand was a bit more difficult for Harry to read. While she still seemed stiff, Harry noticed that sometimes the corner of her would twitch at one of his father's jokes. As time passed, she slowly began to talk more and help explain tougher concepts to James.

It was noticeable how brilliant the girl was in Defense Against the Dark Arts. But then again, Harry felt that coming from a family of Dark Arts, Astrid would probably know enough of it to know how to defend herself from it.

As the pair packed up, James turned towards the girl. "Thanks, uh- for agreeing to study together."

"You wouldn't have been my first choice as a study partner. But I'm afraid that Professor Dankworth just so happened to think we would work well together." James's smile lifted as he noticed the slight teasing tone she had as she spoke.

"I best be off. You have to go to the Gryffindor Common Room before curfew." James watched as the girl spoke and collected her books.

"Well, shouldn't you be off to the Slytherin Common Room as well?" asked James.

"I have Prefect duties tonight, so I'm excused for being out later after curfew," Astrid spoke to the boy as she made her way out of the room. Before she stepped out, Harry watched as Astrid looked back at James. "I'll see you next Wednesday, same time?"

James smiled at her before agreeing. "Yeah, I'll be here." With that, Harry and James watched as she walked out of the room and into the empty Hogwarts corridors.

-

Harry found himself being drawn out of the memory and back into that same room. Only this time, in 1996 instead of 1976. He looked around the Room of Requirement, feeling that now he had more of an explanation of what this room was.

The room is decorated the same. It still had the same couch, the same fireplace, the same shelves, and the same equipment. The only difference was how dusty the room was. In the memory, the room seemed to be extremely kept. Now, dust and webs covered the covers of the rooms. Harry believed that his father and Astrid were probably the last ones to ever have been in this room.

As much as he wanted to look more around the room and read in the diary, Harry knew that it was getting late. Securing one hand around the diary, Harry took one last look at the couch that James and Astrid had once sat on before throwing the invisibility cloak over himself and sneaking off to his dormitory.