Monday, April 21, 2014

R is for Room of Requirement

The Room of Requirement is a room in Hogwarts that changes to suit the needs of the person entering.
"It is known by us as the Come and Go Room, sir, or else the Room of Requirement!"
"Why?" said Harry curiously.
"Because it is a room that a person can only enter," said Dobby seriously, "when they have real need of it.  Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not, but when it appears, it is always equipped for the seeker's needs." (The Order of the Phoenix, 386-387) 

In the novels, these experiences are recorded:

  • Dumbledore finds a bathroom when he really needed it one night, but not finding it again when he looked for it again (The Goblet of Fire)
  • Dobby discovers that when Winky had too much butterbeer, the room contained butterbeer antidotes and an elf sized bed (mentioned in The Order of the Phoenix)
  • Filch locates extra cleaning supplies in the room when he ran out (mentioned in The Order of the Phoenix)
  • Fred and George find it to be a conveniently placed broom closet when they were hiding from Filch (mentioned in The Order of the Phoenix)
  • Harry uses it to train Dumbledore's Army, without being noticed by Filch or Umbridge (The Order of the Phoenix)
  • Neville develops it as a safe-house for Harry's supporters during The Deathly Hallows
  • Room of Hidden Things:
    • Voldemort hides the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw in it (mentioned in The Deathly Hallows)
    • Harry hides his potions book in it (The Half-Blood Prince)
    • Draco hides the wardrobe he uses to smuggle the Death Eaters into the castle (The Deathly Hallows)
In A Very Potter Musical, a humorous play about the series, Dumbledore says, "Did you know that here at Hogwarts we have a hidden swimming pool?" In theory, the Room of Requirement could even become a swimming pool if that's what you needed! It's at about 8:30 in the video below:


What would you use the Room of Requirement for, if you were at Hogwarts? What type of objects would you find inside?

My Room of Requirement would be stocked floor to ceiling with books! It would also have a fridge full of Vanilla Coke, bowls of every type of chocolate imaginable, and a pen full of playful puppies. If I was ever feeling overwhelmed or stressed, I would go to the Room of Requirement and everything else wouldn't matter anymore.

Up next, S is for the Sphinx's riddle!

6 comments:

  1. I loved the Room of Requirement. Really wish I had one of those at school. Mine would be stock-piled with sunshine and the smells of Spring as (just as they are doing so now) they inspire me greatly!

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  2. I think mine would have something that would translate my stories, whole, from my brain to the page (or, better yet, a computer). Without all that messy typing. I'd also love to share the puppies and chocolate.

    http://bit2read.com/

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    1. Oooh okay you can have puppies and chocolate if I can get the thought-to-computer translator! :)

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  3. I would love a Room of Requirement! I would use it to hide so I could actually get some writing done, undisturbed. I like your chocolate idea, too.

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    1. Haha yeah writing space and chocolate seem to be one thing most everyone is looking for in their Room of Requirement! :)

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