In the early morning, the dormitory was still pitch black. Wade was half asleep when he suddenly felt as though someone was watching him.
Alone in his room, the presence of those unfamiliar eyes was particularly unsettling.
Wade groggily opened his eyes, and in the darkness, he saw a row of enormous, gleaming eyes, like little lanterns floating in the air.
Thud!
His heart gave a violent jolt. Wade sat up abruptly, instinctively grabbing his wand and pointing it in the direction of the intruder. "Who's there?!"
"Mr. Grey is awake," a high-pitched voice of a house-elf replied. "Zoe knew Mr. Grey would return to the castle today. Zoe has been waiting."
With a snap of slender fingers, the oil lamps in the dormitory lit up instantly—
Three house-elves stood side by side in the middle of the dormitory floor. They seemed entirely unaware of how frightening their sudden midnight appearance was, and were smiling warmly at Wade.
Wade's heart pounded so hard it felt like it was bruising his ribs. He took deep breaths, and his cold fingers gradually warmed, though his scalp still tingled as if electrified.
"Zoe, Happy, Phil," Wade said, trying to keep his tone calm. "Long time no see—why did you suddenly appear in the middle of the night?"
The house-elves bowed deeply with their large ears flapping, and joyfully said:
"Well—it's like this—during Christmas, Phil received a gift from Wade Grey again—"
"But Wade Grey must have noticed—he did not receive a gift from Happy—"
"It's not that there was no gift; it's because Zoe was preparing something even better—"
"Phil wanted to give Wade Grey what he truly desires. But what does Wade Grey want? Phil thought and thought—"
"While cleaning the Ravenclaw Tower, Happy overheard some first-year students talking, and then Happy finally understood—"
The three house-elves beamed with delight and said in unison, "Wade Grey must want a broomstick!"
"I certainly do." Wade, still sitting on his bed, looked at them and said, "But school rules say that first-year students aren't allowed to bring broomsticks into school."
Otherwise, he could have just bought a new one himself during the Christmas holidays.
"There are indeed rules, but Wade Grey wouldn't break them," Zoe said, spreading her arms. "Because the broom is already at the school. Wade Grey would simply be using it."
As long as first-year students performed well in their flying lessons, it was perfectly acceptable for them to borrow a broom from older students for a short ride after class.
During Quidditch team practices, younger students often gathered around the pitch, waiting for a chance to borrow a broom once the practice ended.
However, house-elves couldn't steal students' brooms, nor could they offer school brooms as gifts.
"Did you... find an abandoned broom?" Wade asked, surprised as he looked at the house-elves.
"Not just one—not just one!" Happy said cheerfully, wiggling his ears. "There are several! Brooms with no owners—"
"Come with Zoe, Wade Grey," the elf said, tugging at his finger. "Zoe wants to take Wade Grey to get his gift."
"Oh, okay—wait, let me get dressed." Wade threw off his blanket, sat up, and glanced at the elves. "Uh—could you turn around for a moment?"
...
The January morning was dim, with a cold wind howling against the windows, and a thin layer of frost had formed on the sills. Wade followed the three house-elves down the castle's empty corridors, the sound of his footsteps echoing clearly.
It was nearly dawn, and not even Filch was patrolling the halls, waiting to catch students breaking curfew. The entire castle felt deserted, as if Wade was the only person left, wandering through an ancient painting.
Wade, who was bundled in warm clothes, glanced at the house-elves, who were dressed in nothing but thin tea towels, and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you cold, wearing so little?"
Phil shook his head. "Not cold. Phil can adapt to any environment—summer, winter, very cold, very hot, it's all fine."
—What remarkable creatures.
Wade looked at them intently.
They were such unique and powerful beings, unlike wizards who relied on their wands. House-elves were naturally capable of wandless magic and possessed extraordinary and distinct magical abilities. Their magic was powerful, and they could perform Apparition without any limitations.
If wizards had not implanted ideas like "absolute obedience" and "house-elves must be enslaved by wizards" into their genes or souls, house-elves could be more dangerous to wizards than dragons.
Throughout history, goblins have rebelled multiple times, always fighting for the rights of their kind. But house-elves, even when abused or killed by wizards, never resist or disobey their masters' commands.
This is why most wizards dream of having their own house-elf, but wizards who actually own one rarely treat them well. The house-elves at Hogwarts are considered to be among the best-treated of their kind, as at least the students don't find pleasure in abusing them.
Wade lowered his eyes and walked silently along the corridor with the house-elves. They traveled a long way, sometimes descending two flights of stairs, sometimes climbing up several levels, until they reached a place near the Gryffindor Tower.
The empty corridor had a blank white wall on one side and, on the opposite side, a tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet.
Wade suddenly remembered a place, and a surge of anticipation rose in his heart. He softly asked, "What is this place?"
"The Room of Hidden Things, Mr. Grey," Zoe said. "We also call it the Room of Requirement. It only appears when someone truly needs it."
"You have to walk past this section of the wall three times, focusing intently on what you need," Happy explained. He stepped in front of the wall, murmuring softly, "Happy needs a place to hide things... a place to hide things... a place to hide things..."
As he walked back and forth, on the third pass, a smooth door with a polished, warm-looking brass handle suddenly appeared on the wall.
Phil stood on tiptoe, grabbed the handle, and pulled hard. The door slowly opened.
Wade held his breath.
It was like a city of towering walls, filled with countless discarded items piled into small mountain-like alleys—broken furniture, rusty weapons, severed dark magic statues, Muggle cannons, thousands of books, various forbidden and dangerous trinkets, and glass bottles filled with unknown potions.
His heart raced.
The three house-elves beamed with pride and joy as they showed him a broom that had been cleaned and polished, with an old red ribbon tied around it.
"This is Mr. Grey's Christmas gift!" they exclaimed. "It's the best one here!"
"It's a bit old, but it still flies very well," Phil added in a soft voice.
—No.
Wade thought.
—The Room of Requirement, which he had long sought but never found, was the true gift!
He grabbed the broom and his face lit up with a delighted smile that seemed to brighten the entire room. His smile was so infectious that the three house-elves couldn't help but mirror it, beaming back with goofy, satisfied smiles.
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