Dinner time, Great Hall.
Regulus, who had just successfully pulled Professor Stokke onto the Duelling Club bandwagon, made his way straight to Severus Snape, who was dining alone at the Slytherin table.
"Severus, good news." Regulus slid onto the bench beside him and smiled mysteriously. "I think I've found a treasure at Hogwarts."
Severus Snape blinked in surprise.
"Ah? You mean—" he noticed a few students glancing over and quickly lowered his voice, eyes wide. "Treasure... really?"
"Truer than Merlin's beard. I haven't told anyone yet—" Regulus glanced meaningfully toward Sirius, who was seated near the edge of the Gryffindor table, then leaned in again.
"Severus—can you keep a secret?"
"Slytherin never snitches!" Severus immediately swore in a low voice, pointing up solemnly at the floating candles in the enchanted ceiling—mimicking the same motion Regulus had used during last term's swearing of oaths.
"Not even Miss Evans?" Regulus teased.
Severus, who just seconds ago had looked so resolute, visibly faltered—not even Lily?—but then gave a determined nod.
"Alright. After dinner, we'll go together—I promise, you'll definitely like it."
Severus couldn't contain his curiosity. He immediately began shovelling his beloved sausages and baked potatoes into his mouth, completely forgetting about the sweet apple juice in his goblet.
"Don't rush," Regulus said, continuing his own meal at a calm, deliberate pace. "Come on, Severus… let's toast."
Regulus raised his goblet. Severus, smiling sheepishly, followed his lead and lifted his own.
"I haven't officially thanked you yet—thank you for agreeing to be my duelling assistant!" Regulus said warmly.
"Of course. It's nothing," Severus replied, feeling a pleasant warmth in his chest.
Regulus: (～o￣▽￣)～ "To friendship!"
Severus: (～o￣▽￣)～ "To friendship!"
The two goblets clinked together with a clear, cheerful sound.
The surrounding students: What are these two on about? What's in that pumpkin juice?
...
As Regulus expertly led the way, gracefully dodging students and teachers with the ease of someone who knew exactly where everyone would be, Severus couldn't help but be a little impressed.
Before he knew it, they had arrived on the 7th floor of Hogwarts Castle, standing in the corridor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being enthusiastically beaten by trolls.
"Like this—you have to focus in your mind on: 'I need a place to brew potions', and walk past this wall three times."
"Let's do it together."
"Alright."
Severus muttered the phrase silently in his mind. Trusting Regulus completely, he didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Sure enough, a smooth, door-shaped outline shimmered into view and solidified on the once-blank wall.
"You open it, Severus," Regulus said, stepping back with a smile.
Severus reached out and grasped the brass handle, utterly fascinated, and pulled open the door— Gasp!
A spacious potion-brewing chamber unfolded before his eyes. Alchemical heatless lamps glowed along the walls, bathing the room in bright, steady light—
Merlin…
it was even larger—and better equipped—than Professor Slughorn's Potions classroom.
The long central table was filled with a variety of cauldrons, burners, and specialised tools. On the far end, shelves held precise measuring instruments... and against one full wall stood rows of wooden bookcases crammed with volumes on potion-making—alongside an entire collection of Potions Today magazines.
It looked exactly like the kind of Potions classroom that only appeared in his dreams.
Face radiant, Severus ran his fingers along the thick, parchment-bound spines of the books, tapped the edge of a polished cauldron, and gently traced the long handle of a gleaming silver stirring spoon...
Utterly absorbed, he only remembered Regulus after what felt like ages. When he turned, he found him lounging comfortably on a satin-covered sofa that had appeared at some point, smiling contentedly.
And this room—this treasure—Regulus had chosen to share with him first. Not even his own brother knew about it.
Severus blinked quickly, hiding the tears that had welled up from sheer surprise and gratitude.
"Regulus… what is this place? I've never heard of it before..."
"This is the Come and Go Room, or the Room of Requirement," Regulus said, strolling over and pretending not to notice Severus's teary expression. "As the name suggests, it only appears when someone truly needs it."
"Why?"
"Because you can only enter this room when someone genuinely needs it," Regulus said cheerfully. "It comes and goes—it's sometimes there, sometimes not—but when it appears, it's always set up to meet the needs of the person who finds it."
"Merlin's beard, Regulus, how did you even find this place?"
"You probably won't believe me," Regulus shrugged. "A house-elf friend told me about it. Said he once brought a drunk friend here to sleep it off. Also mentioned that Filch once found extra cleaning supplies in this room."
"A house-elf…" Severus was stunned—especially by the phrase drunk friend. Like many pure-bloods, he had grown up with certain assumptions about house-elves.
"How many people actually know about this place?"
"Not many," Regulus said. "According to the elf: 'Most people only stumble upon it when they need it most, but they usually can't find it again—because they don't know it's always here, just waiting to be summoned.'"
He smiled—just like how it hadn't yet appeared in Malfoy Manor in the future...
"Amazing… absolutely amazing," Severus murmured excitedly. "From now on, we won't have to brew potions in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom anymore!"
Regulus rubbed the bridge of his nose guiltily—he'd known about the Room of Requirement for quite some time...
But Severus didn't notice. He had already made his way to the bookshelf and eagerly grabbed the latest issue of Potions Today—a comfortable armchair instantly appeared beside him. Severus sat down in it with wide eyes, then looked at Regulus in disbelief.
"This is too magical! The room knows what I need! It really is the Room of Requirement!"
Regulus nodded and continued, "I don't fully understand how this room works either. But it's undoubtedly the creation of a master of Transfiguration. Honestly, I suspect the creator might have been Godric Gryffindor himself."
"Hmm... Gryffindor was indeed a master of Transfiguration," Severus said thoughtfully, glancing around the room. "And if this room can read our thoughts—like the Sorting Hat… well, that was Gryffindor's work too."
"In any case," Regulus said, "we can use this room, even though we're Slytherins. I'm fairly certain my brother and the others don't know about it—it doesn't favour any House in particular."
"See?" Regulus added with a grin. "Gryffindor—not entirely terrible, right?"
Whenever possible, he liked to nudge things toward reconciliation between Houses. Small gestures, here and there.
How to put it…Lily was in Gryffindor, yes… but Gryffindor students had a troubling lack of survival instinct.
Always charging into danger, always causing chaos.
It was hard to appreciate that sort of behaviour—Severus was brooding over this thought when he suddenly remembered—
Wait. The room could read thoughts.
And he very much intended to make good use of this room in the future!
So—when Regulus asked him what he thought of Gryffindor...
"Yes! Gryffindor is... quite good," Severus said aloud, glancing up at the enormous chandelier on the ceiling, mentally estimating its crushing weight—just in case.
Right, he thought. Isn't there a branch of magic called Occlumency?
Yes—learning that had just become top priority.