When Albert woke, the dormitory was pitch black. From outside the window came the faint patter of rain — the downpour from last night still hadn't stopped.
He sat up, covering a yawn with his hand, blaming the strange dream that had left him feeling drained upon waking.
And to make matters worse, he'd woken up far too early; his three roommates were still fast asleep.
Albert reached toward his bedside table, feeling around until his fingers brushed his wand. He picked it up and whispered softly, "Lumos."
The tip of his wand glowed with a pale white light. He brought it closer to his mechanical pocket watch and checked the time — 5:40 a.m.
Indeed, far too early.
He extinguished the light and lay back down. The pocket watch slipped from his hand and landed softly on the sheets.
That watch had been a gift from Luke — a celebration of his Hogwarts invitation.
Since he was already awake, Albert decided not to bother going back to sleep. He sat up again, stretched, and pushed aside the sheets before stepping out of bed. Moving to the window, he unlatched it and swung it open.
A cold gust rushed in, making him shiver and instantly clearing his mind.
The rain was light, but the world outside remained shrouded in darkness. The castle loomed in a misty veil of drizzle, half-hidden behind the gray curtain of rain.
"A great adventure," Albert murmured, patting his own cheek to wake up fully.
He closed the window, returned to his bed, and dressed himself in his robes. After tucking his wand and pocket watch into his pockets, he paused at the door, tossing his used clothes into the bathroom basket. The house-elves would handle the laundry and return everything magically cleaned by evening.
Honestly, life at Hogwarts was quite comfortable. Students hardly had to worry about daily chores — all they needed to do was focus on learning magic.
The common room was silent except for a faint rustle of pages. A female ghost sat on one of the sofas, reading a book. Hearing footsteps, she looked up briefly at Albert before returning to her reading.
Albert didn't disturb her. Though part of him wanted to chat, he stopped himself — he disliked being interrupted while reading, after all.
He didn't linger. Instead, he planned to use this early morning to explore more of the castle — and, if possible, locate the legendary Room of Requirement.
Pushing open the common room's door, he bent slightly and stepped through the circular opening. The Fat Lady, still in her nightgown, looked at him sleepily from her portrait.
"Where are you going?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"For a walk," Albert replied, raising his wand as its soft glow lit the dim hallway ahead. This time, he decided not to take the same route as last night. He wanted to see new places.
Perhaps because of the rain, the corridor felt damp and chilly — like something out of a gothic film, where you half-expected a ghost to drift out of the wall at any moment.
Of course, at Hogwarts, such a thing wouldn't be strange at all.
As he turned a corner, Albert spotted the familiar stone staircase from the night before. This time, he continued straight ahead instead of going down.
After another turn, he found himself facing a large vase. Glancing around, his eyes landed on what he'd been hoping to find — the tapestry of the troll in a ballet skirt.
"Looks like luck's on my side," he said, smiling.
He quickened his pace, lifted his wand, and examined the strange tapestry illuminated in the pale light. The scene was… bizarre, to say the least.
A group of trolls wearing frilly ballet skirts were holding clubs made of wood and bone, striking awkward dance poses. Nearby, a terrified ballet instructor was trying — and failing — to teach them how to dance, only to be walloped by one of the trolls.
As Albert studied the tapestry, the troll suddenly stopped beating the teacher and turned its head toward him, glaring as if to say, What are you looking at?
If only he'd brought his camera — this would've made a priceless photo.
But for now, the Room of Requirement was more important. He turned to the white wall opposite the tapestry. That was where the room was supposed to appear.
Albert walked closer and touched the wall. Cold, solid stone. Nothing unusual yet.
He recalled the method: walk past the wall three times while focusing on what you needed most.
"Walk past it three times, huh…" he muttered, raising his wand to light the far end of the corridor. A window stood at one side, and the tall vase marked the other end.
He took a deep breath. "A place to practice magic. A place to practice magic…"
Albert walked slowly from the window to the vase — once, twice, and on the third pass, the white wall began to shimmer.
Intricate patterns spread across its surface like rippling water, until a smooth wooden door formed before his eyes.
A grin tugged at Albert's lips. He knew he had succeeded.
He grasped the brass handle, pulled the door open, and stepped inside.
It was a spacious chamber, lit by torches flickering along the walls. The atmosphere felt like a cross between a classroom and a library.
Wooden bookshelves lined the sides, stacked with hundreds of books. Albert suspected many of them had been borrowed — or magically copied — from the Hogwarts library. On the far side stood several training dummies, waiting to be used for spell practice.
"Perfect," Albert murmured. "With this, I won't need to run to the library every time."
Still, he knew he'd need to be cautious. A door suddenly appearing in a corridor could easily draw attention if anyone saw it.
Albert didn't linger. After a brief look around, he stepped out again, already planning how to use this place in secret.
If he wanted to keep it hidden, he'd need to make sure no one ever saw him entering or leaving.
That meant two things: the Disillusionment Charm and the Marauder's Map.
He might find the Disillusionment Charm among the books inside, but the map… that was trickier. Filch had it now, and stealing it from him wouldn't be easy.
Make one himself? Not a chance — at least, not yet.
"Never mind," he muttered. "One step at a time. I've got seven years here, after all."
When Albert finally left, the door vanished behind him. The wall turned smooth and white again, as though nothing had ever been there.
Few people at Hogwarts knew that this wall hid a magical room — one that appeared only to those who truly needed it.