Early in the morning, while his bedroom was still dark, Wade felt a presence watching him as he drifted in and out of sleep.
In his solitary dorm room, the sensation of eyes on him, not his own, was remarkably distinct.
Wade groggily opened his eyes, and in the darkness, he suddenly saw a row of large, glittering eyes, like tiny lanterns floating in the air.
*Thump!*
His heart gave a violent lurch. Wade shot up, instinctively grabbing his Wand and pointing it. "Who's there!"
"Mr. Gray is awake," a high-pitched House-elf voice chirped. "Zoe knew Mr. Gray would return to the castle today. Zoe has been waiting."
With a snap of slender fingers in the air, the oil lamp in the dorm room immediately lit up.
Three House-elves stood side-by-side on the floor in the center of the room, completely oblivious to how startling their midnight appearance was. They looked at Wade with enthusiastic smiles.
Wade felt his wildly beating heart almost bruising his ribs. He took a deep breath, his cold fingers gradually warming, but a tingling sensation still ran through his scalp as if from an electric current.
"Zoe, Hobby, Phil," Wade said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Long time no see—why are you suddenly here in the middle of the night?"
The House-elves bowed deeply, their large ears flapping, and said happily:
"It's like this—Christmas, Phil received another gift from Wade Gray—"
"But Wade Gray must have noticed—he didn't receive Hobby's gift—"
"It's not that there was no gift, but because Zoe prepared something better—"
"Phil wants to give Wade Gray the gift he truly wants. But what does Wade Gray want? Phil thought and thought—"
"While cleaning in the Ravenclaw tower, Hobby overheard the first-year students, and then Hobby finally knew—"
The three House-elves beamed with joy and said in unison, "Wade Gray will definitely want a broom!"
"I do want one," Wade said, sitting on his bed and looking at them. "But school rules state that first-year students are not allowed to bring brooms into the school."
Otherwise, he could have bought a new one himself during the Christmas holidays.
"There are rules, but Wade Gray won't break them," Zoe said, spreading her arms. "Because the broom is already at school. Wade Gray will merely use it."
It was perfectly acceptable for first-year students, after performing well in Flying Lesson, to borrow a senior student's broom and fly for a bit after class. Quidditch teams from various houses often had young Wizards waiting around the pitch during practice, just to borrow a broom for a thrill after the practice ended.
However, House-elves couldn't possibly steal a student's broom, nor could they give him a school-owned broom as a gift.
"Did you—find a discarded broom?" Wade asked, looking at the House-elves with surprise.
"More than—more than one," Hobby said, wagging its ears cheerfully. "There are several! Brooms without owners—"
"Come with Zoe, Wade Gray," the House-elf said, pulling his finger. "Zoe wants to take Wade Gray to get his gift."
"Oh, okay—wait, let me get dressed." Wade threw back the covers and sat up, then looked at the House-elves. "Uh—could you perhaps step out for a moment?"
...
On a gloomy January morning, the cold wind howled against the windows, and a layer of frost even coated the windowsill. Wade followed the three House-elves through the empty corridors of the castle, his own footsteps echoing clearly.
It was almost dawn, a time when even Filch wouldn't be patrolling, waiting to catch students breaking Curfew. The entire castle seemed to contain only Wade, as if he were walking through an ancient oil painting.
Wade, warmly dressed, looked at the House-elves, who were still only wearing thin tea towels, and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you cold, dressed so lightly?"
Phil shook its head and said, "Not cold. Phil can adapt to different environments, summer, winter, very cold, very hot, anything."
What peculiar creatures.
Wade gazed at them deeply.
What strange and powerful creatures they were, unlike Wizards, not reliant on a Wand, naturally capable of wandless magic, possessing extraordinary and unique magic, immensely powerful, and able to Apparate without restriction.
If Wizards hadn't planted thoughts like "absolute obedience" and "House-elves must be enslaved by Wizards" in their genes or souls, they might be even more dangerous to Wizards than dragons.
Historically, Goblins had rebelled multiple times, always fighting for their race's rights. But House-elves, even when abused and killed by Wizards, would not resist, nor would they even defy their masters' commands.
So, most ordinary Wizards yearned to own their own House-elves, but few Wizards who owned House-elves treated them kindly. The House-elves belonging to Hogwarts were considered relatively well-treated among their kind; at least the students didn't take pleasure in abusing them.
Wade lowered his eyes and followed the House-elves along the corridor for a long distance, sometimes descending two flights of stairs, sometimes ascending several, until they reached an area near the Gryffindor Tower.
The empty corridor had a plain white wall on one side, and opposite it was a huge tapestry depicting a wizard in a hat teaching Trolls to ballet dance. The Trolls all had their heads turned, watching them.
Wade suddenly remembered a place, and a huge anticipation welled up in his heart. He asked softly, "What is this place?"
"The Come-and-Go Room, Mr. Gray," Zoe said. "We also call it the Room of Requirement. It only appears when someone truly needs it."
"You have to walk past this stretch of wall three times, concentrating on what you need," Hobby said, then walked to the wall, muttering softly to itself, "Hobby needs a place to hide things... a place to hide things... a place to hide things..."
It walked back and forth, and on its third pass, a smooth door suddenly appeared on the wall, with a warm, lustrous bronze handle.
Phil stood on tiptoe, pulling hard on the bronze handle, and the large door slowly opened.
Wade couldn't help but hold his breath.
Before him was what looked like a city of towering walls, filled with countless discarded items piled up, forming "streets" of small mountains—broken furniture, rusted weapons, statues severed by Dark Magic, Muggle cannons, thousands upon thousands of books, all sorts of illicit and dangerous small toys, and glass bottles filled with unknown potions.
His heart beat rapidly.
The three House-elves, with proud and joyful smiles on their faces, presented him with a broom that had been wiped clean and tidied, still adorned with an old red ribbon.
"This is Mr. Gray's Christmas gift!" they exclaimed. "It's the best one here!"
"It's a bit old, but it can still fly very well," Phil added in a soft voice.
No.
Wade thought.
This Room of Requirement, which he had sought for so long without success, was the real gift!
He grasped the broom, a surprised smile blooming on his face, as if the entire room brightened because of it. His smile was infectious, causing the three House-elves to break into silly, contented grins as well.
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