Chapter 18
To distract the house-elves and stop them from blaming themselves, Sainz fibbed a little. He told them he'd gone for a walk after dinner and gotten hungry again.
"I wonder if I could trouble you for a little more food?" he asked.
"Of course, Mr. Autumn! All house-elves live to serve!" said Conte, bowing and darting off.
The others quickly followed, rushing to fetch anything edible they could lay their hands on.
With hundreds of expectant eyes watching him, Sainz realized that any small gesture—any show of preference—might break a tiny heart. Even if they were used to such things, he couldn't bear to hurt them. So, he carefully took a bit from everyone.
He bowed slightly and said warmly, "Thank you for your kindness. I'll come back to visit when I can."
At this, another elf's eyes began to brim with tears.
Sainz hurried out of the kitchen before things turned into a full-blown weep-fest.
By the time he returned to the dormitory, it was already half past eight. His two roommates were still fast asleep. He quietly placed his stash of food on the table in the center of the room, left a note, and slipped out again.
The next target: the Room of Requirement.
He passed through the entrance hall and climbed the main tower, taking the stairs floor by floor. He didn't want his wandering to seem too deliberate.
Hogwarts' main building formed a broad U-shape, enclosing a massive courtyard. It had eight formal floors, with towers stacked above.
It was already late in the morning, and students bustled through the corridors.
Wandering around the second floor, he passed a few notable landmarks—the library, the school hospital, Professor McGonagall's office, and the History of Magic classroom.
Outside the door to a girls' bathroom, he heard a faint whimpering, distant yet strangely close. The sound felt like fingernails dragging across glass—enough to make your skin crawl.
That must be Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. If so, Filch's office should be nearby.
He didn't have to search long. Whether it was the sound of footsteps or sheer bad luck, the moment he paused outside the bathroom door, a thin, gray cat emerged from a small door diagonally across the corridor.
The cat's fur was long, tangled, and dirty, likely because she was painfully skinny. Her bulging lamp-like eyes locked onto Sainz without blinking. Then she turned and meowed into the door.
A raspy voice responded, "What is it, my sweet? What did you find?"
A hunchbacked figure with patchy gray hair came shuffling out.
"What are you doing here?" Filch barked.
Any sympathy Sainz might have felt vanished on the spot.
Truthfully, he had felt a twinge of pity for Filch at first. The students, especially in the original timeline, often left chaos in their wake. If someone kept dirtying a floor you'd just spent an hour cleaning, you'd be furious too.
But this was their first meeting, and Filch had already started in like he was interrogating a criminal. The rudeness made it hard not to feel repulsed.
"I wasn't aware walking the corridors was against the rules, Mr. Filch?"
Filch clearly caught the sarcasm in "Mister Filch," and his cloudy eyes flashed with irritation.
"You'd best hope I don't catch you doing anything," he snarled.
He scooped up Mrs. Norris and slammed the door behind him.
From the other end of the corridor, Professor McGonagall had just returned from somewhere. Sainz bowed slightly from a distance.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall."
Her lips twitched. "Good morning, Mr. Autumn." She said nothing more as she entered her office.
The spiral staircases weren't difficult to navigate—assuming you didn't mind them shifting unexpectedly under your feet.
The third floor resembled the second in layout. The main point of interest here was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office.
The fourth floor held the DADA classroom, the Charms classroom, and the Trophy Room.
The Trophy Room displayed medals, statues, and nameplates of previous students. There was even a wall listing every Head Boy and Head Girl.
The fifth floor was mostly unused, and so were the sixth and seventh.
Sainz took his time, noting the locations of all the bathrooms on each floor—important knowledge, should he ever be struck with an urgent need and not fancy sprinting back to the dorm with his pants halfway down.
The eighth floor had the highest number of landmarks:
The office of the Ravenclaw Head of House
The Fat Lady's corridor (leading to the Gryffindor common room)
The bronze eagle knocker, behind which lay the Ravenclaw tower
The Astronomy Tower, where stargazing classes took place
The Headmaster's office, guarded by a massive stone beast
And the Owlery, perched at the top of the West Tower
The Owlery had no glass in the windows to make it easier for owls to come and go. Inside, the floor was strewn with straw, owl droppings, and half-digested mouse bones.
Above, hundreds—maybe thousands—of owls nested on the roosting perches, their eyes blinking sleepily in the dim light.
As he wandered the upper corridors, Sainz found himself standing in front of a large, ridiculous painting. There was no name plaque, but everyone knew it: Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet.
In the scene, a wizard flailed as he attempted to instruct towering trolls dressed in frilly swan tutus and pink ballet slippers.
The trolls responded not with pliés but with massive clubs.
Sainz winced. His eyes hurt just looking at it.
Three-meter trolls swinging giant sticks at a poor little wizard who barely reached their knees? Madness.
As he watched, one of the trolls paused to glare at him, allowing Barnabas a moment to escape—only to be chased anew.
The well-known trick to open the Room of Requirement was to walk past the blank wall across from the painting three times, focusing hard on what you needed.
There was no one around, but just to play it safe, he kept it simple.
I need a bathroom. I need a bathroom. I need a bathroom.
A smooth door appeared in the stone wall. When he opened it, sure enough, it was a clean, ordinary boys' bathroom. Nothing fancy, but perfectly functional.
Mission accomplished!
He checked the time. It was already past eleven. Time to head back for a rest.
This morning's exploration had gone well, but there were still a few places left to check off:
The greenhouse area, overseen by the Head of Hufflepuff
The Potions dungeon near the Slytherin common room
The flying lesson grounds and the Quidditch pitch
If this were a game, he thought, most of the map would be lit up by now!
I'll try to complete the map this afternoon, he told himself.
But first—time for lunch.
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