Harry Potter and The Castle o f Otranto
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as limited as the needs of those who require it. When the Room of
Requirement is first mentioned, it is via Dumbledore who explains, “I
took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a
beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a
really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots” {GF AM). It is later
revealed that the Room also serves as a place for Dobby to hide Winky;
in that case it comes equipped with “antidotes to butterbeer there, and a
nice elf-sized bed to settle her on” {OP 387). More famously, of course,
it becomes the site of the training sessions for “Dumbledore’s Army”
{OP 386) and a refugee camp for those who resist the Cairows in The
Deathly Hallows {DH 577). Interestingly, it also becomes, via the
Vanishing cabinet hidden within it, a gateway for the Death-Eaters to
invade the castle at the end of The Half-Blood Prince (586-587). The
Room of Requirement is perhaps the most magical aspect of the entire
castle and the fact that it can turn into whatever the user requires makes
Hogwarts unknowable. Additionally, the room can be private or public,
depending on the needs of the user. For example, for Dumbledore’s
Army it is a public space open to all those who are members of the D.A.,
but for Draco Malfoy it is a private space because he requires privacy as
he repairs the Vanishing Cabinet that will allow the Death-Eaters into the
castle. The Room of Requirement is also not always present but only
presents itself when someone has real need of it, such as Dumbledore’s
need to use the bathroom or Dobby’s need to find a safe place for Winky.
Though the final book leaves some room for doubt concerning whether
or not the Room still exists after the fire that consumes it, I am inclined
to believe it does with the caveat that the next person who desperately
needs to hide something is in for a big surprise. However, other
permutations of the room should continue to be unaffected by the fire
that consumed the hiding place and Hogwarts should remain unknowable
for generations of students to come.
Yet the Room of Requirement is not a neutral space in the novel.
Although it will come to the aid of whoever requires it, it clearly takes
sides. Despite its leanings, however, it can, as in the case of the Death
Eaters invasion of the castle or Voldemort’s secreting away a horcrux
within its walls, be used for bad intentions as well. Ultimately, like the
castle itself, it takes sides, especially in the Battle of Hogwarts and it is
during the Battle of Hogwarts that Hogwarts most inherits the legacy of
the Walpolian castle. Before diving into the Battle of Hogwarts, a word
about Walpolian castles taking sides is necessary. A large share of the
supernatural elements of Walpolian castles are directed towards