The Room of Requirement was also known as the Come and Go Room mainly because it was a room that adjusted itself to its seeker’s needs at that time and would immediately vanish after being used. Based on its absence on the Marauders Map, it is presumed that the Room of Requirement was unplottable. It was located on the seventh floor on the corridor on the left of Hogwarts Castle and had an entrance opposite the tapestry which showed Barnabus the Barmy teaching Ballet to a group of trolls.
The only way the hidden doors to this room opened as if a wizard or witch in great need walked past it three times, wishing for precisely the kind of room they wanted. Despite being believed to have a degree of sentience to read human thoughts and create a room of their choice, the Room of Requirement had several limitations. For instance, keeping in mind Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration, the room could not create life or food.
History
The exact history and the purpose of the creation of this room are unknown. However, in the totality of the Harry Potter Universe, the first event involving this room happens to be the storage of the Mirror of Erised in it in the early 1900s. In the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie franchise, several scenes occur in the Room of Requirement. Since the Room of Requirement was a conditional room appearing and disappearing at the will of the user, it also served as a room in which people hid several things over the years. Lord Voldemort hid the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw here after converting it into a Horcrux. Malfoy frequented this room often to repair the Vanishing Cabinet, which he eventually used to let Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Harry also uses it to hide the Half-Blood Prince’s potions textbook here.
Appearances in the Harry Potter Universe
The first mention of the Room of Requirement in the Harry Potter series is in 1994 in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Albus Dumbledore mentions a room full of chamber pots he found when he had to go to the bathroom urgently on the seventh-floor corridor. He says this to Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang, and also claims that he never found the room again. However, in the Harry Potter prequel spinoff series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it is evident that Dumbledore is very well aware of the Come and Go room and uses it frequently for several things, including placing the Mirror of Erised in it.
The first appearance of the Room of Requirement happens in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry is introduced to the Room of Requirement by Dobby when Harry asks him for possible options to practice magic in. After creating the Dumbledore’s Army, which consists of students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, keen on practicing secret defense spells that could help them in combat against dark magic, Harry is in search of a place to teach them. Dobby then tells Harry about the Room of Requirement and claims that several house-elves are aware of this room, including Dobby, who used it to take care of Winky when she got drunk. He claimed that the room was best suited for his needs as it contained antidotes for Butterbeer and an elf-sized bed for Winky to sleep on.
George and Fred Weasley claimed to have used the room, which took the form of a broom cupboard once to escape from Mr. Filch when they all convened for the first D. A. meeting.
The Room of Requirement served as the sole meeting place for the members of Dumbledore’s Army. It was well equipped with several useful items like Sneakoscopes, Dark Detectors, and a collection of Defence Against the Dark Arts books, including Self-Defensive Spellwork, Jinxes for the Jinxed, Dark Arts Outsmarted, and A Compendium for the Common Curses and their Counter-Actions. It was the place where the Dumbledore’s Army first learned to conjure Patronuses and learned several other useful spells which would go on to help them in their future.
In the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Room of Requirement had a mechanical Death Eater and many other cool features like pillow cushions that would reduce the impact of falling during duels. Furthermore, the conjuring of the Patronus Charm revealed the animal Patronuses of several members of the D.A., including Luna Lovegood’s hare Patronus, Ron’s Russel Terrier Patronus and Hermione Granger’s otter Patronus. Harry kissed Cho Chang under the mistletoe during Christmas in the Room of Requirement. The Dumbledore’s Army was finally outed by the Inquisitorial Squad, who also got the names of the members of the D.A.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Draco Malfoy uses the Room of Requirement several times in the process of mending the Vanishing Cabinet, which is stored there. It has a twin cabinet in Borgin and Burkes, and eventually, after it is repaired, Malfoy uses it to lure Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in Harry’s absence, Neville Longbottom leads the members of Dumbledore’s Army to rebel against the Death Eater teachers at Hogwarts, the Carrows. The members regroup at the Room of Requirement, especially after most of them are being looked for. Harry, Ron and Hermione eventually reach Hogsmeade and then head to Hogwarts through the secret passageway behind the painting of Ariana Dumbledore at Abeforth Dumbledore’s inn, The Hog’s Head. This passageway leads directly to the Room of Requirement, and the trio eventually takes the help of the members of the D.A. to find a Horcrux of Lord Voldemort. Harry has a hunch that this Horcrux is related to Rowena Ravenclaw and is eventually found out to be Ravenclaw’s Diadem.
The Room of Requirement makes a final appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter it to find the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw and destroy it using Basilisk Fangs. However, Malfoy and his friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle also enter the room, and eventually, Crabbe cast the Fiendfyre, a cursed fire filled with forces of evil that are common in Dark Arts practice.
Room of Requirement and the 3D Printer
The Room of Requirement is an entity in the magical world of Harry Potter that has no analogue in the real world. However, 3D printers come close to what the Room of Requirement accomplishes. Just like the Room of Requirement, the 3D printer is capable of printing anything on command within given spatial coordinates. Once the specifics of the required object or system are coded into the computer and the ingredients to print it are fed in, the printer does exactly what needs to be done – it prints the desired object or system into existence. While it does not exactly print rooms, it is still similar to the Room of Requirement in that it creates the desired output with very little hassle in three-dimensional space.
FAQs
Why does Draco go to the Room of Requirement?
Draco goes into the Room of Requirement several times in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He learns about it from Harry and the Dumbledore’s Army as they used it for meeting, and Draco was a major part of the Inquisitorial Squad that caught them. However, he uses it to repair a particular Vanishing Cabinet that has a twin in Borgin and Burkes. He finally repairs it and uses it to smuggle Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
Why is the Room of Requirement full of stuff?
The Room of Requirement takes the form of anything that the seeker needs without breaking any fundamental laws like Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration. However, while it presents itself differently for different people, it does sometimes present itself in the same form as in the case of students seeking the Dumbledore’s Army meeting room. The same goes for hidden things. Over the years, this room has been used by almost everyone who is aware of it to hide things and when someone seeks a room to hide something, the Room of Requirement presents itself as the Room of Hidden Things.
What was the fire in the Room of Requirement?
The fire in the Room of Requirement set by Vincent Crabbe is a cursed fire known as the Fiendfyre. It is a very dangerous usage of Dark Magic, and it burns almost everything that comes in its way. Luckily for the trio and Draco and Goyle, they were saved because of quickly using broomsticks to escape the Room of Requirement. Unfortunately for Crabbe, his very creation led to his demise as he burned in the Fiendfyre.
