Wade raised an eyebrow and turned to see Barnaby the Barmy from the tapestry.
Every time he entered or exited the Room of Requirement, he'd first see this tapestry. Sometimes he'd see Barnaby the Barmy forcing trolls to dance in tutus; other times, he'd see the trolls hitting Barnaby the Barmy over the head with large clubs. The two were always entangled in this tapestry, never speaking, never going anywhere else.
He had originally thought this was because tapestries were different from portraits...
At this moment, the trolls in the tapestry lay sleeping, while the wizard sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes clearly fixed on Wade, speaking with a very serious expression.
"Barnaby the... er... Mr. Barnaby?"
"It's fine, call me Barnaby the Barmy. Everyone else does anyway," Barnaby said indifferently, then asked, "I suppose you took something from the Room of Requirement?"
"Yes," Wade admitted openly. "But it doesn't belong to the Room of Requirement; someone else put it there, just like the broom I took before."
"It doesn't matter if someone else put it there to hide it, child," Barnaby said slowly. "In this castle, all abandoned items eventually appear in this room—when they are forgotten by their owners, they become part of the Room of Requirement. You can take what you need, like that broom; but you shouldn't take things you don't need, or use the Room of Requirement to satisfy certain personal desires."
"Personal desires?" Wade countered. "Like what?"
"Like reselling things from inside for profit," Barnaby paused, then added, "If you truly need money, you can search through the clutter. You should find some Galleons, enough for daily needs."
"Then—what if I really took things I didn't need from inside?" Wade asked again.
Barnaby said sternly, "Then one day, the things you took will return to Hogwarts in a way you would never want to see. And you will eventually be punished by a magical contract for violating the original intention of entering the Room of Requirement."
His tone was heavy with sorrow and pity, as if he could already envision Wade suffering a terrible death or prolonged torment in the future because he refused to heed his advice.
A nearby troll grunted in its sleep, scratched its backside, and rolled over to continue sleeping. Its stinky foot happened to land in front of Barnaby, who had to pinch his nose and move to a different spot before recomposing himself and resuming his stern gaze at Wade.
"So," Wade couldn't help but smile, asking, "If I took a dangerous dark magic item from the Room of Requirement because I was worried it would harm other students, and I took it to dispose of it—would that also be considered a breach of contract?"
"Oh—oh—I see—"
Barnaby's train of thought was interrupted. He thought seriously for a while before stammering, "That—that should count as doing a good deed—the castle, the castle will also thank you—of course, that wouldn't be a breach of contract—"
"Anyway, thank you for your advice, Barnaby—I'll return this thing after I deal with the dark magic on it."
Wade waved and turned to leave.
After walking some distance, Wade finally couldn't help but sigh softly.
When he finally found the Room of Requirement with the house-elf's guidance, Wade had wondered if it could also provide a room full of Galleons or Time-Turners if he needed them.
Or if, when he was studying in the Room of Requirement, he took all the books or alchemy tools from it. The next time he came, would he find an empty room, or would all the necessary items still appear?
After much thought, Wade ultimately suppressed his various impulsive ideas and didn't experiment to see if the Room of Requirement had such a "BUG."
He wasn't the first to discover the Room of Requirement. Before him, countless students and professors might have discovered the magical effects of this room. Voldemort even hid his Horcrux there, and the Room of Requirement was no secret among the house-elves in the castle.
If things from the Room of Requirement could truly be taken freely, then surely none of the students before him discovered this "BUG"? It couldn't be that everyone was as noble and virtuous as Harry Potter in the original story, never even thinking of using the Room of Requirement for profit, could it?
Not to mention, at least the young Tom Riddle was definitely someone who could utilize resources to the extreme. He didn't empty the Room of Requirement, the only explanation being that he couldn't, not that he didn't want to.
It seemed that Tom Riddle must have received Barnaby's warning back then. With his personality, he wouldn't easily believe a tapestry, especially since he was a master of curses himself and a descendant of Slytherin—perhaps he even tried different methods, only to eventually find that the tapestry was right after all...
The "Room of Requirement"—providing help to those truly in need.
Wade had long guessed that people implicitly agreed to some kind of contract when they entered this room, so he didn't try anything reckless. But when his guess was finally confirmed, he still felt disappointed.
Who would dislike getting something for nothing?
Wade patted his face, reminding himself—he had already received a lot of help from the Room of Requirement. Greed knows no bounds; don't be driven by desire and forget what you truly want.
The next morning, the sky finally cleared.
After heavy snow and continuous gloomy, rainy weather, the students showed immense delight for the clear weather. Many woke up early, strolling, chatting, and playing in groups of three or five on the lawns around the castle.
At breakfast time, countless owls flew into the Great Hall from outside, dropping packages in front of the students—even with the Friendship Ledger, owls, the wizarding world's delivery service, had not been rendered obsolete. They still carried packages of all sizes, soaring through the skies of Great Britain.
Ava also landed beside Wade, bringing new candies and desserts that Fiona had made. She pecked Wade's arm rather angrily, seemingly blaming him for leaving her at home.
Wade tore off some beef for her. Ava swallowed it, then chirped contentedly and flew away.
Wade distributed some of the candies and desserts from the package to his classmates around him, then turned and said, "Michael—"
"Hm?" Michael responded, praising, "Mrs. Gray's peanut brittle is delicious!"
"I'll put some in the umbrella stand later; take more if you like it," Wade said. "Will you help me take a few pictures later?"
"Sure!" Michael readily agreed, asking, "Did you buy a camera?"
"My father's Christmas gift to me," Wade said.
"Take a couple for me too—I haven't thought about taking pictures since I got to school!"
"Okay."
As the two were about to quickly finish their breakfast, two more owls flew towards Wade. One dropped a letter, and the other dropped a very large package.
Michael was surprised: "Your family sent you so many things?"
"No," Wade said, looking at the name on the envelope. "This isn't from my parents."