Chapter 3 - Warm Welcome

Becky

The door falls open, the lights turn on and we look into the room. The room before us was completely and ridiculously huge, and surprisingly empty.

We walked inside and the door slowly close behind us.

“Oh, I’ve read about that! The doors are sensitive for larger organisms. They open whenever an animal or a human being wants to leave. They don’t open to the people outside, unless the owners of the room have given them permission to enter. That’s so incredible! And completely safe!” Hermione shrieks enthusiastically.

Okay, she’s nice, but obviously studies the majority of her time, I think.

We walk on and look around, trying to picture living here. It actually doesn’t seem too bad. It seems pretty awesome.

In the back of the room there are two doors. We open the left one first and see a huge bathroom with an enormous shower, four dressing tables, a toilet and a round bath in the middle of the room, which is almost completely lowered into the ground. Above the dressing tables, the entire wall is covered with mirrors. The room itself is very light and white, but it still had a homey feel to it.

When I look at the others, I see that they already love this place.

We leave the bathroom, open the other door and step inside.

The room is entirely empty, but still huge.

Once we had a look around, we leave the room and re-enter the main room, only to find we’re no longer alone.

Someone’s standing a couple feel away from where we stand near the second door. It’s a small creature, barely one meter tall, with huge bat-like ears, eyes the size and colour of tennis balls, a pencil-like nose and who’s wearing a red sweater, green shorts and purple socks. All of which makes him the strangest house-elf I’ve ever seen, but a house-elf nonetheless.

“Hello madams! Dobby is very happy to meet you, very happy indeed!” the house-elf exclaims.

“Hello, Dobby, we’re glad to meet you too. How are you?” Chantal says. She’s always the first one to speak to someone none of us know.

“Dobby is feeling wonderful, madam. Dobby is glad to meet such kind people and very glad to help them.”

“Well, thank you, Dobby. And what are you helping us with?” I ask.

“Dobby is helping you with your room. Dobby is assigned to help you settle.”

As he says that, I look around the room. All of a sudden, the room is being furnished. Four huge double beds each fly to a corner. Out of the wall with the front door, bookshelves appear, followed by a huge amount of books flying over there to settle on the shelves. And even with all these books, half the shelves are still empty. Between the doors in the back, near where we stand, there’s now a small kitchen complete with a huge American fridge, only lacking a furnace. In the centre of the room, a huge table materializes. The table is about three meters wide and five meters tall, and it’s completely surrounded by comfy-looking chairs.

The entire room is completely overdone, but it looks awesome. I already love it. And looking at the others, I see that they love it as well.

“Dobby want to show you your dressing room. You nice girls are sure to love it,” Dobby interrupts my thoughts.

The dressing room? Is that other huge room a dressing room? Oh my god, that’s so awesome!

We all follow Dobby to the other room. For some impossible reason, it’s even more amazing than I’d imagined.

Almost every centimetre of the walls are covered. The wall between the bathroom and this room is completely covered in mirrors. Every other wall is covered in closets. Only four sofa’s stand on the floor in between, nothing else.

“Dobby has something for you, madams,” Dobby says, while meanwhile extending his hands to us. In each of his hands we see two remotes, one for each of us.

You’ve got to be kidding me! I think. Those remotes remind me way too much of a film I once saw, The Princess Diaries 2, wherein there was a dressing room with closets that were being controlled by a remote.

“Are those what I think they are?” Chantal says.

“I think they are,” Lotte answers.

Apparently I’m not the only one who’s seen the film.

“What are you talking about? What could a remote control possible have to do with anything like a dressing room?” Hermione says, uncomprehending.

“Everything,” I answer her.

She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. Well, nothing to do about that.

“Dobby would like to explain how the remotes work– ” Dobby says.

“Press a button and a door or a drawer opens, right?” Chantal interrupts him.

“Yes, madam. Dobby thinks you know what to do. Is there anything else Dobby can do?”

“No, thank you, Dobby. Why don’t you go get some rest? You’ve helped us very well, you deserve some rest,” Lotte says.

“You are most kind!” Dobby cries, a couple tears falling down his cheeks.

Before we can say anything else, he disappears with a loud bang.

It’s quiet for a while after he disappears.

But then we look at the remotes.

“So, who’s going to try first?” Chantal asks.

“Me!” I shriek. There must be sparkles in my eyes, outplaying that I’m seriously excited and enthusiastic.

I run off to a huge closet, pushes the key into the lock and turns.

“Name, please,” a calm female voice speaks from the lock.

“Um, Becky van Leeuwen?” I answer, unsure.

“Welcome, Miss van Leeuwen. Enjoy your time in here.” The door opens.

Behind the door, a huge rack of clothes appears. Dresses, trousers, jeans, shirts, sweaters, blouses, and more. In various colours.

“Um, awesome?”

“Oh! I want to try!” Lotte says.

She walks to another huge closet and unlocks the voice.

“Name, please.”

“Lotte Beeker.”

“Welcome, Miss Beeker. Enjoy your time in here.”

The door opens, revealing a huge amount of shoes. From high heels to boots and from sneakers to slippers.

“If you need another size, we’ve got all your sizes in a storage room behind this closet,” the voice says.

“Yay! Oh, I just love this!”

“Chant, you try the next!”

“Okay,” she says while walking to a door.

She fits the key inside, turn, and speaks her name.

“Thank you and welcome, Miss Lamark. Please enjoy your time in here and be careful with the belongings.”

The door opens just a crack and she sees light pouring out. Then they open completely and she sees a complete jewellery store inside. Golden and silver necklaces, beaded ones, pearls, diamonds, arm jewellery, rings, hairdressings, and more. So much more.

The three of us join her and together we look at the jewels.

“Is this all for our use?” I mutter, stunned.

“Yes, so long as you return it. They are spelled so that if you let anybody else wear it, it will burn their skin,” the voice answers.

We continue on to the rest of the room, until Chantal open a door with clothes and when she turns, she hears a sudden click.

“Guys? I think I might have found something,” she calls to us.

We join her just when she steps into the closet.

“What are you doing?” Hermione says.

Chantal doesn’t answer and we wait just outside the closet.

“Where’d she go?” Lotte asks.

“Hey, why are y’all standing out here? Come on!” Chantal tells us when she reappears for a second.

This time we follow her into the closet. When I’m inside, I see an opened hidden door.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Well, it seems like this is a hidden passage,” Chantal answers. “I wonder where it leads to...”

“It leads pretty much through the entire school,” a voice speaks behind me.

“Hello to you too,” I say.

Behind me, two redheaded guys nod their hellos.