Chapter 33: Ravenclaw
“Here it is—the hidden room we found!”
After spending a considerable time on the spiral staircase,
the section of stairs leading from the second to the third floor finally turned, connecting to a staircase rarely used.
Not far away, Jia Jia Siting gently tapped the wall and exclaimed excitedly.
After three crisp knocks, the wall, barely illuminated by firelight, revealed a painting.
“We stumbled upon it by accident… but after answering the painting’s question, we suddenly entered that room.”
“There’s a lantern, but—Lumos.”
A faint glow emanated from Jia Jia Siting’s wand tip, then Hermione’s, whose glow was noticeably brighter.
At that moment, Wizard Sean Green approached with a wand as bright as a lightbulb.
“Oh, Wizard Sean…”
Jia Jia Siting murmured in awe, and the three focused their attention on the painting.
The canvas, yellowed and cracked with age, depicted not a solemn wizard but a snowy white owl wearing a velvet waistcoat and tiny pince-nez glasses.
It was struggling to adjust its glasses with one claw while gripping an old parchment scroll with the other.
“What are you staring at? Owls are hawks too!”
Hearing its shrill voice, Hermione burst out laughing first.
Then Jia Jia Siting joined in,
even Wizard Sean Green couldn’t suppress a smile.
“It’s you again! What are you laughing at!”
The owl flapped its wings violently; Wizard Sean almost heard the rush of wind.
“I—I just thought of something happy.”
Hermione blushed and defended herself.
This time, Wizard Sean couldn’t hold back.
“What are you laughing at now!”
“I thought of something happy too.”
Wizard Sean whispered.
He never imagined he'd see echoes of past-life movies on an owl.
“You’re definitely laughing at me! You haven’t stopped!”
The owl flapped wildly, the parchment in its claws shaking furiously.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry.”
“We’re sorry.”
Before the owl barred them from entering, the three bowed sincerely, barely holding back their laughter.
“Damn little wizards—if you want to enter, answer my question!”
It unfurled the parchment beneath its feet; Wizard Sean and the others weren’t sure if an owl could even read it,
but after a moment of deliberation, it posed the question:
“Hogwarts, peaceful Hogwarts… tell me, why was Hogwarts built here?”
Its head rotated one hundred eighty degrees, then it asked with haughty pride.
Jia Jia Siting and Hermione froze.
“Why did its question change? Wasn’t it just asking for Lady Ravenclaw’s real name?”
Jia Jia Siting found it hard to believe,
“Hermione, do you know?”
Jia Jia Siting turned his pleading gaze to Hermione,
the bushy-haired little witch pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
“Little wizard, stupid little wizard!”
The owl chirped triumphantly.
“Because of Ravenclaw’s dream.”
At that moment, an unexpected voice drifted in,
Wizard Sean whispered,
and the owl stopped flapping, nearly falling off.
“How do you know—”
It gasped, then stiffly bowed its head,
and as its wings flapped, a crack split open in the wall, revealing a sky-blue door.
Wizard Sean pondered as he turned the owl-shaped door handle.
Opening the door revealed a spacious chamber.
Desks lay scattered across the center, covered in dust;
in one corner, a massive bookshelf leaned crookedly, most books fallen to the floor, their pages brittle and yellowed;
in another corner lay strange devices: a complex arrangement of crystal lenses, several glass cabinets with faded, torn labels.
Beyond that, there was nothing else.
“Wizard Sean, what do you mean by ‘Ravenclaw’s dream’?”
Before practicing spells, Jia Jia Siting couldn’t resist asking.
“Legend says the location of Hogwarts was chosen by Lady Ravenclaw…
The Ravenclaw from the lakeside once dreamed of a wart hog leading her to a cliffside, and thus the school was founded here…”
Wizard Sean recounted the ancient tale, lost to time, in a storytelling tone.
Jia Jia Siting instinctively leaned closer to Wizard Sean, his face filled with wonder and longing,
Hermione lowered her wand, her eyes gleaming in the glow.
The three huddled around Wizard Sean’s wand in the darkness.
“Hogwarts, wart hog—aren’t they similar? The legend says that’s how Hogwarts got its name.”
“Whoa—”
Jia Jia Siting blurted out involuntarily,
Hermione had already covered her mouth.
“What a wonderful story—like Peter, uh, Peter something…”
Jia Jia Siting frowned.
“The Tales of Beedle the Bard.”
Hermione shot Jia Jia Siting a withering look and snapped back.
“Oh, right.”
Jia Jia Siting scratched his head and gently lit the magical lantern.
After the marvelous tale ended, the three young wizards faced marvelous magic.
The Levitation Charm, simple and practical,
is one of the easiest spells for beginners to master.
Yet even this simple spell remains difficult for newly enrolled students.
“Failed again…”
Jia Jia Siting’s feather floated for three seconds before dropping—clearly failing the ten-second minimum.
【You practiced the Levitation Charm at beginner level. Proficiency +3】
Wizard Sean automatically blocked out surrounding sounds; he was always focused.
“Hmm…”
The feather before Jia Jia Siting floated down again; this time he held it for one extra second, but still fell short.
【You practiced the Levitation Charm at beginner level. Proficiency +3】
【You practiced the Levitation Charm at beginner level. Proficiency +3】
“Fell again…”
【You practiced the Levitation Charm at beginner level. Proficiency +3】
【You practiced the Levitation Charm at beginner level. Proficiency +3】
【You practiced the Levitation Charm at beginner level. Proficiency +3】
Repeated successful practice added thirty proficiency points,
but Wizard Sean felt his magic drained completely; his arms ached, his breathing grew rapid.
Magic—call it magic for now—is a strange phenomenon,
unlike the blue bars in fantasy worlds, it manifests directly in the wizard’s body,
shown as fatigue and lethargy.
It is not some elusive spiritual force,
but intimately tied to the wizard’s physical state.
Yet it is clearly recoverable, and one can even sense it,
After all, it’s easy to tell the difference between full of spirit and full of gloom.
During this time, Wizard Sean noticed the troubled Jia Jia Siting.
He kept changing hand gestures, trying to make the feather float steadily, but the feather either suddenly bounced up or drifted unsteadily before quickly falling.
End of Chapter
