[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-hogwarts-learning-panel":3,"chapter-hogwarts-learning-panel-hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-404":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Hogwarts Learning Panel",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2250642,4210,"Chapter 404: An Unexpected Cat (25)","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-404",404,"\u003Cp>When he left the Alchemy Office, the sky was dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, it was a pitch-black, cloud-choked night; Peeves was playing tennis against the hallway wall, forcing a group of young witches and wizards to wait until he left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Helena floated past, Peeves shrieked, deflated like a punctured balloon, and frantically shot up into the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward the place her gray eyes fixed, a wizard in a black robe, holding several small lenses, approached slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán planned to give away all seven, considering that each set could communicate independently, and since one had already been given to Professor Tera, he intended to gift them to the professors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Headmaster Dumbledore… plus Professor Tera and himself—exactly seven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking this, he strode cheerfully toward the Transfiguration Office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the way, he heard a voice that surprised and slightly delighted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Green.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena called, her voice light as clouds in the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“People always treat the day of death as an anniversary of mourning, but at Ilvermorny, a headmaster told me that for ghosts, it’s the best holiday.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Happy holiday, Helena.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t make me cry right now, okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena revealed a side Seán had never known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this is what friendship means—allowing someone to truly live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, are you ready?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán asked tentatively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Should I trust you, Green?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To believe a young wizard, to believe he had once seen her mother in a dream, to believe her mother never cared about her betrayal…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a fairy tale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They call me ‘Lady Grey.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grey, between black and white, like all of this—neither the radiant white light expected, nor the pure darkness of self-exile. I am merely… a shadow of regret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Green, but you call me Ravenclaw.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena’s expression grew distant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán was at a loss; he opened his mouth but said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He silently prepared the Resting Ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They passed suits of armor, passed lanterns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time seemed to blur within these unchanging scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the hundredth year since Helena Ravenclaw became a ghost, she finally dared to drift past the corridor before her mother’s portrait. In the painting, Rowena’s gaze remained as sharp as an eagle’s—but never again fell upon her daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the eleven-hundredth year since Helena Ravenclaw became a ghost, she drifted past the corridor before her mother’s portrait once more. In the painting, Rowena’s gaze seemed to have found focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They also arrived at the Little Hope House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven, the Owl Master, offered no resistance, letting them enter freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán instinctively felt this was the place—just as Ms. Ise should have departed from the Origin Stone House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interior had changed completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was no longer the cozy little house Seán and the others had decorated, but a place unfamiliar to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owl portrait slept against the wall beside the fireplace; behind it hung countless photographs, beside it stood jars and bottles, and on a large wooden table rested a crown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between thick curtains beside the table, a sliver of sky leaked through, illuminating the blue silk ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was silent, save Helena’s impossible breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán quickly realized this must have been Ravenclaw’s former office; he saw many precious materials and ancient books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paid little attention to these additional discoveries, swiftly setting up the Resting Ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena brushed each book, sat on her favorite soft sofa, then rose again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, she drifted to the center of the entire ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s getting late.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She murmured to herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tomorrow is a brand-new day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Things grow more unbelievable, but I trust you, Green—let this be my final words.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena smiled, tears like blurred pearls gathering at the corners of her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She never looked back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another ghost had been sent away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán remained silent for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He met the Owl Master’s gaze and realized the owl, now relocated, seemed unusually quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the door, the Owl Master began chattering:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, Green, you little wizard, look what you’ve done—you sent the ghost away, and find it terribly amusing—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sang a song Seán guessed it had learned from Peeves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán suspected it was another of Peeves’s tunes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ll be happy too, Owl Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán gazed into the Owl Master’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little wizard! Listen! I’m not!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At once, it fluffed its feathers, flapped its wings, and lunged to peck Seán—unfortunately, it could only peck the frame, making loud thuds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its gold-rimmed spectacles fell again, yet the parchment clutched in its claws never dropped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Goodbye, Owl Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seán bowed politely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Goodbye, clever little wizard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Owl Master huffed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dusk arrived; Hogwarts Castle glowed with warm light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Torches lined the corridors; candles floated in the classrooms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything looked utterly real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in another place, shrouded in mist,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>all was blurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the forest, tranquil lakes were not always present; most often, its streams were dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The riverbeds exposed bare earth, studded with strange, luminous orbs of mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far off, amid desolation, stood a weary witch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She held a worn book, standing quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the solitude every wandering soul endured; every lingering thought of happiness within them had to be repaid with the loneliness of the soul world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, Ravenclaw saw something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She set down her book and walked toward an unfamiliar place—just as Seán always followed threads to find those he sought, she knew that over a thousand centuries had led to this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the white expanse stood another bewildered witch; strangely, the moment she stepped onto this land, flowers bloomed miraculously everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She carefully avoided stepping on them, yet accidentally bumped into something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena fell to the ground, startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, she was gently wrapped in an embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Falling is fine… I’ve come for you, Helena.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then silence fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes words are pale, yet they need not hinder—because tears are the final means of communication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long after, a single sentence echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, dear Helena, do you know what love is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is a cat that appears unexpectedly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowena Ravenclaw smiled, tears sliding down.\u003C\u002Fp>",1006,"2026-06-19T10:00:41.888Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8d8b58673d0013ff59be494961910b6066ffb1f16222cc69f7504d7361cb8f70","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-405","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-403",526,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhogwarts-learning-panel-cover.jpg"]