Chapter 67

In the following week, many students became captivated by Avalon; they tried all sorts of methods, but none succeeded in entering the secret realm, and soon the school was flooded with rumors about how to enter Avalon, with hardly anyone still talking about the Chamber.

Ron, unusually, began frequenting the library; sometimes he merely read historical books about Merlin, searching for records of Merlin’s first encounter with the Lady of the Lake, and other times he begged Harry to use the Invisibility Cloak to sneak him into the Restricted Section—but both found nothing there.

It wasn’t until Thursday, after Ron returned from the Dueling Club, that he excitedly told Harry: “I’ve got a lead—Donald told me he saw a method to enter Avalon in an ancient text, but it was written in Ancient Runes, which he couldn’t read.”

“If he can’t read it, how can he be sure it’s a method to enter Avalon?” Harry’s tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Because there were contextual annotations,” Ron said. “That ancient text itself cited another older one.”

“Alright, then what exactly do you mean by ‘a lead’?” Harry sighed.

“We go back to the Restricted Section. If we find a similar book, we can ask Professor Hype to help us decipher it,” Ron said eagerly.

“Your plan is sound, but we must be careful. King Arthur and Merlin lived in the second century; books recording Arthur’s deeds were mostly written in the Middle Ages,” Harry recalled Antioch’s notebook. “In other words, the book we’re looking for is written in Old English and cites Ancient Runes—and we can’t read a single word of either.”

“Perfect, Harry, you’re brilliant,” Ron said. “We just need to recognize whether it’s Old English or Ancient Runes—then we can bring it to Professor Hype for translation.”

“Do you really think Professor Hype will help us?” Harry felt Ron was being overly optimistic.

“Didn’t you say these elective professors are bored out of their minds? He’ll be happy to,” Ron said, shoving Harry out of the dormitory. “Come on, come on—I can’t wait to enter Avalon.”

To Harry’s surprise, they actually found several books in the Restricted Section that matched the criteria: “written in Old English and citing Ancient Runes.”

After Harry used his limited knowledge of Old English to eliminate the irrelevant ones, only one book remained. Unsure whether the Invisibility Cloak could fool the Restricted Section’s protective enchantments with a book, they copied the Ancient Runes onto their own notebooks, mimicking the method. Fortunately, the Runes weren’t numerous, and as they copied, they grew more familiar—so within two nights, they had copied every sentence.

Fortunately, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team began practice on schedule that Sunday, so Harry didn’t have to be trapped on the pitch by Wood and could join Ron to visit Professor Hype.

Professor Hype was, as Zhang Qiu had said, extremely leisurely. When they found him, he was lounging in his office, legs propped up, reading a tear-jerking romance novel.

“Professor Hype, we encountered some Ancient Runes we couldn’t understand while reading,” Harry said. “We’ve come specifically to ask if you might have time to help us translate them.”

“Ancient Runes used in spellcasting are highly advanced—I don’t recommend studying them now,” Professor Hype said, glancing at their copied sentences. “Oh, these are merely descriptive texts—I can translate them for you.”

“From a drowsy slumber, I suddenly recalled this place—the fairy realm of Arthurian legend,” he began reading. “Ah, this is a poem.”

After hearing the long poem, Harry and Ron learned that Avalon was called “the true final destination humanity seeks,” vividly described as beautiful and serene—but it mentioned no actual method to enter Avalon. They felt discouraged, as if they’d copied all those lines for nothing.

“There are two more lines here—these aren’t from the poem, they’re separate,” Professor Hype’s words revived their spirits.

“When the world is revealed, the Two Dragons meet in sacred light, pointing the way to the gorge. In the fissure of time, the King sleeps.”

Since the preceding text had mentioned Avalon, these lines must refer to Avalon too—the “King who sleeps” clearly meant King Arthur.

“When the sword connects the thirteen tales, one may enter the world’s narrow rift,” Professor Hype finished reading and set down his notebook. “That’s all. If you’re seeking a way into Avalon, I can offer only this much help.”

“That’s more than enough—thank you, Professor,” Ron bowed hastily and pulled Harry out of the classroom.

“When the world is revealed, connect the thirteen tales with a sword,” Ron gestured wildly. “Then we can reach Avalon’s outer edge—once we find the sacred light and the Two Dragons, we can truly enter Avalon!”

“Are you sure?” Harry felt a faint unease. Something felt too easy, and these vague clues instinctively made him suspicious.

“I’m sure. Now we just need to figure out what the thirteen tales mean,” Ron continued cheerfully racing back to the library, while Harry returned to the dormitory with a strange, unsettled feeling.

“Have you made any progress in your investigation?” Neville asked as soon as Harry entered.

“We did find some clues, but something feels off,” Harry said, recounting today’s findings—the riddle of the sword and the tales.

“Let me guess,” Neville said. “‘When the world is revealed’ means around Christmas. The thirteen tales refer to the twelve Knights of the Round Table plus Merlin or Mordred—we must demonstrate their sword techniques. ‘Two Dragons’ means we need at least two swordsmen, and a third, playing Merlin, uses Lumos to light their way, and we can then reach ‘Avalon.’”

Harry stared at him, astonished that Neville, having heard only fragments of the riddle, had deduced such a coherent method.

“How did you reason this out?” Harry asked. “Some parts I still don’t quite understand—”

“You don’t need to understand fully—I’m reasoning backward from the outcome,” Neville said. “Look, Avalon has appeared over the Black Lake for so long. If it were truly a magical realm, a supernatural phenomenon, Dumbledore would have stopped students from entering if he couldn’t guarantee safety.”

That made sense, Harry thought. Leaving an unknown realm floating over the Black Lake for so long was an unstable factor for the school—even if it couldn’t be removed immediately, it should at least be sealed off.

“So this so-called secret realm is just another obstacle course,” Neville said casually. “Dumbledore designed it to train you—or perhaps this time he’s training Ron, the Savior’s best friend.”

This guess reminded Harry of last year’s Philosopher’s Stone—the trials had been valuable, but he really didn’t want to go through another one.

“So Dumbledore certainly doesn’t want you skipping classes to explore the realm,” Neville continued. “There’s Quidditch practice and matches on weekends, plus homework. He can only schedule it during Christmas break.”

Harry recalled how Dumbledore had stayed at the school last year, only leaving once at term’s end—that trip had been to hint the children could begin their trials. Though his plan had been exploited by Death Eaters and nearly caused disaster, Harry still understood Dumbledore’s intent from the original design.

“As for why the realm appeared early over the Black Lake—it’s because he wanted to shift students’ attention away from the Chamber, to prevent panic,” Neville said with a hint of sarcasm. “It won’t open until the time is right.”

“I do remember Dumbledore suggested the three of us try,” Harry said. “That’s why we need two swordsmen and one wizard—he planned it all. Professor Fontroy and Professor Hype are just acting.”

“So we need to stay clear-headed and keep searching for the attacker hiding in the school,” Neville said. “I have a feeling—if we uncover the truth of the Chamber, we’ll find the one impersonating me.”

“Then I think we can start from four directions…” As Harry and Neville discussed the four investigation paths proposed by Malfoy, Ron burst into the dormitory.

“Harry! Neville!” he shouted. “I cracked the prophecy!”

“First, ‘when the world is revealed’ means Christmas. King Arthur died just as Christianity began spreading across Britain—Jesus’ birth brought light to the world, and that’s what ‘the world is revealed’ means,” Ron said proudly, explaining his analysis.

Not bad—Ron had actually read a few books, Harry thought, suppressing a smile as he listened to his earnest reasoning.

“The thirteen tales refer to Merlin and the twelve Knights of the Round Table. The Two Dragons meeting in light means entering Avalon requires at least three people: two swordsmen and one wizard. ‘Connecting the thirteen tales with a sword’ means the swordsmen must demonstrate the Round Table knights’ techniques beside Merlin.”

Harry forced himself to look as if he’d just had a revelation.

“Perfect—I’ve learned the Round Table sword techniques from Donald, and Neville has studied them too,” he said proudly. “If Harry plays Merlin, we can enter Avalon around Christmas!”

“Brilliant!” Neville exclaimed first. Harry clapped half-heartedly—he didn’t fully agree with Dumbledore’s plan.