Chapter 82 Ravenclaw
The entire Gryffindor House is concerned about this upcoming match.
In everyone's memory, no game has come in such a gunpowder-filled atmosphere.
Tensions between the two teams and the two academies reached a boiling point after the Easter break. There were some minor scuffles in the corridors, and in one of the worst cases, a fourth-year Gryffindor and a sixth-year Slytherin entered the school hospital with leeks coming out of their ears.
Harry was having a particularly hard time.
Under the leadership of Marcus Flint, all Gryffindor players became targets, and Harry, the youngest member of the team, was the top priority. Not only because of his outstanding flying skills, but also because he possesses the only Firebolt of the two academies (Draco's Firebolt is a secret). This caught Wood's attention.
"We must be more vigilant, especially Harry, he needs someone to protect him!" His attitude was very firm.
"I have no problem, Wood, don't pay too much attention to me." Harry protested weakly, but was firmly rejected by the vast majority of people.
"Don't worry, Oliver, Harry's safety is in our hands." The Weasley twins promised, patting their chests. It is foreseeable that those Slytherin students who dare to hang out will be greeted cordially with dung bombs, fanged Frisbees, etc.
This was indeed the case, and the Slytherin students were in bad luck over the next few days. From time to time, various types of dung bombs would appear on their dining table, a piece of hard-drawn fireworks would appear silently from the potion cauldron, and fangs would fly past and gnaw at their hair when walking in the corridor. When going down the stairs, you will be tripped by the "automatic leg tripping rope" and fall directly. After a few days, the Slytherins were all emaciated and low in energy. They heard frightening sounds and were frightened all night. They were almost frightened.
Originally, these were none of Schelling's business - the reputation he gained in Hogwarts made the little lions avoid him, and no one dared to deal with him. Draco, on the other hand, kept a much lower profile. He rarely appeared in public. Even if he did appear, he could not do without the protection of Goyle and Crabbe.
However, once, during an attack on a senior Slytherin student, Harold Dingo, a fourth-year Gryffindor, accidentally included Astoria, who was passing by innocently, into the attack range. Her robe was stained with dung bombs and the smell was so disgusting that she ran back to the dormitory crying.
Daphne, who felt sorry for her sister, came to Xie Lin, "Gryffindor is simply too much! We all followed your wishes and did not get involved in this muddy water. Even Vincent and Gregory couldn't bear it. I took action, but ended up being bullied to my head!”
Schelling's original intention was that he did not need to participate in this boring dispute. The court matters would naturally be resolved on the court - it would be fine to let Draco use a victory to deal a fatal blow to Gryffindor; but since The people around me are being bullied, and it seems unjustifiable to do nothing.
A coldness flashed through Xie Lin's eyes, "Don't worry! Draco has the Firebolt, this victory must belong to Slytherin, let's use this victory to show off our strength first! After that, Tori ( Astoria’s (affectionate nickname), I will definitely avenge her.”
After understanding what Xie Lin meant, Daphne kissed Xie Lin on the cheek and turned to find her sister to comfort her.
The semester was coming to an end, and Xie Lin then remembered that he and Luna had another agreement, so he decided to go to the Ravenclaw lounge to find her, and take a look at the legendary eagle-shaped bronze door knocker.
The entrance to the Ravenclaw common room is at the top of a spiral staircase on the west side of the castle. There, there was an old, bare wooden door with only an eagle-shaped bronze knocker. Xie Lin gently picked up the door knocker and knocked twice. The eagle's beak on the bronze door knocker opened, and it spoke in a gentle and rhythmic voice: "Where do people go after they die?"
Wow, is it so difficult? It wasn't that Xie Lin couldn't do it, but he extremely doubted how many young wizards were capable of answering this question. Life and death have always been the highest secrets in the wizarding world. There are only a handful of people in the world who have mastered this secret. Moreover, there is a Department of Mysteries in the British Ministry of Magic that specializes in studying this topic, which shows that there are still many unknowns in this field. The solution.
"Limbo." Xie Lin thought for a moment and answered quickly, but the door made no move to open it.
(Note: People's Press did not translate Limbo, this translation is the author's private translation)
After a while, the eagle mouth spoke again: "Where can we go from the netherworld?"
"Shouldn't we just answer a question?" Xie Lin heard Luna describe this eagle-shaped bronze door knocker, and it was always just a matter of answering a question. He frowned in confusion, but still answered honestly: "Choose. 'Go forward' can enter the world of the dead (Afterlife), and select 'return' to return to reality in the form of a ghost. Of course, there are exceptions, such as people with incomplete souls, or people whose souls are anchored by some kind of fetter in reality... …”
(Note: The one with an incomplete soul is Voldemort, who was ultimately stuck in the netherworld and unable to escape; the one with an anchored soul is Harry, who was successfully resurrected and returned to reality through the bond with Voldemort)
"What is the true meaning of life?" - After a while, the third question came again.
These questions are clearly a series of probing questions, not questions designed to be asked of students at all. For the first time, Xie Lin felt that his brain was a bit insufficient.
After thinking for a while, he answered cautiously: "Life is born in nothingness, survives in the world in form, and finally dies in reality and goes to the world of the dead. The so-called life should not just be eating, drinking, littering, and reproducing offspring, but It is about exploring the truth about oneself and the universe - everyone has a different perception and understanding of life, so I believe that the true meaning of life is matter, spirit and soul! "
(In layman’s terms, it means body, mind and emotion. The three-in-one is life. Without any one of them, such as Voldemort and ghost, it cannot be called a complete life.)
The bronze eagle's eyes gradually lit up. It didn't ask any more questions and returned to its former shape of bronze door knocker.
This means I can get in. Xie Lin glanced at it and pushed the door open. What comes into view is a simple yet exquisite room. The bookshelves on the wall were filled with books, the sky-blue curtains were closed, and there were many magical objects that Xie Lin didn't recognize floating on the ceiling, emitting a faint fluorescent light. In front of him was a desk with books spread across the table.
Although Schelling had never been to the Ravenclaw common room, he could tell that this was not a common room. This room was too simple, and there was no door or passage leading to the dormitory. It was more like a certain Professor's office.
A translucent eagle-shaped shadow that looked exactly like the eagle on the bronze door knocker suddenly flew out of the air, "Chosen candidate, welcome to the Ravenclaw's Chamber of Secrets."
Aha! Sure enough, Slytherin is not the only one who knows how to secretly build a secret room and leave a legacy. The great senior time travelers do not deceive me!
"Dear senior, may I ask... why were you chosen? I am a Slytherin." Schelling did not believe in good things falling from the sky. He had to find out why he was chosen.
"Haha, yes, very cautious. You have Ravenclaw's relics on you, right? That is the key to enter here. If you want to be a candidate, you must have the key and pass my test of truth. These two conditions are indispensable. ”
Xie Lin took out Ravenclaw's crown and found that it was emitting a faint silver glow, and obvious and active magic power fluctuations could be seen in the magic eyes. Xie Lin said softly: "Is this what the senior said?"
The eagle-shaped shadow said: "Don't call me Senior, that will make me look old. Call me Aquila. Yes, what you are holding in your hand is indeed the Crown of Wisdom. You entered here. Key, but why does this crown look different from what I remember?”
Schelling quickly recounted how the diadem was stolen by Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of Lady Ronay Ravenclaw, and then deceived by Voldemort and made into a Horcrux.
Aquila showed a complicated expression: "Tsk, horcrux. That is quite evil magic. I never thought that Hogwarts would teach such a wizard..."
Seeing that Aquila was going to dwell on this topic, Xie Lin hurriedly brought the topic back to the secret room: "What is going on in this secret room? What benefits will I get as a candidate? What do I need to do?"
Aquila showed a meaningful expression, "It seems that you have seen other old guys' secret rooms. Let me guess, it's Slytherin's secret room, right? That guy's secret room is the most conspicuous, especially to you. This kind of pure-blood wizard..."
I go. What a guess!
However, Schelling was a little confused, "Aquila, how did I hear that Slytherin left the Chamber of Secrets without letting the other founders know about it, and only allowed the descendants who inherited his will to use the Chamber of Secrets to cleanse Muggle-born wizards in the future? ?”
Aquila sneered, "The old man thought he was very concealed, and he was really bragging. In fact, in the year he left, Lady Ravenclaw used a profound space magic to find out the secret room. , Don’t forget that the school site was originally chosen by Lord Ravenclaw.”
So there is still such a saying? Xie Lin really didn't know. He only knew that Hogwarts was founded by the four founders, and he suddenly showed an interesting expression.
Aquila explained: "Lord Ravenclaw was guided by dreams and chose the current address of Hogwarts. This place hides many secrets that even the four founders cannot fully understand. Of course, Lord Ravenclaw has the deepest exploration and understanding here. However, considering that Slytherin also contributed to the establishment of Hogwarts, and Slytherin's idea may not be wrong, so the three of them. The founder decided to keep the secret room - if one day a Muggle-born wizard really betrays us and brings disaster to the wizarding world, this secret room can also be used as a back-up."
(Note: In the dream, a warthog led Ravenclaw to the cliff in front of the Black Lake. The name of Hogwarts is to commemorate the warthog. Warthog in English is Warthog, Hog. Woz is Hogwarts)
Aquila continued: "Let's talk about you first - you can only be regarded as a candidate now, and you are not yet a fully recognized heir of Ravenclaw. You have the authority to enter this secret room at any time, but you cannot bring anything with you. Come in, and you also have the authority to read and take away all the books and books here. These books are the magic that Lady Ravenclaw has spent her whole life studying, and contain her countless wisdom and hard work..."
"As we all know, Ravenclaw is famous for her wisdom. The magic inheritance she left behind is the vastest and richest among the four founders. The books here belong to her private collection and have not been circulated. Smart You should know the value of these books."
Schelling certainly knew the value of these books. The four founders of Hogwarts are all the most outstanding wizards of our time. They selflessly established the magic school and shared and imparted their magical knowledge, which is already remarkable.
It is understandable that they keep their unique secret skills privately as a trump card. This is not because they are selfish, but in that dark age of the Middle Ages, every wizard cannot disclose all his strength casually, as that would be a recipe for death.
"If you want to become the true heir, there are only two things you need to do: first, after reading all the magic books here, inherit all the knowledge of Ravenclaw, and then find the next candidate for inheritance for this secret room. ; Second, find out the true use of the Crown of Wisdom, but I think that before that, you may have to expel the power of the Horcrux contaminated by the crown... You only need to complete one of the two tests, and you will Be recognized as the official Heir of Ravenclaw and you will have my allegiance."
"Hmm...Aquila...I'm curious, what kind of existence are you, and why do I need your loyalty?"
"You bastard, I am Lord Ravenclaw's most proud magical creation thousands of years ago. I have accompanied her through countless magical researches, and I have followed her in countless magical battles. Ravenclaw treats me more than the Crown of Wisdom. Cherish it, what do you think?”
Sounds like a research assistant and battle summoner, which is indeed a good thing, Schelling thought.
The first task was not difficult. With Xie Lin's intelligence and the hourglass of time, it was only a matter of time before he finished reading the collection. He also has a clue about the second task. He will first find a way to use a pure silver dagger to destroy the Horcrux without damaging the crown. Maybe he will need some assistance from soul magic in the process. Then he will find the true use of the crown from the history books, or Asking Professor Binns directly also seemed like a good option.
Extracurricular trivia: Aquila means Aquila.