The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 55: The Beginning of a Heinous Crime

The stars are shining brightly.

Silver moonlight poured down from the windows of the towering tower, piercing the night like a thin stream and illuminating a corner of the interior, coating the ancient stone walls and wooden structures with a soft silver glow.

"Don't push, older students, please make way for the younger students."

"I almost, I almost fell to my death! When will the school expand the staircases? Those old-fashioned professors are so inflexible!"

"My dad was right, Hogwarts is indeed dangerous!"

……

The two prefects of Ravenclaw led the students back to the common room.

As they walked through the long corridor, everyone's lines were fairly orderly, but the constantly spiraling staircases that led to the top floor caught the freshmen off guard.

And so.

The originally orderly queue turned into a crowd of holiday travelers, with everyone pushing and shoving each other, afraid of missing the turn of the stairs and not being able to get to the college's lounge smoothly.

"Damn it! Prefects, you need to do something about this! Some old witch from the upperclassmen is touching my butt!"

Keep moving upwards.

Because of his small stature, Ian only dared to squeeze to the front, but unexpectedly, he was attacked several times from behind by unknown people.

perhaps.

Even a handsome young boy, more attractive than Leonardo DiCaprio, sometimes finds it difficult to protect his innocence when he's out and about.

"It's only the first day of school, what are you all doing? Behave yourselves!"

Penelope, the female prefect, sternly reprimanded the older girls in the group, while the male prefect, Dietrich, quickly pulled Ian to his side.

"Our students are always bolder than those of other houses," Dietrich explained quietly to Ian, giving a warning look to the witches and... a few wizards behind him.

The queue continued to climb.

soon.

Led by the two prefects, the group arrived at the top tower. This was the private lounge for Ravenclaw students, a spot that some believed represented wisdom overlooking all living beings.

"Welcome back to Ravenclaw. This will be where you study and live from now on." The two prefects led the group to a bare wooden door.

The door had no handles or a place to insert a key; it looked like a bare wooden board with a bronze door knocker in the very center.

The door knocker is decorated with an exquisitely crafted eagle, bearing the marks of time. After all, it is an ancient school with a history of over a thousand years, so calling it a cultural relic is perfectly reasonable.

"All the houses require a password to pass through their doors, but Ravenclaw is different from the other houses. We must answer one question to pass through the doors."

"This is a test of our wisdom."

talking.

Then prefect Penelope knocked on the door.

immediately.

The bronze eagle head sculpture seemed to come alive.

It did not make bird calls, but spoke in a soft and gentle voice.

"Which can change the world more, knowledge or power?" This is a very obvious philosophical question.

The alchemical artifact had a very gentle tone, somewhat like Nana Mizuki's. After receiving the question, the prefect Penelope did not immediately provide an answer.

Let's start with you being the first one.

Prefect Penelope called out Cho Chang's name.

"I?"

Qiu Zhang looked a little nervous, but she still stepped out from the crowd, thought for a moment, and gave her answer.

"I believe it is knowledge, because knowledge can enlighten people's minds and is the foundation of world development, while rights are merely byproducts of world development."

Although she appeared somewhat reserved, her answers were still firm and resolute.

That makes sense.

As soon as the bronze eagle head finished speaking, the door to the lounge opened. Prefect Penelope gestured for Cho Chang to go inside, then immediately closed the door again.

"????"

Ian was also standing near the front, wanting to follow them in but was stopped.

"This is our New Year's tradition."

Penelope knocked on the door again with a beaming smile.

"If you could choose a wise man from history as your mentor, who would you choose?" The gentle voice came again from the bronze eagle's head.

"Royna Ravenclaw".

Ian looked around. Could he possibly give a second answer in this place?

"What's the reason?"

The bronze eagle head spoke with a puzzled expression.

"That would be the second question. You can ask me why next time I come."

Ian shrugged.

"That makes even more sense."

After thinking for a moment, the bronze eagle head opened the door again.

Ian quickly dragged his luggage inside.

The door was closed again.

"You're really fast."

Qiu Zhang was initially looking at the decor of the lounge when she saw Ian being allowed to pass.

"I was lucky; I came across an easy question."

Ian also began to look around.

The lounge is decorated primarily in blue and bronze tones.

The walls were draped with silk curtains in these two colors, and the domed ceiling was painted with stars, which complemented the stars scattered on the deep blue carpet.

Beside the door leading to the dormitory stands a tall, lifelike statue of Rowena Ravenclaw made of white marble, along with a biographical introduction of the woman.

"Sometimes the questions can be quite difficult. I've heard that some people have gone in and out of the lounge dozens of times a day, just to have a question-and-answer contest with the Bronze Eagle Head."

Cho Chang, coming from a family of pure-blood wizards, seems to know quite a bit about Hogwarts.

"I think this senior will definitely become depressed after graduation." Ian stood in front of the Ravenclaw statue, reading the text next to it.

"Huh? Why?"

Qiu Zhang, who was examining the sofa, turned her head with a puzzled look.

"Because his love life largely ended the moment he graduated."

Ian responded with a smile.

It took Qiu Zhang a moment to understand what Ian meant.

"Who would fall in love with a door?"

She couldn't help but chuckle.

at this time.

Outside the main gate.

I saw yet another student pass through the gate smoothly.

The other young wizards also showed eager expressions.

As Qiu Zhang said.

For Ravenclaw students, thinking and answering questions is not torture but a pleasure, and may even evolve into enjoyment as they progress through the grades.

"What door has no door panels?"

Ian tricked the bronze eagle head into changing the way he asked the question.

"goal."

The Q&A session is still ongoing.

The door opened again.

They watched as yet another young wizard was let in.

Ian was somewhat surprised.

Even door knocker questions can be riddles?

"The question bank is indeed too disorganized."

Ian seemed to be deep in thought.

He felt that the Bronze Eagle Head of his academy was too unprofessional. Perhaps he should take some time in the future to persuade the Bronze Eagle Head to improve.

For example, using more advanced mathematics problems would be a good idea.

after all.

Mathematics does not allow for ambiguity.