Ravenclaw's Dream

"We're here. This is the hidden room we found!"

After spending quite some time on the Moving Staircase,

the section of stairs beneath the three of them, leading from the second floor to the third, finally turned and connected to a staircase it rarely linked with.

Not far away, Justin gently knocked on the wall, speaking excitedly.

After three crisp knocks, a painting appeared on the wall, which was barely illuminated by firelight.

"We stumbled upon it by accident... but after answering this painting's question, we suddenly entered that room.

We have a lantern, but—Lumos."

A faint glow appeared at the tip of Justin's wand. Then Hermione followed, the glow at her wand tip much brighter than Justin's.

At that moment, Sean approached with a wand as bright as a lightbulb.

"Oh, Sean..."

Justin murmured in amazement, and the three of them turned their attention to the painting.

The canvas was yellowed and cracked with age. Yet rather than some imposing Wizard, it depicted a snow-white Owl wearing a velvet vest and tiny pince-nez glasses.

It was struggling to straighten its glasses with one claw while clutching an old roll of Parchment in the other.

"What are you looking at? Owls are eagles too!"

Hearing its shrill voice, Hermione was the first to burst out laughing.

Justin followed right after,

and even Sean's lips curved upward.

"You again! What are you laughing at?!"

The Owl flapped its wings, and Sean thought he could hear the whooshing wind.

"I-I just thought of something happy."

Hermione defended herself, blushing.

That did it. Sean could no longer hold it in.

"What are you laughing at?!"

"I thought of something happy too."

Sean said softly.

He had never expected to see traces of movies from his previous life in an Owl.

"You're obviously laughing at me! None of you have stopped!"

The Owl flapped about furiously, and the Parchment clutched beneath its claws shook wildly as well.

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

Before it could completely refuse to let them in, the three of them stifled their laughter and sincerely apologized.

"Detestable Young Wizards! If you want to enter, answer my question!"

It unfurled the Parchment beneath its claws. Sean and the others had no idea whether an Owl could actually read,

but after picking through it for a while, it did indeed ask a question:

"Hogwarts, peaceful Hogwarts... tell me, why was Hogwarts built here?"

Its head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, then it asked the question haughtily.

Justin and Hermione froze.

"Why has its question changed? Wasn't it asking for Lady Ravenclaw's real name before?"

Justin found it hard to believe.

"Hermione, do you know?"

Justin turned a pleading gaze toward Hermione.

The brown-haired little witch pondered for a while, then finally shook her head.

"Young Wizards, foolish Young Wizards!"

The Owl seemed quite pleased with itself as it chattered away.

"Because of Ravenclaw's Dream."

At that moment, an out-of-place voice drifted over.

Sean said softly.

The Owl stopped flapping altogether and nearly fell from the painting instead.

"How do you know—"

It cried out, then stiffly gave a small bow.

As its wings moved, a crack split open in the wall, revealing a Sky Blue door.

Thoughtfully, Sean twisted the eagle-shaped doorknob.

Beyond the door was a spacious room.

Several desks lay scattered in the center, covered in dust.

In one corner stood a huge, tilted bookshelf, with most of its books scattered across the floor, their pages brittle and yellowed.

In another corner were several strange devices: a complex crystal lens apparatus and a few Glass Cabinets with tattered labels hanging from them.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

"Sean, what does Ravenclaw's Dream mean?"

Before they began practicing spells, Justin could not help asking.

"Legend says that the location of Hogwarts was chosen by Lady Ravenclaw...

Ravenclaw, who came from the lakeside, once dreamed of a Warthog leading her to the edge of a cliff. And so, a school was founded here..."

In a storyteller's tone, Sean quietly recounted events from a thousand years ago that had long since vanished with the wind.

Justin could not help edging a little closer to Sean, his face filled with anticipation and longing.

Hermione lowered her wand as well, her Eyes sparkling in the glow.

The three gathered around Sean's wand in the darkness.

"Hogwarts, wart hog—don't they sound very similar? Legend says that is where the name Hogwarts came from."

"Wow—"

Justin cried out instinctively.

Hermione had already covered her mouth.

"What a wonderful story. It's like Peter, um, Peter something..."

Justin frowned.

"It's Tales of Beedle the Bard."

Hermione shot the mood-killing Justin a glare and answered irritably.

"Oh, right."

Justin scratched his head and gently lit the Magic Lantern.

With the wonderful story over, the three Young Wizards now had wonderful magic to face.

The Levitation Charm, a simple yet practical spell,

was one of the easiest spells for Young Wizards to master in the early stages.

But even such a simple spell remained difficult for Young Wizards who had just started school.

"Failed again..."

The feather Justin had brought with him fell after floating for three seconds, clearly falling short of the minimum requirement of ten seconds.

You practiced the Levitation Charm once at beginner level. Proficiency +3

Sean automatically shut out the sounds around him. He had always been focused.

"Ugh..."

The feather before Justin slowly drifted down once more. This time, he had lasted one second longer, but it was still not enough.

You practiced the Levitation Charm once at beginner level. Proficiency +3

You practiced the Levitation Charm once at beginner level. Proficiency +3

"It fell again..."

You practiced the Levitation Charm once at beginner level. Proficiency +3

You practiced the Levitation Charm once at beginner level. Proficiency +3

You practiced the Levitation Charm once at beginner level. Proficiency +3

As he continued successfully practicing and gained thirty points of proficiency,

Sean felt his magic nearly depleted. His arm had become sore, and his breathing had grown much more labored.

Magic—well, for now, he would call it magic—was a wondrous thing.

Unlike the blue mana bars in fantasy worlds, it manifested directly in a Wizard's body,

as fatigue and listlessness.

It was not some intangible thing like mental power,

but something closely tied to a Wizard's body.

However, it could clearly recover, and one could even feel it.

After all, it was easy to tell the difference between being full of energy and utterly lifeless.

During this time, Sean noticed Justin's frustration.

He kept changing his gestures, trying to make the feather float continuously. Unfortunately, it either suddenly sprang upward or floated unsteadily before quickly falling.