Ravenclaw's Wealth

P. S.: Warmly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of our motherland! Wishing everyone a happy holiday.

"Come in, the door's open."

Professor Broad's voice came from the office.

Albert's hand, which was about to knock on the door, froze in mid-air. Isobel, who was next to him, glanced at him, reached out and pushed open the wooden door and walked into the office.

"You resigned?"

When Albert entered, he found that this was no longer the Defence Against the Dark Arts office he was familiar with. The large bookshelves along the walls had been emptied, and the expensive wool carpet and silk curtains were nowhere to be seen. The desk was completely empty except for a leather briefcase.

"I've resigned, and I'll be leaving today." Professor Broad gestured to the sofa, indicating that the group should sit down and talk.

A few days ago, he was nearly ambushed by Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest, which made Brood feel that the threat of the curse was approaching him. So the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor simply handed in his resignation to Dumbledore. He didn't want to be injured or lose his life for no reason because of that damned curse.

Albert naturally understood why Professor Broad had resigned early: the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor was cursed, and resigning before he was injured was the wisest choice.

"Resigning was a good thing," Albert said. "Leaving before the curse comes knocking is a wise decision."

"Shut up, Anderson," Katrina couldn't help but glare at Albert.

"No, no, I actually agree with Mr. Anderson's opinion." Professor Broad raised his hand to comfort Katrina and said with a smile, "The curse of Defence Against the Dark Arts has always existed. I'm not here to teach because I want to get hurt or die from the curse."

Katrina was completely dumbfounded; she could hardly believe that Uncle Bard would say such a thing.

"But... what will happen to the Defense Against the Dark Arts if you resign?" the girl finally voiced her doubts.

"The knowledge I can teach you has already been taught in previous courses. The rest of this semester is for review and Final Exam," Professor Broad continued. "Dumbledore will find substitutes to teach during the time before the exams."

"Could it be Snape?" Albert frowned slightly. Although Snape was an expert in the field of Dark Magic, Albert really disliked that guy.

"It's Professor Snape," Professor Broad corrected.

"Well, Professor Snape," Albert said, then remembered something else. "What about Mr. McDougal's manuscript for Part Three of Advanced Runes Studies?"

"Oh, you mean that matter? It's been postponed for now." Professor Broad's tone was so casual, as if he were talking about what to have for lunch.

"Postponed?"

Albert was also taken aback, not expecting such a response.

"Yes, it's been postponed." Professor Broad looked at Albert. "The remaining final part seems to have encountered some bottlenecks, Morg has decided to postpone the third part."

As he spoke, Professor Broad brought over a briefcase, took out a file folder from it, and handed it to Albert. "You are also an expert in Runes, Morg thinks you will be interested in it as well. If you have any thoughts after reading it, you can write to him."

"I understand." Albert, and tactfully got up to leave. He could tell that Professor Broad had something to say to the McDougal sisters.

Isobel got up and followed him to the door.

"You didn't need to come all this way to see me off," Albert teased Isobel.

The next second, the wooden door in front of Albert slammed shut.

"What a guy with no sense of humor," Albert thought, shaking his head as he looked at the closed wooden door before turning and leaving the Defence Against the Dark Arts office. He planned to go to the library to finish his remaining holiday homework before studying the things Professor Broad had given him.

"That guy's finally gone," Katrina muttered.

However, Uncle Morg seems to think highly of him.

Thinking about it made the girl a little depressed; the feeling of being completely crushed was just awful.

"From the very beginning, you chose the wrong target." Isobel sat back on the sofa, reached out and patted Katrina's head to remind her, "He is a true genius, destined to leave school with countless accolades. Competing with him is just asking for trouble."

Katrina was a little dissatisfied. Was the gap between them really that big? "Albert is very good," Professor Broad smiled. "He is the most talented wizard I have ever met."

"Yes, it's a bit of a perverse sense of humor." Isobel shook his head as he recalled what Albert had done.

"Ravenclaw students are all eccentric," Professor Broad said. "Moreover, geniuses are usually out of step with ordinary people."

Isobel's face twitched; she believed that Albert's quirky sense of humor had nothing to do with his genius.

"Uncle Bard, Albert Anderson is in Gryffindor, not Ravenclaw," Katrina reminded him.

"Oh, of course I know."

"What do you need us for?" Isobel brought the conversation back on track.

"These are items your father left with me." Professor Broad took out an exquisite wooden box from his briefcase, the box adorned with intricate patterns.

"I can't open it." Katrina tried and found that the wooden box couldn't be opened.

"It's protected by magic; it can't be opened in the usual way."

Professor Broad drew his wand, touched it to the wooden box, chanted a series of strange spells, and then said to the McDougal sisters, "Put your hand on the box and you can open it."

Katrina and Isobel both put their hands on the box, and they faintly heard a soft click. The wooden box opened automatically, revealing the items inside.

A letter, and... a key.

"Is this my father's keepsake?" Katrina picked up the key and examined it from head to toe, bewildered. She remembered that her father had died in a magical experiment when they were very young.

Isobel picked up the letter, opened it, and began to read its contents.

The letter contained a simple description of the key and the belongings left to the sisters.

That was a key to Gringotts. The items in the vault weren't Galleon, but rather the files and records of that magical experiment from back then.

"Why did Father entrust those things to us?" Isobel looked at Professor Broad, puzzled. "Does he want us to continue his research?"

"No, after he died, Morg sorted through some of his belongings. He believed these things were an inheritance left to you by your father, so... he sealed away the original research data." Professor Broad explained the origin of the key to the two of them.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Uncle Bard, but we don't want those things." Isobel declined decisively.

After all, it was that magical experiment that caused them to lose their father, Isobel instinctively rejected such things. But she also understood what Uncle Morg meant.

With Isobel's talent, she could continue her research and complete that magical experiment, which is why Professor Broad entrusted the items to the two sisters.

"I understand," Professor Broad nodded. "If you don't want it, I'll handle it myself."

"Isobel." Katrina was very dissatisfied that her sister had refused without even asking for her opinion.

Isobel, not paying much attention to his sister's displeasure, asked, "Who are you planning to give it to? Anderson?"

"Anderson is a good candidate," Professor Broad said after thinking for a moment. "Rowena also be fine."

"Rowena Smith?" Isobel frowned slightly. This was also a wizard of some renown. He was a friend of his father and was said to have worked with him before.

"Can't you listen to my opinion?" Katrina protested indignantly.

"Your opinion?" Isobel looked at her sister. "I don't want you to make any so-called choices out of spite."

"I'm not a child, how could I do that?" Katrina couldn't help but protest. "Since it was left to us by our father, I think we should keep it instead of giving it up. Maybe...maybe I can continue my father's magical research in the future."

An eerie silence fell over the office.

"Alright!" Isobel bowed slightly to Professor Broad and said, "We'll take the things. Thank you, Uncle Bard."

"You're welcome," Professor Broad said.

Albert, who had just stepped into the library, suddenly stopped and turned away amidst the astonished gazes of the others.

Albert had just been flipping through his notebook when he happened to come across the page about the prediction of Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure. He then decided to go to the Room of Requirement on the Seventh Floor to try his luck.

He headed straight for the Seventh Floor corridor, casting Disillusionment Charm on himself in a secluded spot along the way to avoid being discovered by others lingering near the tapestry where Barnabas the Barmy taught the Troll ballet.

As he approached the entrance to the Room of Requirement, Albert closed his eyes and focused intently on the thought: Enter Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure... Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure... Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure.

After passing that place three times, Albert immediately opened his eyes and looked at the entrance to the Room of Requirement, where all he saw was an ordinary white wall.

"Failed?" Albert stared at the plain white wall in front of him and murmured, "I didn't express it the right way... or maybe that room isn't called Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure."

Albert took out his Fountain Pen from his pocket, wrote down his previous attempt in his notebook, then closed his eyes again, focused his mind, and continued walking.

I need Ravenclaw's Chamber... I need Ravenclaw's Chamber... I need to get into Ravenclaw's Chamber.

After walking through it three times, Albert opened his eyes again.

The door has appeared!

"It's a success!"

Albert felt his heart skip a beat. After looking around to make sure no one was around, he quickly pushed open the door and went into the Room of Requirement.

The room inside the door was indeed a Chamber of Secrets, a narrow, windowless Chamber of Secrets.

What came into Albert's view was a wooden table, an armchair, and... a vertical banner with Ravenclaw eagle on the wall in front of him.

There was nothing else... It was unsettlingly clean.

Albert stepped forward, lifted the banner depicting the Ravenclaw eagle, gazed at the sturdy wall, and muttered, "Well, it really is ' Ravenclaw's Chamber,' you win!"

"If it's not Chamber of Secrets, then..."

Albert left the Room of Requirement, watched the door gradually disappear, frowned again, and strode away.

I need you to become Ravenclaw's Treasure Vault... Ravenclaw's Treasure Vault... Ravenclaw's Treasure Vault.

Albert opened his eyes again and found that the door had reappeared.

When Albert entered the Ravenclaw's Treasure Vault, he found it somewhat similar to the vault he had entered before, filled with items hidden away by former Ravenclaw students: worn-out books, newspapers, boots, broken brooms, old robes...

A treasure vault? Are you sure this isn't a garbage dump? Or does the Room of Requirement have a misunderstanding of what a "treasure vault" is?

Albert's lips twitched; he knew he had failed, so he didn't try to search further and obediently left the so-called Ravenclaw vault.

After three failures, Albert was a little discouraged and began to doubt whether Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure was truly in the Room of Requirement.

If Ravenclaw's Secret Treasure is really here, why isn't there a related quest on the quest panel? Just as Albert was about to leave, he noticed that a new quest suddenly popped up on his Task Panel.

Explore the Ravenclaw's Knowledge Vault.

You have a keen sense of where Ravenclaw's legacy lies, so why not try to enter Ravenclaw's Knowledge Vault?

Reward: Unknown.

Another unknown reward.

However, is Ravenclaw's treasure trove called a treasure trove of knowledge?

That's a fairly appropriate way to address it.

However, Albert failed when he tried to access the treasure trove of knowledge.

Albert was immediately stunned. How could this fail? The mission prompt must be fake!

In the following period, Albert continued his attempts, such as Ravenclaw's rooms and Ravenclaw's Private Library.

Well, we successfully entered the private library. It was a circular room with only a round table and an armchair. The walls were covered with curved bookshelves, and sunlight streamed in through the skylight above. But... the mission wasn't completed.

Therefore, this is not a so-called treasure trove of knowledge at all.

If even a library can't be considered a treasure trove of knowledge, then what can? Albert was immediately perplexed. He sat in his armchair, put his feet on the table, and pondered how to enter the treasure trove of knowledge.

"Could it be that my guess was wrong from the start?" Albert sighed softly. The fact that the panel quest could be activated meant that Ravenclaw's Knowledge Vault was in the Room of Requirement.

Perhaps he should ask a Ravenclaw student if there are any legends or stories about Ravenclaw.

As Albert was about to leave the Room of Requirement, he happened to glimpse an old wooden plank with an Eagle Bronze Door Knocker and Ravenclaw quote inscribed beside it. "The greatest treasure of mankind is intelligence."

Is it true that only Ravenclaw students can find the so-called treasure trove of knowledge?

Albert suddenly remembered something: the Eagle Bronze Door Knocker in Ravenclaw: when you knock on the door, the Eagle Ring will ask you a question.

If you can answer correctly, you will be allowed to enter.

For the past thousand years, no one except Ravenclaw students has been able to pass through this simple barrier.

Albert walked up to the Eagle Bronze Door Knocker and gently tapped the wooden board twice.

The next moment, something unexpected happened: the Eagle Bronze Door Knocker in front of them actually spoke and asked a question.