Percy the Prefect

"Interesting. They're highlighting the important parts on the first day of school," he thought. "Looks like that's where this year's 'dungeon' entrance is."

"Finally, tryouts for the Quidditch Cup teams will be held during the second week of term. Anyone interested in joining their House team should contact their Head of House."

"Now, it's bedtime! Back to your dormitories, everyone!"

At the command, the Great Hall grew noisy once again.

"First-year Gryffindors! This way!" called a tall boy wearing a Prefect Badge in a tone that brooked no argument.

His hair was combed meticulously, and his expression was stern. He was Ron's older brother, Percy Weasley.

"The Prefect's here. Everyone, follow me!" Percy cleared his throat. Like a proud rooster, he led a flock of dazed little lions out of the Great Hall.

Hogwarts at night was even more strange and wondrous than it was by day.

They made their way through the noisy crowd and up the Marble Staircase leading to the upper floors.

"Pay attention. The staircases move on their own," Percy warned without turning around, his tone tinged with pride. "You'd better keep up. I don't want to be collecting anyone from the Hospital Wing first thing tomorrow because 'my first-years got lost on the stairs.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, the staircase beneath their feet gave a sudden shudder and slowly turned toward a new direction, joining up with another staircase.

"Whoa!" the first-years exclaimed.

"Merlin's beard, this is even cooler than I heard!" Ron said excitedly.

Lin Yuan, meanwhile, studied the steps beneath his feet with keen interest.

It's not a mechanical structure, but some kind of alchemy that's been given the property of "animation." The entire staircase system seems to be controlled by a unified yet somewhat random routing array. What governs its movements? A fixed schedule, or does it respond to specific passwords or groups of people?

His mind was like a supercomputer, frantically recording and analyzing everything around him.

The walls were lined with all kinds of portraits. Their subjects—whether chubby monks or stern-looking witches—whispered among themselves as the students passed, even pointing at them.

"Look, this year's first-years," a knight in one portrait said to the noblewoman beside him.

"Is that dark-haired one a child of the Potter family? He looks so much like his father," the noblewoman replied, fanning herself.

"And the one from the East. Gryffindor's becoming more and more unconventional."

"This is amazing!" Harry exclaimed, dazzled. "They really can move and talk!"

"Of course they can," Percy said matter-of-factly. "Why else would they hang here? As decorations? Now, don't stare at them for too long. Some portraits have rather bad tempers."

Just then, a series of whooshing sounds came from overhead, followed by a shower of walking sticks.

Percy reacted in a flash, sweeping his wand through the air. "Protego!"

A transparent barrier appeared at once, stopping the falling walking sticks.

"Peeves!" Percy shouted furiously at the ceiling. "Get out here! Or I'll go get the Bloody Baron!"

A small, comically dressed man wearing a feathered cap appeared in midair out of nowhere.

He had an irritating face and was making faces at them.

"Ohoho, it's Percy the Prefect, the nuisance!" Peeves sang in a shrill voice. "Leading a bunch of silly little newbies! Off to beddy-bye, are we?"

He made an exaggerated retching motion, then whooshed through the wall and vanished, leaving behind a trail of mocking laughter that gradually faded into the distance.

"An inferior spirit with excessive energy," Lin Yuan diagnosed. "It has no physical body, but can exert a slight influence on the material world. Its energy structure is extremely chaotic, seemingly a collection of pure 'mischief' obsessions. Interesting. It could serve as a basic specimen for studying the interaction between spirits and reality."

Percy's face flushed with anger. He straightened his robes and forced himself to stay calm. "Just a low-level troublemaker. Pay him no mind, everyone. We're almost there."

He led them down a corridor hung with a massive tapestry and finally stopped before a portrait.

It depicted an extremely fat woman in a pink silk dress. She looked rather impatient.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked, her gaze sweeping over the first-years.

"Dragon's Breath," Percy said clearly.

"Correct." The Fat Lady nodded. The portrait behind her suddenly swung open like a door, revealing a circular hole in the wall.

"Go on in," Percy said, stepping aside.

One by one, they crawled through the hole, and the space beyond opened up before them.

They had arrived in a cozy, circular room.

Everything in the room was wrapped in warm shades of red and gold.

Portraits of outstanding Gryffindors from past generations hung on the walls. A roaring fire burned in the fireplace, filling the room with light.

There were plenty of soft armchairs and tables in the room. It looked cozy and full of life.

"Wow... this place is great!" Ron exclaimed sincerely.

Harry also looked around, his eyes full of wonder and a sense of belonging.

It was a world away from the cold cupboard where he had grown up.

Lin Yuan, however, was focused on something else entirely.

His Soul Power spread instantly throughout the common room like quicksilver spilling across the floor.

I see... He immediately grasped the secret behind it.

This so-called common room was more than just a room.

It was, in itself, a "Calming Barrier" that remained in effect continuously.

The fire in the fireplace wasn't fueled by ordinary wood, but by a magical fuel mixed with Salamander Blood Powder.

The heat it gave off wasn't merely physical warmth. It also carried magical vibrations that could soothe emotions and calm the mind.

The soft armchairs along the walls were stuffed with a blend of Mooncalf fur, whose magical properties naturally inspired feelings of comfort and contentment.

And those talking portraits...

Lin Yuan's gaze swept across the Gryffindors of past generations as they smiled and nodded at them.

This isn't a simple spirit-binding spell, but something more like a Collective Consciousness Projection.

He realized that the portraits weren't independent entities.

They were connected through an invisible magical network to the entire Gryffindor Tower, and even to Hogwarts Castle itself.

They shared some of their memories and "processing power."

The personalities of the figures in the portraits were based on their traits in life, but their "intelligence" was supported by this vast network.

So the Fat Lady isn't merely a "doorkeeper." She's more like a "firewall" and an "authentication system." The password is the access code. And the entire common room is a giant "charging station" and "therapy room," constantly providing mental support to Gryffindor students and subtly strengthening their courage and sense of belonging. Brilliant. Truly brilliant. Using environmental magic to shape students' characters, without them even noticing.

Lin Yuan was utterly impressed by the ingenuity of Hogwarts' designers.