Ravenclaw Common Room

Wizet read the question aloud. "I stand within it and yet know it not; cast it aside, and I will have no chance of survival?"

"Is it air? It's everywhere but hard to notice, and if you can't breathe air, you lose your life. That would mean no chance of survival."

The eagle statue seemed to come alive, spreading its broad wings.

The bronze door slowly opened, revealing a marble spiral staircase inside.

"A perfect answer, and a very reasonable explanation." Penelope applauded. "This is our way of life. Welcome to Ravenclaw!"

Following the marble spiral staircase all the way up, they reached an extraordinarily bright circular common room at the top.

The common room's vaulted ceiling was painted with a sky full of stars, echoing the clear crystals floating in midair.

The marble walls were white as snow, the carpets and drapes blue as the sea, and the bronze ornaments plain and weighty with age, together forming the common room's solemn, tranquil tone.

Several desks, benches, and armchairs were arranged around the common room. Niches in the walls held bookcases, and the shelves were packed with thick volumes, giving the place the air of a cultural salon.

Arched windows had also been set into the walls. Outside, the starlight was exceptionally clear, dotting the canopy of night like flickering lamps.

The older students found seats with practiced ease, either starting to read or lifting their heads to gaze at the clear crystals in midair, as though emptying their minds.

Quite a few new students were itching to try climbing over to the windows so they could get a proper look at the brilliant night sky.

Penelope clapped her hands to get their attention. "Professor McGonagall should have told you that your House is your home. You'll be staying here for seven school years!"

"The most important thing now is to take you back to the dormitories. I saw plenty of you nodding off just now. After being run around all evening, you must be sleepy, right?"

She first led the girls to the other side of the common room, toward the girls' dormitory.

On the other side of the common room stood a statue. It was very tall, its top almost touching the vaulted ceiling.

The statue depicted a beautiful woman dressed in gauze robes, wearing a magnificent diadem. Her long hair nearly trailed to the floor, giving her an ethereal, otherworldly air that made people hesitate to approach.

An inscription on the base introduced the statue—Rowena Ravenclaw. Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.

Just as the new students were starting to doze off again, Penelope finally returned to the common room and led them toward the boys' dormitory.

She suddenly stopped and pointed to a pair of double doors. "This is the washroom. If you want to wash up later, come here..."

Although the common room occupied only one tower of the castle, it was unexpectedly spacious. There were at least three spiral staircases and several dormitories for resting.

"This is your dormitory. I won't go in... By the way, the stairs to the girls' dormitory are enchanted. If someone of the opposite sex enters, those stairs will turn into a slick slide covered in oil."

A new student hurriedly asked, "Then why can you come into ours? Is it a prefect privilege?"

"Of course not. Prefect privileges don't include that." Penelope shook her head. "The most reliable explanation is that the school's founders thought girls were more trustworthy than boys."

The dormitory was also very large. Everyone had their own four-poster bronze bed and wardrobe, as well as a desk and chair.

The four-poster bronze beds were hung with deep blue curtains, embroidered with eagle patterns in bronze thread.

A thick blue carpet covered the floor, feeling soft underfoot.

The voice on the train had not lied. Their trunks had already been delivered to the dormitory.

It looked as if it had been tidied by the snail maiden.

Not only had the trunks been arranged, the blankets and pillows had also been laid out, and the air was filled with the scent of sunshine-dried fabric.

The other new students were far too tired. Without even saying hello, they flopped straight onto their beds and fell asleep.

"Hoot, hoot, hoot!"

Thor the owl called out, his talons tapping constantly against the perch, as if expecting something.

"Been cooped up, haven't you?" Wizet smiled faintly and opened the cage.

Thor could not wait to fly onto the trunk, pecking at it with his sharp beak. "Tap, tap, tap."

"Don't wake them!" Wizet quickly picked Thor up, opened the trunk, and took out a large thick cloth bundle.

Inside were the snacks he had bought from the trolley witch.

"Are you sure you can manage it?" He stroked Thor's crest feathers. "Otherwise, I can ask where the Owlery is and find a companion to help you?"

"Hoot!" Thor let out a long cry and struck a thoroughly confident pose.

"All right." Wizet smiled faintly, sat down at the desk, and spread out a sheet of parchment.

He thought for a long time, until the ink on the tip of his quill dried, yet still did not set it down.

He had never truly written a letter to anyone before, and for a while, he did not know where to begin.

Even with the help of the Guardian Meditation Method, he still felt as if his thoughts were in disarray.

"Where should I start? From King's Cross Station? Or from crossing the lake to the castle?"

"Hoot?" Thor bent down as if bowing and pecked Wizet on the chest.

"Right on the mark. You seem to have learned Luna's teachings well." Wizet dipped his quill in ink again, and the nib bloomed a dark ink flower across the parchment...

Snape's face was taut. After knocking, he did not wait for a response and pushed the headmaster's office door open directly.

"A Boy Who Lived, an Obscurial, a young Three-headed Dog... This year at Hogwarts really is lively! Headmaster Dumbledore, wouldn't you say?"

Dumbledore set the Sorting Hat on the table and nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Very lively."

"Heh heh..." Snape gave two stiff snorts, his voice utterly cold. "I truly didn't expect that by the time I came back from holiday, Hogwarts would have become so very 'safe.'"

When he said the word "safe," he deliberately drew it out.

His eyebrows rose high. "I'm considering a question. Just how do you intend to protect Harry Potter? Is it a victory as long as the prophecy doesn't come true?"

"Someone who could lose control of his emotions at any moment and then turn into an Obscurus—and you actually approved his enrollment, letting him become classmates with Harry Potter?"

"Severus, calm yourself. How about a cup of tea?" Dumbledore sat back down and conjured a tea set. "My suggestion is that you might take a look at The Quibbler."

"The Quibbler has become interesting lately. It has discussed quite a bit of knowledge about the Obscurus, as well as how one ought to get along with an Obscurial. As far as I know, the response to these recent issues has been quite good."

"But as far as I know..." Snape finally sat down. "The editor-in-chief of The Quibbler is Xenophilius Lovegood, and that Obscurial has the same surname."

"Yes." Dumbledore brewed a pot of tea. "The fact that Xenophilius would do this clearly shows that he has accepted Wizet. In addition, I discovered something interesting."

Snape glanced at the teacup and went on, "Also about that Obscurial?"

"Mm. The Sorting Hat told me this." Dumbledore rapped the table. "Could you tell us again?"

"That child is not simple..." A slit suddenly opened in the Sorting Hat. "I seemed able to see clearly what he was thinking, and yet it also seemed as if I couldn't."

"It was a very marvelous feeling! I think he has a great sense of affinity... I'm not saying he's also an old antique... What I mean is..."

It considered its wording for quite a while. "Through that child, I can look at you from his perspective."

"It was truly too interesting! I liked that feeling very much. I liked that child very much."

Snape's face furrowed into a frown, and he showed a pensive expression. "You mean..."