Ravenclaw Common Room

The next day, Xiwen woke up early again.

Today was Saturday, Xiwen's first weekend since arriving at Hogwarts. A whole day without classes left him feeling somewhat at a loss.

Forget it. I'll try my luck on the lawn by the teaching area first. Maybe Miranda got up early to practice spells there. With that thought, he quickly changed by the glow of his wand-lighting charm and left the dormitory.

Unfortunately, his luck was not very good. Either he had risen too early, or Miranda wanted to sleep in over the weekend; the lawn was completely empty.

So Xiwen decided to do some morning exercises and come back later.

The open grassland northwest of the castle had now become Xiwen's regular place for morning training. Hardly anyone passed through there in the mornings to disturb him.

But during his exercises that morning, he was unusually interrupted by someone passing by.

A strange, unshaven man hobbled past with a cane and glanced over.

"You're quite energetic!" Professor Kettleburn said with a smile.

"Good morning, Professor!" Xiwen withdrew the right leg he had been pressing against his chest and waved at Professor Kettleburn.

"So, did you find your cat?" Professor Kettleburn asked amiably.

"Thanks to you, she came back on her own the next day." Xiwen smiled. "And her eyes have opened too. She's in great spirits now!"

Professor Kettleburn laughed happily in his trademark booming voice, then said, "Haha, that's remarkable. Your cat must have inherited some special ability after opening her eyes, then ran out of the cat cage herself."

"She must have come back because you treated her well. Very good, very good. You're a kind-hearted lad!" The professor gave Xiwen a thumbs-up.

Xiwen smiled sheepishly and scratched his head.

Professor Kettleburn suddenly added, "Bring your cat with you when you come serve detention with me tonight. I'd like to take a look at her—I've been wondering what breed she is."

At the professor's words, Xiwen froze. There had been so many trivial matters lately that, if he had not run into the professor that morning, he would have completely forgotten about detention...

"You didn't forget about detention, did you?" Professor Kettleburn asked suspiciously when he saw Xiwen's expression.

"No! Absolutely not!" Xiwen denied it decisively.

The professor did not pay much attention to it and waved a hand. "Seven tonight. Don't forget."

Then he hobbled away toward the cottage where he lived.

Xiwen's mouth twitched. Even though it was the weekend, it still seemed like it would be a busy day.

However, the most important thing now was still finding Miranda and getting her notes.

So Xiwen returned to the lawn by the teaching area.

Several diligent Ravenclaw students had gradually appeared on the lawn by then, but Xiwen did not see Miranda among them.

Considering that his schedule was a little tight today, Xiwen decided he could not keep waiting like this. He resolutely headed up Ravenclaw Tower on the west side of the castle.

In truth, he would never admit that he was merely a little curious about what the common room of the house the Sorting Hat had nearly placed him in looked like...

Walking up the spiraling staircase filled with blue tones, Xiwen looked down at his green collar and felt rather out of place. He silently stopped, took off his school robe, and put it into Pocket Watch Space.

Then he noticed the green-striped tie hanging casually around his neck. He had taken it off during his morning exercises and had not yet had time to tie it properly. Xiwen removed it as well, leaving only a white shirt on his upper body.

After carefully checking that there was nothing that might reveal his identity, he contentedly made his way toward the top floor of the tower.

I have to say, this place is really high. The Astronomy Tower probably isn't much higher... Having just finished a full set of morning exercises, Xiwen felt a little weary. After comparing them briefly, he found that Ravenclaw Common Room and Slytherin Common Room were actually about the same distance from the ground, which finally made him feel a little better.

At the top floor of Ravenclaw Tower stood a heavy wooden door, with an eagle-shaped bronze knocker hanging from it.

Xiwen stood before the door, intending to sneak in when other Ravenclaws came out to read in the morning, so he could bypass the password.

Just then, the eagle-shaped knocker suddenly spoke in a deep, mysterious voice:

"What would you get if you combined a woodpecker with a homing pigeon?"

Xiwen jumped at the sudden voice. He stared at the knocker in surprise, wondering what kind of operation this was. Was he supposed to solve a riddle?

As he thought, his mind raced. What use would a mail pigeon that pecked wood be? Peck open the door while delivering letters, then toss them inside? The mental image was inexplicably hilarious...

Wait, isn't there some bird that can both deliver letters and peck people? Xiwen suddenly remembered, rather grudgingly, Jabi the owl, who had pecked him just a few days ago.

"An owl?" Xiwen answered the eagle-shaped knocker uncertainly.

The eagle-shaped bronze knocker said, "Reasonable."

Then it lifted its ring, and the wooden door opened along with it.

"There's actually a way in like this..." Xiwen exclaimed.

You had to answer a question to enter. That was very Ravenclaw!

Ravenclaw Common Room was a large, circular room. Several arched windows stood high on the walls, letting in the bright morning sunlight. It was not glaring, yet bright enough, forming a stark contrast with the dark and mysterious atmosphere of the Slytherin common room.

No wonder Ravenclaw students are better at getting up early. The environment is completely different. Xiwen thought silently.

Blue and bronze silk draped softly beside the windows. The domed ceiling was painted with countless vivid stars that seemed to be blinking. The dark-blue carpet below was also covered with star decorations, slightly larger than those on the ceiling. Delicate tables, chairs, and bookshelves stood across the floor.

In the alcove directly before Xiwen stood a large white marble statue. It was lifelike, and her beautiful, poised yet stern face bore more than a slight resemblance to Helena.

Rowena Ravenclaw. Xiwen looked up at the beautiful statue, his expression unreadable.

Helena's mother—the woman who placed immense pressure upon Helena, so much so that even after becoming a spirit, she retained her thirst for knowledge, Xiwen murmured.

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, a magnetic female voice interrupted Xiwen's thoughts.

Xiwen turned and saw a witch with gray hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a thick book in her arms. He abruptly realized that he was currently in another house's common room.

"Good morning, Miranda..." Xiwen awkwardly greeted her.

"Explain yourself. How did you end up here?"

Miranda set her book on a nearby table, crossed her arms, and looked at the stiff-faced Xiwen with an amused expression.