Ravenclaw

The school song finally ended to the slow rhythm of the Weasley Twins' "Funeral March."

It was finally over!

Li Wei seriously suspected that, following the literary technique of echoing the beginning with the end, the Weasley Twins' funeral march had been sung for those who would die in the Battle of Hogwarts at the end of the original story!

Most regrettably, among those who would need to be mourned in the future were many people currently in the Great Hall!

They had heard their own requiem in advance!

And it was a mournful tune sung by the people who brought everyone the most joy!

This was an ominous sign of the final ending, and also the original author's mercy. A joyful beginning had already foretold a sorrowful ending.

But Li Wei only found the tune grating!

Because he was here!

He had already made up his mind to change the original plot and prevent every single regret from happening. This was a task he had resolved to accomplish!

It had nothing to do with responsibility or kindness. As a transmigrator, this was his challenge to—and experiment with—fate!

With the MOD System, magic was already a smooth path before him.

Only by constantly setting loftier goals and challenging himself could he find enough motivation to become stronger!

"Music," Dumbledore said emotionally, wiping his eyes.

"The children's singing has more charm than anything we could ever do!"

"Now it is time for bed. Everyone, return to your dormitories!"

The headmaster dismissed them, and everyone began leaving the Great Hall in a disorderly manner under the prefects' arrangements.

As Li Wei followed the older students out, he saw Hannah, Hermione, and Neville waving goodbye to him from among the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor groups.

He smiled and waved back at them, wondering which house he would have his first class with tomorrow.

The Ravenclaw Common Room and the boys' and girls' dormitories were on the western side of Hogwarts Castle, at the top of the fifth-floor spiral staircase. Entering Ravenclaw Tower would bring one there.

Li Wei and the other little Ravenclaw eagles left the Great Hall together with the little Hufflepuff badgers.

After walking through the castle for a while, they parted ways again, with one house heading upward and the other downward.

The intricate, constantly moving staircases were simply the most mind-bending moving staircases Li Wei had ever seen. After trying to memorize them for only a short while, he was already feeling muddled.

Fortunately, led by the prefects, the Ravenclaw students finally arrived before the door to the common room.

The common room entrance was an old wooden door without a handle or keyhole.

Mounted on it was an enchanted Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker.

Robert Hilliard, Ravenclaw's fifth-year male prefect, stood before the door and said to Li Wei and the other ten first-year students:

"Welcome, first-year wizards, to Ravenclaw!"

"As you can see, the Ravenclaw Common Room is located at the very top of Ravenclaw Tower."

"Ravenclaw's representative animal is the eagle, which is why we call this place the Eagle's Nest."

"The common room's main colors are blue and bronze. There is also a private library inside that rivals the school library. You will see it when you enter!"

"Lady Rowena Ravenclaw once said: 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure!'"

"Therefore, unlike the other three houses, the Ravenclaw Common Room has no password, but it refuses entry to anyone lacking sufficient wisdom."

"To enter the common room, you must answer the question posed by the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker behind me. Otherwise, even Ravenclaw students will be kept outside."

As he spoke, Prefect Robert began his demonstration.

He stepped before the door and knocked twice on the old wood. The Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker then asked in a crisp, pleasant voice:

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

The Ravenclaw first-years could not help looking at one another. They had to answer a brainteaser just to go back to their rooms and sleep?

When Prefect Robert turned around, he saw Li Wei standing at the front of the group. His silver-gray eyes gleamed brightly in the firelight, reflecting a cold and intelligent light.

"This gentleman, please answer the question!"

He felt that Li Wei, as the first-years' representative, could give everyone a good start.

"Fine, time for an intelligence quiz."

Li Wei muttered to himself. After thinking for a moment, he answered:

"The Phoenix is fire, and fire is the Phoenix. It is a cycle with neither beginning nor end!"

This was Hogwarts, where they studied magic. Naturally, Li Wei knew he could not answer the question with the history of biological evolution beginning from single-celled organisms.

"Correct answer," the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker replied in an even more pleasant voice. Immediately afterward, the old wooden door behind it opened.

"An excellent answer." Prefect Robert enjoyed the sound of the knocker's voice and took the lead in applauding. The other Ravenclaw students followed suit.

Bang!

Although Li Wei had answered correctly, Robert did not lead everyone into the common room. Instead, he shut the door, then knocked again.

The Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker:?

"A clever little Ravenclaw found an ancient Egyptian treasure using a treasure map, but the treasure was guarded by a Sphinx!"

[A Sphinx is an intelligent magical creature capable of human speech. With a human head, lion's body, and eagle's wings, it excels at posing riddles to test others. It only attacks those unable to solve its riddles and was commonly used by ancient Egyptians to guard tombs or treasures.]

"The Sphinx permitted the little Ravenclaw to take all the treasure it guarded, but he had to answer its riddle."

"The treasure was a pile of Egyptian coins with gold on one side and silver on the other. The patterns on the gold and silver sides were exactly the same."

"The Sphinx required the little Ravenclaw to divide the coins into two piles. The two piles did not need to contain the same number of coins, but they had to contain equal numbers of coins with the gold side facing up."

"At that moment, the Sphinx suddenly flapped its wings and extinguished the flames in the treasure chamber. In the darkness, the little Ravenclaw only remembered that there had originally been one hundred coins with their gold sides facing up."

"How should the little Ravenclaw divide the coins to obtain the most treasure?"

Perhaps angered by Robert's underhanded move, the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker's question this time was especially long and tested logic even more.

Prefect Robert could not help looking toward his partner, Prefect Penelope Clearwater. It seemed he had overdone it. Could the little wizards answer such a mind-bending question?

Penelope smiled helplessly. Now they could only leave it to fate. Although she had already figured out the answer, the point was to test the first-years.

Robert could not help looking at the Ravenclaws from second through seventh year either. He felt that some of them should have thought of the answer.

He was right. Ravenclaw, which revered wisdom, had no shortage of clever people, but none of them chose to answer. Instead, they watched Robert with amusement.

A prefect making a fool of himself was not something one saw every day.

"Fine." Robert could only look at the ten little sprouts before him and ask helplessly:

"Little wizards, can any of you give the answer to this question?"

The ten first-years looked at one another, their minds racing as they pondered the answer.

Michael Konar was a smart Black boy with an optimistic, cheerful personality who enjoyed socializing. He was the first to tentatively speak up:

"Er? How about using a Summoning Charm? Summon the coins with the gold sides facing up, then count out fifty and throw them back!"

"Incorrect answer," the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker said coldly.

"Mr. Konar, this question is clearly testing logical analysis, not your spellcasting ability," Prefect Robert said helplessly, waving his hand.

Lisa Turpin was a quiet little girl who usually enjoyed hands-on experimentation. She tentatively said:

"Gold is heavier and silver is lighter. If we toss the coins into the air, the final result will definitely have the gold sides down and the silver sides up."

"So, as long as we toss all the coins once—or several times—the number of coins with the gold side facing up will become zero."

"Then we can divide them however we want!

I could even keep all the coins for myself, because the number of gold-side-up coins on both sides would be zero!"

Li Wei nodded upon hearing this. He had to admit that Lisa Turpin's method was a good one and would yield the greatest profit, though it was a bit too risky!

He guessed that if Lisa Turpin had not been sorted into Ravenclaw earlier, she would have been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Incorrect answer," the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker said even more coldly.

"Miss Turpin is right that gold is heavy and silver is light, but there is a problem: the probability of every coin landing with gold down and silver up is far too low!"

"Your method is simply too risky!"

"You should know that the Sphinx is classified as a XXXX-level dangerous magical creature by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Once you answer incorrectly, you would have no way to resist a Sphinx's attack."

Prefect Robert smiled helplessly. He had thought of the answer as well, but Lisa Turpin's response still had considerable merit. It was simply too risky!

"Hah..."

Li Wei yawned. He was truly getting sleepy, and after returning to the dormitory, he still had a whole wave of MODs loaded today to inspect.

He had not wanted to stand out like this, but after hearing Prefect Robert's evaluation of Lisa Turpin's answer, he spoke directly:

"Prefect, I have thought of an answer!"

Robert nodded, signaling for Li Wei to answer as he pleased. Everyone then heard Li Wei say:

"Randomly take one hundred coins from the pile, stack them together, and flip the stack over. Then the number of gold-side-up coins on both sides will be equal!"

As soon as Li Wei finished speaking, the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker rang out in a crisp, sweet voice:

"Correct answer!"

With a creak, the door to the Ravenclaw Common Room opened!

"So why does that work?"

Some Ravenclaws still had not caught on and could not help asking.

"Independent thinking is also a quality that a Ravenclaw should possess."

Not only did they fail to get an answer, they were even rebuked.

Li Wei followed the beautiful older prefect Penelope, breathing in her faint rose fragrance as he entered the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Looking around, he saw an exceptionally spacious and bright circular room. Its windows were clean, it was well ventilated, and its decorations were elegant. It truly deserved to be called Hogwarts' best common room.

The common room's overall furnishings and decorative style centered on blue and bronze. Silk draperies in those colors hung on the walls, creating an atmosphere of elegance and wisdom.

Stars were painted across the domed ceiling, while the dark-blue carpet below was also covered in stars. They reflected one another as though one were beneath a starry sky.

The room contained tables, chairs, and bookcases, as well as a private library whose collection rivaled the Hogwarts library. Li Wei was deeply drawn to it at first glance. This was another great treasure trove!

Beside the door leading to the dormitories stood a tall statue of Rowena Ravenclaw carved from white marble. A replica of the Ravenclaw Diadem rested atop the statue.

A thousand years had passed, yet Ravenclaw's diadem had still not returned to the place where it should be worn.

Through the elegant arched windows in the walls, Li Wei looked down by moonlight upon the school's grounds, the Great Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch, the herb gardens, and other beautiful sights.

With its sweeping view, elegant decor, abundant books, and beautiful, intelligent older students living alongside him, Li Wei would never have dared dream of such a living environment in his previous life!