The stone door gave no response to Ron's call, leaving only his awkward voice echoing around them.
Several Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw members could not help snickering.
"Maybe the pronunciation wasn't right? Or you said too much, and it should be something simple, like the Fat Lady's password?" Seamus volunteered, squeezing forward and roaring in a thick Irish accent, "In the name of Gryffindor, open!"
The stone door remained utterly motionless.
"Gryffindor!"
The stone door did not respond.
"Courage!" someone tried a different word.
Still no response.
Harry cleared his throat. "Brave and fearless? Never give up?"
"If Gryffindor's forebears needed to shout like trolls to prove their identity, the Sorting Hat's lyrics would probably need rewriting."
Hermione grabbed Harry before he could embarrass himself further. After all, Gryffindors were not the only students there.
"Don't you think that was a picture?" Hermione looked around. "What if it isn't triggered by sound? Maybe it's magic imprinting?"
"Say something I can understand," Ron sighed.
"What I mean is," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at him, "it was showing us the shape of a key. That lion wasn't decoration, or a totem for checking our identity. It was setting visitors a challenge-it needs us to reproduce that entire image."
"Reproduce it?" Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You mean... draw it?"
"Most likely." Hermione drew her wand and recited a spell. The lion they had just seen appeared in the air, then moved against the stone door.
There was no response whatsoever.
"Maybe it doesn't look quite right? Shall I try?"
A Ravenclaw girl tried as well, but there was still no response.
"Shall I try?"
Seamus drew his wand.
???
Harry swiftly pushed his wand down. "Clearly, this method doesn't work. Let's try something else. Hold on a moment."
The others all nodded.