Chapter 55: A Sinister Beginning
Brilliant starlight adorned the night sky.
Silvery moonlight poured in from the high tower windows, cascading through the darkness like a gentle stream. It illuminated a corner of the room, bathing the ancient stone walls and wooden beams in a soft silver sheen.
"Stop pushing—higher years, let the first-years pass!"
"Ugh, so close! I almost fell and died! When will the school enlarge these staircases? Those stiff professors know nothing about flexibility!"
"My dad was right—Hogwarts is dangerous!"
…
The two Ravenclaw prefects led the new students back to their common room.
As they filed down the corridors, everything remained fairly orderly. Yet, heading to the uppermost floors involved winding staircases that caught the first-years off guard.
Unsurprisingly,
the once-neat line devolved into a frantic shuffle—like tourists on a holiday trip. Everyone was shoving and being shoved, desperate not to miss the window of time before the stairs shifted again, cutting off access to the Ravenclaw common room.
"Hey, prefects—do something! Some older witch just grabbed my butt!"
Climbing upward,
Ian, slight of frame, could only squeeze himself near the front. Even so, he found himself groped several times from behind by hands belonging to who-knew-whom.
Because, apparently,
a handsome lad on the move sometimes can't protect his innocence.
"Calm down! You lot, show some restraint!"
scolded Penelope, the female prefect. She sharply admonished a group of older girls, while Dietrich, the male prefect, hurriedly pulled Ian to his side.
"Our House members can be bolder than others,"
Dietrich muttered an explanation, shooting a warning glance at a few guilty-looking witches—and at one or two wizards, too.
They kept climbing,
and before long, they reached the topmost tower. This was the exclusive home of Ravenclaw students, some of whom claimed the lofty perch symbolized "wisdom looking down over all."
"Again, welcome to Ravenclaw. From now on, this is where we study and live."
Both prefects halted the group before a bare wooden door.
It had no visible handle, nor any spot for a key—merely a smooth board with a single bronze knocker set in the center. The knocker was shaped like an eagle, intricately crafted but bearing the marks of centuries, befitting this thousand-year-old school. One might even call it an antique.
"Each House's common room requires a password to enter, but ours is different. If we want in, we must answer a question."
"It's a test of our wits."
With that,
Penelope lifted the knocker and rapped on the door.
Immediately,
the bronze eagle's head seemed to come to life.
It didn't screech like a bird, but rather spoke in a soft human voice:
"Which is more capable of changing the world—knowledge or power?"
A clearly philosophical puzzle.
The alchemic creation had a gentle timbre—almost like a certain singer's voice. After hearing the question, Penelope the prefect did not answer straight away.
"We'll start with you."
She pointed at Cho Chang.
"Me?"
Cho looked a little tense, but she stepped forward and after a moment's thought, answered:
"I believe knowledge is more capable, because it enlightens people's minds and underpins the world's progress. Power is just a byproduct of that development."
Though she seemed shy, her voice rang with conviction.
"Reasonable,"
came the bronze eagle's response. At once, the door swung open. Penelope ushered Cho Chang inside, then promptly closed it again behind her.
"???..."
Ian stood near the front, wanting to follow, but was held back.
"This is our little welcoming custom,"
Penelope said with a playful smile.
She rapped on the door once more.
"If you could choose a wise figure from history to be your mentor, who would it be?"
the bronze eagle asked in that same gentle voice.
"Rowena Ravenclaw,"
Ian declared, glancing around. In this setting, could he have given any other answer?
"And why?"
the eagle asked curiously.
"That's a second question. Ask me next time."
Ian shrugged.
"That makes even more sense."
the eagle replied. The door opened once more.
Ian promptly slipped inside with his trunk.
The door closed yet again.
"Wow, that was quick,"
Cho Chang remarked. She'd been admiring the décor of the common room, and in the next moment saw Ian had already arrived.
"I got lucky—it was a simple question."
Ian began examining their new surroundings as well.
The room was decorated predominantly in blues and bronzes. Silken banners of those colors hung on the walls, while the domed ceiling was painted with stars, mirroring the star-patterned navy carpet underfoot.
By the doorway leading to the dormitories stood a white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, impressively lifelike, accompanied by an inscription recounting her life.
"Sometimes the riddle is much harder. I've heard of students entering and leaving the common room dozens of times a day just to tangle with the eagle's questions,"
Cho explained. Being from a pure-blood wizarding family, she knew quite a bit about Hogwarts.
"I imagine that by the time he graduated, our hypothetical student was probably depressed,"
Ian replied while examining the plaque by the statue of Lady Ravenclaw.
"Huh? Why?"
Turning from the sofa she was exploring, Cho blinked at him in confusion.
"Because his love affair with the door ended the moment he left school,"
Ian said with a mischievous grin.
It took Cho a few seconds to parse his meaning, then she couldn't help but laugh.
"Who would fall in love with a door?"
She shook her head, amused.
****
Meanwhile, outside,
seeing yet another person successfully answer the eagle's riddle,
the remaining first-years grew increasingly eager.
As Cho had mentioned,
many Ravenclaws found intellectual puzzles fun rather than torture. By the time they reached higher years, answering the eagle's questions could become a pleasant pastime.
"What kind of door has no door panels?"
the bronze eagle asked now, apparently switching to a puzzle form of the question.
"A goalpost."
The riddle was solved once again,
and the door opened again.
Ian noticed yet another young student walk in.
He found himself somewhat surprised—
the knocker's question bank even contained riddles?
"It is a bit disorderly,"
Ian reflected.
He resolved that once he had time, he'd try to persuade the bronze eagle to "improve" its system, perhaps by introducing more complex math problems.
After all,
math leaves no room for ambiguity.
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