Chapter 131: Helena Ravenclaw
Chapter 131: Helena Ravenclaw
After finishing today's lesson, Felix left ample time for questions.
"Professor, how do you pass the seventh level of Ancient Runes?" a Slytherin young wizard raised his hand to ask.
"Monty, I remember marking the hint on the level itself?" Felix blinked his eyes.
"But, Professor, you only wrote a book title", he said, sounding a bit aggrieved. "And it's a book we haven't read yet."
The other young wizards began chattering among themselves.
"Ahem!" Felix cleared his throat. As they turned to look at him, he magically produced a parchment, "In fact, you should have read it."
"The book Simple Ancient Runes has appeared three times in your reference list for last year's essays... Shall I remind you which times it was?"
The young wizards stared at him in stunned silence, and the chatter ceased.
"P-P-Professor, you weren't here last year, were you?"
Felix responded lightly, "I corresponded with Professor Babbling, and she provided me with the archives from previous years." He looked at the class with a touch of admiration, "She is a very dedicated professor, isn't she?"
...
That evening, Felix stood before the Room of Requirement.
During the day, he had a sudden thought: the Room of Requirement might be Rowena Ravenclaw's Chamber. However, he needed to verify this theory.
Behind him, a large tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance hung on the wall. One of the trolls stopped beating the ballet teacher and turned to look at Felix.
A bug crawled up the troll's foot and into its nostril, causing it to let out a silent roar. The troll's club flew up and smashed into another troll's head.
But none of this concerned Felix. He silently repeated to himself, 'I need to enter Rowena Ravenclaw's Chamber... I need to enter Rowena Ravenclaw's Chamber... I need to enter Rowena Ravenclaw's Chamber...'
He walked past the spot three times, his heart racing, and then he looked up—only to see a plain white wall.
Felix fell silent, "That's right, I don't know what's inside."
The Room of Requirement's command is simple, but it's not easily tricked.
He thought for a moment and tried again, 'I need to enter the Room of Requirement in its original form... I need to enter the Room of Requirement in its original form... I need to enter the Room of Requirement in its original form...'
Still, nothing changed.
Then, Felix recalled that the Slytherin Chamber was initially used for teaching, so he tried, 'I need to enter the place where Rowena Ravenclaw secretly taught students.' and 'I need to enter Rowena Ravenclaw's laboratory.'
But no door appeared.
Felix had no choice but to leave, frustrated. Over the next few days, he continued to try to connect the Room of Requirement with Rowena Ravenclaw, exhausting every idea he could think of, but he found no success.
Just as he was about to give up, on Friday evening, he ran into Grey Lady in the courtyard—this was already the third time this week. They chatted casually and watched the sunset together.
In Felix's heart, Grey Lady was a somewhat proud and vain but kind and well-mannered woman. Despite her occasional quirks, talking to her was always very pleasant.
"Truly beautiful~" Grey Lady said.
"Do you rarely look up at the sunset?" Felix asked.
"Rarely", she hesitated for a moment but then continued, as they were already quite familiar with each other. "It reminds me of some sad memories..."
Felix didn't press further, keeping his mouth tightly shut.
They watched the brilliant red afterglow, with beams of light piercing through the clouds, casting a golden rim around the edges.
"Will you keep this a secret?" she suddenly said.
"Yes, I will", he responded calmly without making any promises.
But Grey Lady believed him and tried to open up, speaking with a touch of sadness. "I died in a scene just like this."
After struggling to utter the first sentence, she seemed to break free from her restraints and continued in a rush. "It was around this time, but in the Albanian Forest, a desolate place. I thought—my mother couldn't reach me there."
Felix listened silently, knowing what was to come.
It was a tragedy, a tragedy that shaped the Grey Lady of Hogwarts and Baron Blood.
"I was gifted from a young age, one of the most outstanding. I grew up with constant praise, year after year, completely losing my head... But when I grew up, I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't match my mother. So—"
"I stole my mother's diadem, for it could bestow wisdom. I fantasized that with the diadem, I could surpass her."
Her translucent body began to tremble.
"They say", she choked, "my mother never admitted the diadem was missing. She pretended it was still there. She even hid her loss from the other founders of Hogwarts, concealing my shameful betrayal."
"Later, my mother fell ill—very ill. Despite my disloyalty, she desperately wanted to see me one last time. She sent a man to find me. But I refused him, thinking he was lying, that she was lying to me. She had already taken that step, how could she be ill?"
Felix spoke calmly, "It was Baron Blood."
"It was him. I refused to go with him, and he flew into a rage—his dark magic had completely consumed him."
Felix listened quietly.
"We had a fierce confrontation, with unforeseen consequences... He stabbed me with his sword. I fell to the ground, seeing the same twilight scene..."
She lifted her head, watching the last light slip away.
After a long silence—
Felix asked, "Do you hate him, Baron Blood?"
"Do I hate him!? He destroyed me, my magic, my life, everything!" she shouted with anger.
Helena Ravenclaw took a deep breath and raised her head, her expression unreadable.
"And", she whispered, "before I died, I asked him if what he said was true. About my mother..."
"He told me it was all true, that my mother was indeed very ill. He took away my chance to see her one last time, my only chance to atone! Do you ask if I hate him? My answer is, of course, I do!" she suddenly screamed, losing control.
She was about to float away, but her hand was held back. Helena turned around in surprise, her angry expression softening.
Felix's hand glowed with a cold, blue light, gripping her hand tightly.
(End of Chapter)
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