Chapter 225: Worth 10 Galleons
Chapter 225: Worth 10 Galleons
"I think there's a problem with your answer." Katrina, standing beside them, suddenly interjected. "'Are you dead?' I think that if you asked that to a ghost, they would answer 'yes, I am.'"
Albert was stunned, his mouth hanging open as he struggled for a response.
Katrina was right; becoming a ghost implied that one had already died.
Well, he had just been constrained by his habitual way of thinking. In a world of magic, where ghosts existed, his previous statement could indeed be answered.
"You're right; I almost forgot about the unique existence of ghosts." Albert readily admitted his mistake; there was no point in being stubborn about it.
Katrina had expected Albert to keep arguing, but she was surprised by his straightforward admission of error.
"You two should hurry up," Isabelle said to them. "You might still be able to catch the Quidditch match later."
Today's Quidditch match was between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and the three of them were supposed to be cheering for their respective teams, yet here they were, engaged in a different sort of contest.
"To be honest, I'm not a big fan of watching matches in the rain," Albert said, turning to Isabelle. "Are you guys really that into Quidditch?"
"Hey, is that really something you should be saying?" Katrina hadn't forgotten that Albert was the one who had defeated Slytherin and secured the victory for Gryffindor in their last Quidditch match.
"Why not?" Albert countered.
"So, that's why you're just a substitute player?" Katrina surmised that Albert's reluctance to become a Seeker stemmed from a fear of hard work.
Yes, that must be it. She had heard that Quidditch training continued rain or shine and was incredibly rigorous.
"Let's begin!" Isabelle interrupted, raising her hand to knock on the wooden door.
The eagle-headed knocker opened its beak and asked, "What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"
"I think this riddle originally belonged to the Sphinx, but it's impressive that Ravenclaw's eagle knocker knows it," Albert commented.
"The answer is a human," Katrina replied, ignoring Albert's remark.
"The eagle knocker has its own thoughts, similar to the Sorting Hat," Isabelle explained as she took the candy that Albert offered and popped it into her mouth. "Initially, it didn't know many riddles, but over time, the Ravenclaw heads have added to its collection."
"How do you know all this?" Albert asked curiously.
"I've read about it," Isabelle said casually as she skillfully unwrapped another candy and ate it.
"Go ahead, ask your next question, Eagle Knocker," Katrina said.
"Do you want one, too?" Albert offered Katrina a piece of candy.
"Aren't you afraid of cavities?" Katrina asked.
"No, I brush my teeth twice a day," Albert said matter-of-factly. "Sugar can stimulate brain activity and enhance thinking. If you don't want it, that's fine."
"Who said I didn't want it?" Katrina chose her favorite flavor and was about to unwrap it when the eagle knocker spoke again.
"Where do the dead go?"
"Into memory," Albert answered promptly.
"Reasonable," the eagle knocker replied after a moment's silence.
"What would your answer be?" Albert asked Katrina.
"Are you doing this on purpose? Interrupting me and taking my question—are you trying to make sure I don't win?" Katrina glared at Albert, clearly annoyed.
"Okay, it's my fault," Albert conceded.
"You shouldn't have interrupted me," Katrina protested.
"I promise I won't interrupt you again," Albert assured her.
From then on, Albert refrained from interrupting Katrina as she guessed at the riddles. He noticed that the eagle knocker's riddles fell into several categories: philosophical questions like the one about the phoenix and the flame, letter-guessing riddles in English, and riddles from various countries.
Indeed, Katrina had a talent for solving riddles. Even when faced with unfamiliar ones, she carefully pondered them and provided insightful answers.
Perhaps this was the result of her regular riddle-guessing practice! Quietly listening, Albert also gained a lot from this exchange, committing most of the riddles and their answers to memory. The eagle knocker at the Room of Requirement would surely have no chance against him now.
What surprised Albert was that the final riddle turned out to be the one about the phoenix and the flame.
"A cycle with no beginning," Katrina answered the last question and heaved a sigh of relief. Turning to Albert, she declared, "I've answered a hundred questions correctly."
"Congratulations," Albert said, smiling and applauding.
In fact, Katrina had answered more than a hundred riddles, as the eagle knocker had repeated some of them during their exchange.
"According to our agreement, where's my prize?" Katrina held out her hand to Albert.
"According to the agreement, you need to give Katrina 10 galleons," Isabelle whispered.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Here, the wager," Albert said, reaching into his pocket and placing ten galleons in Katrina's hand.
"Congratulations again. I'll be going now; see you another day," Albert turned to leave.
"Won't you come to the Quidditch pitch to watch the match?" Katrina asked, staring at the galleons in her hand and then at Albert's retreating figure.
"No, I have something else to do," Albert replied.
"What do you think, Isabelle? Why did Albert make that bet with me?" Katrina, holding onto the galleons, looked perplexed as she turned to Isabelle.
"Maybe it was just for the hundred riddles!" Isabelle speculated. "In his eyes, a hundred riddles are worth ten galleons. Of course, if you couldn't answer them, he would have gained 10 galleons for nothing."
"He really is an odd one," Katrina muttered. "Oh well, since he gave me the galleons... let's go watch the match!"
"Have you considered that Albert might have another motive for getting the invitation to the Ravenclaw common room?" Isabelle suddenly asked. "Although we don't exclude students from other houses, very few non-Ravenclaws are able to enter our common room."
"Do you think he has an ulterior motive?" Katrina put the galleons into her pocket and followed Isabelle toward the Quidditch pitch.
She suspected that Albert had another agenda, but she couldn't quite figure out what it might be. Perhaps Isabelle knew something about his intentions.
Katrina recalled the recent rumors about Albert and Isabelle dating.
"Ask what you want; I know what you're thinking," Isabelle said, as if reading Katrina's mind.
"It's nothing," Katrina replied.
"You still don't trust me?" Isabelle asked.
"Everyone's been saying that you two are dating," Katrina glanced at Isabelle and asked cautiously.
"Rumors are false nine times out of ten," Isabelle evaded a direct answer.
"Oh," Katrina said, "so they're false?"
"Rumors," Isabelle glanced at Katrina and said quietly, "we're just... friends. It's normal for geniuses to be friends with other geniuses."
(End of Chapter)
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