章 600: 0598 Love
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in utter astonishment as they watched the slightly plump, middle-aged witch with soft, kind facial features walk back to her wooden desk. Beside the desk, a beautiful witch with icy blue eyes full of wisdom conjured an elegant wooden stool with a wave of her wand and sat upon it gracefully. The trio wore expressions of complete shock and disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost materialize before their very eyes!
"Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff--" Hermione stammered and her voice was barely above a whisper.
She stumbled backwards uncontrollably in the stunned silence. Almost the instant she saw the two witches, she recognized their identities. After all, even a full millennium later, moving portraits and detailed tapestries depicting these legendary witches still decorated the halls of Hogwarts. But Hermione's mind buzzed with the sheer impossibility of what her eyes saw.
'How could such an absurd, inconceivable thing be happening right before me?!'
Harry felt his head buzzing and spinning, as if a swarm of bees had sat in his skull. After over three years at Hogwarts, it would have been utterly ridiculous if he hadn't at least heard the names of Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. After all, the very Houses bearing their names were mentioned every day in the castle. But this--
This was beyond anything Harry could have ever thought of. Two of the founders of Hogwarts, living and breathing, present in the flesh right before his disbelieving eyes. At this, Harry's thoughts were crushed to a screeching halt. He thought that even if Voldemort himself suddenly appeared before him, sneering with malice, he could not possibly feel this level of shock.
"I must be dreaming--" Ron muttered under his breath, his face was pale as he shook his red head slowly from side to side. His wide eyes inadvertently fell upon Professor Watson's expression.
Ron felt another jolt of shock course through him as he saw that the professor still had an infuriatingly calm and composed face.
'These were Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw themselves, in the flesh!'
Ron thought it was utterly unimaginable for anyone, no matter how powerful or influential, to remain so completely unfazed and calm in the face of such situation. Unless...
"They're not real, right, Professor Watson?" Ron blurted out loudly, unable to contain himself. Hermione turned towards him in alarm and hastily clamped a hand over his mouth and yanked him backwards.
"Shut up, Ron!" Hermione hissed furiously in his ear, her voice was low and trembling with intensity despite her hushed tone. She shot Harry a glare where he stood rooted in place still staring at her blankly in confusion. "Those are the great Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw themselves! Show some respect, for Merlin's sake!"
Illusion magic -- that was Professor Watson's calm explanation.
In that moment, the familiar light of understanding burst to life in Hermione's racing mind. Of course, this office clearly belonged to none other than Helga Hufflepuff herself. Although Hermione remained utterly perplexed as to the underlying reasons, it seemed that the great Lady Hufflepuff had left behind this amazing enchantment within her office, granting them an unparalleled chance to glimpse the true faces of these two legendary witches!
'What an incredible significant experience this was!'
Hermione thought giddily, barely able to contain her excitement.
She took in the sight of the two legendary witches standing before her with captivated fascination, and her eyes shone with pure admiration and awe. An overwhelming swell of gratitude began to build in Hermione's chest as she reflected on how passionately she had insisted they investigate this ominous secret passageway. Never had she imagined that her persistent curiosity would lead to a discovery of such magnitude!
Bryan turned his head slowly and his eyes swept over the three stunned teenagers who had unconsciously backed up against the rough stone wall. Dobby and Freedom, the two house-elves, stood quietly to the side, and their bulging eyes were wider than ever.
"They are indeed exactly who you believe them to be, Ron," Bryan said with a small smile. "This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that has fallen into our laps. As such, I must ask that from this moment forward, you all remain completely silent, regardless of what you may hear--"
"You appear utterly exhausted, my dear Lady Ravenclaw--" A high, squeaky voice suddenly came up, cutting off Bryan before Harry, Ron and Hermione had time to promise.
It was Kiki, the house-elf who had been standing obediently beside Hufflepuff. She spoke without any hint of the timid servility one would expect from her kind.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione instantly sucked in sharp breaths and held them, staring at the unfolding scene.
"Shall I prepare a special invigorating elixir for you?" Kiki offered proudly gazing towards Hufflepuff, whose kind face had a gentle smile. "It's based on Lady Hufflepuff's latest alchemical formula. I assure you; the effects are truly remarkable and the flavor is simply divine!"
Bryan gazed down at the tiny elf with a strange, pensive expression. He marveled inwardly at how extraordinary this particular house-elf was.
Kiki had clearly managed to completely shed the innate servility and submissiveness that Herpo had cursed into the very souls of her species. From his own studies, Bryan knew all too well how immensely difficult it was for a house-elf to break free from that magical shackle.
Dobby and Freedom also looked at Kiki in utter disbelief, and their jaws were almost hanging open. They couldn't imagine that one of their ancestors actually dared to address the renowned Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw in such a familiar, almost 'equal' manner. It boggled their minds and challenged their entire worldview.
"One of Helga's remarkable new concoctions? I would be delighted to sample it. Thank you, Kiki," Ravenclaw replied, her icy blue eyes flashing with a cold, detached light of pure rationality. Even her gracious smile held a distinct undercurrent of coldness.
"Pardon me, Lady Ravenclaw, but I shall need a few moments to brew the elixir," Kiki squeaked. "I'm afraid I have not yet fully mastered the details of the preparation process."
With that, the tiny elf turned on her back and walked out of sight, leaving a flabbergasted audience in her trail. Helga and Rowena watched her go with expressions of fond amusement.
As the door shut behind the house-elf with a soft thump, Rowena's eyes glazed over slightly, as if her mind had transported her far away. She thought back to the scene witnessed in the underground temple on that small island, then slowly turned to face her dear friend.
When she finally spoke, Rowena's melodic voice was heavy with a complex mix of emotions. "You've achieved something truly remarkable with Kiki, Helga. To guide her in throwing off the chains of that innate submissiveness..."
"Every sapient being, no matter how small, possesses a soul that yearns for freedom, Rowena. It is an inextinguishable spark that even the most potent magic cannot completely overpower," Helga replied gently and her eyes lingered on the closed door. "So long as we nurture that spark with love, it can grow into a brilliant, unquenchable fire - restoring their souls to their intended radiance."
'Love?' The corner of Bryan's mouth twitched. The notion that love possessed the supreme power to conquer any obstacle had always been one of Dumbledore's most troublesome beliefs, in his opinion. As a man of science and logic, he still did not believe that pure love could override the absolute laws of magic and nature.
Hermione, however, found herself deeply intrigued by the exchange. Kiki's extraordinariness, combined with Helga Hufflepuff's stirring words about uplifting house-elves through love resonated in her heart and mind. Of the group of time-travelers (in a way), she was by far the one most fascinated by the concept. She turned and examined Freedom thoughtfully for a long moment and a speculative gleam flashed in her eyes.
"Love..." Rowena repeated the word slowly, as if tasting it. An uncharacteristic flicker of immense sadness rippled across her facial features before vanishing behind a curtain of careful control.
This was unusual.
The Rowena Ravenclaw that Bryan had witnessed on the trip to Azkaban was the most rational witch he had ever seen. Her emotions were almost extinguished beneath her extraordinary wisdom. What could have possibly caused such an intense fluctuation in her composure?
Helga had also clearly noticed her friend's distress. She reached out a comforting hand and laid it gently on Rowena's arm. When she spoke, her normally cheery voice was tinged with concern and understanding.
"You still haven't told Godric, have you?"
It was more of a statement than a question.
Ravenclaw smiled then showing a heartbreaking expression filled with endless sorrow and unimaginable loneliness. On her face, it was a gut-wrenching sight that threatened to bring tears to the eyes.
When she finally responded, unshed tears glistened in Rowena's eyes. "Helga... you know as well as I how precarious Hogwarts' existence remains in this world. Those stubborn, close-minded fools on the Royal Wizards Council, along with the Old Pureblood Houses, resent our efforts to bring magical education to all. They tolerate our school only out of fear of our combined might."
Rowena paused, taking a deep breath and continued.
"But in their hearts, they have never abandoned their insidious goal of tearing down these walls we have raised - of jealously hoarding the gift of magic for themselves alone once more. The fanatics among them would seize any excuse to reignite the fires of war against us.
And even the conservative factions, who begrudgingly allow Hogwarts to stand for now, plot against us in the shadows. One reason is they hope that after the four of us disappear from this world, if Hogwarts does not have outstanding successors, then they will take practical action.
The second is that we have deceived them by making our families maintain opposing stances. If the Gryffindor family and the Ravenclaw family develop a closer connection than of friendship, it will undoubtedly stimulate their tense nerves, and war may come immediately."
Gryffindor and Ravenclaw...
Harry and the others listened in stunned silence, barely daring to breathe. Nobody had ever heard even a whisper of this tear-jerking story - not in any of the wizarding history books they had read over. Even Hermione, with her encyclopedic knowledge, could recall not a single mention of the ill-fated love between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
Bryan pursed his lips slightly. He was not particularly surprised by this matter. In the memories he had witnessed during the journey to Azkaban, there had been some exposed clues about the subtle feelings between the two. However, a sense of admiration still rose from his heart.
The wizarding era a thousand years ago was much more hostile and closed off than it was a thousand years later. From what Ravenclaw said, it seemed she intended to cut off her emotions and perhaps ties too with Gryffindor to ensure that war would not happen, allowing Hogwarts, which passed on magic to young wizards of Muggle blood, to continue to exist!
Helga sighed heavily and her warm eyes held unshed tears of her own. When she finally spoke, her voice was rough with emotion. "But Godric... surely won't care about these things—"
"Yes," Rowena interrupted, showing a sad smile. "And that is precisely what I fear! You know Godric as well as I... he is a man of passion, of conviction. He would gladly march into the jaws of war, to defend our love."
She laughed then that came as a bitter, broken sound empty of humor. "But don't you see? That reckless courage goes against every ideal we have struggled to uphold! If we were to reignite the terrible flames of war, we four would emerge unscathed, it is true. But the children... those precious students whose hopes and futures we hold in our hands..."
"Their Pureblood families would recall them away behind the warded walls of their manors to fill their heads with poison against us. Those poor, brilliant Muggleborn children would be left defenseless as their magical homes fell to ruin and they were dragged back to the Muggle world in chains!
I cannot, just because of 'love'..."
The vehemence in Rowena's raised voice was startling in its intensity.
"Because of 'love', I cannot be selfish...no matter how zealously my heart yearns to cast aside all pretense and damn the consequences. How could I ever live with myself - how could I ever find joy, even in Godric's arms - if our love spelled the doom of generations of youths who should have passed through these halls?"
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章 601: 0599 Their Talks
To Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others who had unexpectedly been transported a full millennium back into Hogwarts' past, the earlier conversation between the legendary founders Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw had already been mind-bogglingly shocking in its startling intimacy and raw vulnerability.
If the academics and historians of their own time were to somehow learn of the tragic secret romance that had apparently once smoldered between two of the school's founders, who could possibly predict the shockwaves it would send rippling through the entire wizarding world?
The scandal would be earth-shattering, rewriting centuries of established lore!
But to Rowena and Helga such weighty matters seemed to be simply idle chatter regularly between the very closest of female friends.
However, as soon as the mysterious island in the North Sea and the terrible creatures lurking upon it were mentioned, Helga and Rowena's expressions turned much more solemn. The lingering power emanating from the two witches restored the legendary and formidable aura of the founders in Harry and his friends' eyes!
But what could possibly be so dire as to cause such an extreme reaction in them?
Hermione immediately had a guess. Her eyes darted sideways to Professor Watson, seeking further explanation into this, but to her great disappointment, this time Professor Watson did not kindly explain their doubts as he himself was listening with a serious expression.
Rowena Ravenclaw did not speak any further on the matter. Under everyone's gaze, a wand quietly appeared in her hand. She left her seat and walked to an open space in the office.
Then, with a single fluid motion almost too swift to follow, Ravenclaw slashed her wand through the air in a dizzyingly complex pattern. Shining silver sparks erupted from the wand's tip, swirling in the air like stardust carried on the wind.
Before their astonished eyes, the glimmering specks merged into a single glowing form - an enormous eagle of purest white.
"That's a Patronus!" Harry exclaimed at once.
The Patronus Charm was the most advanced magic Harry had learned last year from Remus in order to defend against Dementors.
"And unless I'm barking mad, it's a bleeding eagle, just like on the Ravenclaws coat of arms!" Ron chimed in with amazement as the ethereal raptor flew over their heads.
'Lady Ravenclaw had summoned her Patronus' - the light in Hermione's brown eyes condensed a little as this further confirmed her speculation.
The specific mention of the dreaded island being "in the North Sea" had already begun leading her to a single certain conclusion - the notorious Azkaban prison. And if that were true...then the horrors Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw spoke of in such dire tones must surely be none other than the Dementors!
As if to lend credibility to Hermione's silent deductions, Ravenclaw twisted her wrist in a precise flourish, causing the conjured eagle to freeze in place with its wings outstretched as if pinned to an invisible wire.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a piercing shriek that sent shivers down every spine, the Patronus raised its head and expelled a vague mass of squirming shadows enveloped in white light from its beak.
Upon hitting the air, this shadowy mass rapidly expanded, transforming into a creature as frightening as the Grim Reaper, shrouded in a black cloak. Just looking at it made one's heart fill with chill!
Clang!
Faced with the horror of his own worst fears and traumas made manifest, Harry reacted on pure instinct before his conscious mind could catch up. He hastily retreated and his back slammed heavily against the wall, but he felt no pain. Instead, he quickly grabbed his wand and aimed it at the Dementor, breathing heavily!
"Easy, mate! It's not real!" Alarmed by Harry's extreme reaction, Ron lunged forward to seize Harry's wrist, forcibly casting his wand away and said hurriedly. "You're safe! It can't hurt you!"
'Not real...of course it wasn't real', Harry realized as the ringing fog of panic began to withdraw from his overclocked brain. Protected within the protective barrier of Ravenclaw's eagle Patronus, the Dementor thrashed impotently, unable to project its aura of despair beyond the shimmering walls of its ethereal prison.
As his thundering heart rate gradually slowed and the black spots faded from his vision, Harry felt a wave of burning shame crash over him.
Dementors had too great an impact on him. In their adventure last year to rescue Sirius from the Forbidden Forest, Sirius was discovered by several dozen Dementors sent by the Ministry of Magic. At that time, both Sirius and Hermione had fallen unconscious, leaving Harry alone to face those terrifying Dementors. Harry could say with certainty that those were absolutely the most desperate two minutes of his life.
Harry nervously glanced at Professor Watson, and seeing that the professor did not cast him a displeased look for his panicked, ridiculous reaction, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching his pounding heart, he continued to watch.
"Have you made any progress on finding a way to destroy them further, Rowena?" Helga Hufflepuff's voice rang out, shattering the silence. She had left her desk to stand shoulder-to-shoulder beside Ravenclaw. Even though this wasn't the first time Rowena had shown them, upon seeing the Dementor, Helga's expression still turned serious, and a hint of anger was subtly leaking through her tone.
"I've made many attempts -" Ravenclaw said in a voice as clear and chilling as an icy spring,
"As we've discussed in the past, these specter-like entities occupy a strange space between true life and death. They seem to operate according to their own set of rules, which makes them devilishly difficult to eradicate through conventional magical means."
She paused, her eyes flashing like chips of frozen lightning in her pale face. "I have experimented with a wide range of methods, including some ancient magics that have shown promise in suppressing their influence. Of all the techniques I have tried, the Patronus Charm was the most consistently effective. Yet even it is not a true solution, merely a stopgap measure..."
This was the expected result. Helga Hufflepuff did not seem surprised, simply saying softly, "So, the only method is the one we discussed before -"
Ravenclaw gave a slight nod in wordless consensus. But while the two legendary witches seemed to instinctively understand the unspoken words of their cryptic exchange, Bryan's brow furrowed.
During the Azkaban trip, as Bryan followed the memories of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, the two founders had discussed this topic at that time. They had stated that the Dementors must be destroyed. Bryan had been puzzled by this then.
These Dementors, Bryan knew, were not natural creatures. They were the twisted byproduct of some of the darkest magic known to wizardkind – the creation of Horcruxes. When a Dark wizard tore their soul in pieces multiple times in pursuit of immortality, the split fragment or the empty shells would sometimes take on a hideous half-life of its own, becoming one of the soul-sucking abominations known as Dementors.
To complete themselves, these empty shells would absorb all positive emotions from living creatures and use those emotions as feed to create more of their own kind.
No creature possessing an independent soul would like Dementors, but Bryan never understood why the four Hogwarts founders were so determined to destroy the Dementors.
Was it simply because these creatures were evil? The truth was probably not that simple.
He thought back to the fragment of conversation he'd witnessed between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in Azkaban. They had spoken of dire warnings received by Helga Hufflepuff, hinting that she had foreseen a future in which Herpo the Foul, the twisted genius who had first discovered the secret of crafting Horcruxes, would find a way to return from beyond the veil of death. If such a thing were to happen, they feared the consequences would be beyond catastrophic.
It seemed that at least some of the precautions put in place by Merlin and the Hogwarts founders were specifically designed to prevent this scenario from unfolding. That suggested there had to be some important connection between the destruction of the Dementors and ensuring that Herpo was never able to return back to the land of the living...
Bryan's mind raced, but he always felt separated from the truth by a thin membrane he couldn't break through!
"Our only choice is to entrust this vital work to the hands of time," Rowena said softly and her gaze became distant and unfocused. "In the short term, our priority must be to find a way to limit the Dementors' numbers and constrain their movements. I had considered the possibility of erecting a soul magic-based barrier around Azkaban, but ultimately, such a ward would only hold as long as our own souls endured to power it. After we are gone, it would quickly crumble, and nothing would remain to stop the Dementors driven by the desire to absorb more emotions from spreading like a plague across the face of the earth."
Rowena's words sent a bolt of sickening dread piercing through Harry's gut. The thought of a world swarming with Dementors was almost too terrible to even think of. What hope could there be for a world like that?
"What, then, do you suggest?" Helga asked, her brow furrowed with concern.
In answer, Rowena raised her wand once more, moving it through the air in a series of intricate patterns that left shimmering patterns of light in its trail. As she chanted words in a language none of them recognized, the chill blue glow emanating from her silhouette intensified until she was barely more than a dazzlingly luminous outline.
Rustle rustle!
In the air before her, an ethereal sheet of parchment took shape, wreathed in a green radiance. Once it had fully merged, a tangled bundle of glowing chains burst forth from its surface, each one tipped with an ominous-looking padlock. The chains shot toward the captive Dementor, who thrashed and writhed within its glowing prison in a futile effort to evade them.
But there could be no escape from Rowena Ravenclaw's magic. The chains wrapped themselves around the Dementor, sinking into its shadowy flesh like hooks into the hide of some deep-sea leviathan. The creature's struggles only seemed to make the chains constrict more tightly, until it hung motionless, paralyzed by the intense agony.
"What is that?" Unable to contain her curiosity, Hermione looked to Professor Watson. She had assumed her question would go unanswered, but after a few moments, Professor Watson hesitantly said,
"I'm not entirely certain," he said slowly, "but if I had to guess... I would say that Ravenclaw has just created some sort of binding contract filled with tremendous power, and supported by life force… perhaps of her own. If I'm right... then those chains may well represent the Dementors' prison for centuries to come."
"Stop, Rowena!" Suddenly realizing something, Hufflepuff's suddenly shouted to Ravenclaw in a unusually stern voice and her face was filled with worried alarm.
"There is a peculiar connection between the individuals and the collective of this species. This makes destroying their individuals meaningless. Fortunately, we can also exploit this - as long as the individuals are restrained, the behavior of the entire race can be restricted -"
Ravenclaw did not mind Helga's harsh tone just now. However, she did cease her actions, waving her hand to dispel the 'parchment' and 'chains'. She then turned to the anxiously caring Helga Hufflepuff, smiling as she said,
"It's a good idea, isn't it?"
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