บท 45: Moon Owl
They walked through several corridors, up a few flights of stairs, which Penny warned them about changing directions all the time, until they finally arrived at a door without a handle or a keyhole, nothing, only with a bronze knocker in the form of an eagle.
Penny reached out and knocked once.
"I am hot or cold, but you can't see me,
I'm cherished or cursed, it doesn't care me,
I can cause wars but also bring peace,
I can boil your blood but also freeze."
Penny turned to the first-years.
"Okay, who wants to have a shot at this? It's a bit tricky this one," she said.
Harry thought about the poem. Some others gave it a try but guessed wrong.
"Love," Harry finally said.
"Correct," the knocker said, and the door swung open.
Penny led them into a wide circular room, airier than any room Harry had seen before.
Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue and bronze silks; Harry guessed by day there would be a spectacular view of the surrounding grounds.
The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight blue carpet.
There were tables, chairs, and bookcases, and in a niche was a statue made of white marble.
"This is a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of our house. Many generations of Ravenclaws have tried to find her lost diadem, the crown you see on her head. It's said that it bestows wisdom on its wearer," Penny explained.
Harry had the impression that Rowena Ravenclaw had been a beautiful but also slightly intimidating person.
"Now, we here in Ravenclaw value the perfect conditions for learning undisturbed, but we are also held to high standards by Professor Flitwick."
"You will learn about them tomorrow morning. During your first and second year here at Hogwarts, you will share your room with one of your classmates."
"From the third year on, you'll get single rooms. To make things a bit more interesting, your rooms are currently in their basic state."
"You'll be given the tools to improve them, but more about that Professor Flitwick will tell you tomorrow."
"The meeting will be here in the common room at half-past seven. After the meeting, I will lead you down to the Great Hall for breakfast."
"The dorms for the boys are located up the stairs on the left, the dorms for the girls up the other stairs on the right."
"Your names are on the plaques on the doors. Your luggage has already been brought there for you."
"Make sure you always get a good night's sleep. Being rested is important to reach good results in your classes," Penny informed them.
The first-years divided into boys and girls and went up the stairs.
As there were five boys, Harry deduced that one would either get a single room or three boys would be in one room.
When they saw the names on the doors, he saw it was neither. Harry was in a room with a boy who wasn't a first year.
He opened the door and saw the boy who would be his roommate for the year, Rick Flannigan.
He was a blond boy with some freckles on his face and a bit bigger than Harry.
"Hi, I'm Rick. Seems like we get to room together this year. Last year they also did this; we were seven boys that were sorted here, and Thomas Erimmos had to room with a second year."
"I guess they draw who is put together somehow," he introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Harry. I don't mind. You surely can tell me one thing or another about the school," Harry said.
"No problem. You really surprised many people today during the sorting. Nearly all students were pretty sure you'd go to Gryffindor with all the stories and the defeat of You-Know-Who," Rick said.
"Well, if they believe the books that Lockhart twit wrote, they're all made up. Not one thing in there is true."
"I only read the first one because I wondered why there were books about me."
"I grew up with my muggle aunt and only found out about the wizarding world when I got my letter."
"And even then, I was lucky to have intercepted it before they could see it. Otherwise, they would have thrown a fit and tried to prevent me from coming here."
"Thankfully I'm out of there for good," Harry said.
The next morning, Harry woke up to the sound of rustling curtains and the distant chatter of students preparing for the day. The room had a soothing ambiance with the soft blue glow from the Ravenclaw hangings. He glanced at Rick, who was still asleep, and decided to quietly get ready for the day.
After a quick shower in the private bathroom, Harry changed into his school robes, making sure to wear the Ravenclaw colors with pride. He combed his untameable hair as best as he could, knowing that it would likely rebel against any attempts to be orderly later in the day.
As he finished getting dressed, he heard a soft hoot outside the window. Opening it, he welcomed Hedwig, who had returned from her nocturnal activities. She perched on the windowsill, her silver feathers gleaming in the morning light.
"Hey, girl. How was your night?" Harry whispered, stroking her feathers. Hedwig hooted softly in response.
As Harry and Hedwig shared a moment, Rick stirred in his bed. "Morning, Harry. Is that your owl?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, meet Hedwig. She's a moon owl," Harry explained.
Rick dropped his box which he was just putting into the bookcase next to his bed.
"You're kidding me, right?" He asked.
"No, she really is a moon owl. Hagrid told me after I had bought her. I think the shop assistant thought she was a snowy owl. She only had a few silver feathers back then, but now only her stomach is snow white. The rest of her plumage is silver." Harry said grinning and took his pyjamas out of his trunk. He would unpack tomorrow over lunch break. For now he was too tired. He took his toiletries, the pyjama and some towels and got ready to go to the bathroom.
"Damn it, a real moon owl. She'll gain a lot of attention when the mail comes in the mornings." Rick commented.
"Probably, but I hope it will calm down after the other students get used to her. And I think she also likes to be the centre of attention most of the time. She's quite vain. By the way, do we share the bath with the other first-years?" Harry asked.
"No, thankfully each double room has its own basic bath. From third year on also two persons always share a bath. I've heard the prefects get special baths. I've never seen one of them though." Rick answered.
"Okay, well, I'll get ready for bed. I'm tired." Harry said yawning.
Rick nodded and continued unpacking. When Harry returned he had his things for the bathroom out and walked in there. Harry pushed back the blue blanket on his four poster bed with hangings in the Ravenclaw colours. The bed was comfy but only a little broader than a normal single bed. The room itself was divided in two halves, one for each student. Each student had a bed, a wardrobe, a desk with a candle holder on each side and a bookcase on his side. That was it. Harry was curious how they could improve their rooms. He would find out tomorrow. He slipped under the covers and soon fell asleep.
....
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