Starlight sparkled brightly.
The silver moonlight stread through the tall tower windows, illuminating the night like a delicate ribbon, casting a soft glow on the ancient stone walls and wooden structures.
"Don't push! Older students, make way for the girls!"
"Almost there! Just a little more, and I would have fallen to my death! When will the school expand the staircases? Those professors really don't know how to adapt!"
"My dad was right; Hogwarts is indeed dangerous!"
...
The two Ravenclaw Prefects led the students back to the common room.
As they passed through the long corridor, the line was relatively orderly. However, as they had to reach the highest area, the constantly rotating staircases caught the new students off guard.
Thus, the originally neat line turned into a chaotic crowd, with everyone pushing and shoving, afraid of missing the staircase rotation and being unable to reach the common room in ti.
"Damn it! Prefects, do sothing! Soone is groping my butt!"
All the way up, Ian, due to his smaller fra, dared only to squeeze into the front. Unexpectedly, he was assaulted several tis from behind by unknown individuals.
Perhaps a boy as handso as Leonardo sotis finds it hard to protect his innocence when out and about.
"It's only the start of the term. What are you all doing? Behave yourselves!" Penelope, the female Prefect, sternly reprimanded the senior girls in line, while the male Prefect, Detrick, quickly pulled Ian to his side.
"Our House students are always bolder than those from other Houses," Detrick whispered to Ian, giving a warning glance to the witches and a few wizards behind them.
The line continued to climb upward.
Soon, under the guidance of the two Prefects, everyone arrived at the topmost tower. This was the exclusive common room for Ravenclaw students, and so believed this location symbolized the wisdom of overlooking all beings.
"Once again, welco everyone to Ravenclaw. From now on, this will be where you study and live," The two Prefects said, stopping everyone in front of a bare wooden door.
The door had no handle or keyhole. It looked like a plain wooden board, with a bronze door knocker embedded in the center.
The door knocker was adorned with an exquisitely crafted eagle, showing many traces of ti. After all, it was a thousand-year-old school, and calling it an artifact would be entirely reasonable.
"All House doors require a password to pass through, but Ravenclaw is different from the other Houses. To enter, you must answer a question."
"This is a test of our wisdom."
With that, the female Prefect, Penelope, knocked on the door.
Imdiately, the bronze eagle sculpture seed to co to life.
It did not make a bird's call but spoke in a gentle, slow human voice.
"Knowledge and power, which one can change the world more?" A very obvious philosophical question.
The voice of this Alchemical Artifact was gentle, sowhat resembling that of Nana Mizuki. After receiving the question, the female Prefect, Penelope, did not answer imdiately.
"Let's go with you."
The female Prefect, Penelope, called on Cho Chang.
"?"
Cho Chang looked a bit nervous but stepped forward from the crowd. After thinking for a mont, she gave her answer.
"I think it's knowledge because knowledge can enlighten people and is the foundation of world developnt, while power is rely a derivative of that developnt."
Although she appeared sowhat restrained, her answer was firm and clear.
"Reasonable."
As the bronze eagle's voice fell, the common room door opened. The female Prefect, Penelope, signaled Cho Chang to enter, then imdiately closed the door behind her.
"????"
Ian, also standing near the front, wanted to follow in but was stopped.
"This is our welcoming tradition."
Penelope smiled and knocked on the door again.
"If you could choose a historically wise person as your ntor, who would you choose?" The gentle voice ca from the bronze eagle again.
"Rowena Ravenclaw."
Ian looked around. In this place, could he give any other answer?
"And the reason?" the bronze eagle asked curiously.
"That counts as a second question. Ask why next ti I co." Ian shrugged.
"Even more reasonable."
After a mont of thought, the bronze eagle opened the door again.
Ian quickly dragged his luggage inside.
The door closed behind him.
"You're really quick."
Cho Chang, who had been admiring the common room's decor, imdiately noticed Ian being let in.
"Just lucky, got an easy question."
Ian began to look around.
The interior of the common room was mainly blue and bronze.
The walls were adorned with silk drapes in these two colors, and the dod ceiling was painted with stars, complenting the deep blue carpet covered in star patterns.
Next to the door leading to the dormitories stood a tall statue of Rowena Ravenclaw made of white marble, lifelike, with an introduction to the lady's life beside it.
"Sotis the questions can be really hard. I heard soone once entered and exited the common room dozens of tis in a day, just to compete in answering questions with the bronze eagle."
Cho Chang, coming from a pureblood wizard family, seed quite knowledgeable about Hogwarts.
"Then I guess that person must have been depressed after graduation." Ian stood in front of the Ravenclaw statue, reading the text beside it.
"Huh? Why?"
Cho Chang, who was examining the sofa, turned her head in confusion.
"Because his love probably ended the mont he graduated," Ian responded with a chuckle.
Cho Chang took a mont to understand the aning behind Ian's words.
"Who would fall in love with a door?" She couldn't help but laugh.
anwhile, outside the door, seeing another classmate successfully pass through, the other young wizards also showed eager expressions.
As Cho Chang said, for Ravenclaw students, thinking and answering questions were not torture but a pleasure, which might even evolve into a form of enjoynt as they progressed through the years.
"What door has no door panel?" The bronze eagle, having been tricked by Ian, changed its questioning style.
"A goalpost."
The Q&A continued.
The door opened again.
Watching another young wizard being let in, Ian was surprised.
The door knocker even had riddles?
"The question bank is indeed too varied."
Ian pondered.
He felt that the bronze eagle of their House was too lax. Perhaps, in the future, he should take so ti to persuade the bronze eagle to improve.
For example, using more advanced math problems would be good.
After all, math leaves no room for ambiguity.
(End of Chapter)
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