A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 131: Helena Ravenclaw

After finishing today's lesson, Felix Harp set aside ample time for questions.

"Professor, how do we pass the seventh challenge of Ancient Runes?" a Slytherin wizard raised his hand to ask.

"Monty, I remember I marked hints on the level?" Felix blinked.

"But Professor, you just wrote down a book title," he said somewhat aggrieved, "and it's a book we haven't read."

Other young wizards chimed in with their discussions.

"Ahem!" Felix cleared his throat and, as they looked his way, conjured a piece of parchment like a magician. "In fact, you were supposed to have read it."

"This book, 'Simplified Ancient Runes,' appeared three times in your last year's paper reference lists... Should I remind you which ones?"

The young wizards stared at him like statues, their discussion silenced.

"Pr-Professor, you weren't here last year?"

Felix casually replied, "Professor Babbling and I corresponded through letters. She told me about the archive of past materials." He looked somewhat nostalgic, gazing at the students below. "She truly is a dedicated professor, isn't she?"

...

That night, Felix stood in front of the Room of Requirement.

During the day, he had suddenly come up with a conjecture: that the Room of Requirement was the chamber of Rowena Ravenclaw. But whether this idea was correct needed to be verified.

Behind him hung a massive tapestry of a Bandon Banshee attempting to teach a troll ballet. One troll had halted its brutal ballet instructor and was now turning its head to observe Felix.

A bug crawled up the troll's foot and into its nostril, prompting a soundless roar. The troll's club soared high into the air and crashed onto the head of another troll.

But all this had nothing to do with Felix. In his mind, he silently repeated, "I must enter the chamber of Rowena Ravenclaw... I must enter the chamber of Rowena Ravenclaw..."

He walked past this spot three times, his heartbeat uncontrollably quickening. Then, he looked up—the ordinary white wall still stretched ahead.

Felix fell silent. "Right, I don't actually know what's inside, do I?"

Though the password for the Room of Requirement was simple, it wasn't something you could easily finesse.

He pondered for a moment, then repeated silently, "I must enter the Room of Requirement in its original form... I must enter the Room of Requirement in its original form..."

Still, there was no change.

Next, Felix thought about how Slytherin's chamber was originally used for teaching. So, he tried, "I must enter the place where Rowena Ravenclaw secretly educated students...” Or perhaps, "I must enter Rowena Ravenclaw's laboratory."

Yet, no doorway appeared.

With a sigh, Felix had no choice but to leave. But over the next few days, he kept trying to link the Room of Requirement with Rowena Ravenclaw. He exhausted almost every possibility, but gained nothing.

Just as he was about to give up, on a Friday evening in the courtyard, he bumped into Lady Gray for the third time this week. They chatted casually, watching the sunset together.

In his heart, Lady Gray was a somewhat proud, dignified woman with a kind heart. Setting aside some minor scheming, chatting with her was very enjoyable.

"So beautiful," Lady Gray said.

"You rarely look up at the sunset, do you?" Felix Harp interjected.

"Rarely," she hesitated for a moment, but they were already quite familiar with each other. She continued, "It reminds me of some sad things..."

Felix didn't inquire further; he simply sealed his lips shut.

Both of them gazed at the dazzling red sky, where several rays of light pierced through the clouds, lining the edges with a golden hue.

"Can you keep a secret for me?" she suddenly said.

"Yes, I can." He didn't make a promise, but calmly replied.

Lady Gray believed him, and as she opened up, she said with a touch of melancholy, "I died amidst a scene like this."

With her first words said with difficulty, it seemed like a dam had broken, and she continued, "It was around this time, but in a desolate place in the Albanian forest. I thought... my mother couldn't reach me there."

Felix listened silently. He knew what would come next.

It was a tragedy, a tragedy that shaped the Hogwarts Lady Gray and the Blood Baron.

"I was exceptionally gifted from a young age, part of the top tier. I grew up amidst people's praise, year after year, I lost my head completely... but when I grew older, I realized no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't surpass my mother. So—"

"I stole my mother's diadem because it bestowed wisdom. I fantasized that with the diadem, I could surpass her."

Her transparent form started to tremble.

"They said," she choked up, "my mother never acknowledged the diadem was missing. She always pretended it was still there. She even hid her loss from the other Hogwarts founders, concealed my shameful betrayal."

"Later, my mother fell ill—very ill. Even though I had done something ungrateful and unjust, she still desperately wanted to see me one more time. She sent a man to find me. But I refused him, I thought he was deceiving me, conspiring with my mother to deceive me. She had already taken that step, how could she fall ill?"

Felix calmly stated, "It was the Blood Baron."

"Yes, him. I wouldn't go back with him, and he became furious—just like he always did. Dark magic had consumed him entirely."

Felix listened quietly.

"We had a fierce confrontation, and no one could have foreseen the consequences... he stabbed me with a sword. I fell to the ground, and all I saw was this twilight scene..."

She lifted her head, watching the last rays of light descend.

After a long silence—

Felix asked, "Do you hate him, the Blood Baron?"

"Do I hate him?! He ruined me, my magic, my life, everything!" she angrily exclaimed.

Helena Ravenclaw took a deep breath, raised her head, her expression unreadable.

"And," she said softly, "just before I died, I asked him if what he said was true. About my mother..."

"He told me everything was true, that my mother was truly gravely ill. He deprived me of the chance to see my mother one last time, the only chance I had for redemption! You ask if I hate him? My answer is, of course, I do!" She suddenly lost control and shouted.

She was about to float away, but her hand was caught. Helena Ravenclaw turned around in astonishment, her furious expression softening a bit.

Felix's hand was enveloped in a faint bluish cold light, gripping hers tightly.

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