Chapter Thirty-One: The Ravenclaw Common Room

The next day, Siwen woke up early once again.

Today was Saturday, the first weekend Siwen had spent at Hogwarts. A whole day without classes left him feeling somewhat at a loss.

“Well, I’ll just head to the lawn in the teaching area and try my luck. Maybe Miranda has already gotten up early to practice spells there?” With this thought, he quickly dressed in the glow of his wand’s Lumos charm and stepped out of his dormitory.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side. Whether he’d woken up too early or Miranda wanted to sleep in on the weekend, the lawn was utterly deserted.

So Siwen decided to do some morning exercise before checking back. The open grassland on the northwest side of the castle had become his usual spot for morning workouts—rarely did anyone pass by to disturb him.

But this morning, his exercise was unusually interrupted by a passerby.

A strange, scruffy man leaned on a cane as he walked past and glanced at Siwen.

“Well, you’re full of vigor!” Professor Kettleburn said, smiling.

“Good morning, Professor!” Siwen withdrew his right leg, which he’d been pressing forward, and waved at Professor Kettleburn.

“So, did you find your cat?” the professor asked kindly.

“Thanks to you, my kitten came back on her own the second day,” Siwen replied with a smile. “And her eyes have opened—she’s lively as ever now!”

Professor Kettleburn laughed heartily in his booming voice. “Ha! That’s remarkable. Your cat must have inherited some special abilities once her eyes opened, and managed to escape her cage.”

“She was able to return thanks to your good care. Well done, young man, you’ve got a good heart!” He gave Siwen a thumbs-up.

Siwen smiled shyly and scratched his head.

Suddenly, Professor Kettleburn said, “When you come to my office tonight for detention, bring your cat along. I’d like to see what breed she is.”

Hearing this, Siwen was momentarily stunned. With all the little things going on lately, he’d nearly forgotten about the detention—if he hadn’t bumped into the professor this morning, he’d have completely forgotten…

“You haven’t forgotten about detention, have you?” Professor Kettleburn asked suspiciously, seeing Siwen’s expression.

“No! Absolutely not!” Siwen denied firmly.

The professor didn’t seem concerned. He waved his hand and said, “Seven o’clock tonight, don’t forget.”

Then he limped off toward his cottage.

Siwen’s mouth twitched; even though it was the weekend, it seemed today would still be a busy day.

…

But the most important task now was to find Miranda and get her notes.

Siwen returned to the lawn in the teaching area. Now, several diligent Ravenclaw students had arrived, but Miranda was not among them.

Given how tight his schedule was today, Siwen decided he couldn’t just wait around; he resolutely walked toward the Ravenclaw Tower on the west side of the castle.

In truth, he would never admit he was simply curious about the common room of the house he’d nearly been sorted into…

Climbing the spiral staircase, surrounded by shades of blue, Siwen glanced at his own green collar, feeling a bit out of place. He paused to remove his school robe and tucked it into the pocket watch’s hidden space.

He then noticed the green-striped tie hanging loosely around his neck, which he’d removed for his morning workout and hadn’t yet put back on. He took it off as well, leaving only a white shirt on his upper body.

After making sure nothing on him could give away his identity, he proceeded contentedly to the top of the tower.

“This place is really high—Astronomy Tower can’t be much taller…” Siwen, who had just finished his morning exercise, felt a bit weary. Comparing the heights, he realized that the distance from the ground to the common rooms of Ravenclaw and Slytherin was actually about the same, which finally restored some balance to his mind.

At the summit of the Ravenclaw Tower stood a heavy wooden door, with a bronze knocker shaped like an eagle hanging on it.

Siwen stood before the door, planning to slip inside when other Ravenclaw students came out for their morning readings—thus dodging the password.

Just then, the eagle-shaped knocker suddenly spoke in a deep, mysterious voice:

“If you combine a woodpecker with a homing pigeon, what do you get?”

The voice startled Siwen. He looked at the knocker in surprise, wondering if this was some kind of riddle.

He thought quickly—what good would a messenger pigeon do if it could peck wood? Would it peck open doors to deliver letters? The image struck him as oddly amusing…

“Wait, isn’t there a bird that both delivers messages and pecks people?” Siwen suddenly recalled, with some resentment, the owl Jabi who had pecked him just a few days ago.

“Owl?” Siwen replied uncertainly to the eagle-shaped knocker.

The bronze knocker said, “That makes sense.”

It then lifted itself, and the wooden door swung open.

“So it works like that…” Siwen marveled. Answering a question to enter—how very Ravenclaw.

The Ravenclaw common room was a large, circular chamber. Several arched windows stood high on the walls, letting in the radiant morning sunlight that was bright but not glaring—quite a contrast to the dim, mysterious ambiance of the Slytherin common room.

“No wonder Ravenclaw students are better at waking up early; the environment here is so different,” Siwen mused.

Blue and bronze silk banners hung from the walls, softly draping beside the windows. The domed ceiling was painted with a lively array of stars that seemed almost to wink. The deep blue carpet below was decorated with even larger star motifs, and the floor was set with elegant tables, chairs, and bookshelves.

Directly ahead, in a niche, stood a lifelike white marble statue—a beautiful, dignified, and stern woman whose features bore a striking resemblance to Helena.

“Rowena Ravenclaw,” Siwen gazed up, his expression enigmatic.

“Helena’s mother, who placed enormous pressure on her, so much so that even as a spirit she still yearns for knowledge,” Siwen murmured.

“What are you talking about?”

A magnetic female voice suddenly interrupted Siwen’s reverie.

He turned and saw a witch with gray hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a thick book in her arms. He abruptly realized he was in another house’s common room.

“Good morning, Miranda…” Siwen greeted her awkwardly.

“Explain yourself—what are you doing here?” Miranda set her book on a nearby table, crossed her arms, and eyed Siwen with playful amusement.

…

…