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And making a grand entrance? Who wouldn't want to be the center of attention?
"I need to find a way to move you out; you should be standing outside the castle to intimidate the little troublemakers, ideally able to 'lose control' and stomp Quirrell and Voldemort into the ground," Ian mused.
He looked regretfully at the two massive statues. After muttering to himself, he gave up on continuing to cast spells on the dragon bones.
The golden bricks on the ground were also tempting, so he pried one loose to weigh it, only to be slightly disappointed.
"Just gilded…" Ian didn't know whether these bricks were for show or part of the dragon's anti-corrosion treatment; he only knew that gilded bricks weren't worth damaging the integrity of an ancient ruin.
"Don't ruin my precious bone dragon just because you chipped a brick," He scolded himself. Ian carefully replaced the gilded brick, still dreaming of riding the bone dragon.
Not being able to control it now didn't mean he never would; if all else failed, he could turn the bone dragon into an alchemical artifact. He would eventually find a way to fulfill his ambition!
"I need to check the passage on the Hufflepuff side; if I'm not mistaken, it should lead to the Room of Requirement," Ian thought. He had the two statues embrace each other, then severed the connection with them.
He glanced around the underground chamber one last time, ensuring he hadn't missed anything, before diving into the passage behind the Hufflepuff statue. This passage was far cleaner and more orderly than the previous one.
Upon entering, the first thing that caught his eye was the smooth, polished walls, seemingly enchanted with some special magic.
Not a speck of dust or stain was present.
The ground beneath his feet was equally immaculate, flat, and smooth; every step felt solid, with no debris or puddles to hinder his progress.
"Hufflepuff's ancestors certainly paid attention to detail," Ian remarked.
Though this secret passage was also made of stone and lacked the grandeur of the underground chamber, it was far superior in air quality and the small, enchanted candles that lit the way compared to the Slytherin side, which now felt like a neglected storage room.
"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur~" Having uncovered such a great treasure, Ian was in high spirits.
He even hummed a little tune as he walked, the faint, rhythmic echo of his footsteps particularly clear in the quiet, enclosed space.
Winding his way through the passage, Ian reached the end after about half an hour, facing a metal-framed obstacle. He gave it a gentle push, and it swung open with a soft creak.
Just as Ian had expected, the Hufflepuff secret passage led to the Hufflepuff's golden room, now known as the Room of Requirement.
"Is it really this high up?" The picture frames on the walls opened like windows, and Ian's head poked out from the secret passage, revealing that the high-hanging frames were about three meters off the ground.
"Accio Ladder!" Fortunately, the room was well-stocked with tools; Ian only needed to use a simple ''Summoning Charm'' to retrieve a ladder, which he quickly climbed down.
"Click~"
The frame closed up again as soon as Ian landed, unlike the connection to the Slytherin Chamber, which had remained open. Thankfully, Ian had no intention of returning through the frame; he needed to focus on studying how to move the massive statues and how to control the dragon's skeleton.
There was no rush.
After all, the treasure was right there, and no one else knew about it except for Ian.
"The four founders clearly didn't know the exact locations of each other's secret rooms, yet they were certain that each had one; it must be because of that underground chamber connecting the four directions," Ian mused.
He looked up at the now-restored frame, which showed no signs of anything unusual. The only thing hanging in the frame was a single candle, with no portraits in sight.
"I still have plenty of time to explore. I just wonder why the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor statues won't move; could it be because I haven't found their Chambers yet?" Ian felt this speculation was quite likely, as he had already known the locations of Slytherin's Chamber and Hufflepuff's golden room before awakening the statues.
There might be some enchantment on the statues in the underground chamber that could sense whether the intruder possessed certain qualifications.
After all, the young portrait of Gryffindor had mentioned that one needed to find his Chamber to gain recognition, and such a criterion could naturally exist for the other founders as well.
"Too bad Lady Ravenclaw didn't tell me about her secret room last time," Ian muttered regretfully, placing his wand back at his waist. Although he still reminisced about this unique adventure, he had to bring himself back to the reality of his predicament as the time on the wall approached dawn.
"Cleaning the toilets…" He took out the set of cleaning gear again, contemplating whether to use magic to complete Snape's punishment, as he was sure Snape had already detected his wand usage.
If hard work wasn't going to be recognized by the boss, it might be better to slack off and do a half-hearted job. If he ended up scrubbing the toilets by hand and still got a detention from Snape, that would be even worse.
"Scourgify!"
"Scourgify!"
"Scourgify!"
...
After a brief analysis of the pros and cons in his mind, Ian quickly decided to go all out. In a short time, he managed to clean all the toilets in the castle— having magic at his disposal made him incredibly efficient, as one person could easily match the output of an entire cleaning crew.
"Dual wands might be more effective, but wands are the key to unleashing productivity," Ian thought. Having discarded the cleaning gear, Ian not only completed the task before dawn but also took the time to return to the Room of Requirement for a hot bath, both as a habit and to wash away any lingering potion smells from Snape's dungeon.
Feeling refreshed, he returned to the Ravenclaw common room, ready to grab his textbooks and head to breakfast and class.
"Where did you go last night?" The bronze eagle knocker, to Ian's surprise, initiated a conversation.
"Is this a riddle to open the door?" Ian seizes the opportunity in the eagle's words, hoping for an easy entry.
"Of course not," The eagle replied, its voice soft and almost whimsical.
"Then I'll just wait here for the other students to come out," Ian said, knowing the eagle would likely try to challenge him. He wasn't about to give it the chance to quiz him.
"I'm just concerned about your mental well-being." The bronze eagle tilted its head, its tone almost teasing.
"I'm perfectly fine; in fact, I found a great treasure last night," Ian replied, confident that the eagle, despite its sometimes finicky nature, wouldn't gossip like the Fat Lady.
"Is the great treasure that thing on you?" The bronze eagle asked, its curiosity piqued.
Ian was momentarily stunned.
"What do you mean?" He asked, puzzled. He hadn't brought anything out from the underground chamber, and he'd even changed into a fresh set of robes.
Just as Ian was beginning to doubt himself, the eagle spoke again.
"Come here and give me your hand." Ian, though wary, placed his hand in front of the bronze eagle. Despite his caution, the eagle pecked him hard, its speed too quick to avoid.
"I knew you would…" Ian winced, pulling his hand back. He had been ready to unleash a string of curses at the eagle, but the words died in his throat as he noticed something strange.
"What is this!?" Ian was astonished to see a green pattern, about the size of a ping-pong ball, gradually appearing on the back of his hand.
The design was identical to the engraving on the tap leading to the underground chamber in the abandoned second-floor bathroom— a serpent biting its own tail.
Ouroboros.
"Have I been cursed by Slytherin?" Ian muttered, his brow furrowing in concern.
"No," The bronze eagle corrected him softly.
"You have been chosen by Slytherin," It clarified, dispelling Ian's misunderstanding.
(End of this chapter)