The words of the bronze eagle head left Ian somewhat surprised.
The place he went to was clearly suspected to be an underground palace jointly built by the four founders, so why was it that he was marked by Slytherin? Was it because the entrance was located next to the Secret Chamber's passage?
"What do you mean by being chosen?" Ian raised his hand to look at the Ouroboros mark that was faintly glowing on it. He had a feeling this type of rune in color and perception wasn't a good thing.
"I can only tell you that it has something to do with a gain Slytherin obtained." The bronze eagle head tilted its head slightly and spoke softly, not choosing to be cryptic or make things difficult for Ian.
"In a certain past time, Salazar Slytherin often kept himself locked up in a room, which is the chamber he left behind at Hogwarts before he departed."
Upon hearing this.
Ian nodded, "I know this rumor story, it's mentioned in the 'Hogwarts: Ten Hidden Secrets', and he even put some of his collection in the Secret Chamber."
Having long been familiar with the gossip heart of the bronze eagle head that was no less than the Fat Lady's, Ian didn't intend to reveal that he had already found Slytherin's Secret Chamber.
He bet that if he dared to tell the bronze eagle head this, the rumor that he was Slytherin's heir would spread across all of Hogwarts by tonight.
Now carrying the name of Ambrosius Dumbledore Grindelwald Prince in the rumors, Ian certainly didn't want another surname to appear in his name suffix—the mix of four surnames was troublesome enough, adding a fifth might even lead people to suspect there's some magical creature bloodline in his ancestry.
Luckily, the bronze eagle head didn't have much curiosity in this matter.
"It's not just rumors and stories; I'm aware the so-called chamber does exist, and what Salazar Slytherin researched in the chamber is related to what you found... the big treasure?" The bronze eagle head's voice carried a bit of pride, evidently misunderstanding what Ian was referring to as the big treasure.
Clearly.
This door knocker was not omniscient about Hogwarts' secrets.
"What was he researching?" Ian tried rubbing his hand vigorously on the back of his hand, then used magic in an attempt to remove the mark resembling a curse.
"Researching very profound things."
The bronze eagle head's response wasn't satisfactory to Ian.
"You wouldn't happen to not know, would you?" Ian used reverse psychology to deal with the bronze eagle head, but to his surprise, the bronze eagle head nodded frankly.
"Yes, I only know that before Salazar Slytherin left, he said he left a little surprise for the reckless ones in future generations. I think what you've got is his little surprise."
Ultimately, the bronze eagle head did reveal some useful information.
"Little surprise? Not poisonous, is it?" Ian even poured some of Voldemort's aunt's potion on his hand but couldn't remove or inhibit the green rune on the back of his hand.
He suspected the Slytherin bloodline in the Gaunt clan might not be pure.
"Who knows, after all, I'm just a bird."
The bronze eagle head's tone was extremely calm. After a pause, it spoke in a frightening manner, "But it's said that Salazar Slytherin was in a bad mood at the time."
Ian was not scared.
"Wake up, you're just a metal door knocker carved into a bird." He retaliated without showing weakness, and his sharp words made the bronze eagle head somewhat melancholic.
"How do you know I wasn't a bird once? Maybe my brain was put into the door knocker; if you give me a pair of wings, I could definitely fly to show you."
"Of course, I might also just be a door knocker that fantasizes about becoming a bird. Anything is possible; maybe you could open my skull to see if there's any brain inside."
The bronze eagle head's mental state grew increasingly bizarre, making Ian think of the awakening of artificial intelligence, uncertain whether this was related to his frequent exchanges with it.
Logically, it shouldn't be related, as over the course of a thousand years, the bronze eagle head must have engaged in plenty of communication with people; perhaps it was precisely a thousand years of accumulation that led it to have wild thoughts.
"I want to explore your manufacturing process, but not now." Ian saw someone opening the door, as the highly competitive Ravenclaw little wizards always woke very early.
"Good morning, Ian."
The senior student with a square head from the third grade greeted Ian.
"Wishing you a pleasant day, cool-looking senior."
Since the other hadn't attended his small class, Ian didn't remember the senior's name, but this did not prevent his admiration from making the third-grade senior grin from ear to ear.
Sometimes handling interpersonal relationships is just that simple—limited to within the school.
"Not continuing this conversation?" Seeing Ian squeeze through the door opened by the senior, the bronze eagle head's tone was full of regret and longing.
"Could talking more reveal how to understand what it is?" Ian pressed against the door and raised his hand. He believed that the founders of Hogwarts wouldn't leave curses for the students of later generations, just like the treasure snake monster wasn't left to clear Muggle students but to protect the school.
In the era when the founders were present, founding such a school was no small danger, and many of the hidden passages in Hogwarts also had the significance of enabling faculty and students to retreat when the school was invaded. The snake monster should have originally been a guardian role but was unexpectedly later used by Voldemort for the wrong purpose.