Upon hearing Rowena's words, Tver froze for a moment.
"Did you deliberately leave those books in the Diadem?"
Rowena nodded. "I foresaw that someone would need these books, and I foresaw that someone would need my help. That's why I left the Diadem, placing a part of my will within it."
"Foresaw? You mean prophecy?" Tver asked, unable to hide his excitement.
If Helga had been right, Rowena was a Seer.
And the reason he'd been so desperate to find her was to escape the curse placed on him!
As for the legend of the four elements… forget it. If it weren't a matter of survival, he'd never willingly study something so obscure and maddening. Dark circles were one thing, but even his hair was starting to fall out.
Rowena confirmed the truth under his astonished gaze.
"Indeed. When Salazar chose to leave Hogwarts, I suddenly received a premonition—that my Diadem would be stolen, and that someone would require my knowledge. So I prepared everything in advance."
Tver frowned. "But what if I hadn't gotten the Diadem? Or what if no one ever uncovered its secret, or learned how to awaken it?"
It was true—he'd solved the crown's mystery purely by chance, and he happened to possess the Philosopher's Stone, which provided the necessary life force.
If even one part of that chain had been missing, the Diadem would have remained nothing more than a Horcrux container… or been destroyed, like in the original story.
Wouldn't all the knowledge Rowena left behind become meaningless?!
The thought made Tver wipe imaginary sweat from his forehead.
But Rowena only let out a soft, amused laugh, sharp in the quiet room.
"From the moment you appeared here, all those possibilities ceased to matter."
"...If I hadn't appeared here, I wouldn't even know you had made such a prophecy."
"But that is the nature of prophecy," she said softly.
Then Rowena's lips curled into a wide, almost feral grin—nothing ladylike about it, yet full of an effortless, domineering confidence.
"My prophecies have never failed. My knowledge is priceless. My will—" Her eyes sharpened, gleaming like stars piercing the void.
"Cannot be defied."
Tver stared back at her, stunned, feeling the unshakable conviction in her gaze.
This was conviction forged from prophecy after prophecy coming true, from knowledge applied time and time again, from trials overcome through sheer intellect.
So this was Rowena Ravenclaw—the embodiment of wisdom.
He could almost picture how she had once guided the other three founders with strategy and insight.
"Then… can you help remove the curse from me?"
Barely containing his excitement, Tver stepped forward and held out the small marked sigil on his right hand.
The stronger Rowena was, the better.
Wouldn't that mean the curse would be easier to undo?
Rowena took his hand calmly, examining and interpreting the markings.
"I already recognized this curse from your memories."
"It is a fusion of two curses. The first is vicious, highly corrosive, but relatively simple to remove."
Hope lit up Tver's face—only for Rowena to continue without acknowledging it:
"The second curse, however, is far more subtle. Not highly destructive, but ingenious—almost entirely merged with Hogwarts' own magic. This kind of design belongs to the highest tier of magical craft I've ever witnessed."
She paused, then looked up at him.
"I am formed from the castle's magic. Therefore, I cannot use that same magic to remove this curse. The two forces would merge instead, creating even greater danger."
Tver's smile collapsed.
Suddenly, he bitterly regretted applying for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position just to seize the Philosopher's Stone.
In the end, the stone's greatest use was for shaping Marvolio's body—and he himself had to shoulder the curse!
If he'd applied for a different post, he might have avoided all of this and still ended up achieving the same goals.
Anyone with "mort" in their name was a troublemaker!
Rowena, who had read his thoughts directly from his mind, watched his growing irritation with clear amusement.
She offered a reassuring, almost amused remark: "Don't worry. This curse is very weak. With your strength, nothing will happen to you in the short term."
"But I can't just carry a curse forever," Tver sighed helplessly, realizing he'd been too hasty before.
"This curse increases the chance of encountering danger, and when danger comes, it interferes with you."
"If it's against weak opponents, it doesn't matter. But against someone on your level, that interference could be fatal."
He was going to face the entire wizarding world one day; he couldn't afford to lose momentum—or his life—because of this.
Rowena understood that perfectly.
"Speaking of which, your future opponents aren't weak."
Tver gave an awkward chuckle. "You don't disagree with what I'm doing? If things go wrong, wizards' fate could fall into the hands of Muggles."
Rowena looked at Tver with deep, unfathomable eyes. Only after a long pause did she speak. "In my time, we didn't concern ourselves with whether wizards and Muggles lived together."
"Of course, I understand the necessity of the Statute of Secrecy three centuries ago. But time moves forward. The wizarding world must also consider the future it will face."
"We founded Hogwarts to safeguard the legacy of wizards. Isn't what you're doing just another way of protecting the future of wizardkind?"
"In fact, I should thank you on behalf of the students yet to come. Thank you for everything you've done to protect these children."
Tver scratched his head, muttering, "It's not that impressive. I just sensed a crisis and didn't want to grow old only to have Muggles show up at my door with specially made guns."
Rowena laughed softly and shook her head. "Whatever the reason, that is precisely why you received the badge."
Tver blinked, then quickly pulled the badge from his pocket.
"Right—this badge was made by you. So why did it end up with me?"
Rowena accepted the badge, her fingers brushing its surface as nostalgia softened her expression.
"This badge represents the founding purpose of Hogwarts: protecting students, protecting wizards, and safeguarding the wizarding world."
"I knew the four of us would not remain forever. So to ensure this mission continued, I created this badge."
"It appears automatically in the hands of those who inherit this philosophy—to protect them, and to protect their ideals."
Tver asked, confused, "But when I first came to this world, I didn't have any such idea."
Rowena didn't answer—she simply smiled at him.
Feeling the intention behind her smile, Tver smiled as well.
"I understand. Another prophecy, right?"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on P@treon.
[Upto 40 chapters ahead for now]
[email protected]/BlurryDream