[173] The Unraveling Thread

Hall was aware of the Grey Lady's suspicions. And he was genuinely guilty — unlike Slytherin's Chamber, he hadn't known about Ravenclaw's Chamber until today.

Now what? He looked up. "Lady Helena — was that common room we entered really just the common room?"

Hermione paused. Harry and Draco looked confused too.

Hall glanced at the Grey Lady's expression and understood. "Hogwarts was Rowena Ravenclaw's home. And yours. It's normal to have your own room."

"Yes." Her smile was soft. "Is it strange to have a room in my own home?"

"Who decorates their home like a common room?!" Draco scoffed.

Harry nodded — then paused. Well, Gryffindor's common room wasn't so bad.

"Ha! Vulgar Gryffindors!"

"The Gryffindor common room is lovely," Harry argued.

Hall could see Harry's thoughts at a glance. The Saviour of the wizarding world had lived in a cramped cupboard for eleven years. If Dumbledore had let Malfoy raise Harry, things might have been different.

"Shut up." Hall cut them off. "If you keep wasting my time, get ready to pay."

Harry and Draco reacted like cats whose tails had been stepped on.

"Are you a new breed of Galleon demon?" Harry asked sorrowfully.

"No — he's a legendary dragon who loves hoarding gold and using it as bedding!" Draco said viciously.

"I'm like a Niffler who never spends." Hall raised his head proudly. "Only takes in, never gives out."

"A Niff-what?" Harry repeated.

"It's a Niffler — a creature that loves gold and silver." The Grey Lady's voice held amusement. "Though I've never heard of one that refuses to spend."

She looked at Hall with new interest. "You have a wealth of reading experience for a second-year."

Hall coughed, accepting the praise. Then he steered the conversation back. "Lady Helena — the common room we entered is actually your old room. Have you tried... going from your room to your mother's?"

The Grey Lady seemed not to have considered this. Her ethereal eyes grew profound and melancholic. "I haven't tried. My room was on the top floor of the West Tower. Mother's library was on the second floor of the main tower."

She'd tried to find a way from within the library. But as a ghost, she couldn't.

"Although I don't know how Ron got such luck..." Hall complained. Picking up a random book that was the key to a founder's Chamber? Not even in the Restricted Section. Would anyone believe that?

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Hermione nodded frantically. Ron's luck was incredible.

Hall met the Grey Lady's eyes. "Perhaps this is fate. But your mother loved you — that never changes." He paused. "For such a wise woman to give her child her own surname — she must have loved you. She would have left a door open for you."

"Mother..." The Grey Lady murmured.

"Should we go?" Harry urged.

Hall shrugged. "It's been less than half a day since Ron disappeared. He's probably only been hungry for a few hours. Perfect — let him study in Rowena Ravenclaw's library. Maybe he'll come out with Outstanding marks."

"Achoo — "

Ron sneezed loudly, looking at the empty library. He rubbed his nose. "Is this still a library?"

It looked like one. But nobody was there. Even Madam Pince.

Something was definitely wrong.

He was a brave Gryffindor. He had to take the initiative.

Ron looked at the books on the shelves, a restless glint in his eye. By Merlin, he'd hated these books for a long time. Today, he had the chance.

His eyes darted like a thief's. He reached out toward the shelves.

He didn't notice the bronze eagle statue at the top of the library — its eyes slowly beginning to move.

Hall's heart skipped a beat. "I have a bad feeling."

Harry and Draco looked at him. Hermione: "Ron?"

Hall nodded. "Ron probably won't stay quiet."

Harry's expression shifted. "I think you're right. Ron doesn't seem like the type to wait for rescue."

Draco laughed loudly. "Ha! Stupid, reckless Gryffindor!"

"If you were the one teleported, you'd be crying!"

"Shut up, Potter! I wouldn't!"

Another argument. Hall turned to the Grey Lady. "Lady Helena, can we hurry?"

She nodded. She didn't fully understand Hall's anxiety. From their conversation, she knew the teleported boy was Hall's brother — another Slytherin descendant. He shouldn't be reckless, right?

"Gryffindor. That's Gryffindor." Hall saw her thoughts. "Gryffindor's reliability is a fluctuating reliability."

The Grey Lady paused. She thought of Godric Gryffindor.

"Merlin's beard."

Her expression finally changed. She floated faster — what had been a normal pace now required jogging to keep up.

Harry and Draco stopped arguing and ran. Without Hall as a buffer, their shoulders kept bumping.

"Get lost, Potter!"

"Malfoy, be reasonable!"

"I am reason!"

Hermione passed them, shaking her head. "Immature boys." She was completely disillusioned with Slytherin. Malfoy looked no different from Harry — just as petty and argumentative, just better dressed.

She puffed out her chest. Another step closer to Minister for Magic.

The Grey Lady arrived at the Ravenclaw common room. Before Hall could ask about the riddle, she pointed at the eagle knocker. "Open."

The eagle flickered. The door opened.

Harry and Draco stared. She'd opened it with a shout? Then why did they have to answer questions?

"She's going to her room — not the common room." Hermione gave them an exasperated look. Didn't they understand?

She glanced at Hall. He wasn't surprised at all.

Harry and Draco exchanged a look. They both felt inadequate next to Hall.

The door opened. Hall slipped inside. Hermione followed calmly. Harry and Draco hurried after, not caring about the Invisibility Cloak.

After they entered, several Ravenclaw students returned.

"Did I see wrong?" a dark-haired first-year blinked. "I think I saw Harry Potter and Slytherins going into our common room?"

Her friend laughed. "Susie, you must be tired. Gryffindor and Slytherin together in Ravenclaw tower?"

Luna, arriving a step behind, smiled dreamily. "Maybe with the help of the goblins, they've become good friends?"

Susie and her friend exchanged a glance. Definitely overthinking it.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin?" Luna twirled her golden hair. "Of course they're good friends!"

Susie took a step back. Luna's laugh was a bit too manic.

Susie grabbed her friend's hand and slipped away.

"I really wanted to see too..." Luna watched the door close, touching the eagle knocker gently.

The eagle opened its beak. "Thoughts or books — which is more important? Which came first?"

"Equally important, neither in order. Thoughts are born from books, and books nurture thoughts."

The door opened. The common room came into view.

"Looks like I haven't met my little imp yet." Luna stepped inside, oblivious to the stares.