[214] Whose Side Are You On

The prefects of the other three houses also stepped forward to quiet their houses. Gryffindor and Slytherin trusted Hall. Hufflepuff, with Cedric speaking for him, had no problem either.

The faction that had a problem was revealed.

"Ravenclaw?" Hall looked in surprise toward the blue table.

"Probably someone thinks Lockhart is a Ravenclaw," Hall shrugged, unfazed. "He graduated from Ravenclaw."

The seventh-year Ravenclaw prefects wore expressions of disdain. "Don't associate that kind of person with Ravenclaw. Does he even deserve it? A graduate who only knows Obliviate and Invisibility? We don't have such graduates."

The rest of Ravenclaw fell silent.

Hall finished eating and quickly fled the Great Hall. He wasn't afraid, but hearing everyone talk about him was overwhelming.

Draco watched Hall's hasty departure and snorted, his knife and fork hitting the plate loudly.

"Draco, you're a third-year. Stop acting like a first-year," Zabini chuckled.

Draco's sharp gaze shifted to Zabini. "I know Hall's personality better than you do. That guy isn't scared."

Hall didn't return to his dorm or the Room of Requirement. After much deliberation, he arrived at Professor Ulysses's office.

He knocked gently. The vines and lilies adorning the door stirred at his voice and opened before him. A faint mist carried scents of flowers and earthy wood — for a moment Hall wondered if he'd returned to Hufflepuff's potion garden.

A wool rug in shades of green and blue covered the entire office. The mix of colours should have looked chaotic, but Professor Ulysses had blended them perfectly.

"Sit."

A vine-woven chair appeared behind Hall with a soft cushion. He sat.

Professor Ulysses appeared carrying a petal-shaped bone china teapot and two cups. He poured tea and handed it to Hall.

"Speak."

Hall skipped the backstory. "I've seen some magic circles and wanted to ask about them."

Twenty-one circles on a dragon egg that seemed dead yet possessed its own consciousness. After thinking it over, Hall decided Ulysses might know something.

He picked up paper from the desk and quickly drew all twenty-one circles from memory.

Professor Ulysses examined each one silently. Hall sipped his tea — it was slightly sweet with a faint floral aroma, unlike any tea he'd tasted before. Delicious.

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"These three curses come from a great mage," Ulysses said, tapping the table.

"A great mage?" Hall was taken aback. "One who uses runic magic?"

The Gryffindor common room.

"You just asked that directly?" Ron's eyes widened.

Harry and Ginny sat opposite Hall, thighs touching. Hall rolled his eyes and ignored Harry completely. Harry blushed as Ginny winked at him.

Hall endured the couple.

Hermione, hugging Crookshanks, frowned. "Is there something special about Professor Ulysses?"

Hall sighed. "I don't know his true identity, but he's definitely not human."

"Not human?!" Hermione's eyes lit up. She leaned closer. "What is he? I think his aura is more like a lich!"

"No! He's more like a siren!" Ron retorted loudly.

Hall watched them argue, amused at first, until the topic shifted to personal grievances. "You said an extra word to so-and-so today!" "You don't care about my thoughts!"

Hall looked down and met Crookshanks's gaze. He was certain he saw pity and mockery in a cat's eyes.

"I suppose I'm not the only single person here," Hall said slowly.

Hermione and Ron fell silent immediately.

"I won't waste time on romance until I'm as successful as Lydia," Hermione declared.

Hall smiled. "I appreciate that attitude. Keep it up."

Ron opened his mouth under Hall's amused gaze, then silently shut it. Having been brothers for so long, he understood the meaning behind Hall's look.

"Coming to the Gryffindor common room was a mistake," Hall said with a pained expression. "I should have gone to Hogsmeade with Draco."

Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust at Draco's name. Hall pretended not to notice.

"You're all Gryffindors, so you'd know best about anything related to Gryffindor." Hall tapped the table. "Have you noticed anything that seems off?"

Ginny patted Harry's hand. "What kind of anomaly are you looking for, brother?"

"The Chamber of Secrets." Hall had checked with his enhanced Marauder's Map beforehand — no one else was around. It was a habit he'd developed after being followed by Lockhart.

Under Ginny's shocked gaze, Hall briefly explained Slytherin's and Ravenclaw's Chambers. "What I encountered this time was Hufflepuff's. Three founders left their own Chambers of Secrets. What do you think the last one...?"

"Definitely!" Hermione and Ginny exclaimed in unison.

Harry blinked. "Would Gryffindor really leave behind something like a Chamber of Secrets? I find it hard to imagine what it would be like."

"Like Slytherin's — housing a basilisk?" Harry's face scrunched up. Ron's did too.

"Whether Gryffindor was a great man or not doesn't stop him from having his own room at Hogwarts," Hall said.

Ron stroked his chin. "That makes sense. Hogwarts felt like home to the four founders. The Burrow is cramped, but I still have my own room."

Ginny nodded. "You'll have a room at the Burrow too, Harry."

Harry blushed. Hall looked away — out of sight, out of mind.

"Think about it. Anything that seems off?" Hall looked at Hermione.

Hermione absently stroked Crookshanks. "The Gryffindor common room, the bedroom... it shouldn't be around here." She used process of elimination. "But it's hard to be certain — who would have thought Ravenclaw's entrance would be in the library?"

"Maybe we could ask Lady Helena? Or Helena?" Hermione looked at Hall.

Hall nodded. "I've already summoned her."

The basilisk slithered in from the pipes and landed precisely on Hall.

"Meow!" Crookshanks let out a harsh howl, arching his back and breathing loudly at the basilisk.

Helena hovered above Hall's head, looking at Crookshanks with curiosity. "Hiss~"

"Don't provoke him. He's just an ordinary kitten." Hall pulled Helena off his head. "Let's talk about Gryffindor. Godric Gryffindor — do you remember him?"

Helena hovered around Hall's wrist twice, hissing and flicking her tongue. Hall looked at Harry for translation.

"Um..." Harry hesitated. "She might just be making sounds? Something meaningless?"

"Oh —" Hermione's eyes lit up. "Basilisk language seems very interesting. Can Parseltongue be learned? It must be a niche language..."

Harry flinched and avoided her gaze. Don't ask him. He knows nothing.

"Helena, say something useful." Hall pinched the tip of her tail.

Helena gave him a disdainful flick.