I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 486 Heading to Merlin's Chamber

"Irving, are you guys going out? It's curfew now."

As the prefect, Hannah stood up and gave a warning.

When Zhang Xiaolin sat down next to Koyatl, they deliberately kept a certain distance from Owen and his two companions. The Hufflepuffs were all good kids and didn't have the same strong curiosity as the Gryffindors.

Of course, since they were still under the same roof, they had overheard some of the conversation between the three of them. However, Owen didn't think that revealing that information would cause any trouble, and besides, they wouldn't understand it anyway since they only had a superficial understanding.

"It's alright," Owen said, pointing to Miss Zhang beside him. "There's a professor with us, isn't there?"

"Alright," Hannah sighed. "Come back early, and don't let the other professors see you. Especially Professor Snape."

"Got it!" He nodded.

He's the one who gets points deducted the most; he'll never be the one to get points deducted this semester.

Zhang Xiaolin, standing beside him, smiled noncommittally.

His gaze swept back and forth over Irving, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

The three then stepped into the oak corridor and left the Hufflepuff common room.

Outside the oak barrels, the red brick pavement bears the marks of history.

The road was noticeably sunken due to the footsteps of the young wizards, and there were also brown, unidentified spots on the bricks.

Irving certainly knew what that was.

It's vinegar.

Unlike Gryffindor, whose entrance to the Hufflepuff common room is a portrait with frequently changing passwords, their entrance is on the same corridor as the Hogwarts kitchens. Passing the huge still-life painting at the kitchen entrance, you'll find a pile of large barrels stacked in a dark stone trough on the right side of the corridor.

If you knock on the second bucket from the bottom in the middle of the second row, to the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff," the door will open.

If the tapping rhythm is off, the other lid will explode and soak the intruder in vinegar.

Hufflepuff doesn't always hit the right rhythm. Just as the young wizards of Slytherin and Gryffindor sometimes forget the password to the entrance to their common room, Ravenclaws are sometimes stumped by the eagle-shaped door knocker.

Most of those who are blocked at the entrance to the lounge are always the junior wizards of this academy.

"I didn't realize you were so charming." Zhang Xiaolin looked at Owen with a half-smile. "I noticed yesterday that quite a few young wizards at Hogwarts are interested in you!"

They went up the stairs to the side corridor outside the auditorium.

"You know what charisma is, right?" Irving shrugged, then smugly touched his forehead. "It's a bit of a problem that people like me so much."

"Oh, you're getting all high and mighty just because I called you fat. Why don't you just take them all in?"

"..." Pushing open the oak door, Owen glared at the outspoken woman beside him. "What? Mr. Basil is having an affair? What do you mean?"

"He wouldn't dare!" Zhang Xiaolin sneered. "I just can't stand a playboy like you who's always looking for something better. A womanizer."

"."

hey hey?

Why do I feel like I've heard this phrase somewhere before?

"I'll say it again, what philandering? I didn't do that!" Irving said. "Most of them were just taking advantage of me. They're despicable, and you're blaming me instead of blaming them?"

"What about the smaller portion?"

"A small minority? If I tell them not to like me, they'll stop liking me? If my words had that effect, what would I have to worry about? I could just order Voldemort to kneel down and commit suicide, and the Outer Gods to explode on the spot." Owen said impatiently, relationships are the most troublesome thing.

At this moment, the three of them had passed through layers of tunnel-like corridors and arrived at the junction of the towers, on a large stone bridge.

At night, Hogwarts reveals a mystery and magnificence completely different from its daytime appearance. Moonlight streams down on the ancient castle, bathing its stone walls and towers in a silvery sheen.

In the distance, the rolling mountains loomed in and out of sight in the night. The castle was surrounded by a dense forest, the trees rustling gently in the night breeze. The air was filled with the scent of magic and ancient forest, making one feel as if they were in a mysterious dream.

After crossing the bridge, we arrived at a library tower that was even larger than the auditorium.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, the entrance to Hogwarts Library is located behind a prominent centaur statue on the floor.

"I really don't know how charming your little girlfriend is." Zhang Xiaolin's gaze fell on the centaur statue. "Why? Why is there a centaur statue here?"

"Chiron's statue represents wisdom and knowledge," Owen said. "There are quite a few statues at Hogwarts. Of course, there are even more portraits."

As he spoke, he arrived at the library entrance.

The massive oak door stood taut, its surface bearing traces of magic.

However, this was not a difficult task for Owen. With a wave of his wand, a crisp "click" rang out, and the oak door was opened.

The three of them pushed open the door and came out.

"The fireflies are twinkling."

Although Owen doesn't need light—he can see traces of ancient magic, the silver stream flowing in the night is quite conspicuous—the two behind him do.

The room, covered with a red carpet, is filled with desks and bookshelves, and the polished wooden walkway overlooks most of the room, some of which has stained glass windows.

There is a long table in the middle, provided for young wizards to read.

At the end of the long table, there is a wooden spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

The library has two floors, with the restricted books section on the first floor and the hidden books section on the second floor.

Owen led the two to the forbidden book area, and following the traces of ancient magic, they quickly found the entrance to the tunnel to Merlin's Chamber.

Then, he slowly explained to the two people behind him what he was supposed to do.

"We are going to the Chamber of Merlin, located beneath the Hogwarts Library. You may not find the answers you seek there, but you will be able to touch upon some historical truths."

"Merlin's Chamber of Secrets?" Koyatl said. "There's such a place in Hogwarts Castle?"

"Hmm—the place Merlin left for the inheritors of ancient magic."

"It's somewhat unexpected, but it's also within reason," Zhang Xiaolin responded. "Since he's an ancient magic heir who has lived for over 1,600 years, it's perfectly normal for him to have left behind such methods."

"That's true." Koyatl nodded.

"Then stick close to me," Owen said. "There are plenty of traps and mechanisms down there."

As he spoke, he seemed to step into a swamp, his body slowly sinking down.

The other two also realized that they were both under the influence of the infiltration spell.

After passing through thick floor tiles, the three of them fell into a huge room.

"Only that spot can penetrate the floor tiles; anywhere else, it will be pushed out by the castle's protective spell," Owen explained. "That's the entrance."

Fireflies flew from the tip of the phoenix wand and slowly drifted around the boy.

The underground room was no longer as cluttered and dusty as it had been when he first came here.

Miss Granger was obsessed with dark magic for a time, and this place became her laboratory, so she cleaned it up.

Now, this place only contains some simple bookshelves and tables.

"This way." Owen walked forward, pushed open an oak door, and walked down the spiral staircase behind the door for a long time before finally arriving at the stone door.

Owen had always believed that this stone door was the prototype for Nicolas Flamel's "Anywhere Door." It was somewhat like a vanishing cabinet, but it was powered by ancient magic, not ordinary magic.

Of course, this time, the stone gate was not empty as it was the first time. Instead, it was glowing with a ghostly blue light, like an underwater vortex.

The ancient magic he cast there can last for a very long time; unless he disappears for three to five years, the magic here may not be exhausted.

Irving didn't explain anything, and led the two people beside him through the stone gate.

"Where are we?"

Feeling a sense of spatial teleportation similar to phantom teleportation, Zhang Xiaolin immediately looked around after her vision cleared.

At this moment, they seemed to be in a fault line of a mountain, with torches stuck in the cliffs on both sides. The torches lit automatically, and the orange light illuminated the short road beneath their feet.

"Inside the mountain where the castle is," Owen said, "very, very deep."

At the end of the stone steps beneath your feet is a marble platform carved out of the mountain.

The surface has a misty appearance, and the unique patterns of marble seem to sway freely.

At the junction of the platform and the mountain, there is a metal frame with a large marble gate in the middle.

The ancient runes hidden inside the gate are like fish swimming in water, sometimes leaping out of the water and appearing on the gate, and sometimes sinking back into the sea and disappearing without a trace.

Irving stepped forward, blocked the stone door, and gently pushed it open.

"Is this Merlin's Chamber?"

"Yes." The boy nodded, then stepped onto the ground covered with pink petals and continued walking.

Irving had already seen the scenery along the way. For Ms. Zhang and Koyater, this place, while novel, was not exactly breathtaking.

After all, one came from the Imperial Academy in Chang'an and the other from Iphamoni, and both schools also possessed places of wonder.

There are many places that far surpass this scenery.

So there was absolutely no surprise.

Until they arrived at the courtyard forest, which was as big as an auditorium.

When facing the mirror, or rather the person in the mirror, his expression showed a hint of shock.

"You're still so beautiful, Professor."

In the mirror, Professor Bridget, with her fiery red hair, clear eyes, and green and yellow dress, still gazed at him with a warm smile, as if looking at her own child.

"It's just a portrait of a child," Professor Bridged said gently. "Long time no see, Owen. Could you introduce these two to me?"

Her gaze fell on Zhang Xiaolin and Koyater.

Irving nodded, and then introduced the backgrounds of the two people beside him.

A few minutes later.

Professor Bridged said in a somber voice with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry."

Her sudden statement confused the three of them.

"This should have been our burden."

"In my time, I dreamed about the future more than once. I think wizards back then all had their own dreams, about magic, about literature, about love, and about traveling the world."

Now we meet here, still recounting the disaster, but in the end, those dreams were nothing more than summer snow and winter roses, causing not a ripple in this world.

"Professor," Owen called out, only to be casually interrupted by Professor Bridged. She was indifferent, showing no regard for herself, severing the dreams and using the fragments, sharp fragments, to warn them, "We are losers, ha—I finally understand why, Owen—the last heir before you didn't want to leave her consciousness here, but instead let this old woman continue to guard it. She was certain she would succeed, unlike me—who failed."

"But now, it seems I still have some use."

Dean Bridget, wearing her tan hat, smiled with relief; she had more or less figured out why Owen had brought Miss Zhang here.

The girl's fear of the heir is normal; everyone has the right to question. After all, a wizard who wields such great power will have a profound impact on the world even if he does nothing.

She didn't have much to explain to the girl.

It was merely a recounting of the brief lives of her predecessors and those who had lived before her.

Professor Bridged spoke slowly, his voice like a gentle breeze rippling across a black lake.

Waves, layer upon layer, rising and falling, rolled toward the riverbank and beyond.

Gradually, the ripples became noisy, and the rolling waves lost their direction. They began to collide with each other, creating even bigger splashes.

Is it raining?

The pattering rain continued into the latter half of the night.

A few hours.

In this forest garden, there is only the sound of leaves rustling.

Silence—after a long silence.

This story, filled with regret, has finally come to an end.

Ms. Zhang sat quietly on a moss-covered, bare rock, saying nothing.

There were silvery, transparent marks on her cheeks.

Although Koyatl's purpose differed from Miss Zhang's, after those stories ended, he was like a wilted eggplant, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

For hours, Owen remained silent, listening attentively to the story of Shani, an unknown sixteen-year-old heir, Professor Bridged, and the subsequent heir.

Owen only learned today that there was an heir with an even more tragic end than Shani Weasley; the sixteen-year-old girl who followed her didn't even leave a name. Perhaps there's no trace of her in history at all. As for Professor Bridget—the longest-living heir to date—her ending wasn't much better. Neither Hogwarts' history nor the Weasley family history records anything about the life of this former Headmistress of Hufflepuff after she turned one hundred. The portrait of her left in the castle only shows her time as Headmistress; nothing is known about what happened after that.

Perhaps—perhaps—it died in some unknown tree hollow, merging with the withered wood and decaying grass.

(End of this chapter)