A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 65 The True Legacy

Looking up at the eagle head sculpture so close to him on the stone platform, Owen smiled and said, "I choose to exchange knowledge of the future for an answer."

The ground shook once more, and the five bookshelves surrounding it sank with a crash, disappearing into the marble floor without a trace. At the same time, a black quill pen flew across the parchment, writing down the answer to a question.

Seeing this magnificent spectacle, even someone as composed as Irving couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, as if his heart were being gripped by an invisible hand. That was knowledge he was about to acquire, and so much of it was gone in an instant!

"Continue, I still make the same choice," Owen said firmly, glancing at the surrounding bookshelves.

While the most advantageous option would be to exchange it for his existing knowledge, since that knowledge could be replenished, Irving remained keenly aware that only the knowledge within his mind truly belonged to him, his true reliance. The books outside, however profound or precious, did not truly belong to him at that moment, even though Mettis said Irving would acquire them.

Furthermore, allowing a magical object to extract knowledge from one's mind? Who knows if it might extract something else entirely! Owen couldn't possibly give it his complete trust, not even what Ravenclaw had left behind!

"Besides..." Owen glanced at the eagle-head sculpture again, a knowing smile in his eyes. He probably already understood the deeper meaning of this test.

Five more bookshelves sank into the ground. He said calmly, "Continue!"

The rumbling sound continued incessantly, and the blank questions on the parchment dwindled. Until the parchment was filled with beautiful handwriting, nearly half of the surrounding bookshelves had disappeared.

"I'm done answering, Mettis." Owen took a step back, his smile impeccably elegant.

The parchment quietly burned on the stone platform, leaving not a trace of ash. The sapphire eyes of the eagle-head sculpture flickered for a moment, then a melodious female voice, tinged with joy, rang out: "Congratulations on passing the test. You are the thirty-third in all these years."

A phantom ancient book, emitting a faint white glow, slowly floated out from the stone platform. Its pages turned with a rustling sound, and a page with intricate, mysterious black patterns along its edges drifted towards Owen, hovering and bobbing up and down in front of him. Several lines of ancient blue runes appeared on the page, shimmering as if they possessed a life of their own.

"You have gained recognition. Please clench your right fist and place it on your chest, swear an oath to Ravenclaw, and then inscribe your name in the Book of Heritage," Mettis said with satisfaction.

"An oath, and then a signature?" Owen tilted his head back slightly, looking at the words on the page.

"I will carry on the Ravenclaw's will, upholding wisdom and justice; I will inherit Ravenclaw's wisdom, forever filled with curiosity and awe; I will pursue knowledge until my death..."

Owen gazed intently at the eagle-head sculpture, while Mettis's voice drifted over: "This is not a magical oath, but a declaration to your heart, a personal creed... Ravenclaw expects its successors to have their own principles."

"Tsk tsk, while this creed is somewhat normal, even if I don't agree with it in my heart, it's okay to deceive you for the sake of inheritance, since it has no magical power anyway..." Owen stared at the sapphire eyes of the eagle's head and said slowly, "But you can't speak carelessly, and you can't make vows lightly. What if they come true?"

He glanced at the pages in front of him and curled his lip slightly: "Moreover, all the books warn us not to leave our names or marks that represent us in magical places, because you don't know if it's a contract or a curse..." Especially since some bastards like to hide the contents of the contract in inconspicuous patterns, or shrink it so small that it is indistinguishable to the naked eye!

"Do you think Ravenclaw would harm its own students?" Mettis simply retorted. "You're overly cautious, kid." As she spoke, the ancient book emitting a white glow slowly turned its pages, allowing Owen to see the names that preceded his.

"Ravenclaw might not hurt me, but you might not," Owen said with a smile, having seen everything.

"Then, make your choice." Mettis didn't press the issue. A magnificent door quietly appeared behind Owen—the same door he had entered through. "Gain the inheritance, or depart."

Irving stared intently at the ever-solemn and indifferent eagle head sculpture, then looked up at the beautiful yet stern face of the Ravenclaw statue. After a chuckle, he turned without hesitation and walked toward the magnificent bronze door.

Under Mettis's silent gaze, the door slid open without a sound. Owen waved his hand, then stepped inside.

For a moment, Irving felt a blur. He looked around and realized that he was still in the familiar circular room. Snow-white clouds floated in the sky above the transparent dome, and the sunlight streaming in was bright and warm.

Melete perched on his shoulder, raising her tiny paws to gently pat his cheeks with her soft paw pads, her golden eyes filled with confusion and curiosity. Noticing Owen looking at her, she yawned, gracefully hopped off his shoulder, and walked slowly with elegant cat steps toward the marble statue in Ravenclaw.

Owen blinked, wiped the pink paw prints on his cheek, and then turned to look at the door behind him. Even though he had just walked out of it, it was as if he had just entered this secret room.

The circular room seemed unchanged, yet also as if much had changed. The surrounding bookshelves stood silently, but those that had sunk to the ground had returned. The books that had floated before the statue were gone, and Métis's eagle head sculpture remained silent and solemn.

"Welcome, successor." Mettis's voice came from the sculpture, still melodious like a song.

Owen looked around and suddenly realized, "Was the test just now an illusion?" He had even forgotten about Melete at the time.

"It's all an illusion, but isn't it also real?" Mettis said gently.

"So I've passed the test?" Owen approached with a smile, while Melett lazily circled around his feet, rubbing her back against his ankle.

"That's right, it seems you've already figured out the nature of the test," Mettis said in a light tone.

"I've just realized that this test isn't just about intelligence and knowledge, but more about character," Owen said calmly. "I think creating your own spell is a test of reason and reverence, caution and shrewdness. Anyone who recklessly tries to create a powerful spell and gets injured will be eliminated."

"That exam was more about seeing the examinee's greed for knowledge in the choices they made, and the oath was similar, only with the addition of an inner test."

"Of course, all these tests are nothing more than tricks that can be seen through by those who have been perfectly clear-headed from beginning to end," Owen said slowly, looking around at the bookshelves.

“That’s right, only those who are sufficiently obsessed and greedy for knowledge can find this place, but only the most clear-headed or the least greedy among them can receive the true inheritance,” Mettis said in an elegiac tone. “That is the original intention behind Ravenclaw’s design of all this.”

"I'm curious, what would have happened if I had taken the oath back then?" Irving asked with a half-smile.

"Then you can obtain the remaining books as you wish," Mettis said calmly. "In fact, once you passed the test of creating your own spells, you were already qualified to obtain them. After all, Ravenclaw left this secret room not to seal away knowledge, but to pass it on."

"But the most valuable part won't be given to me, right?" Irving nodded knowingly.

“Yes, in the past thousand years, only six people have truly passed the test,” Métis said softly. “Ravenclaw only realized before she died that an insatiable thirst for knowledge would only lead to tragedy… In a sense, she herself died from her greed for knowledge.”

"Therefore, when designing this secret room, she focused the test on character and willpower."

Métis fell silent, but the ground trembled slightly again. A ring of even more ornate black carved bookshelves rose from beneath the floor. They were taller and more solemn than the other bookshelves, and rows of heavy books exuded a mysterious and ancient historical charm.

"They contain profound knowledge from various fields, including lost ancient texts, mysterious and profound spells, and Ravenclaw's own research results, both complete and incomplete," Mettis explained dutifully.

All the books were categorized and arranged on different bookshelves, including spellcasting, alchemy, potions, and so on, covering a wide range of fields.

Owen stood before the Charms bookshelf, carefully examining the titles on the spines. The shelf appeared small, but it contained a considerable number of books, likely due to the effect of the Seamless Stretch Charm. The books were divided into many smaller categories, such as Charms Theory, Advanced Charms and Applications, General Magic, and Black and White Magic, among others.

Seeing Owen standing in front of the spellbook shelf, engrossed in examining it, Mettis earnestly advised him:

"Please do not rely on the 'Seven-Part Method of Constructing Spell Runes' that you learned during your trials, and please do not reveal it. It will only stifle a wizard's curiosity and creativity, and in the long run, it will become a stumbling block to progress. That is why Ravenclaw chose to seal it away in the first place."

"I know." Owen nodded; he hadn't really valued that thing anyway.

"You can take a look at the book on top, 'The Secrets of Magic,'" Mettis said with satisfaction. "I think it should be helpful to you."

(End of this chapter)