0604 Leaving

Bryan left Harry, Ron and Hermione, and the three house-elves Dobby, Freedom, and Reega behind as he strolled towards the turquoise stone wall before them. A full millennium had passed since the wall’s creation, yet it still exhaled icy cold winds, keeping the temperature in this terrifying and gloomy corridor at an extremely low level that chilled one to the bone.

There was no need for Bryan to ponder who had left the powerful, ancient magic upon the wall. Although it was claimed that ‘love’ could awaken the innate desire for freedom and self-determination within the souls of house-elves, Bryan knew it certainly couldn’t be that simple in cold reality. 

Otherwise, the kind-hearted founder Helga Hufflepuff herself would not have only saved one house-elf named Kiki while turning a blind eye to the plight of the other members of this oppressed magical race. Moreover, based on the long-held traditions and customs of house-elves, she had left this corridor sealed.

Bryan’s fingertips brushed over the rough surface of the wall, occasionally tapping it lightly as if looking for its secrets. His eyes narrowed in concentration seeming to pierce through the wall’s obstruction, perceiving the unseen scene that lay hidden behind it.

Harry looked on at Professor Watson with awe as he carefully explored the wall. He had never seen any wizard investigate an unknown magical object in such a methodical, thorough way, using only his bare hands and eyes, rather than frequently waving his wand about and loudly casting a barrage of spells.

However, Harry had long since learned that making loud noises and conjuring colorful smoke was usually a characteristic of those witches and wizards with far lower skill levels, and certainly not the refined, inconspicuous style of true magical experts like Professor Watson.

“Behind this wall–” The oppressive environment and Professor Watson’s previous stern warning in Lady Hufflepuff’s illusory office made Hermione afraid to ask her question too loudly, lest she disturb his concentration. She carefully tilted her head and looked towards the thoughtful Professor Watson with wide eyes, who seemed to have figured out the wall’s mysteries and was now standing still before it, lost in deep contemplation. “Professor, do you think that what lies beyond is the same office belonging to Lady Hufflepuff that we all saw earlier?”

“Yes, it still lies behind this wall,” Bryan replied slowly, not taking his examining gaze off the turquoise stones.

“Are you going to open it up again, Professor?” Ron asked eagerly, barely able to contain his excitement. Although this bizarre adventure had been startling and at times utterly terrifying, Ron knew there was no real danger as long as Professor Watson was with them.

If the hidden, private office of the founder of Hufflepuff House was brought to light again after a thousand years, it would likely cause a huge, bombshell-like sensation in the wizarding world!

“Can you do it, sir? Can you open the wall?” Ron continued to ask, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Under the expectant gazes of his three students, Bryan pondered the question for a long moment, absently continuing to run his hands along the stones. Then, unexpectedly, he withdrew his hands and shook his head definitively.

“Opening this wall is not difficult, Ron,” Bryan said quietly. “But unless absolutely necessary, I don’t want to do this–” He took a few steps back from the wall, staring up at it.

Without waiting for Harry and the others to ask why, he stated his reason: “Forcing the wall open will irreversibly destroy the ancient protective magic of Lady Hufflepuff. But of course, that’s not even the main point…”

Bryan’s eyes took on a distant look as he continued, “Lady Hufflepuff has already revealed to us the information she considered most valuable through her recorded illusion. Regardless of her reasons for doing so after all this time, since she went to such pains to seal off her life’s work and private living space, I believe that out of respect for the founders of Hogwarts, it is best we leave it undisturbed, as Helga Hufflepuff herself wished.”

Bryan suddenly snapped his fingers as a thought struck him. He turned to look sharply at Harry, Ron and Hermione. “That reminds me… Reega told me that the moment you first touched this wall, you were forcibly pulled inside. Can you describe to me in detail exactly what happened at that moment?”

‘The details of that terrifying situation?’ Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, the fear of those moments still vivid in their minds. Although they didn’t quite understand what Professor Watson was pursuing, Harry swallowed hard and truthfully said, “It was me who triggered it, Professor–“

Harry felt his breath coming faster as he relived those frightening moments. A trace of nervousness flashed in his green eyes under the eerie illumination of the cold blue light emanating from the corridor walls.

“We had just reached the end of this long corridor and discovered this blank wall blocking our path. I immediately felt like something wasn’t quite right about it, that perhaps there were more secrets hidden behind this wall, so I approached it, wanting to investigate further–“

Harry swallowed again, his throat dry, and carefully recalled, “The instant I laid my hand flat against the wall’s surface, the solid stone, it…it suddenly became soft. Then, I felt as if an invisible hand inside the wall had reached out and grabbed me, pulling me in.”

“It was so sudden–half of Harry’s body was embedded in the wall before we could even blink!” Hermione added, her voice trembling slightly as she recalled those horrifying moments with perfect clarity. “I quickly reached out and grabbed Harry’s waving hand with both of mine, trying to pull him back out. Ron rushed over and grabbed onto my robes, trying to anchor us, but it was no use. The force pulling from within the wall was far too powerful, and it drew all three of us inside within seconds.

Even Freodom and Dobby tried desperately to save us, but then they too were seized by the strange force and pulled in after us. I barely had time to turn my head and scream at Reega to find you, Professor, before we were dragged through the wall.”

Bryan nodded pensively, his brows knitted together as he absorbed this information. It was the same strange feeling he himself had experienced when he first touched the wall – an overwhelmingly strong, almost magnetic force that restrained his movement and tried to drag him into the wall.

“In other words–” Bryan narrowed his eyes at Harry, “Besides you, Harry, none of the others actually laid a hand on the wall itself? It was only you who made direct physical contact?”

After a few seconds of silence, Harry shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of Professor Watson’s sharp gaze. He nodded uneasily, unconsciously reaching up to adjust his glasses.

Bryan’s eyes flicked to the gold wristwatch he had given Harry, which glinted on the boy’s wrist. With some new guesses swirling in his mind, Bryan pursed his lips and slowly nodded to himself.

“Let’s go–” After a small sigh of relief, Bryan said to the three implicated students, “The adventure is over, everyone. There’s no need for us to linger here any longer, enduring this cold. Let’s make our way back upstairs, and then I have some important things I need to tell you–“

It must be said that the deep sense of security and safety brought by Professor Watson’s steady presence was truly indescribable. Harry and his two friends followed behind Professor Watson. As long as they kept their eyes fixed on his tall figure even when passing by the terrifying expressions on the heads of long-dead house-elves on display on both side of the claustrophobic corridor, they felt only the tiniest flicker of inescapable fear.

More than anything, they felt a lack of understanding of the purpose behind such grotesque decorations, and an almost overwhelming sense of pity for the tragic plight of generations of house-elves.

When Bryan led the group out from the cold stove vent in the kitchen, the kitchen, which had become much quieter in the middle of the night, suddenly became lively again.

Though it was now the middle of the night, the kitchen was still bustling with house-elf activity as they prepared for the next day’s meals. These elves seemed to possess some unique, magical ability to detect the presence of wizards, because as soon as Bryan emerged into the room, brushing soot from his shoulders, every house-elf present immediately left off their work and hurried over, bowing low and humbly offering their assistance.

Even those elves who had until a moment ago been sleeping, curled up on the cold flagstones or squeezed into the small, dark cubicles beside the massive stoves, sprang awake and rushed to attend the great Professor Watson.

Under such attentive conditions, and with so many long ears actively listening, there was no way for Bryan to discuss the night’s events with Harry and the others. He simply waved the elves away with a kind smile and a few murmured words of thanks. Then, with a meaningful tilt of his head, he led his students out through the kitchen’s door and back into the castle.

Returning to the warmth and regularity of the familiar torch-lit corridor hung with colorful paintings of delicious food, Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged small, relieved smiles, feeling for all the world as though they had just awoken from a tremendously long and hyper-realistic nightmare.

Though in reality they had only been gone a few short hours, the bizarre and terrifying experiences they had endured, not to mention the millennium’s worth of tragic history they had learned, left them feeling utterly drained of energy.

Bryan also noticed their fatigue. He looked around to confirm there were no other students, then said bluntly, “I’ll get straight to the point, everyone. I think you all realize that the scene from past we just witnessed in Lady Hufflepuff’s office is very important.”

Ron opened his mouth as if to argue, but then seemed to think better of it. He shrank his head down between his shoulders a bit, looking guilty for his initial reaction.

But really, could you blame him? The adventure they had just experienced was by far the most incredible thing that had happened to him in his entire life – and coming from a student that spent three and a half years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that was truly saying something!

In just a few hours, they had witnessed firsthand a remarkable, completely unknown piece of the castle’s secret history that would surely land them in the “Hogwarts: A History” – if they were ever allowed to tell anyone about it, that is…

But important? … After all, it was something from a thousand years ago, right?

In Ron’s view, surely any problems the Founders had faced in their time, any threats to the school, would have been discovered and dealt with by now. Right?

Whether it was those creepy Dementors, that scary door, the mysterious coordinates, the Halows (whatever those were), in terms of shock value, they weren’t as good as Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor having a child together!

“Now, whether it’s you three,” Bryan narrowed his eyes at Harry, Ron and Hermione, “or you–” He then turned his gaze on the three trembling house-elves, “I absolutely forbid any of you from breathing a word of what you saw or learned in Lady Hufflepuff’s vision to others.”

“Oh–” Ron couldn’t stop himself from voicing his sudden, crushing disappointment. “We can’t tell anyone? Not ever?”

He exchanged a crestfallen look with Harry and Hermione. The idea of having experienced something so important, and not being able to share it with anyone…it was excruciating!

He had been so looking forward to casually mentioning to literally everyone he had ever met how he was basically now an expert in the secret love lives of the Hogwarts Founders…

Harry, at least, had been half-expecting another stern reiteration of Professor Watson’s requirement for absolute secrecy. But still, he frowned at the decisiveness of it. He didn’t quite understand the significance of the Professor’s request either.

As far as Harry could see, if the rest of the Wizarding World knew the real reason those evil creatures called Dementors were magically bound to obey the orders of the Ministry of Magic, it would make Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of Ravenclaw House, look like even more of a hero! And surely that could only be a good thing for Hogwarts’ reputation, couldn’t it?

Harry and the others thought Professor Watson would sternly emphasize his demand for their silence again, but to their great surprise, after a long, contemplative moment, His frown softened slightly.

“If, one day, Headmaster Dumbledore himself takes the initiative to directly ask you about what took place here tonight, then then it’s not that you can’t tell him.”

The three teenagers nodded vigorously, shocked at this small concession. But then the meaning of the Professor’s words sunk in.

Headmaster Dumbledore would have to not only find out that something had happened, but then actually ask them about it point blank? But how would the Headmaster ever even know to inquire, if they weren’t allowed to tell him anything in the first place?

Harry shot a quick, confused glance at Hermione, who looked just as perplexed as he felt. It seemed Professor Watson had just set up a complicated logical loop. Unless…did the Professor, intend to inform Dumbledore about this himself?

Hermione blinked rapidly, her mind whirling with possibilities, half-formed suspicions, and a dozen branching theories. But Professor Watson was speaking again drawing their attention.

“And I sincerely hope, that none of you have forgotten the previous instruction I gave you earlier, in Lady Hufflepuff’s office.”

Harry was confused for a moment, then immediately remembered the matter regarding that name. Seeing the three little ones agreeing one after another, Bryan nodded with satisfaction. He looked at the three house-elves and hesitated for a moment before deciding to give up on doing anything with them.

These house-elves belonging to Hogwarts had to follow his orders. Moreover, on the way back from the centaur elder Horn earlier, some of Dumbledore’s advice still made sense.

“Then hurry back.” Bryan rubbed his brow, looking a bit tired. For him, tonight’s gains were really too great. He also needed to rest for a while and think carefully.

“Uh—” Hermione blinked in surprise, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Harry and Ron, who understood her, desperately winked at her.

“What’s wrong?” Bryan asked strangely.

“Punishment.” Hermione took a deep breath, her face flushed red as she stammered, “We– we violated school rules, Professor–“

“Oh, this matter–” Bryan patted his forehead and glanced at the dejected Harry and Ron with a wry smile. After some thought, “Then go clean the classrooms. You three, before the Christmas holiday, after each class, you will be responsible for the cleanliness of the physical education classroom. Um, no magic allowed–“

“Is this really necessary?” Watching Professor Watson quickly leave, Harry looked at Hermione and said with an aggrieved face.

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