"After you left, Godric fell seriously ill. Shortly after his recovery, he too left the school. Later, Helga wanted to find both of you and decided to travel the world as well. She never returned, leaving only me here."
Ravenclaw's tone was calm and gentle, but Rhys could sense infinite sadness and loneliness in her words.
He suddenly recalled the night Hogwarts Castle was completed.
On that day, the top of the last tower had finally been sealed, marking the castle's full completion.
All that remained was for students to arrive, drawn by the castle's reputation.
The four of them had gathered on the newly flattened lawn outside the castle, gazing at their masterpiece.
"It feels like we could add something more. Perhaps another tower in the middle?" Helga had some ideas about the castle's structure.
"But then what was the point of designing the courtyard? A tower would take up too much space, and if we made it float, it would block the courtyard's light." Salazar had immediately rejected Hufflepuff's suggestion.
He believed the castle's design was already near perfect and didn't need any unnecessary additions.
"Let's not mess with it anymore; these past few days have really worn me out." Godric was strongly opposed to any more changes.
He had been playing the role of laborer during the construction, often being the one to gather materials whenever anyone had a new idea. Even with the aid of magic, it was still a taxing job.
So when he heard Helga wanted to alter the castle's structure again, he was genuinely annoyed.
Ravenclaw silently nodded in agreement, also feeling that adding another tower in the middle would make the castle look ugly—even though the concept of a floating tower that Salazar mentioned was cool, it wouldn't change the fact that it would look terrible.
"..Alright then." Seeing her suggestion unanimously rejected, Helga didn't insist further.
Gryffindor stretched and then suddenly said, "I must say, this castle is quite magnificent!"
The other three agreed with him. From a distance, Hogwarts Castle resembled a mighty dragon perched on the cliffside, overlooking the surrounding forests and lake.
"This is our school!" Helga proudly puffed out her chest.
"This will be the best magic school in all of the Europe, and even the entire world," Salazar declared with great ambition, determined to make Hogwarts the top magical school globally.
"That might take decades of effort," Helga laughed. She believed that even though Hogwarts had only just been completed and didn't yet have a single student, the only thing standing in the way of it becoming the best magic school in the world was time.
After all, this was the place where the four of them would be teaching! What other combination could be better than the four of them?
"When that time comes, I'll pack up my things and set off to travel the world—whether to the west or the east, I'll flip a coin to decide," Rowena was already imagining her retirement.
"That sounds good. Just remember to leave behind those books you've collected," Slytherin chuckled. "I have no plans to move. I'll settle down here and teach students—sounds perfect. I've used up all my travel allowance for this lifetime!"
"Indeed, it's time to enjoy life!" Gryffindor agreed with his old friend.
"Then I really need to study cooking magic seriously, so you won't keep saying I can only cook a few dishes~" Helga's voice came from the side.
"Then use your cooking skills to keep Rowena tied to the castle!"
...
The memories ended there, and Rhys's thoughts returned to the present, filled with endless emotion.
The woman who once wanted to travel the world, free like the wind, chose to lock herself in a dungeon, while those who wanted to stay at the school and teach had all left.
Fate had played a cruel joke on them.
"Why did you do this to yourself?" Rhys sighed.
Rowena stood there quietly, looking at him, as if she had grown accustomed to the hardships of this place.
"The seal here needs someone to guard it."
"Why not let the students help? Barrow, Helena, and Adrian were excellent kids—didn't Helena go out to explore the world? You could have called her back. She might not be as clever as you, but she could still help." Rowena's words puzzled Rhys. He remembered that when he left the school, although there were some unruly characters mixed in, the majority were still outstanding students who should have been able to share the burden.
Mentioning Barrow, Rhys suddenly recalled the ghost he saw during the Sorting Ceremony. The Bloody Baron Barrow wasn't a ghost who often wandered around the castle, so Rhys hadn't had a chance to talk to him properly—and more importantly, even if he did find him, there wouldn't be much to say. Without revealing his identity, why would Barrow pay attention to some random young wizard?
Barrow, who died young, indeed couldn't offer much help to Rowena, but weren't there others who could? Like her daughter, for instance.
Rowena fell silent again.
What she was about to say was difficult, but after a moment's thought, she found herself relieved: so many years had passed—what could possibly be too hard to speak about now?
"I have something to tell you."
Rhys nodded—only to have his pupils widen in shock a few seconds later.
"Helena ran away with my diadem."
"Ran away?! And she stole your diadem too?"
"Yes," Rowena confirmed, indicating that Rhys had heard correctly.
"Ungrateful wretch!!!" Rhys was genuinely furious this time. "If it weren't for you, she would have starved to death long ago, and this is how she repays you?!"
He wanted to lash out at her lineage but managed to hold back. It was this very issue that had led to the falling out with his friends and eventually to that conflict. Now, he saw no need to reopen old wounds.
"Don't blame her. She had her difficulties too. I know she always wanted to be smarter and more famous than me. She... she just longed too much to step out of my shadow. You know, the pressure on her was always immense." Rowena uncharacteristically said a lot, hoping to dissuade Rhys from being too harsh on Helena.
"You shouldn't have kept this from us all this time. We could've at least helped you retrieve the diadem. That thing shouldn't be left out in the world—it's too dangerous," Rhys shook his head. While he found it hard to judge Rowena's family matters, losing the diadem and not reporting it was clearly her mistake.
Rowena's diadem, like his own wand, was made from that sacred material, and losing control over it posed a significant risk.
"There are protective spells I placed on it; it's safe. I believed Helena would eventually return," Rowena sighed, her expression growing more complex.
"Later, there was trouble at the school, and I was severely injured. I knew young Barrow had always had feelings for her, so I sent him to find Helena. The next news I received about them was the news of their deaths. Barrow killed Helena and then took his own life."
Rhys: 'What???'
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12 Advance Chapters—Patreon.com/HornyFBI