The four founders of Hogwarts each had their own personal classroom, over which they held absolute control. In these classrooms, they would set up magic that reflected their individual styles and teach advanced magical knowledge to students they personally selected.
Rowena Ravenclaw was no exception. Her personal classroom, which looked like a study room, was designed to help her select "Chamber Apprentices" who met her criteria.
The selection process wasn't complicated—it was based on spending enough time in the library or borrowing a large number of books over the course of a year.
Though the requirements weren't particularly difficult, after a thousand years of absence, Ravenclaw discovered that there weren't many young witches and wizards who met them. In a millennium, the list of names barely reached three digits, and in the past twenty years, only one name had appeared: Hermione Granger.
Fortunately, Hermione hadn't graduated yet, so as soon as she stepped into the library, Ravenclaw sought her out.
Her eagerness was partly due to Rhys.
After Rhys had brought Daphne to show off in front of Ravenclaw, she felt inspired to take on a student herself. Salazar had a new student, so naturally, she couldn't fall behind!
However, Ravenclaw wasn't desperate to recruit just anyone.
Before accepting Hermione as her "Chamber Apprentice," she intended to thoroughly assess her.
If Hermione could pass her test, the girl would receive Ravenclaw's mentorship.
After asking a few questions, Ravenclaw was very pleased with Hermione's answers: she loved reading, excelled in her studies, and was a student of Ravenclaw House—this last point was particularly important.
When Ravenclaw had asked this question, she had been a bit nervous. Though it was highly likely that a student meeting her criteria would come from Ravenclaw, there was always a chance of an exception.
People are complex, and sometimes a young wizard or witch might be well-suited to multiple houses. For example, a brave, intelligent, and ambitious pure-blood student could fit the standards of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. In such cases, the student's own opinion would become crucial.
If, before the Sorting, they had heard biased information and developed prejudices against certain houses, the outcome could be unpredictable.
According to the rules established back then, because "Chamber Apprentices" involved issues of legacy, the four founders could only recruit talented students from their own houses. If Hermione had belonged to another house, Ravenclaw would have had no choice but to let her go, as this was a matter of principle.
If it were just her, it might not have been such a big deal, but Salazar Slytherin was still alive! If she broke the rules, she wouldn't be able to face him.
Fortunately, Hermione was a Ravenclaw, so Rowena Ravenclaw had no further concerns.
After making her decision, Ravenclaw continued chatting with Hermione.
"Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Raven Spett," she said. Like Rhys, Ravenclaw chose to use an alias.
Her reasons were slightly different from Rhys's. Ravenclaw simply felt it was unnecessary. Telling the young girl her real identity would only lead to her boasting about being Ravenclaw's student. What good would that do, other than causing endless trouble for herself? So, she decided it was best to deny that she was actually Ravenclaw from the start.
"Is it the 'Raven' as in the bird, or the 'Riven' as in split?" Hermione was momentarily confused.
"Fussing over a name is pointless. If you're unsure, just call me Ms. Spett," Ravenclaw replied, not directly answering Hermione's question.
"Alright," Hermione nodded, committing the mysterious professor's name to memory.
The only thing that bothered her was why she had never seen this professor at the school before.
"By the way, you're in your second year now, right? What spells have you learned so far?"
After Hermione listed the spells she knew, Ravenclaw smiled slightly and asked, "Do you know why you're able to cast these spells?"
Hermione: "??"
This was a question she had never really thought about.
"Because I pronounced the incantation correctly and used the right wand movements?" she answered tentatively.
"Yes, but not entirely."
Ms. Spett then opened a new door for young Hermione, guiding her to glimpse the beautiful world of "mana and magic flow" behind it.
"So that's how it works." Hermione felt she had gained a new understanding of spells and magic.
"Here are some notes about magic flow. Take them with you and study them; you can start practicing. If you have any questions, I'll be back here next Monday. Just come find me in the library. These are from my personal collection, so please don't share them with anyone else."
As she finished speaking, an ancient-looking key and a roll of yellowed parchment appeared on the table.
"If you can't find a suitable place to practice, use the room next door. This is the key to get in," Ravenclaw had even arranged a practice space for Hermione.
"Thank you!" Hermione gratefully clutched the two items close to her chest.
At this point, Ravenclaw had nothing more to say and waved her hand, signaling Hermione could leave.
"Um, one last thing," Ravenclaw called out just as Hermione was about to leave.
"Although you had your reasons, you still broke the school rules."
Hearing this, Hermione's heart sank—was she going to be punished after all?
"You need to be punished. As for the specifics... help me find a few books. I need A History of Magic, Hogwarts: A History, Selected Spells of the Eighteenth Century, Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century, Significant Discoveries in Modern Magic, and A Study on the Development of Modern Witchcraft. Bring these books to this study room. That will be your punishment." Ravenclaw rattled off a long list of books as if she were reciting a menu.
These were all books Ravenclaw had noticed while wandering around the library. Reading them would give her a general understanding of magical developments over the past thousand years.
Unfortunately, Ravenclaw, as a highly realistic magical projection, couldn't physically touch the books. Only within her personal study room could she use the magic array to make the pages turn automatically.
The general process involved a book floating in midair, with the pages turning on their own as Ravenclaw stood in front, reading. Therefore, she needed Hermione to bring the books in for her.
"That's it?" Hermione couldn't help but blurt out.
Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow. "If you think the punishment is too light—"
"No, no! I'll go get the books right away!" Hermione dashed out, and a few minutes later, she returned, carrying a large stack of books.
"Huff.. Huff.. Here!"
She placed them carefully on the study room table, then earnestly bid farewell to "Ms. Spett" before leaving the study room that she'd never noticed before.
When she finally made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room and saw the statue of the house's founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, she realized where the sense of familiarity came from: Ms. Spett's aura and posture closely resembled that of Lady Ravenclaw, although the two didn't look alike.
"Maybe that's just something all wise witches have in common!?!"
Hermione didn't think much of it, eager to dive into Ms. Spett's precious notes.
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