Madam Pince wasn't too happy when she saw Hermione Granger visiting the library on the very first day of term.
She forced a stiff smile and said to Hermione, "Young lady, working so hard on the first day? Why not spend a couple of days playing with your dorm mates?"
Hermione, upon hearing this, appeared thoughtful.
"You're right," she replied.
Madam Pince was overjoyed by this response. If the little girl became engrossed in playing with her roommates, she wouldn't come to the library and mess with her precious books, right?
"I'll just bring them here to read with me next time," Hermione added.
"..."
With that, she walked deeper into the library, leaving Madam Pince standing there like a statue.
What Madam Pince didn't know was that Hermione was extremely nervous during their conversation, fearing she would check her bag—because then she'd have a lot of explaining to do about the dozen Hogwarts-marked magic books inside.
Hermione wandered between the bookshelves, using her memory to find the fake books one by one and replace them with the real ones from her bag.
Soon, most of the books had been returned, except for one—Wizarding Landmarks—which she hadn't found yet. Luckily, a few minutes later, she spotted the fake book at the bottom of a shelf.
Hermione broke into a cold sweat—Madam Pince had actually reorganized the bookshelves right at the start of term!
Thankfully, she hadn't noticed the issue with Wizarding Landmarks.
Just as Hermione was about to stash the fake books she had recovered into her bag, a glimpse of blue caught her eye, freezing her in place.
Slowly, she raised her head and saw a beautiful middle-aged witch, dressed in an elegant blue wizard's robe, smiling at her. The witch looked about the same age as Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff House, but she was better groomed and exuded an air of refinement.
The blue-robed witch seemed vaguely familiar, but Hermione couldn't quite place where she'd seen her before.
Hermione: "..."
For the first time, Hermione truly understood the feeling of being overwhelmed by fear. Her mind went completely blank—she had no idea what to say or do.
Though she didn't recognize the witch standing before her, it was clear she was a professor at the school. And she had just caught Hermione in the act.
This was bad.
The blue-robed witch beckoned her with a finger, indicating Hermione should follow. In a dazed, rigid manner, Hermione trailed behind her.
The witch led her deeper into the library, past several bookshelves, and into a small room that resembled a study space.
The room's setup was simple—just a long table with seven chairs placed around it and a whiteboard for writing. On one side of the room was a closed side door, its destination unknown.
It was Hermione's first time in this room—she hadn't even noticed before that the library had such a study space.
"Sit down," the blue-robed witch said.
It was the first time the witch had spoken to Hermione, and her voice was soft, like music.
Hearing such a pleasant tone, Hermione felt her nerves ease slightly.
"Why did you do this?" The witch gestured toward Hermione's bag.
"Well..." Hermione explained the difficulties she had faced borrowing books last term, carefully omitting any mention of Rhys.
"Did you transform the parchment into the shape of books?" The blue-robed witch asked a question that was difficult for Hermione to answer—telling the truth would reveal Rhys's involvement, while lying would mean deceiving a professor.
In the end, Hermione chose to insist that she had done it herself.
The witch smiled. "Then your Transfiguration skills are quite advanced."
Hermione pressed her lips together.
"Let's leave that matter there for now. The school's book-borrowing system does indeed have its flaws—those who set the rules didn't think it through carefully. However, I hope you'll be honest in the conversation that follows."
Hermione's face flushed slightly.
"You seem to really enjoy spending time in the library?" The blue-robed witch casually started a conversation as if chatting.
"Yes, there are so many books here, and I love reading."
"So do I. Books are the most precious legacy our ancestors left us." The witch appeared quite pleased with Hermione's response. Then, she asked a critical question: "You love reading so much, are you in Ravenclaw?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, a look of "I thought so" appeared on the witch's face—only Ravenclaw students would love books that much.
"Heh~ You're very much like the founder of Ravenclaw."
"I.. I'm not worthy of such a comparison..." Hermione replied modestly.
"What's your name?"
This question immediately made Hermione nervous: Weren't they done with that topic? Why was she asking for her name now? Was she going to report her to Professor Flitwick or Dumbledore?
"Hermione Jean Granger." Despite her inner panic, Hermione still reported her full name truthfully.
Upon hearing her name, the blue-robed witch began to play with her long, black hair that hung over her shoulders. Her glossy hair was twirled, loosened, and played with, much like a cat batting at its tail.
She did this as a sign that she was deep in thought.
The witch's silence for a few seconds made Hermione even more anxious.
Fortunately, when the witch spoke again, she didn't seem to intend any punishment for Hermione. Instead, she asked unrelated questions, such as how much time Hermione had spent in the library last year, how her grades were, and whether reading so many different books had affected her studies.
Hermione nodded and told her that she had spent over a thousand hours in the library, visiting whenever she had free time. As for her grades, they were decent—she had been lucky enough to achieve perfect marks in all her subjects.
"Perfect marks in all subjects?" Now the blue-robed witch was genuinely surprised.
This mysterious witch was none other than Rowena Ravenclaw herself—or, more precisely, a magical projection formed from Ravenclaw's magic.
If Hermione had been brave enough to touch the witch's body, she would have been astonished to find that the witch was merely an illusion with no physical substance. Even outside the "study room," the witch hadn't touched anything solid.
This "study room" was Ravenclaw's personal classroom within Hogwarts Castle, much like Rhys' "Chamber."
At the end of the previous school year, after Rhys had helped Rowena Ravenclaw regain consciousness, she had devised a way to send a trace of her magic to the surface. This trace of magic acted as a key to activate a contingency she had left in her personal classroom.
Using the magic circle left in her secret classroom, Ravenclaw forcibly opened a special passage through the seal, allowing her consciousness to pass through the barrier and manifest in the magical projection that had formed in her classroom.
Due to the limitations of the seal, this projection was extremely restricted, unable even to leave the library—moving too far from the secret classroom would cause her to "lose signal." But still, it was a breakthrough from nothing to something.
Of course, if Rhys knew about this, he would undoubtedly be displeased, as Ravenclaw's actions had, in effect, compromised the integrity of the seal.
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