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HP: Fairy Tale Wizard - 96
🕑 Added 2025-09-15 18:16:34 +0000 UTCChapter 96: Ravenclaw's Commission
Sterling first bid farewell to the Gryffindor duo who were enthusiastically "drinking" and "ha-ing" while sword fighting, then hurried back to Ravenclaw Tower.
Standing before the door knocker, it opened its bronze beak and asked the simplest possible question.
"What is it that the more you give away, the more you have?"
"Knowledge. Knowledge increases through sharing."
Sterling answered without hesitation. The door opened silently. He peered inside, confirmed the common room was empty, then closed the door again.
This question definitely wasn't what Ravenclaw meant by one that could "open truth" for him.
So he needed some token to awaken the door knocker's hidden form?
Sterling pulled out the mysterious card and carefully examined the area around the door knocker, but couldn't see anywhere to insert a piece of paper.
Perhaps because he'd stood at the door too long, the door knocker posed another question.
"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"
This was an even more classic riddle. Sterling had memorised its answer on his second day in Ravenclaw.
Just as Sterling was about to respond, he suddenly looked at the paper in his hand, and a stroke of inspiration flooded his mind.
"Door knocker, ask away. Lost trail, find answers. Truth opens to me."
Sterling heard a series of metallic clicking sounds from the door knocker, like rusty gears beginning to mesh and turn after centuries of stillness.
Moments later, the door knocker spoke again. This time it wasn't the emotionless neutral voice, but a weary, distinctly female voice filled with ancient grief.
"Successor, bring back news of my daughter, whether good or ill. Even if only to tell me where my daughter's bones lie."
"Place an object containing Helena's story in 'a room belonging only to a mother waiting for her wandering child', and I will personally tell you my key as thanks."
Whether it was Sterling's imagination or not, when speaking these two sentences, even the door knocker's bronze eagle head seemed to show traces of profound sadness.
Another sound of meshing gears echoed, and the door knocker returned to its usual state, looking at Sterling and repeating its previous question.
"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"
"This is a cycle with no starting point."
Sterling hurriedly entered the common room. He remembered the History of Magic textbook was on the second shelf of his dormitory bookcase.
Would Ravenclaw's daughter be recorded in magical history? After all, she was a figure from a thousand years ago, yet Sterling was supposed to find her remains?
The first task only required investigating where she died, but the second required him to find the location, go there to recover her remains, and bring them back to complete the commission.
However, at least he knew the person was called Helena. This was also a...
"Completely useless clue!"
Sterling angrily threw the History of Magic book onto his bed with frustration.
History of Magic only focused on major political events and recorded them in scattered, disjointed fragments. Take the Four Founders establishing Hogwarts. The author wrote half the account, then switched to contemporary witch trial events, and after writing half of that switched back to Hogwarts construction.
This chronological writing method made Sterling's search extremely uncomfortable. After reading all records about the Four Founders, he discovered that History of Magic never mentioned Ravenclaw having a daughter.
If not for the fact that no direct relatives of any of the Four Founders were mentioned, Sterling would suspect Helena had been deliberately forgotten. It couldn't be because the other founders had no descendants.
At least Slytherin definitely had them. His descendants crossed the ocean to America and became founders of the magical school there, a fact recorded even in Slytherin students' boastful tales.
Now Sterling desperately realised a harsh fact.
Helena was completely and utterly a stranger to him. He knew nothing except her name and identity as Ravenclaw's daughter, yet he had to locate this ancient person's remains from a thousand years ago.
Sterling felt perhaps he could first try finding Ravenclaw's diadem, then use the supernatural wisdom it granted to locate Helena.
Actually, there was much more information available about Ravenclaw's diadem than Helena. The common room library contained piles of research literature that could at least help Sterling eliminate many potential locations.
Unlike Helena, she might have died in Antarctica, might have died in the Far East, or might have died in Central Asia. Who could possibly know?
Sterling grabbed a notebook, planning to cover his face with it. When encountering difficulties, sleep first.
The moment the notebook covered him, he noticed a line of small text.
"Professor Binns confirmed to have no spellcasting ability. His hypnotic tone is purely personal talent, like how some people just look annoying." The latter half was written by Harry, probably referring to Malfoy.
Huh? What notebook was this?
Sterling flipped through it curiously. It turned out to be observation notes on Professor Binns from when he was obsessed with studying ghosts. After all, only Professor Binns was a ghost; he could definitely observe at fixed times.
Wait, Professor Binns...
Sterling turned to the notebook's first page, which clearly recorded Professor Binns' background.
"Cuthbert Binns was among the first wizards to enrol and be sorted into Ravenclaw after Hogwarts' establishment. After graduation, he immediately stayed to teach History of Magic. Died while sleeping in front of the staff room fireplace, appearing as a ghost in class the next day. Suspected death from exhaustion or natural causes."
Sterling stared directly at the line "among the first wizards to enrol and be sorted into Ravenclaw after Hogwarts' establishment."
This meant he had once received personal instruction from Lady Ravenclaw herself.
This meant he very likely knew of Helena's existence, because Hogwarts in that era wasn't just a school. It was also a refuge for young wizards fleeing persecution.
Ravenclaw would surely keep her daughter by her side for protection. So as Ravenclaw's student, Cuthbert Binns had a very high possibility of knowing or even being familiar with Helena.
Light slowly began to shine in Sterling's eyes.
He had direction. Now the only thing to consider was how to question Professor Binns.
Thinking of this challenge, the light in Sterling's eyes dimmed considerably.
Professor Binns was notoriously unhelpful. His attention only held textbook knowledge, and he never engaged in extra activities.
Someone had once stopped him during break time to ask questions. He'd directly passed through that person and gone to his office alone.
He was different from other ghosts. He did one thing: teaching class. Nothing else, never participating in any activities among the castle's other spirits.
Except for interactions with Ravenclaw House's Grey Lady. According to a seventh-year upperclasswoman, she'd once witnessed the Grey Lady meet Professor Binns and chat briefly.
Probably because they were both from Ravenclaw, Professor Binns gave her some consideration, Sterling reasoned.
Sterling didn't think he possessed enough influence to make Professor Binns make an exception for him. Moreover, could he directly ask, "Professor Binns, do you know where Ravenclaw's daughter died?"
He felt he'd be docked a thousand points and detained until the seventh year.
Sterling touched the communication badge on his chest.
This kind of delicate situation required a helper skilled at dealing with people to provide advice.
So, besides Terry, were there other viable choices?
Sterling pressed number "2" and left a message.
