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After observing the Ravenclaw Common Room for a few minutes, my mom turned toward me, an uncertain look appearing on her face.
"Ethan," she called, drawing my attention, "Are you sure we're allowed to be here?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"What I mean is... we're not bothering anyone, right?" she asked, looking a little worried. "None of your housemates are going to mind?"
Hearing her question, I simply made a dismissive gesture with my hand.
"Nah. Nobody's going to care about that."
"Right now, everyone's either in class or on their way to the next one," I explained. "There's nobody here besides the four of us and maybe a ghost or two."
As I said that, a disdainful look appeared on my face.
"Besides, who would be foolish enough to complain about me bringing you here?"
"If anyone dares to say something, one whole night hanging upside down from the Astronomy Tower will help him or her reflect on their mistakes."
Hearing my arrogant words, my parents exchanged glances, their lips twitching slightly.
At that moment, they seemed to realize for the first time that maybe their son was a bit of a tyrant within Ravenclaw.
If they knew I acted like that with practically the entire school, they'd probably be even more concerned.
Or at least my dad would.
Knowing my mom as well as I did, there was a pretty high chance she'd be proud.
And the funniest part was that she couldn't even ask where I had learned to be like that.
After all, I had inherited that part of my personality from her.
After reassuring my parents about their presence in the Ravenclaw Common Room, I showed them the rest of the place.
I introduced them to some of the most important and notable areas of the room, as well as the spots I used the most.
While doing so, I also told them a bit about Ravenclaw's history, about Rowena herself, and about the peculiarities of the house.
Naturally, that eventually turned into stories involving my housemates.
Some were interesting and funny. Others were embarrassing.
And some that, for legal and self-preservation reasons, I preferred not to share.
It was in that warm and cheerful atmosphere that we explored practically every corner and secret of the Ravenclaw Common Room.
However, even when the tour finally came to an end, my dad still seemed fixated on one particular detail.
"So let me see if I've got this straight," he began, frowning.
Knowing exactly what was coming, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
'Here we go...'
Unaware of my thoughts, my dad continued:
"So anyone can get in here, right?"
"Technically, yes."
"Even if they're not a Ravenclaw or a member of the castle staff?"
"Yes."
"They just have to answer the riddle?"
"Yes," I replied for the third time, already sounding mildly annoyed.
My dad fell silent before looking at my mom, who was also silent.
Then the two of them turned toward the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.
Then they looked at me.
Then they looked back at the statue.
"So the woman considered one of the greatest geniuses in history created a security system that can literally be bypassed by any intelligent person?"
"...basically."
"And if my memory isn't failing me," my dad continued, "the castle's crazy staircases were also her idea, weren't they?"
"...they were."
...
...
...
...
"I think her intelligence may have been a little overrated," my mom murmured.
"Or maybe she was completely insane from the start," my dad suggested.
"That's also a possibility."
Hearing their comments about the founder of my house, widely considered the brightest and most inventive mind the wizarding world had ever seen, my lips twitched.
With a faint sense of embarrassment, I turned my gaze toward Rowena's statue.
I knew that if she were still alive, she would have been deeply offended by this conversation.
"Seriously, a simple riddle?" my dad continued complaining, still incredulous.
"That's basically the same thing as locking a door and handing the key to anyone who solves a puzzle."
Unfortunately, I didn't have an argument to refute that.
'Who would've thought Ravenclaw's reputation would be damaged by Ravenclaw herself?' I shook my head.
Then I sighed internally.
'Seriously, I'm starting to think the only truly sensible and intelligent founder was Helga Hufflepuff.'
'Godric was a hot-headed brute obsessed with duels. Salazar was an egocentric racist with a snake obsession. And Rowena was an idiot.'
'Compared to them, Helga seemed like the only completely normal and flaw-free member of the group,' I finished my analysis.
But then, I paused briefly.
'Okay... there are a few hints that she might have enjoyed alcoholic beverages in slightly concerning quantities.'
'But honestly? Liking a drink isn't that bad.'
'And besides, after putting up with the other three idiots for so many years, anyone would try to drown their stress in alcohol.'
While I was making completely fair and impartial judgments about Hogwarts' founders, my family and I left the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Once we were outside the tower, I stopped and turned toward them.
"So, what did you think of it?" I asked, genuinely curious about their answer.
"I loved it! Really, really loved it!" Cele replied, smiling as her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Yeah, it was amazing," my mom nodded, genuinely impressed. "It's very beautiful, cozy... and magical."
"I thought so too," my dad said.
"And I'll admit, if I'd had a place like that when I was a student, maybe I would've studied more," he joked.
"Maybe?" my mom repeated, raising an amused eyebrow.
"Okay, probably not."
"That's what I thought."
Hearing that exchange, I let out a small laugh.
And seeing the satisfied smiles on their faces, I knew my mission had been a success.
The Ravenclaw Common Room might have one of the worst security systems ever created by a functional human being, but it had still managed to completely win over my family.
With that, our tour of this part of the castle had come to an end.
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~End of Flashback~
Remembering that day, a warm and affectionate feeling rose in my chest.
But anyway, getting back to the rest of our exploration, after I showed them Ravenclaw Tower, I felt like we needed a change of scenery.
So I decided it was time to take our tour outside the castle.
Around the Hogwarts grounds, we visited the Forbidden Forest again, the gardens, the shores of the Black Lake, and even some of Professor Sprout's greenhouses.
And thanks to my dad's incredible bad luck, he ended up being attacked by a Giggling Chewvine, a type of carnivorous plant, in the last greenhouse we visited.
Of course, that particular carnivorous plant was one of the few known to be harmless and sometimes even docile.
They were smaller than an ordinary flower, and the one that attacked my dad only gave him a light bite on the hand, leaving no wound or mark whatsoever.
But my dad, in one of his dramatic moments, chose to ignore that.
Just like the treacherous moving staircase that had tried to "unalive" him, that magical plant also received its own generous barrage of insults.
Naturally, my dad also didn't miss the opportunity to tell everyone that he had survived a deadly attack.
But of course, he neglected to mention what kind of plant had attacked him, nor did he show the supposedly "bloody wound" it had left behind.
Because why would he do that? Those little details wouldn't make his story any more interesting.
In fact, if it were up to him, the story would probably end with him heroically defeating a gigantic magical creature after an epic battle for his very survival.
Fortunately for all of us, my mom, Cele, and I were there to stop the story from evolving into something that absurd.
And knowing the truth about what had actually happened allowed my mom and me to have a lot of fun at his expense.
Anyway, that definitely hadn't been the only absurd situation that happened during our exploration of Hogwarts.
In fact, it wasn't something that only happened during our tour of the castle.
Many other funny, strange, unexpected, and memorable moments happened throughout those days.
They appeared in the middle of our conversations, meals, and the moments we spent together.
If I had to summarize all of it in a single word, that word would be... magical.
And I'm not going to lie.
Watching my family discover Hogwarts, marvel at every new thing, and react to the most ordinary parts of my daily life ended up being almost as fun as when I first discovered the castle myself.
But well...
Unfortunately, not even the best moments last forever.
After four days of walks, conversations, laughter, and adventures, the time to say goodbye finally arrived.
Today would be the last day my family, Sirius, Remus, the Tonkses, the Delacours, and Krum's mother would be staying at Hogwarts.
Soon, everyone would be returning to their own homes.
And although nobody was exactly happy about it, there wasn't a sad or heavy atmosphere in the air either.
After all, summer vacation was just around the corner.
In only a few days, we'd see each other again.
Even so, after spending nearly a week with my family at Hogwarts, I couldn't help but think that the castle would feel a little emptier without them around.
And as the day went on and departure time drew closer and closer, everyone began preparing to leave the castle.
End.
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