Chapter 285: Slytherin a Scoundrel
Dylan's plan for the 'Thought-Form' was, on a purely theoretical level, quite polished. The interwoven symbols and rigorous formulas were enough to support the entire conceptual framework.
But to bring the theory into reality, it needed real-world data to further deduce its practical feasibility. Which steps contained oversights, and which details needed adjusting—all of this required empirical observation for verification.
Helena was deeply familiar with such experimental procedures. Having grown up in her mother's laboratory, she immediately saw the true purpose of Dylan's demonstration: it was not merely a show, but a critical data-gathering session.
"Oh, and this Diadem..."
Helena's gaze shifted to the wooden statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Her sight lingered on the Diadem for a moment. A flash of lingering attachment crossed her ethereal eyes, quickly replaced by a sense of release.
She floated closer, her fingertip brushing the statue's shoulder, as if bidding her mother a final farewell.
"Please hand it over to Professor Flitwick. And tell him that it's time to choose a new House Ghost... I will wait until Ravenclaw has a new House Ghost before I leave."
Her voice was soft yet unusually clear, every word conveying a sense of final peace. Clearly, she had deliberated this decision in her heart for a long time. As the Ravenclaw House Ghost, she had guarded this area for too long, and now she was finally ready to lay down that invisible responsibility. She only wished to leave in peace after the handover was complete.
"That's excellent. The timing isn't rushed; that's enough."
Dylan watched her silhouette floating by the statue, appearing increasingly transparent in the morning light, yet imbued with unprecedented determination. He nodded, simply replying, "I will pass on your message."
Helena gave him a slight nod in thanks. She then turned her gaze back to the wooden statue of Rowena, seeming to etch her mother's likeness firmly into her consciousness. After a long moment, she slowly turned and floated toward the depths of the Secret Room, her form gradually fading into the shadows of the bookshelves.
Only a faint wisp of ancient air remained.
"Oh—"
In the office, Dylan was about to explain the situation to Professor Flitwick, his hand still partially in his satchel, when Professor Flitwick's eyes landed on the Ravenclaw Diadem he was pulling out.
The next second, a short, piercing scream erupted from the professor. He froze as if struck by a Body-Binding Curse, then tipped backward, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a harsh sound.
"Professor Flitwick? Professor!"
Dylan immediately stepped forward, steadying him and preventing him from falling flat on the ground.
"Wait! Never mind me! Let me see!"
Professor Flitwick struggled to stand up. His hands trembled violently, fumbling in his robe pocket for a moment before gripping his wand. He took a few deep breaths, attempting to steady his movements, then raised his wand and silently cast a spell at the Diadem.
The feedback from the spell clearly agitated Professor Flitwick further. He stood by the desk, his eyes locked on the Diadem. His hands trembled as he reached out but stopped mere inches away, as if fearing his touch might damage the precious artifact.
"How many years... how many years have we been searching for you..."
Finally, Professor Flitwick carefully lifted the Diadem. The hands that had been shaking became perfectly steady the moment they touched the object. He held it so gently, as if it were a feather that might disappear with a single gust of wind. Yet, judging by his tightly compressed lips and solemn eyes, it was as if he were carrying a heavy mountain.
Gazing at the Diadem in his hands, a glistening tear rolled from the corner of the professor's eye, tracing his cheek before dripping onto his robe.
"Every Ravenclaw Head of House, during the handover, receives the responsibility of finding the Diadem from the previous Head of House—'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'—See? That's the Ravenclaw motto! It's inscribed right here!"
He raised his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes, turning to look at Dylan, his gaze filled with excitement and curiosity. "My boy, how did you find this treasure?"
"Well, you see..."
Dylan proceeded to recount how he had unintentionally discovered the Room of Requirement, and how one day, upon accidentally thinking of Rowena Ravenclaw, he had unexpectedly opened the Ravenclaw Secret Room.
In truth, the method for entering the Ravenclaw Secret Room was that simple. Yet, no one had discovered it for all these years. This was because anyone who knew how to enter the Room of Requirement would, upon entering, focus their thoughts on what they desperately needed. They would never consider irrelevant things.
And who would, upon entering the Room of Requirement, specifically think of seeing a long-deceased Founder?
The current Dylan was no longer the impulsive boy of years past. His mastery of Occlumency and Dream Architecture allowed him excellent control over his emotions and reactions. Even when speaking untruths, he showed no flaws in micro-expressions or other details. This was because, while speaking, he would make himself believe, from the bottom of his heart, that these things were true.
Coupled with Professor Flitwick's existing fondness for Dylan, he naturally believed the boy's account without reservation.
"The Room of Requirement... yes, I knew of that place back then. I always thought it must be Rowena's work, but how could I never have thought... that her Secret Room was hidden there as well." Professor Flitwick sighed with emotion, his voice tinged with regret and sudden understanding.
"Professor, besides that..."
Dylan then faithfully recounted his subsequent encounter with the Grey Lady.
When he first heard that the Grey Lady was Helena Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick's expression remained relatively calm. After all, Rowena Ravenclaw's statue was in the Ravenclaw common room. Though the mother and daughter were not identical, their resemblance was striking. Students saw the statue every day. Over the years, Ravenclaw students generally sensed a connection between the Grey Lady and Rowena. And there was only one person closely linked to Rowena.
It wasn't until he heard that Helena was preparing to leave and wanted him to find a new Ravenclaw House Ghost that Professor Flitwick momentarily froze, a look of surprise on his face.
However, after a brief period of astonishment, Professor Flitwick's face relaxed into a smile of relief. He was also happy that the daughter of the House Founder was finally ready to continue her own journey. She had lingered here for too long, and her willingness to let go of the past was undoubtedly a good thing.
"I understand. I will handle this properly."
The House Ghosts of the four houses were not immune to change, having been replaced when a predecessor departed. The current four Hogwarts House Ghosts weren't even from the same century, so dealing with the handover wouldn't be overly frantic.
"Finally, regarding this Diadem..."
Professor Flitwick looked at Dylan with a hint of embarrassment and hesitation in his voice. "You found it. By all rights, it should belong to you, but..."
"No, no, Professor. This Diadem is an heirloom of Madam Rowena. I have already returned it to Miss Helena."
"It was Miss Helena's decision to leave it with Ravenclaw House. I am merely the intermediary."
Dylan's face wore a look of valor, kindness, and integrity, his tone sincere. "Moreover, I am extremely pleased that Ravenclaw's relic can return to Hogwarts."
Upon hearing this, Professor Flitwick's eyes welled up again, and he nearly burst into tears.
"My boy... I am truly honored to be your professor... For Mr. Dylan bringing back the Ravenclaw Diadem, fifty points to Gryffindor!"
He said this while carefully wrapping the Ravenclaw Diadem in a piece of soft velvet cloth he picked up nearby. He clutched it tightly to his chest as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
"That's the maximum number of points I can give, but I will explain the matter to Professor Dumbledore. My boy, your actions deserve more thanks than this, but I apologize, I must go and share this joyous news with everyone..."
"Naturally, Professor."
Dylan smiled faintly, then stood up, opened the office door, and stepped out first.
"By the way, I must remind you that tomorrow is the first day of exam week. If you become too emotional, it might affect the performance of the Ravenclaw students."
"Ah, you're right! Thank you so much for the reminder!"
Professor Flitwick didn't slow his pace, speaking as he walked. "Even so, I must first tell the Headmaster, and the former Heads of House, and my old friends who graduated from Ravenclaw..."
He continued murmuring these names under his breath. Clasping the velvet-wrapped bundle, he hurried away, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.
"The professor is quite excited, isn't he?"
Watching Professor Flitwick's receding figure, Dylan couldn't help but sigh with a mix of resignation and understanding.
"You should be able to understand."
Helena's figure slowly floated out of the nearby wall. Her gaze also followed Professor Flitwick, and she spoke softly. "Please allow me to express my gratitude to you once again, and also to apologize for my previous suspicion."
Helena turned to face Dylan, gracefully lifting the hem of her dress to curtsy—an elegant and solemn gesture.
"You are a true Gryffindor—courageous, righteous, a hero like Godric Gryffindor, yet without the common flaws found in Gryffindors."
Straightening up, Helena looked at Dylan with deep emotion and approval. "If Godric Diggory could see you, he would be very pleased. No... I should say that, apart from Salazar Slytherin, the other three Hogwarts Founders would be proud of you."
As one of the first Hogwarts students and the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, no one in the world was more qualified to make such a statement than Helena.
Dylan quickly reviewed the list of "true Gryffindors" in his mind: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville... Hmm...
Come to think of it, Ravenclaw really does seem to appreciate me.
Although his mind was swirling with various thoughts, Dylan maintained the demeanor of a good student, offering a smile that met everyone's expectations. "You praise me too much."
Hearing the name Salazar Slytherin, a thought suddenly occurred to Dylan, and he grew curious. "Salazar Slytherin... did he truly despise half-blood students?"
Helena was a contemporary of Salazar Slytherin and, unlike Rowena, hadn't forgotten much. Her account should be the closest to the truth.
"Actually, you can't say he despised them."
The wizard and the ghost walked aimlessly forward. Helena's figure floated lightly ahead, and Dylan followed behind her at an even pace.
"Slytherin himself was a pure-blood purist; he believed pure-blood wizards were more talented than half-blood wizards. But at the time, a certain saying was quite popular."
"The wizarding world believed half-blood wizards had more talent than pure-blood wizards. He strongly disliked this, publicly stating that such claims were nonsense and baseless."
"So, half-blood students may have felt Slytherin disliked or even hated them for this, and coupled with the situation at the time..."
Helena paused here, her eyes unfocused, clearly lost in distant memories. After a while, she recovered and continued recounting the dusty past to Dylan.
"Wizards' circumstances at the time were actually quite difficult. Compared to pure-blood families who were wizards for generations, those half-blood wizards with Muggle relatives were seen as... less trustworthy."
"In fact, Hogwarts was indeed attacked for this reason during that period, so Slytherin always harbored some vigilance toward half-blood students. You can't entirely blame him for that."
Finally, Helena specifically emphasized, "Despite that, he was still a dedicated and responsible professor and Head of House who looked after every student, and he was a man with a sense of justice, far from the reprehensible figure some claim him to be today."
Dylan nodded. He wasn't too surprised by Salazar Slytherin's true character. After all, the four Founders were once close friends. Even when they ultimately separated due to ideological differences, Slytherin merely chose to leave alone. He did not let the dispute escalate into an ugly feud or outright confrontation with the other three.
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