Inside the delicate picture frame.
The dignified and graceful Rowena Ravenclaw smiled at him. Shaking his head a little troubled, Ian headed toward the kitchen, planning to eat something before going to the library to study languages.
Alchemy studies had been pretty intense these days, but the return gift he was making for Aurora was already taking shape. He needed to learn something simple to relax his mind.
"Shhhh~"
Ian had barely left.
The wind outside the window was blowing.
"Just as you said, we'll always meet again... little Raven." The portrait that hadn't spoken in a thousand years suddenly opened its mouth, a voice traveling through time echoing a belated reply down the silent corridor.
...
Full and satisfied.
Ian successfully got a special meal—hotpot with lots of extras.
Content, he walked toward the library.
"If I hadn't started exploring this area, who would've guessed that house-elves once had their own language? I bet even most house-elves don't know about it."
Learning languages was Ian's way of slacking off and relaxing.
What could be easier to study than language, anyway? With the {Master of Language} extraordinary trait, his speed at gaining and improving {Language Mastery} was ridiculously fast.
Deep research into Ancient Magic Rune actually gave the best results, since it boosted two skill levels at once. But for a few days now, Ian had fallen in love with learning alien languages.
Gobbledygook, Giant Language, or the language the centaurs used—all these boosted his {Language Mastery} skill level just as much as studying Ancient Magic Rune.
Honestly, Ian had always been fascinated by Parseltongue. After all, if he wanted to go into the Secret Chamber and collect the obedient Snake Monster baby, he'd need to be able to talk with the creature. Only, maybe because Parseltongue was so tightly bound up with bloodline, he'd never managed to find any books on it in the library.
Not in the ordinary book section, not in the Forbidden Book Area either. Maybe only once Mr. Savior enrolled could Ian go syllable by syllable and learn it from him the hard way.
He really couldn't find any relevant study material—not for lack of effort. He even dug up a book written by an expelled senior, "Moon-Crazy Beast Dance."
The Moon-Crazy Beast was a magic creature with smooth skin and pale gray body. On its head sat two round, bulging eyes, plus four skinny legs and four flat, big feet. Not very dangerous, a super shy animal. Only comes out of its cave on nights when the moon is full.
If you collect its silver droppings before sunrise and sprinkle them in the Magic Herb Garden or flower beds, plants grow ridiculously fast and remain super healthy.
Ian always thought Moon-Crazy Beasts were the ultimate answer to fertilizer production. These adorable creatures would dance with their hind legs in remote, empty places bathed in moonlight, performing intricate moves.
"Moon-Crazy Beast Dance" taught how these creatures danced to find mates. Supposedly, the author who wrote the book invented a dance that could charm any Moon-Crazy Beast.
"That must've been Dumbledore's favorite apprentice bragging nonsense—otherwise, why would the book be in the Forbidden Area!" Today, Ian was still searching for books about Parseltongue.
The library was massive.
The Forbidden Book Area was packed with books, too.
Even just looking at every book's title took ages, let alone actually reading and studying them all.
There were only seven years of study at Hogwarts, and after subtracting holidays, just 266 weeks. Even someone like Ian, who could absorb two or three books per week, that's still fewer than 800 books! Hogwarts Library held at least tens of thousands of magic books.
That's why so many hungry for knowledge eventually came back to work at Hogwarts. Even for geniuses, the books here could keep them learning all their lives.
"Damn! Madam Pince is skipping work!" Ian muttered as he arrived at the library entrance, only to be welcomed by that cold, tightly locked door again.
And it was only midday!
Leaving early can't mean leaving this early, right?
It wasn't even a holiday yet!
"Alohomora!" Ian cast the unlocking spell at the locked door again. Today was different—he'd shamefully trained the Unlocking Spell to a terrifying Level 3.
Most graduates barely reached this level. Ian was full of confidence, but reality slapped him in the face: the strange lock just spasmed violently a few times.
The lock mechanism didn't budge—not even a hint of opening.
"Is this a Level 4 Lock? I thought magic was about wonder, not levels!" Ian's view of Hogwarts Library's security got upgraded yet again.
He plopped himself down at the library door, waited a full half hour—the time it takes to eat an entire cow—but Madam Pince, the library manager, still showed zero sign of returning.
A few upper-year students came by wanting the library—mostly Ravenclaws, though there were a couple Slytherins in fourth or fifth year who liked to study.
Compared to the Ravenclaw seniors' friendly greetings, they also tried opening the door with Unlocking Spell and left, disappointed, just like Ian.