Chapter 710: The Enchantment in the Secret Passage The Grey Lady was Ravenclaw’s daughter.If not for the Marauder's Map, Pansy and the others never would have learned suc |
The greatest value of the Marauder's Map lay in the fact that while it revealed all sorts of secret passages, it could also display and confirm every wizard’s location in real time.
One could say that with this map in hand, a person could become a true master assassin on the spot.
At that moment, Pansy and Hermione were constantly testing the various functions of this magical map. On a sudden whim, they even wanted to see whether any names of wizards who should not be in Hogwarts at this hour appeared on the map.
Of course, Pansy and the others were destined not to satisfy that little wish.
After all, not everyone knew about the secret passages hidden inside Hogwarts, and not everyone was like Sirius Black, an Animagus whose identity was known to very few people.
By midnight.
Hermione, who had been studying it for a long time, was still somewhat amazed. “Are the wizards marked on here really all in those locations?”
“Isn’t that obvious, Granger? Look, the map shows all of us together right here. Without this map, no one would know you were here at all.”
“So Potter really isn’t at Hogwarts anymore?”
According to the information Pansy had brought back, Harry Potter should have left Hogwarts together with Dumbledore by now.
Most likely, they had gone to search for and destroy that unknown Horcrux.
This discovery made Pansy and the others feel as though they had fallen a little behind.
“What do we do, Draco?”
“Should we act too? Dumbledore isn’t at Hogwarts right now anyway.”
In the face of Pansy and Hermione’s anxiety, Draco only waved his hand calmly. “Relax. This isn’t a race. The first person to reach the finish line isn’t necessarily the winner.”
Seeing Draco like this, Pansy and Hermione calmed down as well and quietly waited for what he would say next.
After glancing at the two girls sitting side by side, Draco picked up the Marauder's Map from the table and began moving his finger across it, enlarging a section of the map. “Next, we’re going here to look for a possible clue.”
“Here?”
“I see. Your target is Ravenclaw's Diadem?”
Looking at the spot Draco was pointing to, Pansy and Hermione finally understood what he was planning.
It was.
Ravenclaw House.
...
Draco and the others were not exactly unfamiliar with Ravenclaw House.
Back then, Draco had been invited by Ginny Weasley and had entered their common room before.
Even now, Draco could still remember the marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, as well as the replica of Ravenclaw's Diadem.
But this time was somewhat different from their previous operation.
This time, Draco had no intention of sneaking in quietly, nor did he intend to drink Polyjuice Potion again.
Because Draco’s target was not any particular wizard in Ravenclaw House, nor was he trying to enter any specific place inside Ravenclaw House. Rather, it was...
Ravenclaw’s ghost.
“I think I understand what you mean. You want to get information from that Ravenclaw ghost, don’t you?”
“Exactly. Compared with other people, the Grey Lady might know something.”
The Grey Lady Hermione mentioned was, in fact, the ghost of Ravenclaw House.
Only, compared with the other three houses’ Nearly Headless Nick, the friendly Fat Friar, and the frightening-looking Bloodman Barlow, the Grey Lady was extremely elusive. It was nearly impossible to see her anywhere in the castle.
To be precise, the Grey Lady almost never left Ravenclaw House. Even Ravenclaw students might not see her more than a few times in an entire year.
In other words, for Draco to run into the Grey Lady and locate her was by no means simple, let alone ask her a few questions.
Realizing this, Hermione suddenly looked at Draco in understanding. “So... this is the real reason you wanted to get the Marauder's Map!”
“That’s right.”
As Draco’s words fell, his finger happened to stop on the map, pointing exactly at the location marked as the Ravenclaw Astronomy Tower, and at the single name there.
Written on it was... Helena Ravenclaw!
Wait.
Ravenclaw?
Was it the Ravenclaw they were thinking of?
Whether it was Pansy or Hermione, the moment they saw that name, both of them widened their eyes in surprise and looked at Draco with expressions that said, How could it be her?
Compared with the shock on Pansy’s face, Hermione’s expression held more of a sense of disbelief, like someone seeing a person from ancient history standing before her.
As someone born into a Muggle family, it was naturally difficult for her to understand or accept why someone who had been dead for so long could still exist in this world.
And one who bore the great surname Ravenclaw, no less.
Hermione looked at Draco with some difficulty. “This Ravenclaw... is it the Ravenclaw I’m thinking of?”
“If you mean Rowena Ravenclaw, then yes, it is exactly the Ravenclaw you’re thinking of.”
“...”
Draco’s words sounded a little roundabout, but what he meant was that the Helena Ravenclaw shown on the map was actually a descendant of the person who had founded Ravenclaw House.
To be precise...
This Helena Ravenclaw on the map, the Grey Lady, had another identity.
She was Rowena Ravenclaw’s daughter.
...
The Grey Lady was Ravenclaw’s daughter.
If not for the Marauder's Map, Pansy and the others never would have learned such a secret, one even Ravenclaw’s own students might not know.
In fact, even Draco had only discovered this astonishing fact after obtaining the Marauder's Map.
Who could have imagined that the Grey Lady, who disliked appearing before others, was actually Ravenclaw’s daughter...
And that gave Draco and the others a perfect opening.
Although they did not know when Ravenclaw's Diadem had gone missing, if anyone knew the full story and had clues to the Diadem’s whereabouts, it went without saying that it had to be the Grey Lady, who had stayed in Ravenclaw for countless years and understood Ravenclaw House better than anyone.
In other words... Helena Ravenclaw!
...
The very next evening.
As Draco and his group made their way toward Ravenclaw House, they kept changing their route along the way.
They reached their destination without mishap, though not without a few close calls.
The fact that they could avoid everyone, as well as any accidents that might occur, was entirely thanks to the Marauder's Map in Draco’s hand.
Without the Marauder's Map, even Draco could not guarantee they would not run into trouble halfway there.
It had to be said that if Harry Potter ever found out about this, he would probably be so furious he would spit blood.
Who could have known that the wizard who had taken the Marauder's Map from him was not Ginny Weasley at all, as he had believed?
But even if he eventually learned the truth, it would already be too late...
“It should be all right, shouldn’t it, Draco? Could any professor avoid the map’s detection?”
As they moved cautiously along the way, Hermione leaned close to Draco’s ear and whispered.
Because this was a complete violation of school rules, Hermione was so nervous her heart kept pounding. She had been repeatedly confirming the reliability of the Marauder's Map the entire way, trying to get a little reassurance from Draco.
Pansy, who had come along as well, looked more like she was here on a sightseeing trip. She was not worried at all about being discovered by a professor.
Pansy glanced toward Hermione. “Granger, I told you that you didn’t have to come. Sure enough, you’ve been saying things like that the whole way. Even if you’re not tired of it, I’m tired of hearing it.”
“...How could I possibly not come for something this important? Besides, if you don’t want to listen, stay farther away from us.”
“Oh? You coward.”
“You’re the big idiot with no sense of urgency at all.”
Fortunately, the girls still knew they could not let anyone discover them, so their bickering stayed in low voices.
From farther away, it would have been impossible to hear exactly what they were saying.
As for Draco, his attention remained fixed on the Marauder's Map in his hand.
Especially on Helena Ravenclaw’s current location.
...
Entering Ravenclaw House without anyone noticing was not an easy task.
But if you had a map that marked out all kinds of secret passages, then it was not such a difficult goal.
And there happened to be one such secret passage that led into Ravenclaw House.
In short, after moving aside a marble statue, they found a pitch-black passageway behind it.
At that moment, Draco and his group were slowly making their way through this secret passage known to very few people.
However, the moment they entered the passage, Hermione immediately regretted it.
After walking for a while, the passage became so narrow that they had to crawl to keep going. In a place so cramped they could not even turn around, Hermione had no chance to back out.
More importantly, Draco was right behind her.
In the darkness, Hermione’s face flushed bright red as she kept warning Draco behind her, “Don’t look up. Otherwise... I... I...”
She was so embarrassed that even though she wanted to say something, she could not get the words out properly. It was as if her whole mind had overloaded.
Hearing that, Draco instinctively glanced up ahead.
“What did you say?”
“.......”
A bent waist.
A swaying, graceful figure.
Although Hermione had forced him not to use a Lighting Charm, the rustle of her nightgown as she crawled, along with the faint outline he could make out in the dark, still made Draco feel a little heated.
His gaze could not help lingering there.
It had to be said that sometimes, that kind of half-seen temptation was even more alluring.
As if sensing that burning gaze falling on her, Hermione reacted at once. The next second, she let out a cry that was both ashamed and furious, with a hint of tears in her voice. “Draco!”
Hermione, whose composure had nearly collapsed, completely forgot that they were supposed to be moving in secret.
If the situation had allowed it, she might have turned around and pounced on him right then, just to make Draco understand the consequences of teasing her like that.
Fortunately, the passage was reasonably soundproof. Even after such a loud cry, it did not cause any real commotion.
Feeling somewhat guilty and not daring to provoke her any further, Draco finally coughed lightly a few times and forced himself to look away.
Only then did Hermione, whose body had grown faintly warm, let out a breath of relief.
But compared with Hermione’s mixture of regret and wanting to disappear on the spot, Pansy, who was bringing up the rear, found herself envying Hermione up ahead.
If it were her, she would never be that shy.
In any case, after a long crawl, Hermione finally began to see a faint glimmer of light. She could even feel a slight breeze, which meant they were getting closer and closer to the exit.
It also meant they could finally escape this embarrassing and awkward situation.