Helena Ravenclaw and Ian disappeared together in the Ravenclaw common room.
This is also why Ian dared to boldly drink the Life and Death Potion; he could enter the Misty Illusion Realm not only with his soul but also with his substance world body that could carry various things.
In the fireplace, the flames gently leaped, making warm and soft crackling sounds, becoming the only sound in this tranquil space. The little wizards were snoring away in their dormitories, and the Ravenclaw common room returned to silence—impossible miracles always happen quietly alongside many ordinary things.
At this moment, Professor Flitwick was in his bedroom delving into the intricacies of the Patronus Charm. The curiosity belonging to Ravenclaw and the responsibility of a Spell Class professor drove him to forgo sleep and study Ian's situation all night. Hogwarts might soon have another professor with dark circles under their eyes because of Ian.
Professor McGonagall also wasn't sleeping; she stopped the Gryffindor students from attempting to modify Wingardium Leviosa, and sternly criticized and educated those recklessly trying to summon a wild buffalo in the common room. After making the group of leaders reflect deeply, she turned around in her own common room and summoned a wild buffalo herself, itching to try her hand.
The clattering noise was Professor McGonagall trying to cover up her nature, while Hufflepuff's head, Professor Pomona Sprout, was sound asleep with the little wizards after being forcibly taken by Snape to conduct extensive checks on Professor Quirrell. Snape, who had wasted several hours, was still staying up late.
Quirrell was still attempting to secretly contact his master, with Snape, who had trailed him, spying from the shadows. Like a silent bat, Snape recorded all of Quirrell's actions in detail, even noting down how many times he scratched his nose, needing to report all of it to the person who tasked him with "taking care" of Quirrell.
As for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, he was not sleeping either; he spent the entire night sitting in front of a stack of documents, reviewing the life stories and resumes of all Hogwarts faculty.
"There's actually a third...interloper."
He seemed to have discovered something peculiar and circled a few areas on a piece of parchment.
The miracle Ian brought was hidden among these various mundane affairs at Hogwarts, with only the Ravenclaw statue silently witnessing the scene of him and Lady Helena disappearing.
But it was not entirely unknown.
In the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor of the castle, the disheveled Dumbledore was initially browsing through ancient tomes when he suddenly lifted his head as if he sensed something, his expression slightly changing.
The candlelight cast on his face, and his slightly disordered beard gently trembled.
"It seems the new students next year will no longer meet a knowledgeable and graceful lady." Dumbledore's azure eyes twinkled beneath his half-moon glasses.
Just like the candles on the table illuminating the entire office.
"Such unbelievable talent, we are probably witnessing history and legend...don't you agree, Fawkes." He sighed lightly as he looked at the Phoenix grooming itself a short distance away.
"Chirp chirp~!"
Fawkes's voice was very clear.
It seemed like a response.
"Indeed, if it can be taken in, it can be brought out, but I've already passed the age of recklessness. I need to consider the possible impact and restrain my selfishness." Dumbledore took out the letter Ian brought from a drawer, as if he could see the cherished photos inside through the envelope.
"There will be meetings and reunions. For me, that day is not really far, but before then, I need to fulfill my duties in this world."
"Only then can I go there with peace, to recount my not-so-shameful past." He gently stroked the envelope in his hand, the low murmuring voice seeming like self-talk.
The candle flame flickered.
Just like the eyes behind the picture frames.
"Brother Albus, if you became the Headmaster of Hogwarts, could I go to school too?" Dumbledore seemed to hear a tender whisper from a century ago. He certainly had thought about ending his life sooner for a reunion, but the letter Ian brought finally dispelled that thought.
He aimed to live the last stage of his life well.
As she wished.
Just like his entire life after that event happened.
Perhaps, it was not the dream of teaching that confined Dumbledore's ambitions; it was the unfulfilled longing from his sister's childhood that truly shackled him.
...
The sky was no longer blue with white clouds but a churning gray mist, with occasional lightning weaving through, accompanied by thunderous roars with no rain falling. At the sky's end, several towering volcanoes could vaguely be seen, with lava meandering like rivers, illuminating the surrounding chaos.
The effect of the Life and Death Potion was remarkable.
The moment Ian fell asleep, he felt his head sink, and when he awoke, he was no longer in the Ravenclaw common room, arriving at another world with Helena Ravenclaw.
Neither the brightness of day nor the darkness of night.
"The world of the dead..."
Helena Ravenclaw looked around. Her body had changed from transparent to normal color, regaining many senses deprived from her as a ghost.
"Merlin couldn't have done this, Little Ian." Helena Ravenclaw raised her hand, looking incredulously at her skin restored to a pale tenderness.