Anthony gently touched the stone wall that had already returned to its original state. The doorway that had appeared moments ago was completely gone, leaving behind nothing but an ordinary stretch of ancient castle wall.
He clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Hogwarts really does hide all kinds of incredible secrets," Anthony said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I never imagined that so soon after the start of term we would stumble upon a room left behind by Rowena Ravenclaw herself."
After a short pause, he turned toward Ryze.
"By the way," he added, "if we wanted to go back now… could we reopen the door?"
Ryze nodded without hesitation.
"It shouldn't be a problem," he replied calmly. "According to the images I saw earlier, the room we entered just now is only one of many forms this place can take. The Room of Requirement can create different environments depending on what the person walking past it needs."
He glanced down the corridor thoughtfully.
"If we need somewhere private to practice magic later, we can simply come back here."
Now that he had confirmed the location of the Room of Requirement, Ryze naturally had no intention of letting such a valuable resource go unused.
After all, discovering a hidden magical chamber like this and not making use of it would be a complete waste.
Of course, Ryze had never planned to monopolize the Room of Requirement for himself. Hoarding useful resources was never really his style.
Besides, monopolizing it would be impossible anyway.
Ryze knew that they were not the only ones aware of the room's existence.
According to his memories, the name "Room of Requirement" was first told to Dobby by the Hogwarts house-elves. Later, Dobby shared that knowledge with Harry Potter.
There was also another person who knew about this mysterious place.
Tom Riddle.
Back when Tom Riddle returned to Hogwarts to apply for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he had secretly used the Room of Requirement to hide a certain object—the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.
As for when Albus Dumbledore himself discovered the room, that remained unclear.
In the original story, Dumbledore once casually mentioned that he had accidentally discovered a fully equipped bathroom while wandering the castle in desperate need of one.
Of course, Ryze found that explanation rather suspicious.
You were urgently searching for a bathroom… yet you happened to walk past the same corridor three times?
Old Dumbledore really did enjoy pretending not to know things.
In any case, according to Ryze's memory, the secret of the Room of Requirement was still limited to a very small circle at the moment.
Even the Weasley twins—who were famous for discovering countless hidden passages throughout Hogwarts—had never found it.
Neither had the Marauders during their school years.
The room would only become widely known several years later, when Harry revealed its existence to the students while organizing the training sessions for Dumbledore's Army.
After that point, the room became extremely lively.
Both heroes and villains ended up relying on it for all sorts of purposes.
But that was still many years away.
For the next four or five years, very few people would ever step foot inside the Room of Requirement.
Aside from the house-elves, almost no one used it at all.
That meant Ryze and his friends would have plenty of time to make use of it.
With that thought in mind, the group left the hidden corridor and returned to the Ancient Runes classroom.
Professor Babbling had already prepared several cups of tea for them.
Steam rose gently from the cups as everyone sat down around the table.
Ryze began recounting everything he had seen inside the room—the statue of the raven, the strange magical traces only he could perceive, and the mysterious message left behind by Rowena Ravenclaw.
Everyone listened carefully.
When Ryze finished explaining, Terry frowned thoughtfully.
"I remember reading that Ravenclaw was also a Seer," Terry said slowly. "If she could predict the future… then why couldn't she change it?"
"That's because true prophecies cannot be changed," Ryze replied.
He then began explaining the difference between ordinary predictions and what were known as True Prophecies.
"Most forms of divination only reveal possibilities," Ryze said. "But a True Prophecy is different. Once it appears, the outcome it describes will inevitably come to pass."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"In fact, the more someone tries to resist a true prophecy, the more their own actions end up causing it to happen."
The others fell silent as they processed his words.
Ryze shared his own speculation.
"I think Rowena Ravenclaw may have tried to resist one of those unchangeable futures," he said thoughtfully. "But in the end, she failed. That might be why she eventually came to believe that destiny cannot be resisted."
Professor Babbling nodded slightly.
"Several historians have proposed similar theories," she said.
She folded her hands together on the table.
"Some scholars believe Ravenclaw may have foreseen the future conflict between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin long before it actually happened. She may have tried to prevent their falling out."
"But not only did she fail… she might have suffered a backlash from the prophecy itself."
Professor Babbling's expression turned somewhat solemn.
"Some believe that backlash was what caused her early death."
She sighed lightly.
"Of course, these ideas are only theories. They haven't been widely accepted by the academic community."
"After all," she continued, "compared to the other founders, Rowena Ravenclaw truly did pass away far too early."
After hearing this explanation, Ryze's roommates instinctively turned to look at him with worried expressions.
The thought was unsettling.
Many famous Seers throughout history had been described as either mad… or tragically short-lived.
If someone were forced to constantly witness terrible futures that could not be changed, it was hard to imagine how they could endure such psychological pressure.
Seeing their concern, Professor Babbling quickly waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't worry too much," she said.
"No one can produce a True Prophecy every day."
She paused briefly before adding,
"Even Professor Trelawney has only… well, never mind."
She cleared her throat awkwardly and changed the subject.
"In any case, Ryze is still only a beginner when it comes to divination. He's a long way from reaching the level of a true Seer."
With that reassurance given, Professor Babbling shifted her attention back to the ring Ryze had brought.
The magical ring left behind by Rowena Ravenclaw still remained a mystery.
No one yet knew what kind of enchantment had been placed upon it a thousand years ago.
Professor Babbling looked at Ryze with clear curiosity.
The raven statue itself had shown no traces of Ancient Magic.
Only someone with natural divination talent could sense its location.
However, the magical traces within the room had been visible only to someone with talent in Ancient Magic.
That meant that even if a person with divination talent found the room, they would still be unable to solve the puzzle.
And yet even a wizard who possessed both talents might not necessarily feel any connection to the statue.
Thinking back to the dream Ryze had described—where he had met Rowena Ravenclaw herself—Professor Babbling began forming a bold hypothesis.
Perhaps the statue had been prepared a thousand years ago… specifically for Ryze.
The more she thought about it, the more curious she became about Ravenclaw's intentions.
"Try putting the ring on," she suggested.
Ryze nodded.
He slid the ring onto the index finger of his right hand.
At first it felt slightly loose.
But almost immediately, the magical ring adjusted itself, shrinking until it fit his finger perfectly.
At the same time, Ryze carefully watched his character panel.
If anything unusual appeared, he was ready to remove the ring immediately.
A moment later, a new buff appeared on the interface.
Ravenclaw's Gift
You have received the protection of Ancient Magic.
Spell Power +50
Magic Resistance +35
Ability Haste +25
Additional effects when using Divination Magic:
Mana consumption reduced by 50%.
Additional Ability Haste +50.
Ryze raised an eyebrow slightly.
The base attributes alone were already quite impressive.
If this were a game item, it would easily be worth over two thousand gold.
More importantly, it greatly enhanced his divination abilities.
With the ring's help, he would no longer suffer the severe exhaustion he had experienced the previous day when performing divination on his own.
However, something still puzzled him.
"Just a ring that enhances my divination ability… and a note saying that destiny cannot be resisted…"
Ryze frowned slightly as he thought about it.
Was that message meant as a warning?
Perhaps Ravenclaw had left it behind to remind him not to attempt changing events that were already destined to occur.
After a moment, another thought occurred to him.
"I wonder if I'll be able to see Ravenclaw again in my dreams," he murmured.
"If I could meet her one more time, I could ask her directly."
He hadn't dreamed about Rowena Ravenclaw again during the past week.
But now that his divination ability had improved significantly, things might be different.
After sharing his thoughts with everyone, the others could only shake their heads.
None of them could guess Ravenclaw's true intentions.
Professor Babbling considered the matter for a while before speaking.
"Regardless of the reason," she said slowly, "Rowena Ravenclaw was the most brilliant witch of her era."
"She must have had her reasons for leaving these things behind."
After a brief moment of thought, she made a decision.
"For now, Ryze, you should continue studying divination."
Her reasoning was actually quite similar to Ryze's own.
Since Ryze had already encountered Ravenclaw once in a dream, it was highly likely that their paths would cross again.
As long as Ryze's divination abilities continued to grow stronger…
Eventually, he would meet her again in the world of dreams.
And when that happened—
All of their questions would finally be answered.
For more chapters
patreon.com/Liamlivingstone