In nature, the more beautiful and brightly colored something is, the more dangerous it tends to be.
And in the wizarding world, the more wondrous and unbelievable something appears, the more likely it is to hide profound secrets.
In fact, the moment these young witches and wizards first entered Hogwarts, they had already come into contact with something like that.
The Sorting Hat.
Most of them never realized it at the time, but it could very well be the most extraordinary magical object many witches and wizards would ever encounter in their lives.
In essence, the Sorting Hat contains the wisdom of all four founders. Not only can it speak and sing, it can also use a kind of Legilimency on witches and wizards.
Though not quite true Legilimency, it is still enough to peer directly into the thoughts of unsuspecting first-years and instantly judge the abilities and inclinations of whoever wears it.
And what most witches and wizards know even less is that the Sorting Hat possesses another remarkable power.
In truth, it also serves as a magical gateway, one that can retrieve another item once belonging to Godric Gryffindor…
The Sword of Gryffindor!
Godric placed some unknown enchantment on the sword, allowing it to appear at the right moment whenever a Gryffindor student wearing the Hat calls for help.
As long as you trust it enough, and are willing to reach your hand into that grimy old hat…
In short, while most wizards had no idea that the tattered, singing hat possessed such astonishing abilities, the fact that it could see through a wizard's mind was already enough, in the eyes of those who understood its significance, to prove just how precious it was.
That was why Draco was so surprised to encounter something similar here in Ravenclaw.
After all, magical objects of this level were hardly common.
...
Surprised as he was, Draco didn't show much on his face. To everyone else, he simply looked like he was standing there motionless, as though he hadn't received any question from the bronze knocker at all.
"What's wrong?"
"Something seems off."
"If you ask me, he probably can't answer and is too embarrassed to say anything."
"But… is that even possible? I hate to admit it, but that's Malfoy we're talking about…"
"Look at Senior Penelope's expression. She seems to know something."
The moment one student in the crowd said that, all the nearby Ravenclaws stopped whispering and turned their eyes toward Penelope, the person standing closest to Draco.
From a distance, it was hard to tell, but from Penelope's angle, she could clearly see how tense Draco's arm was. He was gripping the knocker with considerable force.
Then, when her gaze lifted to his face, Penelope, who had been about to speak, suddenly froze.
What kind of eyes were those?
She saw a pair of eyes so bright they made her heart skip.
Penelope could say with certainty that, in all her years of memory, she had never seen eyes shine like that.
For some reason, she suddenly understood why so many people followed this utterly unlovable junior.
In Slytherin terms, that was ambition.
In Ravenclaw's language, that was wisdom.
And if she were to borrow the kind of phrase she often saw in the books she liked to read, then perhaps it could only be called the stars and the sea.
In any case, leaving aside what sort of books Penelope usually read, and leaving aside whether Draco's eyes really held stars and oceans, the only thing certain was that this was definitely not normal.
At least, as far as the Ravenclaws knew, while there were indeed people who failed to answer the question, and even cases where someone spent an entire night unable to enter the house, no one had ever seen anything like Draco's current situation, standing there for so long as if the whole thing had simply stopped responding.
Only belatedly did Penelope realize that both the atmosphere around them and her own state were starting to feel a little strange. As if trying to cover something up, she rubbed her cheek and frowned.
"Draco?"
"…"
"You…"
"The door opened."
"Huh?"
Penelope, whose attention had been completely fixed on Draco's profile, only then noticed that the door in front of them had already opened.
But that made no sense.
She hadn't heard Draco answer anything at all.
To be exact, from beginning to end, Draco had only said three words.
And no matter how anyone looked at it, those three words could never count as a satisfying answer.
If anything, those three words, if they really were his answer, sounded less like a response and more like a statement of fact.
...
The same experience could still leave different impressions.
Recalling the voice that had sounded in his mind just now, Draco narrowed his eyes, the familiar sign that he had become serious.
Can it be blocked by Occlumency?
Yes. The instant the voice sounded, Draco instinctively used Occlumency to seal off the intrusion into his mind. To his surprise, once blocked, the other side seemed to notice and gave up on whatever it had intended to do next.
If Draco hadn't been sure that it wasn't his imagination, he might really have suspected he was hearing things, or that this was nothing more than an ordinary magical object.
Only after confirming it did he find himself giving the knocker a few extra looks.
It feels almost alive… but also different from the Sorting Hat.
That was why Draco had stood there for so long without moving. He had been thinking, speculating.
Then, the moment the door opened, a translucent figure floated over in front of him.
A ghost.
Judging by her appearance, this ghostly lady was unusually tall, and she looked far more normal than the ghosts of the other houses. At the very least, she didn't seem insane, and her head was still properly attached to her body.
What puzzled Draco, however, was that her gaze was fixed intently on him.
The ghostly fire flickering in her eyes was so focused that it seemed she wanted to see straight through his soul.
If Draco remembered correctly, this should have been their first meeting.
...
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