The upgrade also loosened the restrictions on how many could enter at once. Previously, everyone had to take turns using the Meditation House. Andros and Grindelwald had bickered endlessly because of it. Now, at last, peace.
When good fortune strikes, people tend to spend.
Tom was no exception.
He stepped directly into the newly upgraded Meditation House and extravagantly activated Thought Leap Mode, determined to fully digest the insights from today's battle.
...
The next morning.
Despite sleeping late, Tom rose early. The learning space had expanded enormously. The buildings could no longer be scattered casually. It required proper planning.
The planner was not Tom.
It was Rowena Ravenclaw.
After absorbing a wealth of information from Ariana, she slipped effortlessly into her role.
First, the residential zones. Male and female living areas were separated at the southern and northern extremes of the space. From there, the public areas radiated outward, centered around the Meditation House.
Library. Arena. Gardens and ornamental lake. Leisure district.
Everything unfolded in orderly layers.
"You are surprisingly good at architecture," Tom remarked lazily. He simply followed her instructions, placing structures as directed without thinking too much.
Ravenclaw smiled faintly. "I designed Hogwarts. Did you expect Godric and Salazar to handle meticulous architectural planning?"
"What about Hufflepuff?" Tom asked after constructing the cinema she had requested.
"Helga..." Her expression softened. "When we first built Hogwarts, the land was marshland. Unfit for habitation. That was precisely why we chose it. It allowed us to avoid Muggles."
"Helga's mastery of botanical and earth magic was extraordinary. She expended immense power reshaping the land and even moved mountains to shield the castle. I could hardly burden her with architectural detail afterward."
"So the other two founders did nothing?" Tom teased.
"Of course they did."
With a wave of her hand, vibrant flowers bloomed across the lawn surrounding her villa.
"Godric defended the castle. Salazar held the highest prestige among wizards. He recruited teachers and handled admissions. Admittedly, admissions mostly concerned pure blood families."
"The four founders were indispensable."
When the space was fully reorganized, Tom left his dormitory.
"I will show you modern Hogwarts. You will see how different it has become."
The moment they entered the Slytherin common room, Ravenclaw began complaining.
"I never understood Salazar's obsession with serpents. Admiration is one thing. Forcing students to live in damp stone dungeons is quite another. I reserved quarters for him in the South Tower, yet he insisted on building beneath the lake."
Tom nodded fervently. "If I had summoned Slytherin instead of you, I would have scolded him first."
The cold, damp atmosphere had long since been renovated. Tom had replaced the silver green décor with warmer tones. The original Slytherin aesthetic was gone, though the place still felt vaguely uncomfortable to him. Few people enjoyed murky green gloom.
He rarely lingered there.
From the Great Hall onward, time was limited, so Tom guided Ravenclaw through a broad tour of the castle.
At each location, she recalled what it had once been a thousand years ago and compared it to the present. Her quiet astonishment never ceased.
Hogwarts had changed profoundly.
In their era, all seven years combined had barely formed a few dozen students. Subjects were limited. Instruction relied on experience rather than standardized curriculum.
Now, nearly a thousand students filled the school. More than ten subjects existed. Naturally, the need for classrooms had multiplied.
"This used to be Godric's armory," Ravenclaw said at one chamber. "He filled it with weapons and armor won from duels with Muggle knights. What is it now?"
"Transfiguration classroom."
"Fitting. Godric excelled at Transfiguration."
"And there?" she pointed elsewhere. "Helga's tearoom. She brought exquisite white tea from the East."
"Now it is the Trophy Room. Covered in awards."
She suddenly paused near a second floor girls' bathroom.
"Wait." She laughed outright. "Was that not Salazar's tutoring chamber? Why is it now a lavatory?"
"That was his descendant's doing."
Tom explained the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk. Ravenclaw listened calmly, her expression unchanged.
"I did not involve myself in their dispute at the time," she said quietly, "but in truth, I sympathized with Salazar. Not from blood prejudice, but because Muggle born students increase the risk of exposure."
"If war broke out, whom would they support? Even if some chose wizards, would we truly trust them? Emotions complicate everything."
Tom voiced a question that had lingered for a long time.
"Setting aside ordinary wizards, the four of you alone could have crushed any Muggle army of that era. Why hide at all?"
"I understand your thinking, Tom."
Ravenclaw sighed.
"But killing is not weightless. The souls of Muggles and wizards are no different. Each life taken leaves a mark upon your own soul."
"When those marks accumulate, there are only two outcomes. Madness. Or destruction."
"We were powerful, yes. But we were still human. We aged. We died. We remained bound by the laws that govern this world."
Her voice carried neither pride nor regret.
Only clarity.