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"What did you say? Build a school?" Godric Gryffindor's thick eyebrows shot up, his steel-needle-like beard shifting with his exaggerated expression. "Where will it be built?"
Rowena Ravenclaw pointed her wand at the ground.
"You mean, build it in this godforsaken wilderness?"
Ravenclaw didn't speak, but her expression made her stance clear.
"Then who will be the teachers? Who will be the students?" Gryffindor continued to press.
Ravenclaw's silver-blue eyes sparkled under the moonlight. "The four of us are the best mentors, and we can recruit others. As for the students…"
Her gaze swept over the children now dressed in new robes. "All young Wizards who awaken magical talent should receive systematic education, instead of needlessly dying in witch hunts."
"But some children already have teachers!" Gryffindor brandished his jewel-encrusted longsword, its blade cutting a silvery arc through the air.
Salazar Slytherin suddenly sneered, his emotionless eyes gleaming coldly. "What use are those so-called 'teachers'? Nine out of ten can't even cast a decent Lumos. Their skill levels vary wildly, and most can't even escape the Church's pursuit!"
"So, we're going to poach people…" Gryffindor scratched his messy hair, then suddenly grinned. "Rowena, you really know how to give me a challenge!"
He pounded his chest with a fist. "But leave it to me! I'll make sure every wizard in Britain knows—the prestige of Gryffindor School of Magic!"
"Wait," Ravenclaw suddenly interrupted. "The school will be called Hogwarts."
"Hog.. What? Why not 'Gryffindor School of Magic'? That's a magnificent name!" Gryffindor's eyes widened.
"It will be called Hogwarts." Ravenclaw's tone was firm, the blue light at the tip of her wand flickering slightly. "And there will be four Houses, one for each of us…"
Gryffindor deflated like a punctured ball. "Alright, alright… Each of us will be responsible for one, and mine will be called Gryffindor House!"
He immediately stroked the hilt of his sword proudly again. "But! I'll build the House common room in a high tower, decorated with the reddest velvet…"
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff exchanged a helpless look.
Gryffindor suddenly clapped his forehead, flattening his hat. "Wait! Why does it have to be four Houses?"
His strong arm wrapped around Sagres's shoulder, the iron buckle on his leather bracer digging painfully into his skin. "This friend helped us a lot—he should have a House too!"
Ravenclaw's eyes flickered, and she tentatively asked Sagres, "How about adding one more? Using Azkaban, the name you mentioned earlier?"
"...!!" Sagres waved his hands repeatedly, signaling refusal.
Just then, the Ptolemaic armillary sphere in his pocket suddenly emitted a dazzling blue light.
The clicking of turning gears became clearly audible, and Sagres's figure began to gradually fade, like an ink painting washed by water.
"Ag— what..."
He reacted, opening his mouth to say something, but his form grew fainter and fainter, and within seconds, he completely disappeared before everyone's eyes.
"Wait!" Gryffindor reached out to grab him, but only caught a wisp of scattered starlight. "Merlin's beard!"
He kicked a stone away in frustration. "I still had so many questions to ask him!"
Ravenclaw calmly explained, "The law of time is recalling him… We can't keep him."
Yet there was a hint of wistfulness in her voice, clearly showing she had many questions about magic she had wanted to ask.
In the night sky, only the silently standing flesh giant remained as proof that he had indeed been there.
"What he was a great man, that guy. I really wanted to go on another Dragon hunt with him, sigh.. um.. What do we do with this thing?"
Gryffindor pointed at the massive flesh monster, and everyone cautiously turned their gaze to the terrifying creation, then looked at each other.
"Heh~ Leave it to me," Slytherin said at the right moment.
Just then, an enticing aroma wafted over.
Hufflepuff lifted the lid of a copper pot—thick golden soup bubbled within, while skewers of roasted meat sizzled as they automatically turned along the pot's edge.
"Let's fill our stomachs first," her gentle voice dispelled the heavy atmosphere. With a soft flick of her wand, wild grass wove itself into a dining table.
"Whether it's building a school or dissecting a monster—" she shot a meaningful glance at Slytherin, "—it all requires strength."
…
…
Burp! Ahh~~!
"Full and satisfied. Now let's get to work!" Gryffindor wiped the foam of wine from his beard, then suddenly paused. "Um… what exactly should the castle look like?"
Ravenclaw raised her wand lightly, and a miniature model of Hogwarts Castle, made of earth, rotated into view. The castle's bricks and stones shimmered with magic, and the spires cast long shadows under the moonlight.
"Excellent!" Gryffindor's eyes lit up, and his longsword pointed to a high tower. "This place looks perfect for Gryffindor Tower! I'll take responsibility for designing the castle's defense system. To be honest, I have a lot of clever ideas—like creating moving staircases and designing animated armors and stone statues to help patrol and protect the school…"
Gryffindor babbled on, gesturing excitedly, and finally clapped Slytherin on the shoulder. "Salazar, what about you?"
Slytherin was silent for a long time, his pale finger finally pointing to the giant crater on the edge of the model—formed by Sagres's meteorite. "There." His voice was slightly hoarse. "My House will be built beneath that."
"I say… you're not just trying to slack off, are you?" Gryffindor grabbed his shoulder, wearing an expression that said I knew it. "I'm telling you, don't even think about being lazy—you have to help build the castle too!"
Slytherin calmly pushed his hand away and replied expressionlessly, "I'll be responsible for the entire castle's underground sewage system."
He then pointed to the charred pit. "And I'm going to fill this pit with water to raise some… experimental subjects."
"Helga, what about you? Where do you want to build?" Gryffindor continued.
Hufflepuff handed a few drinks to the young wizards by the bonfire, then lifted her chin.
"Right here!" she said with a smile, pointing to a spot. "Right next to the kitchen. I'll be responsible for the meals of all students and teachers."
"You won't be able to handle that alone—you also have to teach!" Gryffindor said, shaking his head and crossing his arms.
"I'll find a way to get some help; I actually have some rough ideas already." She winked playfully. "And I also need to build a few greenhouses—some rare medicinal herbs require special climates…"
"No problem, just put it all in this area!" Gryffindor said, pointing with his longsword.
Hufflepuff smiled and nodded, then turned to Ravenclaw. "Rowena? What about you?"
"I want to build an observatory to observe the stars…" Ravenclaw said calmly, pointing to the highest part of the castle. "Right here."
Her wand emitted a ray of light, projecting a phantom image of the Hogwarts Library onto the castle. "The Hogwarts Library will also be my responsibility. Knowledge needs the strictest protection."
"No problem! I'll bring back some books for you while I'm at it…" Gryffindor seized the opportunity to interject. "Those people will certainly be happy to entrust their books to me for safekeeping. To be honest, I believe only the most massive Hogwarts Library can match Gryffindor's brilliance!"
Slytherin rolled his eyes, and even Hufflepuff couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.
…
"So, what courses should we offer?"
"I'll be in charge of Duelling class!" Gryffindor suddenly drew his treasured sword, its blade slicing a silver arc under the moonlight. "I'll teach them how to fight with both wand and sword!"
"Charms will be taught by me," Ravenclaw said calmly.
"I'll teach them White and Dark Arts," Slytherin said, his voice carrying a trace of coldness. "Because to resist darkness, one must first understand darkness."
"Then I'll teach Herbology…" Hufflepuff gently gave the last piece of roasted meat to a young wizard, speaking without turning her head. "A wizard must understand the earth's bounty."
"Hmm, we'll also need more people to teach the other subjects—otherwise, we'll be exhausted…"
…
When the conversation turned to admission standards, Slytherin suddenly tapped the ground with his wand, producing a crisp sound. "We must be clear on one point—not every child who can wave a wand is worth cultivating."
His cold gaze swept across the group. "How many of those Muggle-borns will eventually become the Church's Witch Hunters?"
"Salazar!" Gryffindor said dismissively. "They just didn't have a choice! Give these children a home, and they'll protect Hogwarts with their lives!"
"A beautiful fantasy." Slytherin curled his lip in mockery. "But every person is different—Do you dare to guarantee they will not side with those rich lords? Not everyone is as simple minded as you, Godric."
A tense silence stretched between them—until Gryffindor stood up with a crack of boot against stone.
His cloak flared behind him, and a deep red aura burst forth like fire leaping from dry tinder. His eyes glinted like molten steel, and his sword—now unsheathed—gleamed faintly as the heat shimmered around him.
"You narrow-minded snake!" he growled, the red glow coiling around him like a protective flame. "Every child deserves a chance to prove their courage. If you want to divide them by blood, then maybe you don't belong here."
Salazar didn't flinch. Instead, his head tilted ever so slightly, and his wand lowered at an angle—like a viper lowering its hood before striking.
A low hum rose from the earth, and shadows rippled unnaturally across the grass. The temperature dropped sharply.
Then came the feeling—eyes.
Hundreds of them.
Faint, glowing serpentine pupils flickered open from the very soil beneath them, coiling and uncoiling around invisible forms. The scent of damp stone and cold scales filled the air.
Rowena Ravenclaw pinched the bridge of her nose with elegant fingers and sighed, her expression long-suffering. "Here we go again…"
She didn't move, but her wand glowed with a soft sapphire light.
But before either Gryffindor or Slytherin could escalate further, a sharp sound cut through the tension.
Thump!
Helga Hufflepuff stomped one foot down, elegantly and with purpose. Her soft leather shoe struck the grass with surprising force.
Every tree around the crater rustled simultaneously. Branches trembled without wind, leaves glowed faintly, and vines slithered outward from underfoot, rising like serpents ready to strike.
Even the earth and clouds bristled with subtle movement, pulsing with the thrum of life.
The aroma of blooming herbs intensified, mingling with the iron tang of magic in the air.
The nature itself had awakened—and it was displeased.
A golden-green aura radiated from Hufflepuff like morning sun piercing through mist, and her voice, though calm, carried a deeper warning.
"Both of you," she said, not raising her voice—"Take one more step… and I'll not cook for you anymore! Ever!"
Gryffindore: "H-Helga! Don't say that or I won't be able to live anymore!"
Salazar: "M-Me too!"
Rowena lowered her wand, "We all are quite different.. Honestly. One can't even discuss curriculum without risking a duel to the death. We have four houses, why don't you guys choose the students according to your belives?"
Salazar's eyes lit up, "Yes, let's each of us choose our own. My House will accept only descendants of wizarding families—at least their loyalty is bound by family magic, and they won't raise their wands against their own parents."
"Then I want the bravest!" Gryffindor pounded his chest, the sound echoing in the night. "Warriors who dare to face a dragon are true Gryffindors!"
"What about you two?"
"Well.." Ravenclaw thought for a moment, then spoke slowly. "I want children with clever minds… because I intend to teach them profound magic."
Everyone nodded, then turned to Madam Hufflepuff.
Her voice was still gentle, but this time it carried an uncommon firmness.
"I like loyal and upright children…" she said. "But those with nowhere to go—any child—can come to my House."
She looked at the other three, then at the wide-eyed children sitting nearby. Her tone was steadier than ever. "Every child who comes here should have a home. Hogwarts should be their safe haven—not another insurmountable wall."
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My apartmentmate has a cat that used to sit on my nose every morning and try to suffocate me—unintentionally, I think.
It basically worked as my alarm clock. Anyway, they went out of town yesterday and took the cat with them.
And I discovered that I have the ability to sleep for straight 20 hrs..