"Alright, suit yourself."
Dylan gestured for her to go ahead.
The two of them walked toward the forest.
The ground was covered with scattered fallen leaves.
Dylan and Ravenclaw stepped on the soft leaves as they moved forward.
Ravenclaw's gaze darted around, taking in their surroundings.
Dylan lightly kicked a pinecone out of his way.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a warm gust of wind swept over their heads.
A fire dragon swooped in.
Roar!
With a flutter of heavy wingbeats, a massive dragon covered in ashy-black scales landed with a thud.
Huff!
Its nostrils puffed out hot air.
Its thick tail lightly thumped the ground, sending nearby pebbles bouncing.
Norberta's round, vertical pupils curiously fixed on Ravenclaw.
"This is one of my teachers. She'll be staying here with you from now on. Be polite to her, got it?" Dylan said.
—Of course, even if Norberta wasn't polite, Ravenclaw would likely have her tamed in no time.
No way around it.
Raw strength speaks for itself.
Roar!
But Norberta was quite obedient to Dylan.
At his words, she nodded her massive head and even retracted her bared teeth a bit.
Ravenclaw looked at the dragon before her, slightly surprised.
"I didn't expect your world to have a dragon. Can the wizarding world even keep dragons anymore?"
Dylan shook his head. "No, privately raising dragons is illegal."
But then he gave a soft chuckle.
"But as long as I don't follow the Ministry of Magic's laws, I can keep one."
Ravenclaw laughed as well.
"Exactly. Laws are just limits for the real world. Your world isn't bound by any rules—you're the master here. You set the rules, so naturally, you can raise whatever you want."
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected Ravenclaw to adapt so quickly.
Hiss~
At that moment, a hissing sound came from the forest.
Ravenclaw looked over.
What she saw was a menacing-looking but rather timid giant serpent.
She froze for a moment. "Is that… a Basilisk?"
Ravenclaw suddenly frowned and turned to Dylan. "Did you create this?"
Dylan shook his head. "No, this was created by Slytherin. He sealed it in a secret chamber at Hogwarts so his heir could take control of it and kill all the Muggle-born wizards, creating a world where only pure-bloods survive."
Ravenclaw's delicate brows furrowed even more.
It must be said—Ravenclaw was beautiful, almost ethereally so. Her oval face was as fair as polished jade, her arched brows graceful, her eyes like dark gems, her nose elegant, her lips lightly pink, her teeth gleaming, her figure poised, and her demeanor gentle.
Even with her brows knitted, she exuded a kind of beauty like a bright moon veiled by thin clouds.
"How could he do such a thing? I never imagined he'd go this far. I told him ages ago not to dabble in dark magic, let alone use it recklessly. In the end, it'll only backfire!"
Ravenclaw's voice carried a sigh.
Dylan blinked. "Was Headmaster Slytherin also someone who loved studying dark magic?"
Ravenclaw nodded. "After founding the school, he became even more obsessed with researching spells."
She sighed again, her tone tinged with regret.
"Dylan, do you know what sets the four Hogwarts houses apart?"
Dylan thought for a moment and nodded.
"It's probably about each person's character, right?"
Ravenclaw gave a slight nod.
"Hufflepuff believed the most important thing was the friends around her and the beauty in front of her. So she stayed grounded, getting along well with everyone."
"Gryffindor thought the most important thing was new experiences. That's why he always chased thrills, explored the unknown, and stayed endlessly curious about the world."
"Then there's me and Slytherin."
"For us, the most important thing was probably realizing our own value."
"In fact, at the beginning, Salazar and I had a lot in common to talk about. I'd often discuss magic with him."
"But the difference was that Slytherin measured his worth through interactions with the outside world. He'd stop at nothing to gain power, status, and the submission of others."
"As one of Hogwarts' founders, he was already at the top, but that wasn't enough for him. So he turned to dark magic, researching more vicious curses."
Ravenclaw's eyes held a trace of reminiscence.
"That's when we started to drift apart. Hufflepuff tried to talk him out of it multiple times. Gryffindor even fought him several times. But in the end, it only pushed Slytherin further away from us."
Ravenclaw sighed again.
"I always thought Salazar and I would have plenty to talk about. But after he showed us his latest dark magic creation, I realized we were truly different."
"For me, the measure of worth comes from within. Wealth, power, status—none of those prove anything. Only pursuing what you love can bring true fulfillment."
Dylan paused as he listened to Ravenclaw's words.
Honestly, dividing everyone into just four categories was a bit too simplistic.
The four houses had their similarities, to some extent.
No matter what, the four founders who built Hogwarts started as allies, supporting each other.
For Slytherin to end up so distant from the others showed how much people can change.
If Slytherin had shown his obsession with dark magic, disregard for life, and fixation on blood purity from the start, the other three founders probably wouldn't have partnered with him.
In truth, Ravenclaw and Slytherin were quite alike.
Plenty of villains came from Slytherin.
But Ravenclaw had its share of questionable characters too, like Lockhart or Rita Skeeter.
In Dylan's view, take Lockhart as an example: his pursuit of fame and fortune was his ultimate goal.
For Slytherins, fame and fortune were just a means to an end.
But one thing was clear.
Both Ravenclaw and Slytherin would stop at nothing to chase what they loved.
Sometimes, because their passions seemed so pure and harmless, it didn't appear dangerous at first glance—instead, it could even seem innocent and charming.
But to Dylan, that purity might just give rise to a few mad scientist types.
As for Ravenclaw and Slytherin themselves, their commonality was their drive to prove themselves.
The difference was that one looked inward, the other outward.
"If Gryffindor was always chasing new experiences, why didn't he get into dark magic?" Dylan asked.
Ravenclaw, still a bit melancholic, was caught off guard by Dylan's sudden question. She paused, then a smile tugged at her lips.
"Him? How do you know he wasn't interested in dark magic?"
"Oh?" Dylan's eyes widened.
"That Sword of Gryffindor, the one that can destroy dark magic creations—how do you think he made it?"
"Wasn't it crafted by goblins?"
"It was, but it's got Gryffindor's unique magic on it. That's not something the goblins etched in, is it?"
Dylan's eyelashes fluttered.
"So you're saying…"
"Exactly what you're thinking. He didn't just study dark magic—he understood it deeply."
"But the difference is, Slytherin would pay any price to test a dark spell, while Gryffindor wouldn't. Instead, he'd try to refine the spell, see if he could swap out the cost for something else."
Dylan nodded slowly.
"I see…"
Suddenly, something occurred to him.
It seemed…
He himself was always experimenting, even dabbling in dark magic.
If Ravenclaw found out, would she feel some kind of resentment?
Dylan clicked his tongue.
He'd been hiding in his own world to conduct his shady experiments.
So why did he suddenly feel like even his own world wasn't safe, and he needed to find another place to experiment?
"What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" Ravenclaw glanced back at him.
Dylan shook his head. "Nothing, just some random thoughts."
Ravenclaw nodded, not pressing further, and turned her gaze back to the Basilisk.
"You said Slytherin created it, and his heir was supposed to help him finish what he started. Now the Basilisk is here with you… Are you his heir?"
Dylan immediately shook his head. "No, I'm not. The heir I mentioned before was Voldemort."
"Hm? But didn't you say he's dead and trying to come back? Has he already succeeded?"
Ravenclaw's curiosity was piqued.
She'd never managed to crack true immortality before her death.
There were plenty of ways to prolong life.
But to her, they were all too crude.
She'd rather die than cling to life in such a pitiful way.
She wasn't sure what method Dylan's Voldemort used to attempt resurrection.
But the methods she disdained were still incredibly difficult to achieve.
For someone to pull that off, they were no ordinary person.
Either they were a master of dark magic.
Or they'd discovered some new kind of magic.
"No, he hasn't succeeded yet," Dylan shook his head again, then glanced at the diadem in Ravenclaw's hands. "That's one of his Horcruxes. He tried to use a diary Horcrux to come back before, but I stopped him."
Ravenclaw smiled slightly. "I knew it was you who stopped him. Otherwise, this Basilisk wouldn't be here, right?"
Dylan chuckled. "Yeah."
Ravenclaw held the diadem. "Let me guess—the diary Horcrux is in your hands too, isn't it?"
"You're spot-on," Dylan said, not denying it.
"Are you… thinking about making a Horcrux of your own?"
Dylan raised an eyebrow, surprised, and looked at Ravenclaw. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, a Horcrux means immortality. It's hard to imagine anyone resisting that kind of temptation, right?"
"But a Horcrux also means splitting your soul. I'm not exactly thrilled about living as half of myself."
Ravenclaw nodded. "I believe you wouldn't do it if you feel that way."
Dylan paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "You can hold onto the diadem for now. I might need it for some research later."
"Don't worry about me. Honestly, even without these dark methods, I can still achieve immortality. I just don't think it's the best way, so I'll keep researching."
"Oh?" Ravenclaw blinked. "You… already know a way to live forever?"
Dylan grinned. "I've got a whole world to myself. Is immortality really that hard?"
Ravenclaw looked at Dylan, her eyes soft as water.
"Any chance I could know what kind of immortality you've figured out?"
"Since you asked, sure."
Dylan shrugged. "I can absorb emotions, even souls, like a Dementor, to slow or even reverse aging."
"But I'm still just a kid, so I don't exactly need to reverse aging yet."
Ravenclaw froze, taking a moment to process.
She looked Dylan up and down, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Are you… actually a Dementor?"
"What?"
Dylan blinked, then shook his head.
"No, I'm not a Dementor. I just have their abilities."
Ravenclaw took a moment, then said, "It's because of your secret, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"If that's the case, I won't pry. But if you ever feel like sharing, I'd be grateful."
Ravenclaw paused, then added, "Does having a Dementor's power affect you at all?"
Dylan could understand why someone like Ravenclaw, so driven by the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, would be so intrigued.
Here was a young wizard who not only had his own world but was brimming with secrets, even wielding the power of a Dementor.
How could she not be curious?
Dylan had deliberately dropped these hints.
After all, even though Ravenclaw came from a portrait rewarded by the system, he wasn't entirely sure about her.
Did she have true, independent intelligence?
Could there come a day when they'd clash in some unpredictable way?
These were things Dylan couldn't foresee.
So, keeping her hooked with knowledge was a way to stay on the safe side.
After a moment's thought, Dylan shook his head.
"It doesn't affect me—at least not in my case. As for others, I don't think anyone else can use a Dementor's power, so I wouldn't know."