The ancient oath that the little eagles of Ravenclaw were chanting was a thousand-year-old legacy of Ravenclaw. It was carved into the pedestal of the marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw in the Ravenclaw common room.
For a long time, every Ravenclaw knew its contents by heart but never cared to pursue the history or purpose of this oath. But at this very moment, the oath was suddenly being chanted aloud.
Victor looked at the little eagles surrounding him in a daze. He had not at all expected this scene, nor did he ever imagine that this thousand-year-old oath would be fulfilled by him.
After chanting the oath, the little eagles slowly opened their eyes, and everyone nervously stared at the diadem on the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. At this moment, the phrase "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," was etched on the diadem. No matter how small the font, it was particularly eye-catching.
The dazzling blue light of the gem on the diadem gradually faded, and then a wisp of silvery-white light slowly floated out from within the diadem and gradually transformed into a semi-transparent phantom.
A beautiful but stern-looking woman suddenly appeared before them. She had black eyes and long black hair, and although there was a faint smile on her face, the cold aura she exuded was somewhat intimidating.
Just then, the Ravenclaw ghost, the Gray Lady, suddenly rushed in from the doorway. She saw the phantom that had floated out of the diadem and said with a sob, "Mother!"
The phantom slowly turned around, and her eyes were filled with tenderness. "Helena, my dear daughter!"
There was no doubt that the one who had emerged from the diadem was one of the four founders of Hogwarts and the first Headmistress of Ravenclaw House: Rowena Ravenclaw.
"Mother!" The Gray Lady excitedly rushed forward. Rowena Ravenclaw hugged her daughter, and the tenderness on her face deepened. She gently stroked the Gray Lady's smooth hair and slowly said, "I am sorry, Helena! The time I have to stay is limited, and there is one thing I must accomplish now."
With that, she kissed her daughter on the forehead. Hearing her mother's words, the Gray Lady also wiped away her tears, nodded in understanding, and gave way.
Rowena Ravenclaw turned and slowly looked at Victor, who was surrounded by the little eagles. "I never expected that after waiting for a thousand years, the one who could pass my test would be just a young wizard."
"Age has never been a problem, ma'am!" Victor replied with a smile, then suddenly asked his question. "I would like to ask, what exactly was your test?"
Because until now, he was still a bit confused about everything. What was the condition that allowed him to enter this room? And besides the large number of books in this room, what was the real legacy of Ravenclaw?
"You were able to come here, so you must know Peeves's true identity, correct?"
"Yes, I do!" Victor nodded.
"Peeves and Hogwarts are symbiotic with each other. To pass my test, the prerequisite is to gain its acknowledgment—to gain the acknowledgment of Hogwarts," Rowena slowly explained. "Since the day it was born, no one has ever liked Peeves, but a person of noble character can treat it with kindness and equality, thus seeing through its essence. And at the same time as gaining Peeves's acknowledgment, you must also be in possession of my token."
"The knocker's question was to test whether you had the qualities of a Ravenclaw, and the Raven's Oath was to test whether you had the ability to lead the ravens to the peak of wisdom."
"Only by passing all of the above tests would I appear in my current form and pass on my lifelong wisdom and knowledge to the destined person."
"Ma'am, these conditions are quite harsh!" Victor said in amazement. To be honest, none of the conditions were simple. Before the Ravenclaw diadem was made into a Horcrux, it was just a legend. It seemed that no one knew of its existence except for the Gray Lady.
The Peeves condition was also a challenge. If you were to grab any student from Hogwarts and ask them, you would get the same answer: they all, without exception, disliked the prankster Peeves.
The knocker's question was easier, as there might be some people with unique wisdom who could give different answers.
But the last one, gaining the acknowledgment of all the ravens…
To be honest, it was unbelievable! Among the four Houses, Ravenclaw students were the most selfish. To gain the acknowledgment of all the greedy ravens, one could only imagine how difficult that condition was.
"Then what exactly is this legacy of wisdom and knowledge that you're talking about?" Victor asked again. He didn't quite understand how wisdom, which was an intangible thing, could be passed on. And there was already a large amount of knowledge in the ancient books on the bookshelves all around him.
Upon hearing Victor's question, Rowena just raised her hand, and the Ravenclaw diadem gently flew up from the statue and floated in front of Victor. "This diadem being able to increase a person's wisdom is nothing but a lie."
"In reality, the gem in the middle of the diadem contains a magical liquid. This liquid can hold a person's memories. The unique alchemy of the goblin race can allow a person to use its power. The person wearing the diadem can draw from the mistakes and failures of the old-timers from history."
"Just as you said to the knocker, 'The only thing humanity can learn from history is that humanity never learns from history.' This is the truth about how the diadem can increase the wearer's wisdom, and it is also the legacy of wisdom."
"…" The more Victor listened, the more familiar the function of this diadem seemed to him. Wasn't this exactly the same as the Pensieve in the Headmaster's office?!
But it wasn't strange. After a thousand years, historical civilization had already undergone massive development. Some things that might have been considered a miracle in the past might not be so special now.
And Rowena, being a phantom, naturally wouldn't know about these trivial matters. She continued, "This diadem should have returned to my hometown by the river in Scotland, waiting for a Ravenclaw who could be guided by Peeves to come."
"But unfortunately, my naughty daughter took it. So at the end of my life, I left behind this ancient oath at Hogwarts and asked Godric to seal two fragments of my soul in the statue and the knocker, respectively."
"Now, I know your name, Victor Dreyar, the new Ravenlord of Ravenclaw House. Are you willing to accept the legacy of my knowledge?"
Did he even have to think about it?
Victor immediately nodded and said, "Of course!"
And at that very moment that Victor agreed, the Ravenclaw diadem burst forth with a dazzling light once again, and Rowena's soul re-merged with the diadem. Immediately after, a wisp of silver floated out from the gem in the middle of the diadem and merged into Victor's mind.
Victor could feel that this wisp of silver was harmless to him, so he also released the restrictions of the Mind Ward in his mind, and all of Rowena Ravenclaw's magical knowledge began to merge into his memory.
All the little eagles around him, seeing this, instinctively surrounded Victor to protect him. Dumbledore and the professors were standing in the hallway not far away, and they had also witnessed everything that had just happened in the room.
"Albus, what should we do now?" Professor McGonagall asked with a very serious expression. At the same time, she was also wondering if Godric Gryffindor had left a legacy behind.
"Notify the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Transportation that the end-of-term date for Hogwarts is postponed by one day and have them reschedule the Hogwarts Express accordingly," Dumbledore said after thinking for a while. "Then, inform the students outside that something important has happened at Hogwarts and to go about their business, but not to let them get close to here."
With that, he looked down at the excited Professor Flitwick next to him. "Filius, you know what to do?"
"I will protect Mr. Dreyar with my life and ensure that he successfully receives the Ravenclaw legacy!" Professor Flitwick said firmly. He was a Duelling Champion and a Charms master. It was likely that there weren't many people in the entire European wizarding world who could defeat him.
"Very good…" Dumbledore nodded, then looked at Victor in the distance, who was receiving the legacy, with a mind full of thoughts. He knew that with the added identity of being the heir of Ravenclaw, what Victor wanted to do in the future would be even more unstoppable…
The Ravenclaw legacy didn't take too long or too short a time, just a little over half an hour. As the light from the diadem gradually went out, the wisp of light that connected it to Victor also slowly broke off.
Victor, whose brain was overwhelmed with too much information at once, simply collapsed onto the floor. Penelope quickly ran forward and hugged him, cradling his head in her soft lap.
At the same time, Rowena's soul reappeared in the room. When Dumbledore saw this, he quickly walked forward, pulling up his robes, and said respectfully, "Welcome, Founder of Hogwarts, the great Lady Rowena Ravenclaw, the symbol of supreme wisdom."
Rowena looked up and down at the old man whose beard almost reached the floor and nodded. "Hello, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the master of the phoenix."
"I have been observing you, and you are an excellent Headmaster!"
"Thank you for your praise, ma'am." Dumbledore showed the utmost respect to the Founder of the House in front of him, but the sternness on Rowena's face did not lessen because of it; it even deepened a bit.
Rowena continued, "But Headmaster Dumbledore, although you are very excellent, there are some things I still need to remind you of. The current Hogwarts has deviated greatly from the original intention with which we founded this school. Especially with Slytherin House, Salazar would never like to see the students of his House become the way they are now."
Dumbledore was stunned to hear this admonition, and then it seemed as if he understood something, and he nodded. "I understand, ma'am!"
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