Chapter 49: Sly... Spartans Never Knock!
The Hogwarts Trophy Room was not a place students often loitered. This was because it had a special property: when troublemakers were being punished in class, professors would sometimes make them clean every single trophy in here without using magic. Gradually, students began to keep a respectful distance.
However, the place certainly had an atmosphere—the atmosphere of history.
The thousand-year history of Hogwarts was difficult to see in its entirety from books, but here, you could get a glimpse of the scenery of Hogwarts from hundreds or even a thousand years ago, as well as the outstanding wizards who had graduated from here.
Ezio even saw more than one Order of Merlin, First Class medal. The wizards who had earned them had probably sent the medals symbolizing their honor back to the school in their old age. This way, they would not be buried in history, but could be passed down along with Hogwarts for a long time. It was a very clever decision.
Fame! People will always walk the path in pursuit of it.
The Trophy Room was very clean, probably because many students had recently been punished here. There was hardly a speck of dust to be seen. Walking and stopping here, Harry quickly found what he was looking for based on the year.
"He was a Chaser," Harry said, pointing to a Quidditch trophy and calling out to Ezio. "More than one! He won the Quidditch Cup for a total of six years at Hogwarts. That's amazing!"
Being his own father, Harry was of course proud of his achievements. "Do you think I'll become a Chaser like my dad?"
"Then you'll have to build up your physique. Chaser is a position that requires physical confrontation," Ezio said, standing still with his arms crossed, looking at the medals and trophies in front of him. "Although you've put on a little weight since coming to school, it's only just enough to not get blown away by a gust of wind."
"Then maybe I can be a Seeker? I'm quite agile." Harry had a good sense of his own strengths. Of the several positions in Quidditch, the one most suited for him was the Seeker, which required the most agility. As long as he caught the Golden Snitch, he could earn one hundred and fifty points for his team and end the match immediately.
"What are you looking at?" Harry asked, moving closer when he saw Ezio staring thoughtfully at a trophy shelf.
"Looking at how our dear Voldemort performed when he was at Hogwarts." Ezio pointed to the shelf in front of them. "Tom Riddle, recipient of the Award for Special Services to the School. There are other medals of honor too, but this one carries the most weight."
"Excellent in all subjects, with no weaknesses at all."
Hearing this and looking at the trophy shelf, Harry suddenly fell silent.
"Don't be discouraged. If Voldemort wasn't outstanding, how could he have become such a famous Dark Lord? Although it's only limited to England, it's still pretty good."
"Maybe I need to work a little harder," Harry nodded silently. He felt that he could be a bit more diligent.
"Everyone's constitution is different. There's no future in copying me. I can maintain absolute focus for 24 hours a day. That's a talent. You'll burn yourself out if you try to copy me, Harry."
"Look at Hermione. Didn't she try to keep up with my pace at the beginning? But in less than a week, she nearly went crazy, was groggy in class, and then gave up at lightning speed and went back to her own rhythm."
"That's true." Harry shrank his neck. He didn't think he had Hermione's brains, and since she had been forced to give up, he'd better not try to learn from Ezio. He would probably die halfway.
"Then what do you think I need? I always feel like just reading and studying doesn't lead to very obvious progress." Harry was also a bit troubled by this. It wasn't that he didn't want to improve, but that he had difficulty improving. He had no problem focusing on one or two subjects.
"Maybe you're the practical type, not a theory-based learner like Hermione. At least you performed very well in the Defence Against the Dark Arts self-study class, didn't you? You can now handle two students of the same year at the same time. You've done a great job."
"Maybe... you're right!" Harry suddenly gained some confidence. "I can add some more practical exercises for myself. I think the house is planning to set up a dueling club or something. I feel like I should give it a try."
"The Ouroboros Dueling Club. I had Rabastan establish it. After all, some idiots aren't just dumb; they just can't study. I still have to give them some hope of advancement. Only then will they be willing to be black slaves."
"The way you talk, you sound like a capitalist from the Age of Discovery."
"I'm already being merciful by not whipping them to move faster, alright?" Ezio shrugged. At least what he was doing now was humane by comparison.
After seeing what they wanted to see, they left the Trophy Room. But as they were leaving, Harry paused.
"The third floor... isn't this... the place Professor Dumbledore talked about at the start of term?" Harry suddenly remembered, his gaze drifting towards the end of the corridor.
"What? Want to go take a look?" Ezio had originally planned to bring Harry here for a stroll later, but since they were already here, it didn't matter if they went a little early.
"Should we come at night? With the Invisibility Cloak?" Harry was tempted and made the suggestion.
"Why come at night?" Ezio asked in confusion. "It's not like it's a shameful place. We can just go now."
"You'd be blatantly breaking the school rules!"
"This rule isn't written in the handbook." Ezio stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked forward.
"That's true." Harry thought about it and found that he was right. His courage suddenly swelled, and he quickly caught up with Ezio.
Before long, they arrived at the end of the corridor. On one side was a locked wooden door. It looked very flimsy. And it was visible to the naked eye that someone had been here before. There was even... something unclean, because there was a smell similar to urine near the door.
"Did someone get scared and wet themselves here?" Harry laughed unkindly. He was suddenly reminded of Draco's dark history, but that was a secret Harry hadn't told anyone.
"Could be. Dumbledore's mischievous streak is not to be underestimated."
Ezio walked to the door. Just as he was about to draw his wand for an Unlocking Charm, his movement paused.
A very flimsy-looking wooden door. An old, loose lock.
He felt as if he had overlooked something. He rested his chin on his hand and began to think.
"Perhaps I should break down the door."
He muttered to himself. He remembered the three new milestones he had unlocked at Hogwarts. The last one had a countdown timer, and its hint was this very sentence.
Ezio waved his wand and said, "Muffliato," then raised his right foot.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
The Slytherin-style door opening—'BANG!'
The door burst open!
[You have unlocked the hidden milestone: Spartans Never Knock!]
[Spartans Never Knock!: You have learned the legendary Spartan Kick. When used from the front, you will deliver a powerful front kick sufficient to stun any creature for 1-5 seconds. When used from behind, the target will receive a super-strong impact and be sent flying.
If the target is on the edge of a cliff, the knockback distance is doubled. If you shout "THIS IS SPARTA!" while kicking, the power of the kick will be doubled.]
*****
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