Chapter 20 Riddles, Rumors

Michael breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, I wasn't pestered by Peeves. It would be terrible if he really called Filch."

"It is unlikely that Peeves will go to Filch." Vader pulled him up from the ground and said, "Have you forgotten? The two of them hate each other, and Peeves will not be willing to do it to make Filch happy. "

"That's right." Michael nodded.

Peeves often wreaks havoc, either knocking down statues or spilling ink everywhere, which adds a lot of workload to Filch, the administrator of the castle, and drives Filch crazy.

The two of them walked up the steps of the Ravenclaw Tower, which made them dizzy. After walking for a while, they had to stop and rest. Their thighs were so sore that they felt as if they were not their own.

Usually at this time, Michael would complain endlessly - unless there was a beautiful girl next to him, he would pretend not to be reluctant at all and stop to rest in the name of taking care of the girl.

But today, Michael was very silent. It wasn't until the two of them were about to return to the lounge that he said, "We will also have flying lessons tomorrow."

Wade: "Yeah."

"Forget the nonsense I said!" Michael said sullenly: "Follow Mrs. Hooch's instructions and take your time."

Vader said helplessly: "What happened to Neville was just an accident. Not everyone is as unlucky as him."

Michael may not know this in his heart, but he can't let go of the burden in his heart for a while.

After finally returning to the tower, it was already past the curfew time, but there were still a few students gathered in the corridor - not every Ravenclaw is good at solving puzzles, which involve blind spots in knowledge, and even the smartest brains can't do anything about it. . So sometimes you can see more than twenty students standing outside the common room, discussing and answering the questions of the day.

Wade walked over and knocked on the bronze door knocker on the wooden board. The eagle's beak on the door knocker suddenly opened, and said in a voice as gentle as a chant: "There are hands above and below, sometimes crawling and sometimes walking. When walking, they look like people, and when they crawl, they look like dogs."

The questions posed by the eagle-shaped door knocker must be answered correctly for the lounge door to open.

Michael imagined some kind of dark crawling creature covered with hands, and said with a horrified look: "What kind of monster is this? Is it - is it a demon from some mythology?"

He hurriedly found his textbook "Monsters and Their Origins" from his bag and flipped through it without hesitation.

"Don't read it, it's not in the book." A Ravenclaw student said tiredly, "I've already read through the entire book."

Several others nodded silently.

Vader stood thinking.

The bronze door knocker is like the legendary Sphinx. The questions it asks may not be difficult, but sometimes they are not easy to think of - because the door knocker always only asks questions, but does not tell them whether it is a brain teaser or a riddle. It will not prompt that the answer is a plant, animal, utensil, word, or intangible thing, such as time, death, etc.

This riddle sounds very Cthulhu-like at first glance, but it also feels a little familiar.

"--monkey?"

After a moment, Wade asked uncertainly.

"Correct answer." The eagle-shaped door knocker said, opening the wooden door.

…

After an accident during a flying lesson, the breakfast table was much quieter the next day. Students no longer tirelessly tell stories about how they once flew across mountains and seas on broomsticks. Instead, another piece of news spreads among the first-year students.

"Didn't Harry Potter and Slytherin Malfoy almost get into a fight yesterday during the flying class? Guess what happened?" Padma Patil spoke in a mysterious tone on the long table. People around said: "I heard that because Harry Potter showed amazing flying talent, not only was he not punished, but he was recommended by Professor McGonagall to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team!"

Since she had a twin sister in Gryffindor House, she was always well-informed.

"Really? That Professor McGonagall?" The students around were surprised. Who doesn't know that Professor McGonagall is the most impartial and strict professor at Hogwarts? She treats the four colleges equally and never shows any favoritism. This time she made an exception for Harry Potter. This shock even made people forget the previous news for a moment.

But eventually someone remembered it.

"This is impossible." Terry said firmly: "No first-year freshman has been able to join the Quidditch team in a century! This must be a rumor!"

"Maybe he is a reserve player or something." Anthony guessed: "After all, we have all seen that Potter flies very well, fast and dexterous. If the Gryffindor team shuts him out, then It's unbelievable. But after all, he is a freshman, has never ridden a broom before, and doesn't even know the rules of Quidditch. It's still ridiculous to join the team directly - he should only be a reserve member."

Another student, Kevin, also said: "Think about it, if Potter really made an exception and joined the team, the Weasley brothers would have already shouted out. But have you heard their movements?"

The analysis was sound and well-founded, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Padma curled her lips disdainfully and whispered to Michael: "Actually, Gryffindor captain Wood wanted to use Harry Potter as a secret weapon, so he didn't let it be publicized. Those stupid boys were just jealous, so I just don’t want to admit it.”

Michael didn't remind her that he was also one of the boys, but smiled and said, "Maybe they just don't want to admit that they are not as good as another boy in front of a beautiful girl."

Padma blushed slightly.

Wade looked sideways and saw Michael raised one eyebrow at him. He looked so romantic and wanton at such a young age, as if he had walked out of the shadow before. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the restaurant - six long-eared owls carrying a long and thin package flew into the hall with difficulty, attracting everyone's attention. The owls circled down, threw the package in front of Harry Potter, and then flapped their wings and flew away, leaving only a few feathers.

Michael gasped, grabbed Wade's wrist, and said in a low voice: "Broom! I bet it's definitely a flying broom!"

He was so envious that his eyes turned red, and he said in a voice that sounded like vomiting blood: "And it's a Nimbus series - I recognize that packaging!"

"Yeah." Wade pried his fingers apart, put his hand back on the table, and said nonchalantly: "If you perform well in the afternoon flying class, you may have the opportunity to join the team and get a new broom!"

He just said it casually, but Michael seemed to take it seriously. His eyes became particularly serious, and his teeth were particularly strong when he bit down the lamb chops.

Soon, it was time for the flying class.