Gryffindor suddenly understood.
He chuckled and shook his head, his tone light. "But it won't work. Even if you give it a real dog's nose, it won't be able to sniff out what I smell like. I am the portrait of Gryffindor; I have long anticipated that someone might try to take such shortcuts."
"I won't leave any traces behind, and even the master of paintings wouldn't be able to identify the materials used to depict me." The young Gryffindor portrait confidently stated.
He reached out to touch the hellhound that Ian had painted.
"Growl~"
The hellhound's temperament was clearly poor, and it immediately tried to bite Gryffindor's hand. Fortunately, Gryffindor reacted quickly; otherwise, he might have ended up as a portrait missing a hand.
"You misunderstood; I'm not painting a dog with a keen sense of smell, but a rabid dog... It just needs to chase you and follow you back to your hiding place."
Ian finished painting the hellhound's four legs and suddenly borrowed a bit of paint from Gryffindor to dot the eyes of the hellhound.
"Others won't be able to attract its attention; my big treasure hellhound will only follow you. You must be careful, oh, it really bites hard."
Ian's gentle reminder caused Gryffindor's expression to change dramatically as he turned to flee.
The hellhound, with its serrated fangs, immediately followed closely behind.
The two of them quickly crossed over several paintings and disappeared from the Room of Requirement's classroom. Clearly, Godric Gryffindor from many years ago had not applied such protections to this portrait.
"Tsk tsk, Gryffindor really doesn't have a deep understanding of portrait enchantments."
"I hope to scare our founder's portrait, making him run back to his safe house chased by my little dog... Ah, I'm now both hungry and thirsty; I should go get something to eat."
Ian took one last look at the now invisible portrait and quickly climbed down the ladder, leaving the Room of Requirement.
As soon as he stepped out the door, he couldn't help but wrap his robe around himself.
November had arrived at Hogwarts, and the temperature had dropped below ten degrees Celsius. Even with bonfires burning everywhere, Hogwarts carried the bone-chilling cold of winter.
Of course.
Such temperatures did not deter students from wanting to go out and have fun during the holiday. The castle's corridors were quite empty, with only a few pairs of couples occasionally cuddling in the corners.
Others had either gone to Hogsmeade for gatherings or were outside on the lawn playing around, while the studious Ravenclaw students rarely stayed in the castle during the festivities. Ian also did not plan to go to the library today; he just wanted to grab something to eat before returning to the Room of Requirement to study Parseltongue.
"Salutations, young Ian."
Along the way, Ian encountered some ghosts who had attended the banquet last night, but their attitudes seemed a bit strange. Even the usually ill-tempered Bloody Baron was bowing to him.
"You are even more remarkable than Dumbledore."
This proud ghost from Slytherin House expressed astonishment.
"Did my skeleton band entertain everyone?"
Ian noticed that every ghost was bowing to him, and he could only guess that he had indeed made quite an impression last night. However, the Bloody Baron's response surprised him.
"All of us ghosts are very grateful to you, not just for the band you brought." The Bloody Baron looked deeply at Ian before drifting into the nearby wall.
"What happened last night?"
Ian racked his brain but couldn't recall what had transpired. He found Helena Ravenclaw, who was still standing in front of her mother's portrait.
Today's Helena Ravenclaw seemed different from usual; although she was still staring at Rowena Ravenclaw's portrait, her expression clearly held a hint of indescribable emotion.
Like the other ghosts, Helena Ravenclaw also slightly bowed to Ian before answering his question, "Young Ian, you created a miracle that should have been impossible last night."
Her words were filled with complexity.
She looked at Ian with a strange gaze.
"Did I bring Dementors to the banquet?"
Ian's hangover memories began to piece together slowly. He remembered having a great time with the ghosts and even catching a few Thestrals to take to the underground classroom. Thestrals were a surprising magical creature that could only be seen by those who had witnessed death.
Because of this...
Thestrals were often considered an ominous symbol, said to bring various terrible disasters to those who saw them. However, Hogwarts had quite a few of them used for pulling carriages.
"What! You even raised Dementors!?"
Helena Ravenclaw trembled in shock, which indicated that Ian had not brought Dementors to the banquet.
"Shh~ Keep it down!"
Ian jumped up but couldn't cover Helena Ravenclaw's mouth, not because he was too short or lacked jumping ability, but because Helena had dodged just in time.
"I truly don't know what I did. The way the ghosts look at me is like... like they're looking at the Boy Who Lived."
Ian wanted to find a less arrogant description but couldn't. He even felt that the way the ghosts looked at him was more intense and fervent than how many wizards looked at Harry Potter.
"Oh, yes, of course, that's the case. Your description is quite accurate, as even now I can hardly believe it." Helena Ravenclaw glanced deeply at Ian.
"The miracle you created is even more incredible than that little boy's. Last night, you cast a special magic."
The ghost Helena Ravenclaw's soft voice echoed in the corridor, unraveling Ian's inner confusion. "Even if it was just for a brief night, this magic granted the ghosts a sense of taste."
Even after hearing this from others, Ian still couldn't recall—he felt he must stay away from alcohol in the future, even after reaching adulthood.
"How come I didn't know I could do such magic?"
Ian looked at his personal panel, which recorded no magic with similar effects.
He could only think in the direction of transfiguration.
"Perhaps it wasn't magic; who knows? You did something remarkable anyway." Helena Ravenclaw floated back to her mother's portrait.
Before Ian could ask, her anxious voice continued, "I might indeed come to find you tomorrow night. My mother just spoke to me; this is the first time her portrait has spoken. I always thought she had never left her essence behind."
"Perhaps all these years, she simply didn't want to communicate with me."
Helena Ravenclaw appeared somewhat hesitant, but seeing the promise to Lady Ravenclaw was within reach, Ian immediately shook off his fruitless thoughts and became energized.
"Of course not! She loves you very much and has probably been waiting for you." He encouraged her once more, and this time, Helena Ravenclaw did not refute him as she had before.
"I still don't know how to face her, but if I truly have another chance, I think I should muster some courage that I rarely had even in my lifetime."
"I have lost my courage for too long; after all, the last time I gathered the courage to do something, it led to a tragedy in my life." Helena Ravenclaw began to sob again.
"Tragedy won't follow you forever, just as regrets shouldn't always accompany your mother." Ian wanted to pat Helena Ravenclaw on the shoulder.
However, he realized that his raised hand would likely only reach her waist or hips. After a moment's thought, he withdrew his hand, fearing that it might cause Helena to change her mind.
"Actually, for a handsome little wizard like you, I should have remained cautious, but my mother told me to trust you, and this time I chose to believe her." Helena Ravenclaw turned to look at Ian.
Her tone was a light sigh.
"Of course, I am also believing in the miracle of last night." While other ghosts might think Ian had cast some special magic, only Helena, who had been caring for this little wizard, understood best.
There were no obscure spells, nor was it ancient or modern magic. It was simply a little wizard mumbling that he believed everyone should have the right to enjoy delicious food on Halloween. Yes, just that simple thought.
Thus, after what seemed like a casual complaint, the impossible miracle occurred.
It was like a story that could only appear in a fairy tale.
Absurd.
Bizarre.
Filled with thought-provoking meaning...
(End of Chapter)
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