Chapter 80
“A lot of them.” Felix said, “A fair number of books I’ve read mentioned the four founders, but they were either ambiguous, contradictory, or left with only a few words with absolutely no reference value.”
He gives an example, “For example, Salazar Slytherin, many people fear him and dread him, calling him a dark wizard … but what is the truth of the matter?”
“The truth?” Lady Grey asked rhetorically, “What truth do you want?”
“The truth as you see it, of course,” Felix said as he looked at her.
The ghost seemed to fall into memory, she thought for a long time, and commented slightly solemnly: “Salazar Slytherin is a very good wizard, he and his wife are very affectionate …”
Felix: “????”
This is obviously not what he wanted to know, but after all, it is a good start, so he went along with her, “There is indeed very little information about his wife, however, there are many references to Slytherin being ugly and looking like a monkey.”
The lady gave him a slightly condescending look, “That’s a side effect of his magic research. Slytherin’s original appearance was extremely outstanding, but as he delved deeper and deeper into those … terrifying realms, his appearance became more and more intimidating.”
Felix’s thoughts dawned, so it was, and he had the pleasure of solving a thousand-year-old mystery.
And Ms. Gray continued to recall: “He was always surrounded by snakes, always cloaked in black or dark green robes, a lingering smell of blood, and his eyes became, scarier and scarier.”
Felix speculated that Slytherin might have transplanted some magical creature’s bloodline.
“- His personality became more and more eccentric, and his disagreements with the others became more and more … erupted into more than one quarrel, and even his best friend Gryffindor could not tolerate him. But I must make it clear there was no fight that broke out between them, he just left quietly, one quiet morning, taking everything he had with him.”
“And he also left the Chamber of Secrets behind.” Felix reminded her.
“Probably, but I’ve heard something about that, Slytherin is not afraid of teaching all kinds of brutal dark magic, but the other three strongly opposed this, so there were rumours that he quietly took his good students and taught these kinds of horrors in secluded places.”
So the Chamber of Secrets was originally used for teaching? Felix thought to himself, unlocking another mystery. However, according to his speculation, later as the conflict intensified, Slytherin may have transferred some of his special gory research to the Chamber of Secrets as well.
Speaking of which, Felix had secretly visited the Chamber of Secrets, using Harry’s parseltongue pronunciation scrolls, and examined it carefully, but found nothing but the pit where the Basilisk usually rests.
Ms. Grey concluded: “But at least during that time at Hogwarts, he still fulfilled his original promise to guard the entire school with his life against all kinds of attacks. Unlike the last few centuries, Slytherin House has completely changed …”
“What do you mean by attacks?” Felix caught the point.
She floated around lightly, seemingly contemptuous of Felix’s ignorance, but with a bit of instructional excitement, she asked rhetorically, “You honestly thought that Hogwarts was built in peace, didn’t you?”
Felix did not react, he just made a “continue” gesture.
Ms. Grey said, “By today’s standards, the majority of wizards at the time were dark wizards. They used a mentor-apprentice system, with one older one leading three or five younger ones, who travelled from village to village, finding newcomers with potential and bringing them along to train and serve as their own lackeys.”
“And with the founding of Hogwarts, especially after the four founders covered the British Isles with the magic of The Quill of Acceptance and The Book of Admittance, these wizards were dealt a fatal blow – they were lost their source of servants permanently and completely.”
“The Quill of Acceptance and The Book of Admittance …” Felix chewed on these two words, he had heard rumours of these two magical creations.
It’s said that the name of every young wizard who enrolled in the school could be found in The Book of Admittance.
When a child first revealed a magical talent, the Quill of Acceptance would attempt to write down their name; but the Book of Admittance had somewhat harsher standards – only when these children had fully demonstrated proof that they possessed magical powers would their names be included in the Book of Admittance.
The sensitivity of the Quill of Acceptance, paired with the strictness of the Book of Admittance, has allowed them to select eligible students for Hogwarts, and no mistakes have been made in a thousand years.
“The establishment of a new order is bound to be accompanied by a backlash from the old one,” Felix said with a sigh, he now understood almost where Tom’s vicious comments about Gryffindor in the diary had come from.
The story from a thousand years ago continued –
“Some wizards recognized the efforts of the four founders, and they took it upon themselves to send their children to Hogwarts; but others – those extraordinarily paranoid dark wizards, who hid in the shadows, while they were away, or on holiday, sneaked up on the professors and students of Hogwarts time after time, and dropped their bodies in front of Hogwarts castle.” She winced.
“This naturally drew a counterattack from Hogwarts, with Gryffindor being the most aggressive, carrying his sword and wand and defeating one dark wizard after another who was extremely famous at the time. He even publicly declared that he was willing to accept challenges from anyone, whether it be in the Muggle way or the wizard way.”
Felix listened with amazement, how could the record on the piece of paper depict that dramatic history?
“What about the other three?”
“They were doing the same thing, only Gryffindor had the most fame. When some years went by and some students graduated successfully, they spread their footprints in all directions, spreading the prestige of Hogwarts to the whole world, and not many people dared to come and provoke them.”
Ms. Gray finished the whole story with pride and reminiscence.
Felix also benefited greatly, and he expressed his gratitude sincerely: “Thank you, Ms. Helena Ravenclaw.”
“Don’t! Call me! By this! NAME!” The ghost in front of him suddenly said agitatedly, and her transparent cheeks seemed less transparent, and without waiting for him to say anything, she disappeared through the wall.
Felix: “…”
At the same time, a low, husky voice suddenly appeared, and he said, “Do not mention that name, it is forbidden to her.”
Felix turned around, and before him stood a withered, very pale ghost, this one wearing an ancient wizard’s robe covered in silvery blood and a huge pair of shackles.
“It’s been a long time, Baron.”
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