Remember to stay calm? Well, did Professor Brian know whose room this was? But why is he asking them to stay calm? Even if it was Professor Dumbledore's new office, they wouldn't need such a solemn reminder, of course. For Harry, though, if this office belonged to Snape... well, that would be quite a shock!
Finally, the bronze door handle turned all the way, accompanied by a creaking sound, and the tightly closed door slowly opened, revealing a small figure walking slowly into the office. Then, it closed the door casually.
House-elves?
The person who entered the office was not a staff member of the castle, but a house-elf. Hermione looked at Professor Brian and noticed that he seemed a bit surprised as well.
Harry soon noticed that there was something unusual about this house-elf.
First of all, the dress sense, this little elf wore a style that looked quite retro, but it was matched well and was in line with the wizard's taste, unlike Dobby's strange mix-and-match look. Moreover, its clothing was very clean and not sloppy at all.
Secondly, the demeanor.
Harry had seen mostly submissive house-elves before. They always looked intimidated or nervous when facing wizards, with either obvious or subtle expressions of fear. Even Dobby couldn't avoid this. However, this little elf was different.
The house-elf appeared to be in a good mood. It walked towards the desk with its back straight, smiling and humming an unknown tune. It held a delicately carved, elegantly looking gold cup carefully.
"Professor Brian, it seems..."
Harry and Ron were observing this little elf, while Hermione had already noticed the most important point.
The little elf walked straight to the desk, not giving a glance towards them at the side of the desk, as if they didn't exist.
The guess was too peculiar. Hermione unconsciously looked at Professor Brian, and saw that he was staring intently at something. Following his gaze, Hermione noticed that Professor Brian was looking at the golden cup in the little elf's hand.
This little elf seemed to be out of place everywhere.
When passing by, the frightened Ron stumbled back a few steps, but this little elf was indifferent to this scene. It kept smiling, placing the golden cup containing a purple liquid on the desk. It glanced around and then walked to the windowsill, checking the dust with its finger.
"Does it not see us?"
Ron looked towards Professor Brian and asked, "Does it not see us until now?"
"Was that you moving around to avoid us being discovered?"
Professor Brian did not answer Ron's question. He bent down and became lost in thought, studying the golden cup placed on the corner of the desk.
"Dobby knows every little elf in the castle, Harry Potter -" Dobby whispered to Harry, "But Dobby has never seen it before -"
Harry was about to say something, but suddenly, his expression turned terrified, and the same expression appeared on Ron and Hermione next to him.
The little elf, whose owner was unknown, continued to hum a tune. After confirming that the room's cleanliness was satisfactory, it walked from the windowsill back to the desk and then simply passed through Professor Brian, who was deeply engrossed in studying the golden cup, and began to tidy up the slightly disorganized desk. More astonishingly, it could pick up books and papers that they had never been able to touch!
"It's a ghost!"
The scene of the little elf passing through Professor Brian's body was too impactful, and Harry couldn't help but scream.
Harry couldn't think of any other possibility besides a ghost!
"Could it be that..."
Ron, who had witnessed this scene, paled as white as snow. He gasped for breath and trembled with his fingers.
"Could it be that this office... we've stumbled into the world of ghosts, so we can't touch anything in the room, and this little elf can't touch us either?"
Since entering this office, a strange feeling has been tormenting Harry and their nerves subconsciously. Ron's guess has pushed them into a deep abyss of fear. Even Hermione, who is usually rational, feels a heart-stopping sense of unease. She feels that everything around her is emitting a sinister and eerie atmosphere.
The three of them unconsciously approached Professor Brian. In this office, he was the only person who could give them a sense of security.
Phew...
Amosasta stood up and took a deep breath.
During the time when Dumbledore destroyed the Slytherin Cup, he had taken out a book that recorded information about the Hufflepuff Cup. The golden cup depicted in the book had real magical runes at its base, similar to those on Gryffindor's sword, Slytherin's locket, and Ravenclaw's crown. However, the one in front of them did not have any such runes.
Amosasta was not suspicious that the golden cup in front of them was a fake. Instead, he said that at this point in time, the four founders had not yet tampered with their respective, almost symbolic relics.
"This is not a world of the spirits, and this little elf in front of us is not a spirit either..."
As the thoughts were withdrawn from the cup, Amosasta whispered,
"Yo can think of it as we have been bewitched by the enchantment in this room. This office is showing us a memory from the past -"
Professor Brian's explanation undoubtedly relieved the three young witches. Enchantment magic, the very idea of it seemed much safer than mistakenly stepping into a world of spirits.
"Professor Brian -"
Hermione looked remorseful. She believed that the enchantment spell they and Dobby, Wintermote had fallen for was her fault, and she had also dragged Professor Brian into it.
"Is there a way to break the enchantment spell in the room?"
"You can try... "
The ancient magic is not without flaws, Amosasta stared into the void, his lavender eyes flashing with insight, as if he had already pierced through reality. He spoke calmly, "We can try..."
"But I think we should not rush to try. The original owner of this office clearly wants to show us something valuable. To leave now would be a waste of our adventure."
Adventure.
Ron opened his mouth and tasted it. He didn't think stumbling into this eerie office was an adventure, but Professor Brian seemed quite indifferent and not in a hurry to leave the room. He could only suppress his aversion and remain silent.
And once she confirmed that they wouldn't encounter any danger, Hermione seemed to feel a bit more at ease. Then, her curiosity began to bother her again.
Who is the owner of this office?
Hermione couldn't help but ponder this question, and the house-elf, whose eyes were shining brightly in front of them as it was busy tidying up the desk, attracted Hermione's curiosity.
This house-elf exuded an air of freedom, which was completely unlike the kitchen elves and those outside who take pleasure in being enslaved. How had its employer, whoever or whatever they were, managed to do all this?
Hermione was fully focused on observing the house-elf, trying to figure out the secret of this unnatural yet bizarre little creature, but --
Click!
Without warning, the doorknob of the office was twisted open again!
Years ago, a woman had walked in. This middle-aged woman was slightly plump but her gentle appearance had an extraordinary power that could soothe the turmoil of the heart. Moreover, her deep red eyes were as bright as stars, something even the wise and piercing blue-eyed Dumbledore or the Professor with lavender eyes infused with magic, Brian, couldn't match!
The middle-aged witch was not alone; following her was another witch who appeared much younger but looked extremely tired.
Harry and Ron's eyes had a momentary dizziness when they saw the younger witch.
So far, the most attractive and enticing women Harry had ever seen were the Slytherin girls he had met at the Quidditch World Cup Final. However, compared to the beauty and grace of the younger witch in front of him, Harry thought those Slytherin girls were quite vulgar!
But...
Harry's brow furrowed as he stared at the two witches who seemed extraordinarily remarkable at first glance. He felt a sense of déjà vu?
"Who are they?"
Ron whispered to Hermione, "What are they?" The mention of Professor Brian's words had revealed some things. They were probably in an office of a former teacher of Hogwarts, and should be very famous. Like Harry, Ron felt a sense of familiarity and turned to look at Hermione. But when he saw her, his brow immediately furrowed!
The brown eyes of Hermione beside him nearly bulged out of their sockets, her open mouth looked amusing and also proved her astonishment at that moment!
"What's wrong? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost!"
Ron nervously asked. But he didn't need Hermione to answer, because the following conversation could fully understand why she looked so shocked and scared. Moreover, it also plunged his mood into almost the same state!
"Good afternoon, Qiqi --"
The middle-aged witch who entered the office first smiled and said in a voice as soft as spring breeze,
"I was looking for you, Qiqi. I've thought of a few new dishes. I want to include them in the children's daily menu, but before that, perhaps you can give me some advice -"
"Good afternoon, Hufflepuff lady, Ravenclaw lady ——"
The house-elf known as Qiqi stood by the chair, slightly bowing, and said politely,
"Very happy to serve you, Hufflepuff lady. It is my great honor -"
(End of this chapter)
