"Mr. Owl..."
Sean murmured the name under his breath.
To think it was Mr. Owl all along.
His memories, previously blurred, came rushing back like a rising tide.
The tapestry of the trolls, the Room of Requirement, the secret of Ravenclaw's Diadem—the white mist shrouding them had completely vanished.
But... what was Mr. Owl's objective in doing this?
Was it simply to prevent him from entering the Room of Requirement?
Sean suddenly realized that if it was Mr. Owl, that explanation actually made sense.
As for whether Mr. Owl was dangerous, Sean found that unlikely. Unless, of course, Rowena Ravenclaw herself had intended to harm the students.
But why him?
Or rather, what secrets were hidden within the hut that Mr. Owl guarded?
Sean knew that the hut Mr. Owl watched over—what they called the "Hut of Hope"—had always possessed magic.
When Justin asked Mr. Owl for a fireplace, Mr. Owl conjured one for them. When they hoped the fireplace would connect to the outside world—specifically so Hermione could contact her family via the Floo Network—the fireplace magically gained that function.
In that sense, the Hut of Hope wasn't all that different from the Room of Requirement.
Sean slowly furrowed his brow, carefully recalling everything he knew about the Room of Requirement.
The Room of Requirement, also known by the house-elves as the "Come and Go Room," was one of the most mysterious and powerful magical spaces in Hogwarts.
It didn't exist permanently; it only appeared when a person walked past its entrance with a genuine need.
The method to enter was unique: the user had to concentrate hard on what they needed while walking past that stretch of blank wall three times.
If done correctly, a polished door would appear on the wall. The interior was then configured entirely according to the user's needs.
For instance, when Albus Dumbledore desperately needed a bathroom, he found a room full of chamber pots.
The room's history was unknown, but it had clearly existed for centuries. Some house-elves knew the place well; later on, Dobby would recommend it to Harry Potter.
According to Dobby, over the centuries, countless students and staff had found the room to satisfy various needs, from hiding objects to seeking shelter.
A young Tom Riddle had once discovered it and used it to hide Ravenclaw's Diadem, which he had turned into a Horcrux.
If Sean had to explain it, the Room of Requirement was like an Artificial Intelligence—
A wizard makes a request, the room receives the request, and then it releases transfiguration magic to shape the room's contents into whatever the requester needs.
It just couldn't distinguish between different users; otherwise, Harry would have had a much harder time finding the Diadem.
"Artificial Intelligence..."
Sean felt like he was on the verge of grasping something important. If the Room of Requirement was an AI that couldn't identify specific wizards, then what was Mr. Owl?
A true, fully realized Artificial Intelligence capable of wisdom, understanding commands, and taking independent action?
Amidst these swirling thoughts, Sean knew that he would have a lot on his plate once he returned to Hogwarts.
First, he needed to practice Occlumency. Second, he had to figure out exactly what Mr. Owl was up to. What was the connection between the Hut of Hope and the Room of Requirement? What instructions had Ravenclaw left for Mr. Owl?
Solving that would be simple enough; Sean intended to directly question Mr. Owl, who had been acting strangely before Sean left.
The final task was destroying Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Sean didn't really want to get close to the thing, but he could animate a stone statue to hold a basilisk fang and destroy it for him.
"Let's go, my dear."
At that moment, Professor Tyra pushed the door open and entered.
"Professor—right, coming."
Sean snapped back to reality.
The fireplace before them had long since been connected to the Hogwarts Floo Network, though it only led to one specific location.
"Mr. Green," Professor Quirrell, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up. "To practice Occlumency, you need to process complex emotions and memories. Going a step further, perhaps you could try... reverse deception."
He paused for a moment.
"I believe you will find a use for this very soon."
Because... you are the great Green.
"Oh? You finally decided to learn Occlumency?" Professor Tyra looked interested.
"You knew about Mr. Owl?" Sean froze, realizing the implication immediately.
"It was a delicate piece of magic, but used so crudely—it only takes a month of Occlumency training for a wizard to realize they've been deceived. Of course I noticed. I was just waiting to see which fool dared to pull something like that," Professor Tyra said, narrowing her eyes. "As for what Quirrell just mentioned, that is a very advanced application of Occlumency. I'm not good at it, nor do I need it."
Sean was impatient. "Has Mr. Owl done this before? Why would he do such a thing?"
The flames in the fireplace roared fiercely as Quirrell listened carefully from the side.
"As far as I know, no. Aside from you, he acts just like a common portrait. Or perhaps he has, but no one pays attention to what a little wizard might have forgotten."
Professor Tyra thought for a moment.
"Then were you..." Sean paused, but asked anyway.
"My dear apprentice, you will never understand the paranoia of an aging alchemist. If Dumbledore hadn't forbidden it, I would have cast protective wards on you every single day."
Professor Tyra offered a rare joke.
It was a day in early January. In Sean's perception, Hogwarts Castle was no longer just a distant symbol.
Although the cold front was still raging and the wind was biting, the fireplace inside the castle remained gentle and warm.
---
Soon, the fireplace erupted with tall green flames, and two wizards stepped out from the fire.
"So, how long did you study Occlumency before you finally saw through this amusing little prank?"
Professor Tyra's robes were still dusted with snow from their journey.
"Just now," Sean replied.
"Yes, I saw that. You just learned it. I mean..."
Professor Tyra set her heavy luggage on the ground. But she stopped mid-motion, looking seemingly conflicted. "Unsettling talent... Hogwarts is a good place; I should have come sooner."
The Professor stared into Sean's eyes; she could already see the urgency hidden beneath his calm exterior.
"Go on," she said. "If you decide to burn that portrait down, let me know. But think it through, my dear apprentice. That would mean you'd have to transfer to faraway Uagadou. That old 'Black Panther' would be too excited to sleep if he heard—and he'd probably forget all about Dumbledore showing up at his door last time."