Chapter 233
Standing before the door, Luna Lovegood raised her pale hand. For a moment, it looked oddly detached in the dim light, as if floating on its own. She knocked.
The sound echoed sharply through the silence.
The eagle-shaped knocker opened its beak and spoke in a soft, musical voice:
"Phoenix or fire— which came first?"
"I think it's a cycle," Luna answered gently. "There is no true beginning."
"That is acceptable."
The door opened.
Malfoy stepped forward—
—and was immediately blocked as the door shut again.
"It seems it doesn't welcome you," Luna said, leaning casually against the wood. "You'll have to answer."
The eagle asked again:
"How many times does a person die?"
Draco Malfoy paused briefly, then replied,
"Three times. The first is when the body dies. The second is at the funeral. The third is when the last person in the world forgets them."
Silence followed.
Then the eagle spoke again, almost with regret:
"Slytherin's student… what a loss for Ravenclaw. This is the most satisfying answer I have received."
The door opened.
Malfoy entered.
---
Luna's misty eyes widened.
"You actually answered it! No one has ever satisfied that question before!"
She stepped inside with him, explaining as they walked.
"He asks that one often. Students get stuck outside for ages. Eventually he gives another question so they can enter."
The common room of Ravenclaw common room was empty.
"They all went to the library today," Luna said. "Some kind of reading session. I wasn't interested. Talking to armor is more fun."
She placed her corn cob on a table and sat on a blue-patterned sofa.
Malfoy looked around.
Arched windows draped in blue and bronze silk overlooked the mountains. The domed ceiling was painted with stars, mirrored by the dark-blue carpet below. Shelves and desks lined the room.
Opposite the door stood a tall white marble statue.
Malfoy approached it.
It was Rowena Ravenclaw.
Her expression was serene—yet faintly mocking.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Luna said softly.
Then she suddenly clapped her hands.
"Oh! Come here. This might help you."
She pointed toward a wall.
A massive open book was fixed there, its pages covered with blank parchment. It looked ordinary—no title, no markings.
"This corresponds to the door," Luna explained. "The door asks questions. This answers them. We call it the Book of Dispelling Questions."
She pulled out a quill, stood on her toes, and wrote:
"Where can I find the Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"
The words appeared briefly—then vanished.
The page returned to blank.
Nothing happened.
"Oh… maybe that one is too difficult," Luna murmured.
Malfoy remained silent. He suspected she had asked that many times already.
"But it usually works," she added. "Sometimes we use it for homework when it's too hard. Though the answers are too perfect—professors notice, and the marks are low."
She tilted her head.
"It also refuses certain questions. Once someone asked about the Killing Curse. It wrote: 'Knowledge without limits leads to destruction.' Then Filius Flitwick came and took them away."
Luna's expression brightened again.
"I've always wanted to visit Professor Flitwick's office. I heard he can make biscuits dance in tins."
She glanced back at the book.
"They say if you can stump it, you'll get a reward."
Her gaze turned expectant.
Malfoy looked at the blank pages.
A faint, amused smile appeared.
"Is that so?"
He stepped closer.
"Then I'll try."