What exactly was this person trying to do?
Hermione kept asking herself that question, but every time she worked up the courage to investigate, the mysterious figure would leave one cubicle and slip into another before she could react. The strange behaviour only made her more suspicious, and the longer she stayed hidden inside the bathroom, the more absurd her thoughts became.
Could it actually be a man?
Or worse… some kind of creep sneaking around Hogwarts on Halloween?
Meanwhile, Logan uncorked the bottle once more and poured the Witch Wolf Smoke into the new cubicle. Thick grey mist instantly spread through the cramped stall, carrying that familiar pungent scent that made his nose itch. The smoke drifted slowly across the walls like living fog, and under its influence, pale markings gradually began to appear on the stone in front of him.
His eyes lit up immediately.
There really were clues hidden here.
Excited, Logan repeatedly waved his left hand through the air, dispersing the smoke around the wall so he could see the writing more clearly. The faded marks sharpened little by little until lines of elegant handwriting emerged from the stone itself.
It was a written record.
And judging by the style and signature…
Rowena Ravenclaw!?
"Since returning from that unbelievably eerie and dangerous cave, I have begun to notice abnormalities in my mental state. At first, I believed it was merely the stress of surviving such a terrifying experience, but I soon discovered that every night after falling asleep, I could hear the sounds of beasts chewing raw flesh alongside low murmurs I could not understand."
"Because of this, my condition weakened day by day, and my mind gradually became unstable. I searched through many ancient books yet found no explanation. Left with no other option, I attempted to suppress the strange symptoms through potion-making. At first the potions worked, allowing me peaceful sleep once more, but soon afterward I began having the same dream repeatedly."
"In that dream, I stood within endless darkness. I could not cry out for help, nor did I possess the strength to resist. I could only continue falling helplessly into an abyss so deep and black that it seemed without end."
"For many nights in succession, regardless of whether I attempted sleep deprivation or self-hypnosis, I remained trapped within that nightmare. As I continued falling, I eventually saw a pair of indescribable eyes—evil, bloodthirsty, ancient, and horrifying. Could those eyes belong to the abyss itself?"
"After witnessing those terrible eyes, the nightmare finally ceased. However, the voice echoing in my head each night began repeating itself more clearly than before. Eventually, I realised something horrifying."
"The voice belonged to me."
Logan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright as he continued reading.
"I became terrified. Something unspeakable must have happened to me, and it is undoubtedly connected to that cave."
"I began investigating the cave obsessively, searching for any information regarding its origin, yet I found nothing. Meanwhile, my mental condition worsened. I frequently discovered myself behaving in ways that felt completely foreign. It was as though another version of myself existed inside my body."
"I told Gryffindor everything. I needed his strength, and I needed him to accompany me back to that cave. During our previous expedition, it was almost entirely thanks to Gryffindor's combat ability that the four of us escaped unharmed."
"But Gryffindor merely assumed I had frightened myself and advised me to drink more hot water."
Even in the middle of such horrifying content, Logan nearly snorted aloud.
Godric Gryffindor really was unbelievably dense.
"I nearly slapped that brainless fool to death. Yet just as I prepared to confess everything fully, a strange sensation suddenly erupted from within me. I instantly lost control of my body, and after that moment, I retained no memory of what occurred."
"When I later attempted to tell Hufflepuff the truth, the same thing happened again. I lost control of both my body and memories, yet neither Gryffindor nor Hufflepuff believed anything was wrong."
"There is another person inside me."
"Whenever I attempt to reveal the truth, that thing emerges and seizes control of my body, forcing me to conceal everything."
"I have become desperate. My condition deteriorates further each day, and the other self inside me has already begun controlling my actions even during ordinary life."
"If this continues… will I still remain myself?"
"Or will another being replace Rowena Ravenclaw entirely and continue living in my place?"
"But recently, Slytherin appears to have noticed something."
"Did he discover the truth?"
"I…"
And then the message stopped abruptly.
Nothing followed after that final line.
The wall became blank once more.
Logan stared silently at the fading handwriting while countless thoughts exploded inside his mind. The implications hidden within those few paragraphs were horrifying enough to make his scalp tingle.
Was Ravenclaw no longer truly Ravenclaw?
Had something from that cave replaced her?
Everything pointed toward that mysterious cave, but the more clues he uncovered, the more terrifying the entire situation became. It felt less like discovering a secret and more like walking step by step into an enormous trap that had already been prepared long ago.
At that moment, the system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Task completed~
Quest Rewards: Legend Points ×2, Red Dung Fruit ×1
Logan exhaled slowly.
This was only one fragment of the truth from that era, yet it already contained information horrifying enough to shake the foundations of Hogwarts itself. If even part of the secret was this terrifying, what about the complete story?
He was beginning to understand something very clearly.
At some point in the future, the system would probably force him to visit that cave personally.
Just imagining it made him feel mentally exhausted.
Fortunately, there was no time limit attached to the mission. By the time he eventually entered that place, perhaps he would already possess several forbidden spells powerful enough to protect himself.
Still…
Legend Points.
Everything came back to the lack of Legend Points.
Logan sighed inwardly before recorking the bottle of Witch Wolf Smoke. He began waving his hand through the cubicle to disperse the remaining mist, but just as the smoke started thinning—
Bang!
The stall door flew open violently.
"Hands up and don't move! Otherwise, I'll make you experience an unbelievably horrible curse!"
Hermione Granger stood outside the cubicle with her wand raised directly at him. Her face was tense, her eyes sharp with suspicion, and her posture made it clear she was genuinely prepared to attack if necessary.
Logan froze completely.
…What the hell!?
Why was Hermione here!?
There hadn't even been any sound of the bathroom entrance opening earlier. Had she been hiding inside the bathroom the entire time?
Oh no.
This was bad.
Very bad.
Hermione had once again discovered one of the most embarrassing moments of his entire life.
"Logan?"
Her expression shifted from alarm to confusion the moment she recognised him. The tip of her wand lowered slightly as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "And why are you inside a cubicle in the girls' bathroom?"
"Actually, I discovered something strange happening here, so I came to investigate. It definitely isn't because…" Logan began hurriedly.
But before he could finish speaking, Hermione suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
Her forehead pressed against his shoulder as soft sobs escaped her throat.
"Logan, I knew you'd come looking for me," she whispered emotionally. "You noticed I wasn't at the feast, so you came searching for me, right? Then you heard something inside the girls' bathroom and came in because you were worried about me…"
Logan's brain nearly shut down.
Holy crap.
How had she managed to perfectly explain away everything for him on her own?
At this rate, she could probably become a lawyer in the future.
Or maybe a reporter writing dramatic front-page scandal stories.
Suppressing the panic on his face, Logan straightened his posture and gently patted Hermione on the back in the calmest, most righteous tone he could manage.
"That's right," he said firmly. "I couldn't find you at the feast, so I got worried and came looking for you. Then I heard noises coming from the girls' bathroom, so naturally I came in to investigate."
"It definitely wasn't for any other reason."
.....
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