Hogwarts’ John Wick

Chapter 579 579: 579: Supreme Wisdom and Mother's Love

Although it was a rather insignificant system that lacked any real presence most of the time, there was one thing it did very well.

It always fulfilled its duty of giving reminders.

Yet after entering the secret chamber, John had not heard the system notification.

That meant the place he was standing in was not Ravenclaw's true secret chamber.

Walking to a bookshelf, John pulled out a book.

At first, he thought it was just an ordinary magical text.

But after opening it, he found the pages densely filled with notes.

He opened another book, only to find the same thing.

With a single glance, he realized that every book here had likely been annotated by Rowena Ravenclaw herself.

The knowledge within those books had been personally verified and tested by Ravenclaw, with all mistakes corrected.

The sheer amount of work was staggering. Ravenclaw's knowledge across every field had reached an astonishing level.

Although Helena was a ghost, she still possessed the ability to turn pages.

Looking at her mother's handwriting, she felt as though she was not standing among bookshelves, but inside a prison.

A prison called knowledge. Endless knowledge had trapped her mother within it.

She slowly passed through one bookshelf after another.

"You've proven that you are smarter than me." Helena laughed self-mockingly. "I never discovered this place."

"Was it that you never did, or that you never wanted to?" John asked, striking directly at the heart of the matter.

For nearly a thousand years, Helena had wandered through every corner of Hogwarts.

"You hate this painting," John said as he returned the book to its shelf. "Or are you afraid? Afraid of seeing a scene like this?"

"Yes, I'm afraid," Helena said gloomily. "To her, knowledge truly was the most important thing."

She picked up a book and looked at the notes written inside.

"There's nothing about me in here."

Even as Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, she still could not compete with precious knowledge for her mother's affection.

Helena said, "That already proves everything."

"Not necessarily." John shook his head and pointed toward the end of the small library.

Helena looked over.

At the far end hung a painting.

The moment she saw it, Helena's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How is this possible..."

The woman in the painting had long black hair. She possessed beauty that captivated others and wisdom that commanded everyone's admiration.

Without wearing the diadem that symbolized wisdom, the woman looked at Helena with gentle affection.

Helena murmured, "Mother."

Rowena Ravenclaw.

One of the founders of Hogwarts had left a portrait of herself here.

Seeing her daughter, Rowena smiled and said, "I have been waiting for you, Helena."

"Waiting for me?" Helena asked in confusion.

"Helena," John said as he walked to her side and looked at the painting. "I think this is you."

Helena saw a little girl beside Ravenclaw, delicate like a porcelain doll.

The girl saw Helena and fearfully hid behind Ravenclaw.

It was her, the little Helena she had driven away herself.

"You stayed here to take care of her?" Helena's expression grew complicated.

After little Helena was driven away, she came into this painting.

Ravenclaw had been taking care of her daughter. Even within a painting, it was still the same.

At that moment, something seemed to glimmer at the corner of Helena's eyes.

Could ghosts cry?

John looked at the painting and said, "The real secret chamber should be behind this painting."

"Do you know the password?"

Helena said, "Treasure."

The little Helena in the painting replied crisply, "Password correct."

That was what Helena had once heard from Ravenclaw when she was little.

Treasure.

Something precious.

When she was young, she had always believed it would be herself.

The painting slowly opened, revealing a door.

That familiar door made Helena afraid to approach.

John walked over and slowly pushed it open.

It was a room.

Inside were childish toys and a princess-like dressing table.

The blue ceiling was painted with stars.

A cradle sat quietly in the room.

On the surrounding walls hung portrait after portrait of little Helena.

[Ding, discovered Ravenclaw's secret chamber]

John stopped walking and stood at the doorway, deep in thought.

"I always wanted to tell you," Ravenclaw's portrait said as she walked in, "that you are my greatest treasure."

Ravenclaw looked at Helena lovingly. "You surpass all the knowledge I have ever learned, Helena."

The so-called knowledge of Ravenclaw was all of this.

The knowledge of being a mother.

Learning how to love.

Helena walked inside, her hand passing through the things she had once used.

From the days when she had just learned to speak, to the time she eventually ran away.

She hated portraits because when she was little, her mother used to paint her.

After realizing that she could never surpass the importance of knowledge in her mother's heart, she never allowed another portrait of herself to be made.

And all those memories from the past had remained within this room.

Herself wearing wizard robes. Herself reading books. Herself being mischievous.

Amid one portrait after another, Helena seemed to lose track of time.

Until the very last portrait, where her mother Ravenclaw stood beside her.

"I'm sorry, Helena," Ravenclaw said. "It was only after you left that I truly understood the highest wisdom was loving you."

"Mother."

Helena smiled even as tears like drifting mist slid from the corners of her eyes.

These were the tears of a ghost, scattering like silver light.

John reached out to catch them. They were light and without substance.

"It was my fault," Helena cried. "I should not have been so willful. I should not have been jealous. I should not have acted out in anger. I should not have refused to see you."

"Helena, there is no such thing as should or should not." Ravenclaw opened her arms and actually stepped out.

The Ravenclaw within the portrait walked out of the canvas, silver-white light radiating from her body.

Gently, she embraced her daughter.

"You are my daughter, my treasure."

And Helena embraced Ravenclaw in return.

Mother and daughter embraced each other while John suppressed his own astonishment.

This was not a portrait. It was a form of soul manifestation.

What method had Ravenclaw used to preserve herself until now?

Then again, it made sense. After all, Gryffindor had also managed to preserve his consciousness until the present day.

The embrace lasted a very long time.

Ravenclaw released her daughter and turned her gaze toward John.

"You are a Ravenclaw?"

"Cough, actually, I'm a Slytherin."

John felt awkward. Did all four founders have to ask this every time?

Gryffindor had done the exact same thing last time.

Ravenclaw looked surprised. "It seems you have always possessed extraordinary wisdom. More importantly..."

A smile appeared on Ravenclaw's face. "You possess love."

Who could have imagined that Ravenclaw, who valued wisdom above all else, would hide her secret chamber behind a painting completely unrelated to wisdom?

A wise person does not fall in love.

Yet the wisest witch had leapt into the river called maternal love and waited there for her daughter.

Helena secretly glanced at John, seeming to quietly wipe away her tears.

John wanted to say there was no need to wipe them away. He still wanted to research what ghost tears could be used for.

"You carry my aura," Ravenclaw said. "It seems Helena has given my diadem to you."

"The diadem?" Helena froze.

Pretending not to notice, John said, "Ravenclaw's diadem is indeed with me."

"But if you wish to reclaim it, I'm afraid I cannot return it."

"No, I have no need for that object." Ravenclaw shook her head. "It was only meant to carry memories."

"Since you have come here, I should grant you a reward."

It seemed the four founders shared an interesting game among themselves. Each of them left behind a secret chamber, along with rewards for those who came after.

Even Slytherin had left much of his knowledge behind within his chamber.

John glanced at the bookshelves outside and said, "I've already seen your reward."

"No, that is far too little," Ravenclaw said. "You deserve more."

Bathed in silver-white light, Ravenclaw waved her finger, and the books outside rapidly began stacking together.

The enormous library visibly shrank as countless books disappeared.

In the end, only one remained.

Ravenclaw summoned the book to her side and lightly touched it with a finger.

Her silver form began to grow faint and unreal.

"Mother." Helena watched as her mother slowly disappeared, her heart filled with reluctance.

"Helena, I have already said everything I wished to say to you."

Ravenclaw smiled and nodded. "The final piece of wisdom is learning to forgive yourself and learning to love yourself."

"That is the highest wisdom."

After saying those words, Ravenclaw completely vanished.

Only a book with a silver cover remained behind.

The book flew toward John, and he caught it.

Within that book was the entirety of Ravenclaw's lifetime of knowledge.

"I think I should thank you," Helena said to John after recovering from the sadness of her mother's departure. "Thank you, John Wick."

John raised the book in his hand and smiled. "I should thank you as well, Helena."

The two smiled at each other.

Both of them had found what they were searching for.

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