Return of Salazar Slytherin

180- Helena Ravenclaw

Barrow was tempted.

"By the way, don't call me 'teacher' when there are people around. Just call me Rhys. My name is now Rhys Chassala Lynt," Rhys reminded Barrow before they returned to the underground classroom, ensuring he wouldn't accidentally reveal his identity.

Barrow: "…"

"Teacher, your naming sense is… quite unique," Barrow couldn't help but remark.

"I think it's fantastic," Rhys said, clearly satisfied with his chosen name.

When the two returned to the underground classroom, they found that the atmosphere of the Deathday Party had reached its climax. However, none of this seemed to have anything to do with Nearly Headless Nick. At that moment, Nick stood pitifully in the middle of the dance floor, watching a group of hunters, dressed in costume, playing a game of head hockey while riding ghostly steeds. The uninvited guests had completely stolen the spotlight.

The phrase "stealing the show" fit this situation perfectly.

Barrow was anxious. He was desperate to uncover the truth of that day, so he moved quickly, floating at a brisk pace with Rhys close behind.

Due to Barrow's formidable presence, every ghost he passed immediately gave way, creating a clear path for him through the crowded underground classroom.

Rhys was more than happy with the arrangement, closely following behind Barrow—though he could technically pass through the ghosts' bodies, the sensation of being submerged in ice water was far from pleasant.

As they moved, Rhys noticed something happening on the other side of the classroom. Daphne and her companions were being cornered at a table by a rather peculiar ghost.

Despite the fact that ghosts couldn't eat, Nearly Headless Nick had still prepared a "lavish" banquet for the guests. Of course, none of this food was fit for the living, as every item was rotting, spoiled, and deadly enough to send any young wizard to meet the Hogwarts founders in person.

The ghost blocking Daphne and her friends was unlike the others in the room. He wasn't a pale and transparent spirit but rather a solid, tangible entity. This odd ghost wore a brightly colored, orange party hat, a bowtie spinning ceaselessly around his neck, and an insidious grin lighting up his mischievous face.

Rhys immediately recognized him. His name was Peeves, a prankster poltergeist and an old "acquaintance" of Rhys.

This mischievous specter had been around since the school's inception. To be precise, he had appeared alongside the building itself and had gained unique powers distinct from ordinary ghosts after the arrival of so many children at Hogwarts.

Initially, Rhys and his friends hadn't noticed anything unusual about Peeves, assuming him to be just another magical nuisance. But after repeatedly attempting to vanquish him—only for him to reappear as if nothing had happened the next morning—the founders began to suspect something was amiss.

They eventually gave up on trying to destroy Peeves and instead turned their efforts toward sealing him away. Yet no matter how hard the founders worked, Peeves would always return to Hogwarts, and each time, his pranks became even more chaotic and destructive.

In the end, Rhys and his friends concluded that Peeves was not a mere ghost but a spirit born from the collective emotions of Hogwarts' children. The only way to remove him permanently would be to evacuate every single student from Hogwarts.

And so, the idea of banishing Peeves from the school was abandoned for good.

The founders, having given up on driving Peeves out of Hogwarts, decided to take a more pragmatic approach. They hired a caretaker named Hankerton Humble to engage in a battle of wits with Peeves. Thus began a thousand-year-long struggle between the castle's caretakers and its mischievous poltergeist. The tales of Peeves and Hankerton, the first caretaker, were so numerous that Rhys could talk about them for days on end.

Ironically, last year, after Daphne defeated the troll, many students speculated that the "spirit of the castle" had manifested to protect them. But if one were to truly consider what most closely fit the definition of a "castle spirit," it was, amusingly enough, Peeves himself.

The revelation would surely leave countless people dumbfounded.

At this moment, Peeves was sweetly offering Daphne a bowl of moldy peanuts.

"Would you like some?" he asked in a syrupy tone, pushing the rancid snack toward her.

"No, thank you," Daphne replied, utterly repulsed by the sight of the peanuts. However, she knew better than to offend Peeves outright. Keeping her composure, she responded with polite restraint, her tone measured and formal.

But Peeves, clearly looking for trouble, was not so easily dissuaded.

He decided to teach these little wizards a lesson and made up his mind that, by the end of the evening, these students would eat the peanuts no matter what.

Noticing Rhys's gaze, the Bloody Baron followed it and spotted Peeves harassing the young wizards.

He let out a soft but deliberate "hmph."

Rhys then witnessed an astonishing sight—Peeves shuddered visibly and immediately dove under the table to hide.

Seeing that Daphne's predicament had been resolved, Rhys didn't linger. He swiftly left the underground classroom before the young wizards could react.

"Peeves seems quite afraid of you?"

Rhys glanced at his student as they exited. Not bad! He never expected that something his student couldn't achieve in life had somehow been accomplished after death.

"Yes. Occasionally, some clever students imitate my voice to scare Peeves away—it works exceptionally well."

"What exactly did you do to Peeves?"

...

As they chatted, Rhys and the Baron hurried toward the Ravenclaw Tower at top speed.

"Where's Helena?"

"I don't know." The Baron's spectral form became noticeably less transparent. He was far more nervous than Rhys had anticipated.

"She might be inside the tower." Rhys turned his gaze toward the door knocker at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.

This door knocker was personally crafted by Rowena Ravenclaw and enchanted with profound magic. It possessed a certain level of intelligence. The only other artifact at Hogwarts with similar sentience was Gryffindor's Sorting Hat.

Rhys knocked on the door knocker, which immediately posed him a question. Only by answering it correctly would he be granted entry to the Ravenclaw Tower.

"A young wizard has two jugs, one large and one small. The large jug can hold six pints of water, and the small jug can hold five pints. How can he use these two jugs to collect exactly three pints of water from the Black Lake?"

Rhys pondered for a moment before providing his answer.

The door swung open, revealing the Ravenclaw common room behind it.

The Ravenclaw common room was a vast, circular room adorned with an ethereal charm. Elegant arched windows lined the walls, draped in blue and bronze silk.

Stars were the central theme of the room: the domed ceiling was painted with a celestial chart, and the deep-blue carpet beneath their feet was embroidered with countless stars. Unlike the Slytherin common room, this space featured numerous bookshelves, and opposite the entrance, a tall niche housed a white marble statue.

Standing before the statue was a ghost with waist-length hair and floor-length robes.

_____

Ans:

The first step is to fill the 5-pint jug and pour it into the 6-pint jug. Now there are 5 pints of water in the 6-pint jug.

　　2. Fill the small pot again, and then use the small pot to fill the large pot. Now there is 4 pints of water left in the 5-pint pot.

　　3. Pour out the water in the large pot and pour the remaining water in the 5-pint pot into the 6-pint pot. Now there are 4 pints of water in the 6-pint pot.

　　4. Fill the 5-pint jug and pour into the 6-pint jug. The remaining water in the small jug is 3 pints.

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