Chapter 317 - 317: The Value of the Sorting Hat!

The statue had spoken!

Dawn narrowed his eyes and looked down at the cold, lifelike white stone sculpture in his hand.

The scene seemed astonishing at first glance, but when he thought about it carefully, it actually made perfect sense.

If it weren't extraordinary in some way, why would the Four Founders have left it behind?

Bang!

Dawn placed the statue on the table.

He rubbed his chin, guessing that it probably worked in a way similar to a portrait.

If the statue really contained some of Ravenclaw's memories, then compared with the three alchemical artifacts, its value was actually even greater.

Dawn began carefully comparing the value of the two sides.

As for why Dawn remained so calm when faced with Ravenclaw's existence reproduced in such an unusual manner...

After dealing with so many powerful wizards, he genuinely didn't consider this something particularly unbelievable.

"How fascinating."

At that moment, the statue spoke again.

Its eyes didn't move, yet both people in the office somehow felt as though a gaze had swept over them.

"I never expected that even a first-year young wizard could solve the four riddles we left behind. Looking at it this way, establishing the school really was the correct decision."

The statue's voice was slow and calm.

Even when expressing such a sentiment, there was a rational, detached quality to its voice.

But Dawn's face immediately darkened.

He snapped out of his evaluation of its value and couldn't help correcting her.

"I'm already thirteen this year! I'm not some first-year young wizard!"

Perhaps because phoenixes grew so slowly, ever since gaining phoenix traits in his first year, his height and appearance had barely changed.

Normally, when nobody mentioned it, he simply pretended not to care.

But hearing it pointed out for the first time still made him want to argue.

At that moment, Dumbledore also stared at the statue on the table and quietly asked,

"You are... Lady Ravenclaw?"

He stood from his chair and bowed slightly, showing sufficient respect to one of the founders of the castle.

This created a sharp contrast with Dawn, who remained seated.

"More or less."

The statue's tone sounded as though she were describing a stranger.

"I'm merely a fragment of Ravenclaw's memories. Strictly speaking, I cannot be considered the real her."

Crack!

A sudden cracking sound rang out.

Dawn and Dumbledore followed the noise and discovered that a faint crack had suddenly appeared across the statue, scattering a small amount of white powder.

Dawn's eyes widened.

This thing had cost him three alchemical artifacts!

How was it already looking as though it was about to die?

His evaluation of its value immediately plummeted, and once again he felt that he'd gotten a terrible bargain.

However...

Before either of them could ask what was happening, the statue continued speaking on its own.

"All right. There isn't much time. Listen quietly from here on."

After a brief pause, the statue continued.

"Back then, the four of us planned to hide one alchemical artifact each within the castle before our deaths, leaving behind riddles to encourage young wizards to explore and search for them.

But even after finding an artifact, the wizard would only temporarily gain the right to use it. They would not truly own it.

So, as compensation, we agreed that if any young wizard managed to collect all four artifacts, the Founder corresponding to that wizard's house would provide them with an additional reward.

I don't know what the other three left behind.

But for any student of Ravenclaw, I will answer one question that concerns them most at that moment."

The statue gave a concise explanation of its own existence, making Dawn raise an eyebrow with interest.

So, although these four objects were known as the Four Founders' artifacts, it seemed the founders had merely regarded them as part of a game.

Unfortunately, judging from how history unfolded, the Four Founders' plan had never been completed.

Slytherin had parted ways with the other three.

Helena, dissatisfied with her mother, had stolen the Diadem.

And eventually, Gryffindor's Sword had been left inside the Sorting Hat for centuries.

As for Hufflepuff's Cup, although its exact history was unclear, it had apparently been lost several times before Voldemort found it decades ago and corrupted it with his soul.

Dawn rubbed his chin and gave the seemingly oblivious statue a strange look.

Judging by this, the statue must have been created quite early.

However...

Dawn wasn't interested in these ancient events. He simply looked at the statue with curiosity.

"Do you know what I want to ask?"

"Merlin and time."

The statue's voice was concise and calm.

But when he heard those words, Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat.

He couldn't help turning his gaze toward Dawn, undisguised astonishment in his eyes.

Good heavens!

The Fountain of Good Fortune, the Resurrection Stone, and now Merlin...

Even the old Headmaster had to admit that this boy's experiences were remarkably colorful.

Things that most wizards would never encounter in their entire lives kept appearing one after another around him.

Perhaps his astonishing rate of magical growth was connected to all of this?

Dumbledore fell into thought.

Meanwhile, Dawn was equally surprised that the statue had hit the nail on the head.

But after his thoughts turned for a moment, he immediately identified the culprit.

He looked toward the old hat lying on the table.

The Sorting Hat could read the thoughts and certain ideas of whoever wore it.

Dawn hadn't bothered to protect his mind in his anger just now, so it was perfectly normal for it to have learned something.

No wonder the reward had required him to put on the Sorting Hat before it appeared!

Presumably, that was also how it determined which house the young wizard who collected all four artifacts belonged to.

Dawn quickly understood.

"Not bad."

The statue seemed pleased that Dawn hadn't asked a stupid question.

"Fortunately, you didn't ask how I knew. Otherwise, I would sincerely recommend that you transfer to another house."

Crack!

Another crack suddenly appeared.

The raven perched on the statue's shoulder fell directly onto the table and shattered into a pile of fine powder.

"All right. Back to the matter at hand."

Although the statue didn't seem concerned about its own disintegration, its voice remained as calm as ever.

"I don't know why you care so much about Merlin and time, but... I will tell you everything I know."

Dawn immediately perked up.

He stopped grumbling about her earlier barbed remark and adopted an attentive posture.

"First, child. Before that, answer me one question."

The statue spoke without the slightest fluctuation in tone.

"Do you believe the past can be changed?"

Hm?

Dawn froze.

Can the past be changed?

He frowned.

To most people, this question seemed extremely simple.

If first-year Dawn had been asked to answer it, he might have hesitated for a long time, but the final answer would certainly have been no.

Most wizards believed that even if someone tried to change the past, their actions would ultimately become part of history through some twist of fate.

First-year Dawn had thought the same way.

When he performed the Fountain of Good Fortune ritual, he'd repeatedly held onto the idea that although time could not be changed, events could be integrated into history.

But...

After everything that had happened during his second year, and after gaining a deeper understanding of the World Correction and the Collective Consciousness, Dawn's beliefs had gradually changed without him realizing it.

He had begun to understand more and more deeply that the idea that the past could not be changed was based on the powerful interference of the World Correction.

If that factor were removed, changing the past was actually incredibly easy.

For example, he could currently use a Time-Turner to return to the past and kill Neville or some other young wizard.

It would be extremely easy to alter history.

But even if he did so, the World Correction could erase everything and reconstruct events into a version where the past had never been changed.

For instance, perhaps Neville had actually died long ago, and the Neville currently living was someone else who had assumed his identity after his death.

Thus, even if Dawn went back in time and killed Neville, he would merely have unknowingly integrated that event into history.

So...

Could the past be changed?

Now that the question had returned to him, Dawn genuinely couldn't give a definite answer.

"Yes" and "no" intertwined like a spiral.

If he absolutely had to answer, the only word he could give was:

"Both."

The office fell silent.

Dumbledore stood to one side.

He didn't interrupt.

Nor did he question why Dawn was struggling over such a seemingly simple question.

He merely watched quietly.

Yet within those azure eyes, the question seemed to stir a faint ripple as well.

Crack!

Another crack appeared.

The statue didn't insist on forcing an answer from Dawn.

Instead, it naturally changed the subject and began talking about Merlin.

"Merlin Ambrosius, a graduate of Slytherin. He entered the castle during its second year after Hogwarts was established.

He was a gifted young wizard who was obsessed with time.

At the same time, he was a powerful and fortunate individual who traveled through time, returned to the past, and genuinely changed history."

The statue's introduction was extremely brief.

Its tone remained calm, as though it were casually discussing what to have for dinner.

But the information contained within it was anything but ordinary.

Dawn was stunned for several moments.

Merlin Ambrosius.

He hadn't lived continuously from the era of King Arthur until the founding of Hogwarts?

He had entered Hogwarts first, then traveled back through time into history?!

Dawn's mind felt somewhat scrambled.

But after thinking carefully, he suddenly realized that there was actually no need to be shocked.

Even if Merlin really had returned to the past and altered the original course of history, that wasn't particularly remarkable.

Dawn himself could accomplish the same thing.

What truly deserved his attention was something else.

If Merlin had altered history, he had almost certainly triggered the World Correction.

So how had Ravenclaw retained her original memories and realized that something had changed?

Dawn's eyes burned with curiosity.

He looked toward the statue and asked somewhat urgently,

"Lady Ravenclaw, how did you realize that history had been changed?"

"Because of the Sorting Hat."

The statue calmly replied,

"When we created the Sorting Hat, the four of us placed some of our thoughts into it.

Then, through an accident, we discovered differences between those thoughts and our existing memories."

The Sorting Hat?

Hearing this answer, Dawn stared in surprise at the filthy old hat.

He immediately realized something.

If they could discover the differences through the Sorting Hat...

Didn't that mean this thing had actually remained unaffected by the World Correction?

How had it done that?!

Dawn was astonished.

He was becoming increasingly certain that the Sorting Hat was the most valuable treasure in all of Hogwarts.

From his first year, when he'd been surprised to discover that it possessed magical mist like a living creature...

To his second year, when Nicolas Flamel had described it as a pinnacle achievement in the creation of alchemical life...

And now, discovering that it could even resist the corrections of natural magic...

The deeper Dawn's understanding of magic became, the more valuable this hat seemed to become.

Dawn's eyes grew heated.

He had already begun calculating exactly how he could sever the hat's connection with the castle and claim it completely for himself.

A treasure like this deserved to belong to him!

Dawn sighed emotionally.

But then...

Recalling something Nicolas Flamel had once told him, a sudden realization flashed through his mind.

Right!

Nicolas Flamel had said that the reason the Sorting Hat was regarded as the highest achievement in the creation of alchemical life was because its birth had completely discarded the involvement of natural magic.

It existed entirely "within the bottle."

Then...

Could its ability to resist the World Correction be related to that?

Dawn carefully examined the abstract patterns floating within the old hat's magical mist.

Apart from the patterns representing the physical body, which were obviously different from those of a human wizard, the other patterns related to the soul and consciousness were basically identical to those of wizards.

He couldn't see anything particularly unusual.

"Lady Ravenclaw, how was the Sorting Hat created?"

Dawn shifted his gaze away from the hat and questioned the statue again.

If he could learn how to create something that existed "within the bottle," would that mean he had obtained a method of shielding himself from the corrections of natural magic?

That was Dawn's thought.

However...

The statue's answer was completely beyond his expectations.

"I don't know."

As more cracks spread across it, the statue's voice became somewhat hoarse.

"This isn't an evasion. Preserving a fragment of thought for a thousand years is extremely difficult.

Ravenclaw distributed her knowledge and memories among countless statues.

The only memories stored within me concern Merlin.

The question you asked at the time had nothing to do with the Sorting Hat, so I was the only one that emerged."

The statue explained its circumstances.

Dawn frowned, but he didn't feel particularly regretful.

"You mean... there are many statues like this?"

"Obviously."

"Do any of them contain the secret of creating the Sorting Hat?"

"Of course."

Ravenclaw's answers remained as concise as ever.

Whether it was because of her personality or because the cracks in the statue were spreading faster and faster, Dawn couldn't tell.

Crack!

Another crack ran straight across its face.

Dawn hurriedly asked,

"Then how can I find the statue that contains the method for creating the Sorting Hat?"

"Let nature take its course."

The stone sculpture's voice had already become extremely faint.

"Magic is a matter of the mind. When the castle built for young wizards senses the strength of your desire, it will naturally guide you toward the answer."

"..."

Dawn was speechless.

It was an answer perfectly consistent with his own understanding of magic.

But at this particular moment, it was incredibly frustrating.

He really wanted to ask whether the castle would still help him if he were no longer a student of Hogwarts.

After thinking for a moment, Dawn continued,

"Wouldn't it work if I put the four alchemical artifacts in again?"

"No."

The statue answered firmly.

"The objects were left for all young wizards. To prevent an individual from exploiting a loophole and monopolizing the reward, such a reward can only be triggered once every year or more."

Crack!

Another sound rang out.

The Ravenclaw statue finally reached its limit.

It suddenly split apart.

Then, within moments, it disintegrated into ash and scattered into the dust.

The corner of Dawn's mouth twitched.

Without hesitation, he cast Reparo.

But, as expected, the spell had no effect on a statue that was essentially an alchemical artifact.

Dawn clicked his tongue in frustration.

He began thinking about what he should do next.

He desperately wanted the method of shielding himself from the World Correction.

Could he really enter Hogwarts again and have the castle guide him?

Dawn rubbed his chin.

Thinking about it carefully, it actually wasn't impossible.

His research into Trait Patterns didn't necessarily have to be conducted in the Vatican.

Doing it at Hogwarts was acceptable too.

The only drawback was that he wouldn't be able to frequently use wizards as experimental subjects.

But that wouldn't be enough to bring his research to a complete halt.

With that thought, Dawn raised his head.

He looked toward Dumbledore, who had maintained a thoughtful expression ever since the conversation began.

Dawn cleared his throat.

"Headmaster, is the position of librarian still vacant?"

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