“Incredible, to think there was a sword hidden within the Sorting Hat...”

Hanna still seemed unable to accept it as they passed through the castle fireplaces and appeared in the Hogwarts kitchen.

One must know that during the Sorting Ceremony, every Hogwarts first-year student invariably puts on the Sorting Hat at least once.

This meant that while they were secretly conversing with the Sorting Hat, in some unknown magical space, a sharp sword was hanging above their heads - even if it was currently hilt-down, it still made one feel uneasy.

"See, Luna was right. Good thing we didn't bet against Aileen on this matter."

When she saw Aileen pull the sword from the Sorting Hat, Hermione wasn't too surprised. She had long suspected that Aileen's bet was a setup.

"However, there's one thing I don't understand..."

Hermione said curiously. When they left the Headmaster's office, the Sorting Hat was clearly a bit angry.

But this anger wasn't directed at Aileen, but at the Headmaster who had leaked the "secret" and diverted the trouble.

With the three little wings as witnesses, the Sorting Hat reached a series of cooperation agreements with Aileen. It was expected that when Dumbledore returned from his "business trip" outside the castle, he would find that this millennium-old magical hat had gradually become a part of Aileen's faction.

Of course, after a long period of exposure, Hermione wasn't too worried about Dumbledore's future situation.

She was more concerned about Aileen's smugly swaying little antenna during the negotiations and confessions.

"Is this something you saw in a 'prophecy' as well? Anyway... these secrets, Professor Dumbledore definitely didn't tell you, right?"

"Of course not, but I didn't lie either—"

Aileen nodded, winking slyly, and said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"The information I told the Sorting Hat was: in today's world, apart from Dumbledore, no one else knows this secret."

"But, there are many who know about the Sword of Gryffindor other than 'people'..."

"Uh—Aileen-jie, isn't it a bit much to scold yourself like that?" Luna reminded her softly with a serious expression.

"... Cough—"

Aileen choked back the rest of her words.

She glanced at the little moon with clear eyes, and the reflection of herself in the girl's pupils.

Aileen's heart was exceptionally complex.

What a sin!

Has the originally pure Luna finally started to become scheming?

"Cough, cough—"

Aileen glared threateningly at Luna, who was hiding behind Hanna, cleared her throat, and said helplessly.

"Of course it's not me, Luna, you wait tonight. Don't think you're completely safe hiding behind Hanna—as for the question just now... now you know that this sword once belonged to Godric Gryffindor, but do you know who forged it?"

"Hmm? Wasn't it Mr. Gryffindor himself?"

Hanna took the sword from Aileen and examined the gleaming silver blade carefully.

This was definitely the most beautiful sword she had ever seen. There wasn't a speck of dust or scratch on the silver blade. The smooth, clean blade didn't even show fingerprints. Even the vanity mirror in their bathroom wasn't this clean. The ruby inlaid in the hilt, the size of an egg, glittered in the firelight, without any impurities. The long blade, when held in her hand, was much lighter than she had imagined.

"Of course not—"

Aileen shook her head and raised a finger to explain seriously.

"This sword was custom-made for Godric Gryffindor by Ragnuk I."

"Ragnuk I was the Goblin King of a thousand years ago, and also the most skilled silversmith among the goblins at that time. When this sword was completed, its perfection made Ragnuk jealous and envious to the point of losing control. Ragnuk knew very well that he might never be able to forge a masterpiece like this in his lifetime, so he claimed that Gryffindor stole the sword and sent people to take it back."

"Obviously, Gryffindor taught the goblins a severe lesson, forcing them to admit that Gryffindor legally owned the sword."

"However, Ragnuk I never forgot his obsession with this sword and the resentment of this incident until his death. Therefore, the story of the Sword of Gryffindor and the ancient reward for recovering the Sword of Gryffindor still circulate among the goblins to this day."

The Sword of Gryffindor adopted ancient goblin weapon craftsmanship.

Its blade automatically repels dust and stains. With the never-wearing-out quality, its sharpness is no less than the Severing Charm effect. And the most important point is that it is also a magical weapon that can grow: the Sword of Gryffindor automatically absorbs things that can strengthen it.

This long-lost goblin craft can be said to be Aileen's biggest regret after taking over Gringotts.

"Gringotts still has a reward for recovering the Sword of Gryffindor? Why? Didn't they acknowledge Gryffindor's legal rights?"

Luna asked in confusion. They chatted as they walked towards the depths of the kitchen, led by the house-elves.

On the other side, Hermione and Hanna also had curious expressions.

In the eyes of the three little witches, Aileen seemed like an omniscient "adult".

No matter how secretive or magical the legend was, there seemed to be no secrets from her. Compared to Professor Binns and Peeves, Aileen sometimes seemed more like a ghost who had lived in Hogwarts Castle for a thousand years - for example, Professor Binns didn't know the location of the Chamber of Secrets.

"The goblins do acknowledge that Gryffindor legally owns this sword, but the goblins' view of property is slightly different from that of wizards..."

Aileen shrugged, looked at the little wings around her, and explained slowly in a soft voice.

"In the traditional concept of goblins, all crafts, weapons, and even gold coins, anything that is smelted and forged by goblins, in terms of ownership, always belongs to the craftsmen - wizards only have the right to use them. They acknowledge Gryffindor's ownership, but in the eyes of the goblins, this right should have ended with Gryffindor's death, but the reality is clearly not the case—"

"So, this is a misunderstanding caused by the cultural barrier between the two races?"

Hermione frowned, glanced at the gleaming silver sword, and said thoughtfully in a low voice.

As a "reserve" Miss Justice, under Dumbledore's guidance, she had recently read many similar historical stories.

"Yes, and no. This is wisdom and strength."

Aileen shook her finger and smiled meaningfully.

"Gryffindor represents more than recklessness. Courage isn't being brainless - on the contrary, it is only when you clearly know the huge difference between the goal and reality, and still choose to move forward, that it can be called courage. As one of the four founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor is not inferior to the other founders in terms of wisdom. He successfully grasped the loophole in the goblin's promise: Gryffindor."

"Eh? A loophole?"

Hanna blinked her eyes in confusion, subconsciously looking at Hermione and Luna.

"Gryffindor? I see—"

Hermione paused for half a second and nodded with understanding.

"No wonder the goblins were so angry later..."

Luna also showed a mischievous look, "Isn't this equivalent to being completely irrecoverable?"

As the future chief executive officer of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, she naturally thought of the problem with this contract.

"Oh, oh, I see, I understand too—"

The iron-headed girl slammed her palm and nodded quite seriously.

As a slacker, Hanna had long summed up a unique "slacker camouflage" rule:

Just follow along with what Hermione and Luna say, and at most, you'll just be thought of as a bit slow.

You wouldn't be played and teased by those nasty girlfriends to the point of doubting your life.

But this time…

It seems a bit unexpected?

After waiting for several seconds, none of the three continued to speak, but instead turned to look at Hanna.

"So this is... Hey, why aren't you talking? What kind of look is that?!"

Aileen: [Smirking.jpg]

Hermione: [Smirking.jpg]

Luna: [Smirking.jpg]

"Okay, okay, I don't understand—so who can explain it?"

In the midst of a series of teasing gazes, Hanna held on for a few seconds before breaking down at light speed, huffing and puffing angrily.

Could these crappy witches finish their sentences? Otherwise, wouldn't she seem very dumb?!

Sooner or later, she would press these three nasty "riddle-makers" on the bed a hundred times, a hundred times!

Even if they begged for mercy, she wouldn't be half-hearted!

"This sword belongs to Gryffindor, but Gryffindor is not just a surname."

Aileen tapped her finger on the gemstone on the hilt of the sword in Hanna's hand, making a series of crisp and pleasant sounds.

"Goblins are long-lived, they firmly believe that there is no eternally existing wizarding family."

"As if some kind of strange curse, the more wizarding families that have produced outstanding wizards, the faster their subsequent decline."

"But Gryffindor is different. It now also represents spiritual inheritance: as long as Hogwarts exists, then Gryffindor will not disappear."

"Before his death, Godric Gryffindor cast a spell on this sword so that wizards who truly possess Gryffindor qualities can draw the sword from his wizarding hat - which is now the Sorting Hat - because the 'Sword of Gryffindor' belongs to Gryffindor."

As the Goblin Queen, she had taken the time to understand this historical entanglement from a thousand years ago.

For the past thousand years, the Gringotts goblins have never stopped searching for the sword.

In fact, the goblins had touched this sword more than once, and had even almost brought it back to Gringotts.

But whenever they thought they had succeeded, the sword would suddenly disappear unnoticed, and return to Hogwarts Castle.

"Before Gryffindor disappears, this magical sword will always be loyal to the true Gryffindor. Apart from that, no one, no force can occupy this magical sword - not even the Gringotts goblins who forged it. This is the oldest, most sacred contract."

Aileen lightly stroked the cold blade with her finger, and said softly with a focused expression.

This was not just a story in the mouths of the goblin elders. If Aileen remembered correctly, the same thing had happened in the original story.

After Voldemort plundered Gringotts, the Sword of Gryffindor, which was originally in the hands of the goblin Griphook, disappeared silently and returned to the Sorting Hat in Hogwarts, helping Neville cut off Voldemort's last Horcrux in the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Wow, amazing, but..."

Hanna exclaimed enviously subconsciously.

Immediately afterwards, her little face quickly collapsed, and she muttered gloomily.

"I'm not a Gryffindor, so in that case, only you and Hermione can use this sword, right?"

"Well, that's not necessarily true. The criteria for judging the Sword of Gryffindor is true courage..."

Aileen pinched Hanna's nose and said meaningfully.

"And my Hanna, is super brave, oh—"

…………

As they spoke, they had arrived at the end of the Hogwarts kitchen.

Unlike other parts of the Hogwarts kitchen, this place was significantly quieter and more empty.

A huge, cyan-gray, heavy stone door was embedded in the wall directly in front.

Compared to the height of the house-elves, this stone door, which reached the ceiling, seemed to be prepared for giants.

Aileen casually waved her wand.

As the stone door slowly opened, a cold aura rushed towards them, mixed with a faint fishy smell.

A bottomless, pitch-black passageway appeared in front of them, sloping downwards and eventually disappearing into the endless dark coldness, looking as if it were the esophagus revealed after a giant beast opened its mouth to devour people - this was the entrance to the underground ice cellar of the Hogwarts kitchen.

Aileen took out a delicate cross necklace from her arms, and absentmindedly twirled it around her fingers.

Hogwarts' underground ice cellar was very large.

It had existed for even longer than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Following the passageway all the way forward, after a strange corner, the surroundings instantly became wider.

This was a vast underground cave, with rows of shelves, baskets, pottery pots, and freezers in the most conspicuous position, filled with various ingredients, mostly used by the house-elves on a regular basis - these only accounted for a tenth of the entire space.

In the deeper areas, a huge body, shimmering with a faint green cold light, coiled around.

"Alright, the story is over, let's start today's magic practice."

The cross on Aileen's finger suddenly stopped, and a pale white light shone along the chain wrapped around the girl's fingertips.

The next moment, a jet-black metal knife appeared in Aileen's hand.

"Hanna, you're responsible for cutting the segments, and I'll be responsible for removing the scales—"

"As for the tendon and bone decomposition work, Hermione and Luna, I'll leave these to you."

"So, let's begin..."

…………

At the same time, the City of Succubi.

[Moonlight - Pascha Entertainment Club] Manager's Office.

"Bona, listen to me explain, this place is not under my jurisdiction..."

Gilderoy Lockhart swallowed, trying not to let his gaze touch the employee posters on the wall.

He was in a very complicated mood at the moment, on the one hand, excited that he had successfully confessed on the Hyperion and successfully got laid, and on the other hand, terrified by the vast "special industry" of the City of Succubi. He knew he shouldn't have been vain and pretended to be a regional manager.

"So you're saying that these are all personally planned by 'Miss Fool'?"

Arhipovna crossed her arms and looked at the man nodding desperately in front of her, a hint of disappointment flashing in her light brown eyes.

"Respected Mr. 'Hanged Man', please don't insult the intelligence of a senior director of the Landau Institute. You didn't tell me that on the Hyperion - perhaps you think it's fun, but I'm not your prey for your boring entertainment!"

"No, no... you believe me—"

Lockhart racked his brains to think about the skills Arthur had talked about before, and explained helplessly.

"There are still many interesting projects here, these are just disguises on the surface world, the inner world is even more exciting..."

"Let's stop here, Mr. Lockhart."

The woman swept the surrounding environment, looked at Lockhart with disgust, and said in a voice without any emotion.

"Compared to continuing to admire your 'paradise', perhaps I am more suitable to go back and study magical potential energy - I should go back, thank you very much for taking in the people of the former Soviet Union. But after careful consideration, from all aspects, the two of us are not suitable to be together."

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Hooray!