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Chapter 20: Riddles, Rumors

Michael breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Peeves didn't pester us. It would've been awful if he actually called Filch."

"Peeves wouldn't bother going to Filch," Wade said, pulling him up. "Remember? They hate each other. Peeves wouldn't lift a finger to help Filch."

"You're right," Michael nodded.

Peeves often caused chaos, toppling statues or spilling ink everywhere, which only added to the workload of Filch, the castle caretaker, and drove him to madness.

They climbed the steps to Ravenclaw Tower, which left them dizzy. After walking for a while, they had to stop and catch their breath. Their thighs ached as if they belonged to someone else.

Normally, Michael would complain incessantly at this point—unless there was a pretty girl nearby, in which case he'd pretend he wasn't tired and stop to rest, using her as an excuse.

But today, Michael was unusually silent. It wasn't until they were about to enter the common room that he spoke up. "We have flying lessons tomorrow."

Wade nodded. "Yeah."

"Forget what I said earlier!" Michael sighed. "Just follow Madam Hooch's instructions and take it easy."

Wade shook his head helplessly. "What happened to Neville was just bad luck. Not everyone will have the same experience."

Deep down, Michael might know that, but he couldn't shake the weight on his mind.

Upon returning to the tower, curfew had passed, yet several students lingered in the corridor. Not every Ravenclaw excelled at solving riddles, which posed challenges even to the brightest minds. It wasn't uncommon to see over twenty students outside the common room, debating and answering the day's riddles.

Wade approached and knocked on the bronze door knocker mounted on the wooden panel. The eagle-shaped knocker's beak opened, its voice gentle and rhythmic. "Above and below, it crawls and walks. In motion, it appears human; in stillness, canine."

The answer to the riddle posed by the eagle-shaped door knocker was crucial to gaining entry.

Michael pictured some dark, crawling creature with many hands. "What kind of monster is this? Is it... a mythical demon?"

He hurriedly pulled out his textbook, "Monsters and Their Origins," flipping through it eagerly.

"Don't bother. It's not in there," a tired Ravenclaw student said. "I've read the whole book."

Several others nodded in agreement.

Wade pondered.

The bronze door knocker resembled the mythical Sphinx. Its questions were not always difficult, but they weren't straightforward either—it never hinted whether the answer was an object, creature, word, or abstract concept like time or death.

"This riddle sounds a bit Lovecraftian, but also oddly familiar."

"... a clock?" Wade ventured after a moment.

"Correct," the eagle-shaped door knocker chimed, the wooden door swinging open.

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