One second to remember 【】Mobile users enter
At the same time, outside the Ravenclaw common room.
"Thirty-five phoenixes, seventeen Cerberuses?"
"Incorrect."
"Twenty-nine phoenixes, twenty-three Cerberuses?"
"Incorrect. In an empty room there are…"
"Oh, no…"
Watching the numbers on the eagle knocker's riddle begin to "reset" again, Xenophilius Lovegood tugged at his hair in anguish, his forehead heavily pressed against the hard wooden door, emitting a helpless groan.
Undoubtedly, more than a decade had passed, and Hogwarts Castle had changed quite a bit in the meantime, especially the way to enter the Ravenclaw common room, which had long become completely different from what Xenophilius remembered.
After dozens of attempts, Xenophilius had finally managed to figure out some patterns.
Perhaps to prevent students from using clever tricks to cheat, the current Ravenclaw eagle knocker, after asking a "phoenixes and Cerberuses" question, would automatically update the values in the question if it was answered incorrectly twice in a row.
After discovering this terrifying rule, the imaginative Xenophilius Lovegood subconsciously put himself in the shoes of his younger self, and all sorts of tragic scenes couldn't help but flash through his mind.
Imagine a group of Ravenclaw chicks racking their brains at the door, with only one answer attempt left, when a passing Gryffindor student casually blurts out a wrong answer; or, facing such a devilish question, several people speak at the same time to answer, but the correct answer just happens to be the third one said…
"Luna, Luna, can you hear me?"
Xenophilius Lovegood pounded on the door, his face filled with anxiety and restlessness.
Although that Aileen Caslana was just a little girl under the age of eleven.
But for some reason, whenever he thought about his little Luna being alone with that child, Mr. Lovegood felt an inexplicable sense of irritability in his heart, as if—seeing his own Dirigible Plums (a plant similar to small carrots) being stolen by wild boars, no, to be precise, a much stronger emotion.
For the first time in his life, Xenophilius felt a trace of regret that he hadn't chosen the Arithmancy course back then. If he had chosen that course, at least he wouldn't be so helpless in the face of the eagle knocker's questions.
"Ahem, excuse me, sir, what are you doing?"
Just then, a frail, gentle voice suddenly came from behind Xenophilius.
"Eh, Professor Dumbledore…"
Xenophilius Lovegood turned around, looked at the old wizard who appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and stopped halfway through his sentence, frowning and carefully sizing up the unfamiliar old man.
Because the old wizard was wearing wizard robes that seemed exactly the same as those of the Hogwarts headmaster, at first glance, Xenophilius almost mistook him for Albus Dumbledore, who had said he was going to greet the Ministry of Magic crowd.
However, the next second, Xenophilius immediately realized—compared to Dumbledore, who had a long, silver-white beard and a full head of white hair, this old man with a wrinkled face, but a bald chin and hair, was too unique.
"I'm Xenophilius Lovegood, the editor of *The Quibbler*, and a graduate of this house."
Noticing the old man's gaze, Xenophilius Lovegood awkwardly withdrew his right hand that had been pounding on the wooden door, briefly introduced himself, and then looked at the old man with some confusion.
"Excuse me, may I ask, who are you…?"
If he remembered correctly, there was definitely no such professor in Hogwarts Castle when he was a student, but logically speaking, it was unlikely that an old wizard of this age would be hired to be a school professor, right?
"Oh, Mr. Lovegood, *The Quibbler*. Yes, Albus told me about it before."
"I am the Hogwarts Castle caretaker, and also the healer in the school infirmary… well, I just arrived at Hogwarts this semester, so it's normal that you don't recognize me, after all, I've been living in seclusion abroad before."
The old wizard stroked his chin and nodded, scanning the wizard standing in front of the Ravenclaw common room door with an eye that seemed to be sizing up a rare flower, and continued with a smile.
"By the way, I've always subscribed to the magazine you founded, and my favorite is the thirty-ninth issue. That issue of *The Quibbler*, the analysis and speculation on the ambitions of the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald and the possible follow-up moves he may have left in the wizarding world, was simply too brilliant."
"Castle caretaker and healer? I see." Xenophilius Lovegood nodded knowingly.
As a Ravenclaw "eagle", he naturally knew that the original Mr. Filch was not good at magic.
In addition to Madam Pomfrey's consistent workload, it was reasonable for Dumbledore to hire an old wizard as a supplement.
Of course, the most important reason that truly put his mind at ease was…
This old wizard accurately stated the content of that long-ago issue of *The Quibbler*. As the editor of the magazine, Xenophilius Lovegood only needed to hear it to know that this old wizard was definitely a loyal old reader of his magazine.
In Xenophilius Lovegood's eyes, whoever subscribes to the genuine *The Quibbler* is definitely one of the few wise, knowledgeable, and uniquely discerning friendly wizarding forces in this world.
"So, is there anything I can help you with? Logically speaking, you shouldn't be alone."
The old wizard looked curiously at the lone wizard, his eyes hovering around him, as if searching for something.
"It's like this, I received an invitation from Professor Dumbledore to come to the castle to discuss some matters regarding the magazine. However, Professor Dumbledore had some temporary matters to deal with, so he asked me to take my daughter around the castle first. Of course, there is also a first-year girl as an escort, named Aileen Caslana, I don't know if you know her."
Xenophilius Lovegood spread his hands, explaining with utmost naturalness.
In his understanding, this old wizard should be looking for Dumbledore's figure.
"Aileen Caslana? Of course, I know her, that's not a kid who lets you relax."
Grindelwald raised his eyebrows, his eyes continuing to roam around vigilantly, afraid that a white fluffy ball might suddenly jump out from some corner and crash into his chest with a milky "rua."
After all, he and Albus had just teased that little girl, and no one knew if that child would take the opportunity to retaliate.
"However, I only see you alone. As for your daughter and Miss Caslana…"
"Although half an hour has passed, if there are no surprises, they should still be in the common room."
Xenophilius Lovegood pointed dejectedly at the cold, ruthless wooden door in front of him, a hint of helplessness and embarrassment on his face, looking at the old wizard in front of him with an expectant gaze.
"Unfortunately, the eagle knocker's questions are really too difficult now, and I haven't been able to get in. If possible…"
"Oh, I understand, it's very simple."
Grindelwald nodded with a smile, slowly walked to Xenophilius's side, and gently knocked on the door.
Before the eagle knocker could speak again to recite the question, the old wizard cleared his throat and clearly recited.
"Open the door."
Then, the wooden door that had been bothering Xenophilius Lovegood for almost half an hour opened gently and without any obstruction, as if there had never been any magical door ban.
???
The expression on Xenophilius Lovegood's face froze—just like that?!
However, soon, the old man solved the question in his heart.
"Don't forget, I'm the castle caretaker." The old wizard blinked happily, the wrinkles on his face seemed to have increased a bit, "Inevitably, I have to post notices, clean the common room, and so on, this is a rare work privilege."
Hogwarts is a magical castle, and undoubtedly, with Dumbledore's help, it was not difficult for Grindelwald to sign a temporary employment agreement with official validity.
You know, the employment contract for Hogwarts faculty and staff is, in a sense, equivalent to a kind of management authority.
"So that's how it is, I was wondering why Mr. Filch could come and go freely in the common room every time."
Xenophilius Lovegood nodded in understanding, without delving into the matter further, quickly walked into the common room, his eyes quickly scanning the room.
Soon the wizard saw the two little lolis who were lying on the sofa not far away, leaning close together to read a book. The two seemed to be immersed in the world of knowledge and didn't notice that the door had opened—phew, thank goodness.
"Thank you, Mr.…"
Xenophilius Lovegood breathed a sigh of relief for no reason, and walked quickly towards his daughter, expressing his gratitude to the old wizard next to him, when he suddenly stopped.
Speaking of which, he was too anxious just now, and he hadn't had time to ask the old wizard's name.
Xenophilius Lovegood stopped, turned around and looked at the old wizard behind him, and asked politely.
"By the way, sorry, I was too anxious just now and forgot to ask, what is your name?"
"Otto, Otto Apocalypse."
"Oh, so it's Mr. Apocalypse, thank you very much this time—"
Xenophilius nodded casually, continuing along with the old wizard's words, when his voice stopped again.
Wait!
Apocalypse?!
The same "Apocalypse" as "Theresa Apocalypse"?!
The various seemingly strange things that had happened in the wizarding world this month, and the strange details he had seen in Hogwarts today, as well as the shadow of what Dumbledore seemed to be hiding in his previous words…
Countless fragments, pictures, and fields flashed through Xenophilius Lovegood's mind…
Finally, gradually converging into an extremely terrible guess…
A… a terrible "fact" that even Xenophilius dared not admit…

Goo ya ~ Today is another big chapter of three thousand words!
Remember to give [Aileen Caslana] love, fat chickens, woo woo woo ~ it's almost her birthday~~
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