Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

"..."

And Ryan obviously didn't know what to say.

"Anyway, thanks for saving me—good night, Ryan."

"Goodnight, Cedric."

He said a formal goodbye to Cedric, who left the kitchen.

And Ryan was of course also confused at this time.

He didn't know why Peeves treated him like this - although he had always wanted to study him, it was just an idea.

Peeves can't possibly have Legilimency, right? I haven't heard the Geminis mention that.

Ryan muttered to himself, but he did not forget why he came to the kitchen.

It was difficult for him to ask when Cedric was here, but now it was obviously no problem.

"Everyone."

He looked at the house-elf.

"Oh, sir—would you like some strawberry pudding for dessert?"

"...You can have one with less frosting... ahem, that's not what I'm talking about."

Ryan said hesitantly.

"I'm wondering if you know of four people who might have been students at Hogwarts..."

He mentioned the four nicknames on the Marauder's Map.

But after hearing his words, the elves in the kitchen looked at each other in confusion.

It was obvious—they had no clue.

"It seems you don't know."

Ryan sighed.

He could understand and even knew that this was actually normal.

It's true that the house-elves have always been in school, but they have seen too many students.

It's not certain that the four creators of the Marauder's Map had ever actually been in the kitchen together, and it's even less likely that they would mention each other's nicknames in the kitchen.

It's normal for the elves to not remember the person's appearance and name since they don't know the person's appearance and name.

But even though he could understand it, Ryan still felt a little disappointed.

Because this is his only possible clue about the treasure left by the four teachers - if this clue is broken, he may have to go back to the carpet-style exhaustive search.

However, upon thinking of this, he simply asked, "Let's not talk about these four titles... Perhaps you know something about the four founders of Hogwarts? For example, the treasures they left behind?"

He asked with a glimmer of hope

But as expected, the house-elves looked at each other again.

They obviously still don't know anything.

So Ryan sighed in disappointment.

"All right..."

He even lost his appetite for a moment: "Pack up the pudding for me."

The house-elves then hurriedly apologized, and one elf even tried to bang his head against the boiler in an attempt to remember something.

But at this moment...

"Mr. Elias, I don't know what treasure it is, but I've heard a legend!"

A shrill voice came.

"Golden needle?"

Ryan turned his head and found that the person who spoke was the house-elf he was most familiar with.

"What legend?"

Ryan asked quickly.

“It’s a flower garden…”

Golden Needle seemed a little nervous: "It's a legend passed down by my ancestors - the great 'Golden Needle' ancestor was glorious, one of the first group of house-elves brought into the castle by the great Hufflepuff."

"Legend has it that they once followed the great Hufflepuff to a nursery... a Hufflepuff nursery!"

Chapter 53 Ancient Legend, Hufflepuff's Nursery!

The house-elves at Hogwarts were recruited by Ms. Hufflepuff.

It is said that the great founder created a special magical contract that bound the house-elves to the service of the castle of Hogwarts itself.

No one knows how this legendary witch did it, and other wizards in the magical world simply attribute it to the powerful magic of the founder.

But few people really care about the house-elves at Hogwarts themselves.

No one cared what they thought, and no one asked about the glory of their fathers or ancestors—what glory could there be for house-elves?

So much so that almost the vast majority of wizards, even most of the headmasters throughout history, don't know...

Many of the names of the house-elves at Hogwarts have been passed down from generation to generation.

Just as Jinzhen said when he first met Ryan - his mother, his grandfather... every generation of house-elves in their family was called 'Jinzhen'!

Although most wizards don't care at all, for Jinzhen... this is his honor!

And what was passed down to him along with the glory was an ancient story.

"My mother...she is also a glorious 'Golden Needle'."

Jinzhen kept talking.

"She told me that it was the great Hufflepuff herself who gave her the name, in recognition of an ancestor who had once visited a nursery and cared for her beloved plants."

His body and shrill voice were practically trembling: "That is the highest honor!"

"It was a nursery illuminated by golden light."

He spoke longingly.

"There are all kinds of magical plants there—the guardian tree, the two-headed sunwood, the snow-headed fig... Mandrakes won't cry there, the Whomping Willow will become gentle there, and the light of the silverroot is like stars falling to the ground at night."

"There's a large, colorful pool there, and a single sip of the water can wash away all fatigue and scars... It's said that magical beasts also go there, and even the most incompatible Thestrals and Unicorns will cheer together under the dancing of the Puffballs."

"And in the center of that nursery, atop a giant tree grew a tiny sun, illuminating every corner of the nursery... That was the paradise of life, so mortals could neither find nor set foot there."

As he spoke the latter part, it was almost like singing.

"The elves who have been serving the great wizards at Hogwarts should have known this story, but over time, many of the elf elders have not passed it down - but the golden needle still remembers it... the golden needle will remember it forever!"

Jinzhen said proudly.

"You... Mr. Elias, you are the first wizard to ask about it."

But after listening to his words, Ryan almost froze in place.

Because what Jinzhen said was too unbelievable.

The guardian tree and the double-headed yang wood need a warm environment to grow, while the snow-headed fig is just the opposite, it needs an extremely cold environment.

So it is impossible for them to grow together.

The deadly Mandrake can't stop roaring, and the Whomping Willow... no tree is more violent.

Not to mention the saying that 'one sip of the pool water can wash away all fatigue and scars'.

Unless they used the highest-grade healing potion to form a pool, but given the difficulty and time involved in brewing that kind of potion, even the smallest pool would probably exhaust three Snapes.

As for stories like "Thestrals and unicorns dancing together" and "The sun grows on trees", Ryan thinks they are more like fairy tales than facts.

This is fake - Ryan's reason told him.

But at the same time, Ryan couldn't help but think of the huge amount of plant materials and seeds left by Hufflepuff in his ring.

As mentioned before, he had always been curious about where Hufflepuff got such a large amount of magical plant materials.

but now...

If the paradise that Jinzhen talked about, the 'Hufflepuff's nursery' really existed.

Then the origin of these materials seems to be explained.

Of course, the most important thing is that Ryan has no idea about the treasure left by his teachers, so he doesn't mind using a fairy tale that sounds very dreamy as a clue.

"So, think about it... What if—just what if—that nursery really existed, and it existed somewhere in Hogwarts."

Ryan muttered.

"So, where will it be?"

It doesn't even require thinking.

"Yes, the answer is simple - the Forbidden Forest."

This is the only answer.

This huge forest is now a forbidden area for Hogwarts students.

This forest also existed thousands of years ago, but it was not as big as it is today.

Only in the Forbidden Forest could the things that Jinzhen mentioned exist.

so...

"Thank you, Jinzhen."

Ryan said to Jinzhen very seriously: "I have to tell you again - your name is really great."

This sentence made the other house-elves look at Jinzhen with envy.

Jinzhen puffed out his chest proudly.

Afterwards, Ryan decisively said goodbye to the house-elves - of course, he did not forget to take the pudding he had packed.