Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0596 The Room

Bryan narrowed his eyes and his gaze meticulously swept over every inch of this mysterious office as if trying to uncover its deepest secrets. His voice was low as he asked the three young wizards, "Have you already explored this room thoroughly?"

As he asked, he made no immediate move to investigate further, instead waited patiently for their response.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately launched into a comprehensive recounting of their tormenting experience since regaining consciousness after inexplicably fainting in front of the oil painting.

They described in vivid detail about their futile attempts to remove books from the shelves, their efforts to pry open the locked door, and the bewildering news article Dobby had discovered on the room owner's messy desk. Even Harry's recent bold attempt to cast a Disarming Charm on the painting was recounted in full detail.

As Harry listened intently to this recounting, he couldn't help but notice that Professor Watson's expression remained calm showing not a hint of surprise or concern. That is, until the moment the 'Royal Wizards Association' was mentioned in passing. At the utterance of that name, a subtle but unmistakable change flickered across Professor Watson's facial features.

Seizing the opportunity, Harry asked earnestly, his eyes shining with intense curiosity, "Professor, do you know what this Royal Wizards Association is? And this office...we initially thought it belonged to Professor Sprout, but Dobby informed us it doesn't actually belong to any of the Hogwarts professors..."

Bryan remained silent, giving no immediate response or explanation. Instead, after absorbing the details of their recent suffering, he strode towards the desk on the center of the room. It was clear he was intent on examining the newspaper article with his own eyes.

Seeing the silent Professor Watson, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other exchanging meaningful glances filled with unspoken concern. They all realized that this room might be even more mysterious than they had imagined. They had never seen Professor Watson show such a serious expression before!

Hermione, unable to fully conceal the rising panic in her voice despite her best efforts, asked in a small, timid voice, "Professor...are we in very serious trouble? Will I... will I be expelled for this?"

Since Professor Watson's timely arrival, the three young wizards and two enthusiastic house-elves had instinctively flocked to him having found a backbone to rely on. They now followed closely at his back as he examined the newspaper, anxiously awaiting his findings and any hint of reassurance.

"Expulsion is not currently part of my planned response, Miss Granger," Bryan replied, his tone gently teasing yet still lacking of any trace of a smile. His attention remained focused intently on the newspaper clutched in his hands and his brow began to furrow in deep concentration.

'The Royal Wizards Association. Caerlerd. Three young wizards sent to the stake by the merciless Inquisition….'

These snippets of information swirled in a dizzying vortex through Bryan's racing thoughts as he quickly scanned the article. He could feel his lips pressing together into a thin, stiff line as he processed the shocking implications. He raised his head to examine this uniquely styled office again, and a guess gradually formed in his mind.

It was unknown how passionate the office owner was about cooking. In any case, most of the books on the desk were related to cooking. Before leaving, the office owner was probably still designing new recipes, because Bryan, Harry and the others all saw that on the stack of parchment directly in front of the office chair, the topmost sheet was still scribbled with many ingredients and cooking methods.

But as Bryan's gaze landed on the topmost page of the stack of notes, his eyes abruptly widened in shock. There, amidst the cramped lines of ancient English, a small, seemingly insignificant character suddenly leapt out at his view. His breath quickened, coming in sharp, ragged gasps as he lunged forward, sprawling across the desk in his rush to more closely examine the scribbles.

Professor Watson intense reaction naturally shocked Harry and the others as well. They had all seen the hand-drawn recipe on the topmost sheet of parchment, which seemed to be a method for making chocolate and raspberry ice cream. This was a very common dessert in the Hogwarts dining hall that every wizard here had eaten countless times. There was really nothing strange or shocking about it.

But Hermione's sharp mind quickly found the strange letters from the direction Professor Watson eyes were focused on, and thus also guessed that this was probably the reason for his shock.

"Professor Watson...are those...Greek letters?" she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty. While she had never formally studied the Greek alphabets, her pursuit for knowledge had led her to read numerous texts on the rich history and culture of ancient Greece, from Aristotle to the epic conquests of Alexander the Great.

'Greek letters? Here, at Hogwarts?' The revelation sent Harry's thoughts spinning into overdrive as he frantically ransacked his memory, trying to recall if he had ever encountered a student from that place. But try as he might, he couldn't think of any students from Greece he knew.

"So that's where it was..." After a long silence, Bryan shook his head and laughed, saying something that none of the three could understand.

If the trio had hoped for an explanation, they were greatly disappointed. Professor Watson casually ignored their curious expressions. It seemed he also didn't intend to explain the meaning behind his words but turned his head to look at the three of them with a pensive expression.

"Your deduction is correct, Hermione," Bryan finally confirmed. "Those are indeed Greek letters. When pronounced correctly, they form the word 'Archestratos.'"

'Archestratos.' The unfamiliar name felt strange and unusual on their tongues as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even the often-overlooked house-elves silently repeated it to themselves.

The fact that every faculty member at Hogwarts was a knowledgeable wizard who could read and write some Greek letters was not terribly shocking. In the Ancient Era, particularly the dazzling intellectual achievements of Greece, had served as the essential foundation for many of the most cherished traditions and techniques of Western magic. It was only natural that the professors would have at least a passing familiarity with the language of Homer and Heraclitus in order to fully study classical magical theories.

'But what did this pronunciation represent?' Hermione asked this question, and then she saw Professor Watson show a perplexingly complex smile.

"It's a person's name, Hermione," He said simply, giving no further explanation.

'A person's name! But whose? Some long-dead wizard from the ancient times? Or perhaps a more famous figure from the muggle's side, a chef who was especially famous for his cooking?'n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Before Hermione could press for more details, she saw Professor Watson, who was watching the three of them, suddenly become solemn. This was the same intense, no-nonsense attitude he adopted when teaching them a particularly crucial lesson during their PE classes, and it immediately attracted their attention.

"I hope you three will remember, no, you must remember, Harry, Hermione, and Ron--"

Professor Watson leaned forward slightly and his serious appearance made them uneasy. "If one day, you encounter a moment when you need to prove your identities to me, then say this name, and tell me that I told you this name myself. Don't say anything else, just say this name, understand?"

There were too many incomprehensible things. For a moment, Hermione didn't even know where to start asking. But under the pressure of Professor Watson gaze, she still nodded and asked in a trembling voice, "You mean this name is a... a pre-agreed code for us to prove our identities to you at some point in the future, right Professor Watson?"

"Precisely, Hermione," Bryan confirmed, a note of approval creeping into his solemn tone. "This matter is extremely important. You must remember it well. If you forget, it may bring unforeseeable severe consequences!"

'Archestratos!' Although still completely confused, Professor Watson stern instructions made Hermione understand the importance of the matter. She firmly remembered this name in her mind and vowed to silently recite them a few times before going to bed each day. Beside her, Harry and Ron also had solemn expressions as they promised and desperately memorized the pronunciation.

Bryan stared at the papers on the desk to see if he could find any more valuable information. He didn't seem anxious to leave here. But it was different for Harry and the others. They looked at each other, signaling with their eyes, appearing as if they wanted to say something but stopped. In the end, it was still Harry who mustered up the courage to ask, "Professor Watson?"

"Hmm?" came the distracted response, as Bryan continued to pry at the stiff desk drawer, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"We were just wondering...do you know how we can get out of here to leave this place and get back to the school?"

To their surprise, Professor Watson simply smiled.

"Patience," he advised and his tone was infuriatingly calm. "There's no need to rush. When the moment is right, we'll be able to leave here on our own. For now, we must wait for the room's owner to return—"

'Wait for the room's owner to return?'

Click!

Suddenly, a sharp, crisp sound shattered the oppressive silence as the unmistakable click of a spring mechanism echoed through the room like a thunderclap. Though it was faint, the noise seemed to resound through their very bones, causing Harry, Ron and Hermione to turn their heads towards the door in perfect unison. With bated breath, they watched as the doorknob began to turn at an agonizingly slow motion.

The moment they had been simultaneously dreading and anticipating had finally arrived and a thousand questions burned on the tips of their tongues—'Was the room's owner finally going to show themselves? Who did this bizarre office actually belong to? And why was it connected to that terrifying corridor hidden in the kitchen?'

As the tension rose, Professor Watson's voice came through the air as a stern command laced with an unmistakable trace of warning.

"In a moment, no matter what you see--" He began, gently guiding Harry and the others to the side of the room, his body positioned protectively in front of them.

"Remember to stay calm--"

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