"How is it? Isn't this a novel experience?" Rowena's voice came from behind Aries's head.
The sensation was indeed extremely novel. Aries felt as if a pair of eyes had grown on the back of her head, allowing her to see everything behind her clearly. Yet when she reached back to touch it, the back of her head was still covered in hair, with no extra face appearing.
The strange feeling she had originally imagined, like having a tumor growing on her body, did not appear at all. Rowena Ravenclaw's soul had perfectly merged with her own.
This was exactly what Rowena had hoped for.
"Let's go. Let us embrace true freedom," Rowena said.
"Mhm!" Aries nodded excitedly.
She moved swiftly and soon arrived at the seal in the dungeon.
When they reached the entrance of the seal, both Aries and Rowena within her grew tense. Aries wanted to seek guidance from Ravenclaw, but at that moment, Rowena seemed to fall into silence, offering no response.
With unease in her heart, Aries imitated what Rhys had done earlier and pressed her hand against the stone wall formed by the seal.
Something remarkable happened. Aries, who had only stepped into Hogwarts for the first time that very day and had even entered as a prisoner, unexpectedly obtained permission to enter and leave the most secret core area of Hogwarts.
Only after passing through the seal did Rowena's voice sound again.
"As for your identity, I've already arranged everything. Trust me, there won't be any mistakes in a place like this."
"Then don't suddenly go silent like that. I was scared to death," Aries said with a wry smile.
'I was even more nervous than you!' Rowena thought to herself. She knew very well what kind of safeguards she had left behind back then. If the restriction had detected her presence just now, her escape plan would have fallen through again.
"You should pick a new name. You can't have people calling you Aries forever," Rowena said, smoothly changing the subject.
Aries felt that Rowena made sense. After thinking for a moment, she decided to call herself "Aries" in a different form to signify her rebirth.
Rowena: "…"
It was like a potato renaming itself from 'poe-tay-toe' to 'poe-tah-toe' but she could accept it.
"Is it really alright? You abandoned your physical body. Won't that greatly reduce your combat ability?" As they walked toward the surface, Aries suddenly asked.
She felt a bit uneasy. What troubled her was not what harm Ravenclaw, now residing within her, might cause, but whether, when something happened, Ravenclaw would be able to protect her.
Rowena naturally understood her thoughts and felt somewhat speechless.
"Don't worry. Your body is already sufficient for me to make use of. After all, your domain is very similar to mine."
In simple terms, Aries's "hardware" was excellent, but her own ability was too poor to fully utilize it. It was the exact opposite of Rhys's situation when he had just awakened.
"Oh, I see." Aries nodded thoughtfully, indicating she understood.
"There's one more thing I'm puzzled about. Earlier, I saw two girls carrying fragments of a domain with them. Why is that Rhys so bold, daring to share his domain with others? Isn't he afraid of weakening his combat strength?" With someone now inside her, Aries simply poured out all the questions in her mind.
She had already begun treating Rowena as someone to answer her doubts.
"His combat strength will indeed decrease, but not in the way you imagine," Rowena actually began explaining it to her.
Aries had thought her combat strength would decrease proportionally, but in reality it would only drop by a fixed amount. For someone like her, whose strength was only ten, losing four points meant a forty percent decrease.
"But Rhys's combat strength might be a thousand, or even ten thousand. For him, that level of impact is negligible."
Aries: "…"
Though it stung a little, her doubts had been answered.
The two of them chatted as they made their way to the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
Looking around, Aries had to admit that Hogwarts truly lived up to its heritage as a thousand-year-old school. Any random painting on the walls could be several hundred years old.
Rowena, meanwhile, fell into a long silence.
This place was so different from what she remembered.
The Hogwarts of the past had not been decorated with so many paintings, nor had it possessed these flashy suits of armor.
Of course, calling those suits of armor flashy was not entirely unfair. With Rowena's insight, she could naturally see their true, hidden purpose.
"Come, let's walk around the campus first," Rowena instructed.
"Is that… really alright?" Aries hesitated slightly. She was worried about running into castle staff and causing trouble.
"It's fine. If anything happens, I'll handle it for you. The priority right now is for me to find a way to get you a job at Hogwarts."
"Huh?" Rowena's words caught Aries off guard. She had not expected this ancient Mage to be so kind, even willing to help solve her employment.
"I actually still have an account at Gringotts Wizarding Bank with some savings in it…"
Even without a physical head in the usual sense, Rowena still felt a headache coming on. Somewhat unable to bear it any longer, she said to Aries, "Hogwarts is far safer than other places! Working here means you won't be troubled by Voldemort or the Secret Society!"
Only then did Aries come to her senses, finally understanding Ravenclaw's true intention.
Rowena was already beginning to regret her decision. She wanted to complain to fate about the injustice she had encountered.
Why was it that someone with a domain so similar to her own would have such a single-minded personality? Shouldn't someone like this have awakened a domain related to fire or earth instead?
If fate had a will of its own, it would probably respond: Aries's domain was not self-awakened, but inherited from divine remains.
After reaching an understanding with Ravenclaw, Aries stepped onto the staircase leading to the second floor.
Leaning against the railing, she curiously observed the constantly shifting staircases above and below, voicing her thoughts. "Why did Hogwarts set up magic like this on the stairs? I really can't understand the reason. Was it some kind of student prank?"
Rowena replied in a calm tone, "I did it."
Aries: ?!
"Why would you do that? These stairs are making me dizzy. Anyone new here would definitely get lost, right?"
A trace of pride entered Ravenclaw's voice. "That's exactly the effect I wanted. It creates a great deal of trouble for anyone trying to invade the castle."
Aries fell silent, sinking into thought.
"But that doesn't make much sense… I mean, anyone who can find the school and break through its outer protective magic should already be familiar with the castle's layout, right? Why would they be hindered by something as minor as staircases changing direction? And would such a small trick really affect a wizard who possesses a domain?"
This time, it was Rowena who fell into thought.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI