It was clear that the King Arthur depicted in the portrait—wearing a magnificent crown and gleaming silver armor—was also experiencing something new. This was the first time he had witnessed such a large gathering of Knights of the Round Table portraits inside Hogwarts Castle, and his expression was brimming with excitement.
Perhaps after spending several hundred years as a mere imitation of King Arthur inside a portrait, he had finally found a legitimate excuse to convene a formal Round Table council.
Naturally, he appeared eager to display his royal dignity and authority. Standing proudly within his frame, he gestured grandly as though presiding over an ancient court.
Below him, the knights in the other portraits shifted restlessly.
Arthur cleared his throat dramatically and began issuing instructions, speaking with all the gravity of a monarch addressing his court.
Unfortunately, everyone present understood a simple truth.
They were all just figures inside portraits.
At most, because of Arthur's legendary status as the king of Camelot, the other knights occasionally showed him a little respect. After all, legends carried weight even in painted form.
When they heard that Arthur had summoned them—especially since the request came from a Hogwarts professor—the knights had gladly traveled across the castle to attend.
But if Arthur expected them to truly behave like loyal subjects… that was another matter entirely.
Most of the knights depicted in these portraits did not share the same painting as Arthur. They were independent portraits scattered across Hogwarts. Because of this, they did not feel particularly obligated to obey him.
The result was predictable.
Arthur stood above them delivering his speech with great enthusiasm, but very few knights were actually listening.
Some were chatting with their neighbors.
Others were adjusting their armor.
A few were arguing loudly about whether the current Hogwarts castle looked better or worse than it had centuries ago.
The entire scene gradually devolved into noisy chaos.
Professor Bathsheda Babbling finally stepped forward with a sigh.
Raising her wand calmly, she spoke in a clear and authoritative voice.
"Hush now, Knights of Camelot."
A faint glow shimmered at the tip of her wand.
In an instant, magical power swept through the portraits.
The loud arguments immediately stopped.
Hundreds of knights froze mid-motion, as if time itself had been briefly paused. Even the warhorses beneath them stopped stamping their hooves.
Silence filled the Trophy Room.
Professor Babbling nodded in satisfaction.
"Very well, Knights. Thank you for gathering here today."
She glanced across the portraits, making sure she had everyone's attention.
"I summoned you because I have several questions regarding the history of Hogwarts."
Then she gestured toward Ryze, signaling for him to step forward.
"Please explain the situation."
Ryze nodded politely and stepped closer to the portraits.
Taking a moment to organize his thoughts, he began describing the mysterious room he had seen—its strange atmosphere, the surrounding environment, and the unusual features that suggested it might date back to a thousand years ago.
Because of the magic controlling them, the knights could only listen quietly.
Even the most restless among them stood still as Ryze spoke.
When he finished explaining everything he had witnessed, the magical restraint faded.
Immediately, King Arthur reacted.
"Ahem!"
He cleared his throat loudly and quickly seized the moment.
"Yes! As many of you already know, the esteemed Lady Bathsheda approached me yesterday to inquire about events from a thousand years ago."
He raised his hand dramatically, gesturing toward the gathered knights.
"All of you here are knights who have been stationed within Hogwarts Castle since its earliest days. If any of you possess knowledge regarding this matter, step forward and share your memories with Lady Bathsheda and these young wizards!"
Because Professor Babbling was still watching closely, the knights did not immediately descend back into chaos.
Instead, they began discussing the mysterious room among themselves.
"A room from a thousand years ago?"
"That's far too long ago…"
"I can barely remember what happened three hundred years ago."
Many of the knights scratched their heads thoughtfully.
Most of them truly could not recall anything from such a distant era.
The Hogwarts they remembered was much closer to the castle's appearance in the past few centuries.
Still, a few knights cautiously suggested several locations they believed might match Ryze's description.
Each time, Ryze hurried to investigate the suggested area.
And each time, he returned with the same result.
Not a match.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the knights decided to change their approach.
Instead of guessing randomly, they began reconstructing the layout of Hogwarts floor by floor according to their memories.
Hogwarts Castle contained an enormous number of rooms.
Many had been abandoned over the centuries.
Others had been sealed by magic for safety or secrecy.
Because of this, there were countless places that might fit Ryze's description.
The knights began discussing each floor in detail.
Whenever disagreements occurred, they used a simple rule: the minority obeyed the majority.
Little by little, they pieced together a rough reconstruction of what Hogwarts might have looked like a thousand years ago.
While the discussion continued, Terry leaned closer to Ryze and whispered quietly.
"I have to say… I don't think that King Arthur is very impressive."
Ryze raised an eyebrow.
Terry continued, lowering his voice even further.
"I'm starting to suspect the painter liked Merlin much more than Arthur."
He smirked.
"Maybe that's why Arthur ended up looking like a fool who always depends on Merlin."
Ryze tried not to laugh.
Terry glanced toward another portrait.
"Honestly, Mordred seems far more reliable."
He nodded toward the group of portraits currently maintaining order.
"Right now it's him and Merlin who are actually controlling the discussion."
After a brief pause, Terry added thoughtfully:
"Oh—and Morgan is helping in the background too."
He rubbed his chin.
"Actually… I suspect the person who pulled Merlin's beard earlier might have been Morgan."
Terry had never been particularly interested in the stories of King Arthur, so he watched the entire scene with an amused expression.
Meanwhile, Anthony, who had been standing nearby, seemed thoroughly unimpressed with the behavior of these so-called legendary knights.
Shaking his head, he walked away and began discussing dueling techniques with the unfortunate Dueling Champion portrait instead.
Ryze and Michael, however, continued listening attentively.
After all, aside from portraits and ghosts, almost no one still remembered what Hogwarts had looked like a thousand years ago.
Hearing fragments of ancient gossip from these knightly portraits was surprisingly entertaining.
As the discussion continued, Ryze began to think this meeting would likely drag on until noon.
But just then—
A small figure suddenly appeared at the edge of one portrait.
A short knight in battered armor trotted unsteadily into view, riding a small pony.
He looked exhausted.
Holding a broken wand, he wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Phew…"
He sighed dramatically.
"It's been ages since I traveled this far. What a difficult expedition!"
The knight struggled to control the pony beneath him.
Unfortunately, the pony seemed determined to ignore every command.
It tugged stubbornly at the reins, attempting to wander off in another direction.
"Oh, my little horse," the knight muttered helplessly. "Don't misbehave again. We've already caused quite enough trouble on this journey."
Finally noticing the young wizards nearby, the knight waved cheerfully at Anthony.
"Hey there, young wizard!"
He pointed ahead with his broken wand.
"Could you confirm something for me?"
"This is where the Round Table council is being held, right?"
He patted his pony apologetically.
"My pony is a bit unruly, so we ended up taking a very long detour around the castle."
Anthony stared at the somewhat ridiculous knight.
But because the man's appearance was so distinctive, Anthony quickly recognized him.
"You are… Sir Cadogan?"
Unlike King Arthur, Sir Cadogan was not particularly famous in the Muggle world.
However, in the wizarding world, his name carried a certain reputation.
According to legend, Sir Cadogan had originally been a wizard living during King Arthur's era.
Through his friendship with Merlin, he somehow managed to join the Knights of the Round Table.
His most famous story involved a duel with a dragon.
The dragon had snapped his wand.
Then it had eaten his horse.
And to make matters worse, its fiery breath melted the armor on his body.
Most knights would have fled.
But not Sir Cadogan.
After losing his horse, he found a small pony grazing nearby and immediately mounted it.
Then he charged straight toward the dragon.
Just before the dragon could devour him and the pony together, Sir Cadogan thrust his broken wand into the dragon's tongue.
The wand exploded.
And somehow, against all logic, the dragon was defeated.
Because of this ridiculous but heroic story, a saying later appeared in the wizarding world:
"I will ride Cadogan's pony."
It described someone making a desperate, all-out effort to turn the tide of battle.
Though in practice, the phrase was often used jokingly.
When Sir Cadogan heard Anthony recognize him, his chest puffed up proudly.
"Ah! So my heroic deeds are still remembered!"
He straightened his back dramatically.
"As long as someone remembers the legend of Sir Cadogan, I shall never abandon the fight!"
He attempted to spur his pony forward in a heroic pose.
Unfortunately, the pony completely ignored him.
The awkward moment made his grand gesture look rather ridiculous.
Just then—
Ryze, who had been watching from the corner of his eye, suddenly froze.
Something about Sir Cadogan looked familiar.
Very familiar.
A memory flashed in his mind.
The blurred knight figure he had seen during his Divination vision.
Ryze's eyes widened.
He stepped forward quickly and pointed at the small knight.
"Wait!"
"I remember now!"
His voice echoed through the room.
"The blurry knight I saw in the Divination… it was him!"
He pointed directly at the bewildered Sir Cadogan.
"It must have been Sir Cadogan!"
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