After obtaining valuable information from the Bloody Baron, Phineas bid him farewell and returned alone to the Slytherin common room.
He didn't go straight to the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor. He understood perfectly well that, even if he didn't discover anything, someone was bound to be watching him.
That watcher could be a professor, concerned for his safety—or a fellow student, sent by their family.
Over the past few years, the wizarding families that had once suffered due to their failed attempts to undermine the Black family had gradually recovered. But now that Phineas was at Hogwarts, they couldn't openly attack him—unless he was expelled from the school.
That was why they had their children keeping a close eye on him, hoping to catch him in some kind of wrongdoing. With enough pressure, they could force Headmaster Dumbledore to expel him.
Expulsion from Hogwarts often meant the breaking of one's wand. In other words, if Phineas were expelled, he'd become powerless—a lamb for the slaughter.
Phineas understood this all too well, which was why he chose to bide his time in the common room and wait for the right opportunity. Moreover, there was another important consideration: Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets was not something just anyone could enter. There had to be certain conditions. He vaguely remembered the original story mentioning something about Parseltongue. If that was accurate, then he would likely have to wait until Harry Potter arrived at Hogwarts in two years before he'd have any hope of opening the Chamber himself.
Aside from clues about Slytherin's chamber, he had no idea whether the other three founders had left behind their own legacies or hidden chambers.
Should he give up on the task?
Honestly, Phineas didn't want to. The rewards for this task were immense. Even just the first stage would allow him to improve a chosen magical talent or skill by one level. While that didn't sound extraordinary at first, if he used it to enhance his aptitude for Transfiguration, it would raise all related abilities. If he applied it to Alchemy, he might immediately gain the talent for it—or even begin learning it directly. Even a basic understanding would be a huge gain, considering he'd never studied it before.
And besides, the inheritances themselves could hold far greater value than the system's rewards.
Since he wasn't willing to give up, he had no choice but to continue investigating.
After Slytherin, his next logical choice was Ravenclaw—especially if the rumor was true that the ghost known as the Grey Lady was actually Helena Ravenclaw.
Phineas wasn't the type to act on a mere hunch. He preferred to confirm his theories before taking action—particularly when the risks involved offending two dangerous ghosts. If the Grey Lady truly was Helena, then the Bloody Baron was her killer and also the one who had loved her. Asking about it directly could permanently alienate both.
So, he set out to confirm the truth first.
Thus began another period of relentless reading and research. He had little time to worry about the wary glances from other students.
Soon, a familiar sight became common at Hogwarts: a lone boy wandering the corridors, nose buried in a book, while other students eyed him curiously or suspiciously. An invisible wall seemed to separate him from the rest of the school.
After several days, Phineas finally uncovered something in an unofficial historical account of Hogwarts' founding.
According to the text, when Helena was young, she aspired to surpass her mother in intelligence and fame. In her ambition, she stole Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem and fled to Albania—a land dominated by mountains and forests. Remote and rugged, it was ideal for hiding, and also rich in magical relics.
Despite knowing where Helena had gone, Rowena Ravenclaw didn't chase after her. She merely waited. When her health began to fail, she asked a man who had long loved Helena—a noble named Sir Barrow—to find her daughter.
Sir Barrow was a powerful wizard. He tracked Helena to the forests of Albania and told her of her mother's illness. But Helena, believing he was lying, refused to return. They quarreled. In the heat of the moment, Barrow killed her.
Realizing what he had done, Barrow was overcome with guilt. In despair, he took the very dagger he had used to stab Helena and turned it on himself, dying beside her.
Helena, after death, came to regret everything. Upon learning her mother had truly been dying, she decided not to leave again. She returned to Hogwarts, but by the time she arrived, Rowena was already gone.
Thereafter, Helena assumed the name "the Grey Lady" and became the ghost of Ravenclaw House. Similarly, Barrow's spirit followed her, becoming the ghost of Slytherin.
Phineas closed the book, his expression solemn. The story aligned closely with his suspicions—but how the author had learned such personal details about Helena, Rowena, and Barrow remained a mystery.
He glanced at the title page, hoping to find the author's name, but there was none—only a single capital letter: S. The book had been written under a pseudonym. It contained not just the tale of Helena and Ravenclaw, but also stories about the other founders.
What shocked Phineas most was that the book hadn't been officially published. It was a family heirloom—an ancestral volume that had, somehow, found its way into public circulation.
The seller who had given it to Phineas was a werewolf wizard in the magical market. In this era, Wolfsbane Potion had not yet been developed, and werewolves lived under harsh conditions. That man had sold Phineas more than just rare books—he had parted with ancient magical artifacts as well.