sometimes I think about the Ravenclaw Bronze Knocker, because I’m sure Rowena Ravenclaw was a very witty and fun conversationalist, and I feel like she probably wouldn’t have just made this lovely little knocker and said, “Okay, all you do is give riddles.”
no, I think maybe the door knocker has a lot to say, but it’s shy? or it’s embarrassed because sometimes people get very frustrated when they can’t get the riddle correct and it doesn’t want them to be angry with it for not letting them enter. there’s a lot of options for why the knocker might not always let people in on the fact that it can say anything it likes, not just riddles.
and I like to think that maybe, one night, some Ravenclaw comes back to the tower DRUNK AF and can’t get the riddle correct and finally sits down nearby to wait for someone else to come along. and all of a sudden this kid just goes, “Hey, can we talk?”
and the knocker’s like, “…..Pardon me?”
“Because I was thinking about riddles and I was wondering if, like, you’re programmed with a certain number of riddles and you just recycle them every so often or if you have an unlimited list somewhere or if you make some up as you go?”
and for a long moment, the kid and the knocker just sit there, looking at one another. and finally the knocker says, “It’s a bit of a mix of all three, really.”
and this kid’s off and running suddenly with a million questions. “Do you feel more like a bird or a door knocker? What do you do when nobody’s around? Can you move around like the paintings? Do you wish you could fly? Did you have witty banter with Rowena Ravenclaw? Do you have favorite students? Why do you never talk to us?”
and - huh- it just hit me that maybe the reason the knocker doesn’t speak is that it’s not supposed to make chit chat unless the students or teachers initiate it because, “Ravenclaw isn’t just about answering difficult riddles, you should be observant and kind and interested in everyone and everything; people are supposed to ask ME a question about myself before I’m allowed to speak to them casually.”
and the kid, who’s still pretty drunk but has kind of been sobering up during this, is like, “Huh, yeah, that sounds like something Rowena would do.”
and over the course of this conversation, the two have kind of become buds and the kid says, “Hey, do you have a name?”
and the knocker starts laughing and says, “Yes, but it’s getting very late and you should go to bed, so I will make you a proposition: I will let you into the tower for an IOU riddle. You can come back tomorrow with the answer, okay?”
and the kid’s like, “yeah sure okay,
I am super tired.”
and the knocker lets the kid in after giving them the riddle. the next day, the kid comes back with the answer and it’s the knocker’s name and they become really good friends and at first a bunch of people are really confused when they see their friend standing outside chatting with the door knocker but then everyone is so excited that it can talk and SUDDENLY THE DOOR KNOCKER GETS TO TALK TO TONS OF PEOPLE AND I just want the Ravenclaw knocker to get a lot of attention and love like the Fat Lady’s portrait does.
and that’s all, folks!
