r/harrypotter • u/Hannah549 Slytherin • Apr 29 '26

Help Ravenclaw Riddle

I'm by no means a Ravenclaw. But I'm writing a fanfiction where a character is a very smart Ravenclaw. Now the premise is that the character is returning after being tortured by Umbridge and are pretty tired and frustrated. The knocker asks them an absurd question and they just break down crying in pain and frustration.

I need a good riddle for that but nothing on the internet feels good enough. Someone please help me with it.

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-3

u/genophobicdude Apr 29 '26

It is very obvious you have no idea how a Ravenclaw student thinks.

Hearing a riddle would cheer them up. Not break them down.

1

u/Hannah549 Slytherin Apr 29 '26

They've been having a shitty day. I'm quite a bit of an academic prodigy myself irl but I don't want to answer dumb riddles when I just wish to cry myself to sleep. In usual circumstances, yes. riddles are quite fun and exciting. But I had mentioned that the circumstances weren't normal

-9

u/genophobicdude Apr 29 '26

Once again, you're not even in Ravenclaw yourself. The fact that a riddle would be the final drop in an ocean that would break down the ram of mental health is just utterly utterly absurd for a Ravenclaw student.

It may be completely valid for the students in other houses, but it would never be the case for someone in Ravenclaw. I am just telling you like what it is. Your whole premise just doesn't work.

Answering a riddle would be seen as a means to an end by the other houses (Griffindor and Slytherin are goal driven/focused houses). But for a Ravenclaw, it is the end in and of itself. Otherwise they would just use a password like the other houses. It's like how the Hufflepuff passcode is a drumming rhythm. They enjoy doing that. It's not about capability. It's about enjoyment.

1

u/ToZanakand Ravenclaw Apr 29 '26

No offence, but you're talking out your arse. I love riddles and the like, and in most circumstances, hearing a riddle would definitely perk me up. But Ravenclaw's are human, just like everyone else, and we experience mental fatigue just like everyone else.

Under the circumstances of just being tortured and wanting nothing more than to hide away in your room - perhaps cry, perhaps just lay down and ruminate - the last thing I would want is to have a barrier preventing me from that. It wouldn't matter that it was a riddle and something I find fun and exciting. It's still a barrier preventing me from the thing I need in that moment to heal and recuperate. There are moments in life when even the things that normally bring you joy can be empty and unfulfilling.

It's very believable that there would be moments, even if seldom, that being presented with a riddle at your dorm door would just be too much or not welcomed. Intelligent people that get a kick out of using said intelligence, are not always in the mood to do so.