Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 104 Containment

After a slow, agonizing journey, Daphne finally arrived beside the green-robed wizard.

She did this because she had a very bold hypothesis: she believed that the mysterious green-robed wizard in front of her was very likely Rice.

Isn't it strange? That "potion poisoning" could actually happen to Rice. Daphne was skeptical; she even suspected that Rice did it intentionally.

As for the purpose of doing this, perhaps it is to provide an alibi for himself.

Daphne knew that Rice was hiding a secret, one he didn't want to be publicly exposed to the school professors. He certainly seemed like a villain, but after spending a year with Rice, the girl realized he wasn't a bad person.

However, there were things Daphne couldn't understand. She hadn't even gone to see Rice yet, so how could he have prepared an alibi for her with such foresight? There were just too many suspicious points.

There are still many points worth discussing. For example, the Green Wizard's physique does not match that of Rhys, but this could also be because Rhys took Polyjuice Potion. Daphne herself can make such potions, so it's impossible for Rhys not to—he might even be able to guide her.

"Just a little bit to the side, just a little bit more." Daphne moved her feet carefully, trying to see the face under the green-robed wizard's hood.

Unfortunately, the brim of the hood was too long, completely covering his face.

Why not blow a gust of wind and knock his hood off? Daphne had an extremely bold idea.

Daphne dared to be so cheeky because the green-robed wizard had been friendly to her ever since he appeared. He could have done nothing and let Voldemort kill her, but he chose to save her, which meant that he wouldn't really make things difficult for her.

If we analyze the problem using a dichotomy, the current situation can be simply divided into two parts: the Green Wizard is Rice, and the Green Wizard is not Rice.

If he were Rice, it would just be a hood blowing off; compared to their relationship, it wouldn't even be a big deal. If he wasn't Rice, then he would be a highly respected senior wizard, like Dumbledore. How could someone like that make things difficult for a naughty little girl?

To put it bluntly, Daphne realized that she was now in a position where she could do whatever she wanted—if he really wasn't Rice, she would sincerely apologize.

Without hesitation, Daphne summoned a burst of magic and removed the hood from the green-robed wizard's head. Rhys, preoccupied with contemplating how to incorporate the soul fragment into medicine and completely oblivious to Daphne's actions, was caught off guard and Daphne actually succeeded.

After seeing the face clearly, Daphne was certain that the person in front of her was Rice, or at the very least, related to Rice by blood; otherwise, there was no way to explain the appearance of that face.

"Rice?" she asked tentatively.

Rice: ...

I was a bit careless. Even Daphne recognized me at a glance; if Dumbledore were really here, I would definitely arouse his suspicion. With my personality, if I had been willing to drink the Polyjuice Potion made from the hair of other young wizards, Daphne might not have noticed.

But he refused.

Faced with Daphne's questioning, Rice chose not to respond. He merely glanced at Daphne before going back to his own work.

A pang of embarrassment swept through Daphne, and at the same time, her suspicions began to waver: Could it really not be Rice, but rather her brother or something? It was possible, but the probability was low, because Rice had never mentioned it.

He was unwilling to admit it, perhaps because he had some hidden difficulties.

But in any case, he is really strong.

Since "Big Rice" ignored her and Daphne had nothing else to do, she simply lowered her head and stared at her toes.

Then she noticed a remarkable detail: she had landed back on the ground, but the extremely sticky mud hadn't gotten onto her socks.

She stood on tiptoe and looked down at the soles of her feet, which were clean and spotless, without a speck of mud on them.

That's amazing.

She tiptoed and tapped her toes lightly on the ground twice. Then she noticed that the mud seemed to have a mind of its own, sliding directly off the toes of her socks like water droplets falling onto an oilcloth.

Daphne was a little curious and didn't understand why.

"This area is now completely under my magical control, so the soil won't get on your clothes without my 'permission'." Rice, with his back to Daphne, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, directly answering her question.

"Huh? Complete mastery?!" Daphne didn't understand how amazing it was, but she instinctively felt that it seemed very powerful.

"If I wanted, I could even use these soils to experience all five senses—smell, sight, hearing, touch, and taste—but there's no need."

"That's amazing!!!" Daphne covered her mouth.

"It will take some time to set up, and it can only bully newbies who don't understand this." Rice explained briefly and then fell silent.

He rolled up his sleeve, revealing his left arm, and then attached Voldemort's remnant soul to it.

The moment it touched her, countless root-like things sprouted from the remnant soul and connected to Rice's arm. Soon after, a hideous human face appeared on Rice's left arm.

Daphne: !!!

"No!!! What are you doing!!!" She was completely shocked. That was what appeared to be Voldemort's remnant soul! Even if it wasn't Voldemort's remnant soul, it was definitely not a good thing. How could she stick it on her arm!?

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'm just temporarily 'locking it up' here. Otherwise, it would be hard to find a container to put it in right away." Rice stretched out his right hand and poked at the ugly face.

Just as Voldemort, now with a new host, was about to open his eyes, a finger jabbed hatefully into his face. The next moment, a surge of magic rushed in, wrapping Voldemort's remnant soul tightly like cling film, sealing him away firmly.

The sealed Voldemort fell into a deep sleep—which was actually a good thing for him, because in his slumber he wouldn't have to experience that boundless pain.

Daphne swallowed hard; she still felt a strange chill.

Having done all that, Rice prepared to leave. He first found the unfortunate Harry in a corner of the swamp, who had been knocked unconscious by a tree that had sprouted out of the ground after Daphne broke the crystal ball.

Fortunately, there's nothing seriously wrong with her health.

As Rice bent down to lift Harry from the swamp, Daphne noticed that, like herself, Harry's robes were completely free of mud, despite being in the swamp.

After placing Harry on Nightmare, the swamp in front of Rice surged, and several shards of the crystal ball appeared in front of him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The second update is here for you guys! The next update will be tonight. Goodnight everyone~

(End of this chapter)