Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 107 Dumbledore, you'll regret this!

Dumbledore knew very well that Minerva McGonagall was angry.

The fact that only a silent guardian has been sent is entirely out of consideration for his face—if he continues to be tactless or fails to provide a reasonable explanation, the next one to arrive will likely be a message delivered by voice or roar.

So he hurriedly said goodbye to Fudge and rushed back to school, where he found Professor McGonagall with a stern face in the school infirmary. Daphne stood beside her, head bowed and silent, her eyes constantly glancing at a hospital bed in the corner of the ward. Behind the two of them, a magical creature made of skeletons with fire-breathing hooves was listlessly staring blankly.

When Dumbledore saw the nightmare behind Daphne, he was somewhat surprised, but he quickly composed himself and focused his attention on Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, I'm back." Dumbledore greeted Professor McGonagall with a gentle smile, only to be met with a cold shoulder from her.

She glanced at Dumbledore expressionlessly, then pointed to Harry and Ron lying on the hospital bed beside her.

"Mr. Weasley has a broken femur, and Mrs. Pomfrey has given him medication. Potter hit his head and has a concussion."

"It's good that she's alright." Dumbledore's expression remained warm. In his view, the current outcome wasn't bad. However, judging from Minerva's expression, he felt it was necessary to have a serious talk with her.

He walked quickly to Daphne's side and gently patted her head.

"A very courageous little girl—"

"If Potter and Weasley hadn't been slandering Professor Snape, I wouldn't have gone down with them!" Daphne's words were firm and resolute, making Dumbledore and McGonagall a little embarrassed for a moment.

"Now that's settled, Professor Snape is innocent. I hope you can correct Potter's misconception; not every Slytherin is as bad as he thinks!"

Dumbledore gave an awkward but polite smile.

He was well aware that the divide between the four houses had been widening over the years, especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin, where the rivalry was extremely serious—especially after Slytherin produced Tom Riddle, the two houses became even more irreconcilable.

He was powerless to change the current state of the school; it wasn't something he was good at.

Minerva did a good job; she handled the conflict between the two academies fairly. However, she could only be fair; she couldn't bridge the gap between the two sides.

Dumbledore didn't know what the future of schools would hold; he could only place his hopes on the wisdom of future generations. Currently, the outlook is quite optimistic, after all, Harry of Gryffindor and Daphne of Slytherin can embark on adventures together, which is a very good start.

"You're absolutely right," Dumbledore nodded with a smile, looking at Daphne and saying very seriously, "You are the one who truly inherited the excellent qualities of Slytherin."

Dumbledore played a trick on language, only saying that Daphne inherited excellent qualities, while cleverly glossing over the Slytherin tradition of pure-blood supremacy.

Dumbledore's sudden praise made Daphne a little embarrassed. Her face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, remaining silent: Had she truly inherited the spirit of Slytherin? Should she ask Rice later? He should know more about Slytherin, right?

"So can you tell me what happened?" Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles gleamed with curiosity; he was eager to know what had happened under the trapdoor.

Daphne naturally wouldn't refuse. As she recounted her story, Professor McGonagall stood quietly to the side, her eyes lowered—any retribution could only be set after Daphne had left.

However, Daphne didn't reveal the whole truth. When describing her battle with Voldemort, she attributed the main credit to Nightmare, downplaying her own role in the fight.

In her description, she was floating around in the sky, occasionally throwing a stone at Quirrell on the ground to distract him.

"Oh? You got a crystal ball from the Mirror of Erised?" Upon hearing that Daphne had obtained a crystal ball, Dumbledore hoped that Daphne could talk to him more about it.

Daphne felt embarrassed.

"Ah, that crystal ball is quite pretty. There's a forest inside, and nightmares take walks in there..." She stammered as she said this.

"May I take a look at that crystal ball?" Dumbledore became increasingly interested in the crystal ball Daphne mentioned, because it was quite similar to a precious alchemical artifact he had seen in a record.

Daphne's forehead was beaded with sweat. After a moment of hesitation, she told Dumbledore, as if she had nothing to lose, that she had smashed the crystal ball.

"I didn't know how to use it, and Quirrell and the monster possessing him were closing in. What could I do?"

Dumbledore couldn't help but sigh, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes. He comforted Daphne, telling her that it was good that she was alright.

"Does that crystal ball have any special origin?" Professor McGonagall, who had been listening quietly, was also intrigued.

"I have seen a journal left by a medieval wizard, which contains a story."

Daphne: ?

Did you also obtain information through mail and manuscripts from medieval wizards?

Dumbledore didn't notice Daphne's change in mindset. He told Professor McGonagall that the journal entry mentioned that Slytherin had once bought a crystal ball from Ravenclaw using books that filled an entire room.

She (Royna) threw away the books she had read, keeping only those she hadn't. Salazar wrote to me about this and went to great lengths to buy hundreds more books to reach the required number for the exchange.

Judging from Daphne's description, what she received was the crystal ball that Slytherin had gone to great lengths to obtain from Ravenclaw.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

After hearing Daphne's account, Dumbledore understood what had happened under the trapdoor. Daphne no longer needed to be involved. He stood up and told her to go and have Madam Pomfrey examine her thoroughly; if she was alright, she could return to the common room to rest.

As for the nightmare that Daphne obtained from the crystal ball, Dumbledore suggested that she give it to Hagrid so that he could keep it safe.

After Daphne led Nightmare away from the ward, Professor McGonagall could no longer contain herself. She strode up to Dumbledore and said sternly, "Dumbledore, you'll regret this!"

Dumbledore couldn't help but take off his glasses, sigh, and rub his aching temples.

"Minerva, please allow me to explain."

Lying in the corner of the ward, Rice quietly pricked up her ears and listened attentively to the conversation between the two.

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.

Update delivered! Next update coming soon!

(End of this chapter)