Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 111 Dumbledore's Precise Score Control

Rice certainly wouldn't ask Hermione to help him with his history of magic homework as Daphne thought. In his view, homework for some subjects was just a formality, enough to fool the professor.

The reason he didn't let Daphne write for him was that the automatic quill pen he had envisioned was already finished. All he needed to do was "feed" it a lot of assignments, and it would be able to write assignments and papers automatically.

It's currently the end of the semester, so he can buy a large number of assignments and papers from senior students at a very low price, and then use them to hone his quill pen writing skills.

"Should I order a thesis for you again, like always?" Daphne, worried about losing her job, subtly inquired about Rice's plans.

"No need, you don't need to write this paper." Rice was very confident in his automatic writing quill and was planning to test his skills with the history of magic paper from his summer homework, so naturally he wouldn't outsource this assignment.

Daphne's face turned pale instantly: her worst fears had come true.

"There's really no need for Granger to write it for you. She's obviously a bookworm who strictly adheres to school rules. She won't agree to it. You don't know what those Ravenclaw students are like—"

"Huh?" Rice was stunned for a moment: he didn't understand what this had to do with Granger.

"Hmm?" Daphne realized that she seemed to have misunderstood something.

After Rice explained it to her briefly, Daphne was instantly amazed.

"There's actually such a good thing!" She could hardly believe her ears.

"Now all I need to do is buy some papers from fifth and seventh graders, then 'fill' them into my quill pen, and I'm all done." Rice explained the principle of his automatic writing quill pen to Daphne in a simple way—recording a huge amount of homework and papers, and then writing a paper based on the previous records when he assigns a task.

Such a paper may be a compilation of a dozen or even dozens of papers, and Rice only needs to polish it after it is written.

After listening to Rice's explanation, Daphne frowned: Every year, graduating students and fifth-year students who have completed their OWLs do sell their textbooks, notes, and assignments at a low price, but a low price doesn't mean they're priceless; they still cost money. According to Rice, he would probably have to buy all the assignments of all graduating students in the entire college, which is no small expense.

I might as well hire someone to write my thesis for me!

Daphne's words silenced Rice.

Although Rice had never heard of the Industrial Revolution, nor was he aware of the phenomenon of some Muggle factory owners preferring to hire workers rather than switch to automated manufacturing, he still felt the same absurdity at that moment.

Fortunately, he was willing to spend whatever it took on this project.

Having understood Rice's determination, Daphne went straight to buy the materials for Rice without hesitation. Although the misunderstanding was cleared up, a sense of crisis still lingered around her, and she needed to find an opportunity to prove herself.

Daphne still had some influence; graduating students and fifth-year students were happy to sell her their assignments and papers. Some kind-hearted upperclassmen reminded her that professors had plagiarism detection methods, and directly copying previous students' papers would definitely get her caught. To this, Daphne simply smiled.

She quickly bought several large boxes of materials.

Rice put the quill pen inside and then closed the lid of the box.

"Is that all?" Daphne couldn't help but ask. The operation of this quill pen was so simple that it was almost like a joke.

"Otherwise what? Use a quill pen to draw lines one by one? What's the point of me developing it then?" Rice retorted.

Soon, after the quill pen had "read" through all the data in several boxes, it was time to test it.

Rice first spread a roll of parchment on the table, then placed a quill pen, which he had taken from a box, on the parchment. The next moment, the quill pen stood upright, its tip hovering an inch above the parchment.

"Write a paper on the significance of the 14th-century practice of witch burning," Rice said softly, frowning as he spoke: witch burning? The words made him physically uncomfortable.

However, he also knew that the Muggles were mostly burning their own people, and very few witches would actually be caught and burned. Even if an unlucky one did appear, the wizarding world would find a way to rescue her and carry out extremely resolute retaliation locally.

We might not be able to win a direct confrontation, but escaping shouldn't be a problem.

Upon receiving the instruction, the quill pen moved swiftly, writing lines of text on the parchment with fluid strokes, occasionally dipping into the ink bottle to dab at the ink.

A few minutes later, a lengthy paper, a full foot long, was produced.

Rice took it and glanced at it, and it didn't seem to have any problems.

Daphne: !

"So can I borrow it to do my summer homework?" she pleaded, her eyes blinking.

Rice decisively rejected her request, because apart from those easy classes, it was still necessary to complete the assignments seriously for the other subjects.

"Eh!" Daphne exclaimed in disappointment.

The closing ceremony was fast approaching, and the Great Hall was newly decorated in Ravenclaw's blue and bronze colors to celebrate their victory in the College Cup. A huge banner depicting the Ravenclaw eagle hung on the wall behind the main seating area.

The students excitedly discussed their holiday plans until Dumbledore arrived.

After the noise in the Great Hall subsided, he spoke: "Another year has passed! Before we enjoy these delicious dishes, I must first hold the House Cup awards ceremony. The specific scores for each house are as follows: Fourth place, Gryffindor, 376 points; Third place, Hufflepuff, 382 points; Slytherin, 426 points; Ravenclaw, 472 points."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, a thunderous cheer and applause erupted at the Ravenclaw table, and even though the young wizards from Gryffindor and Slytherin were somewhat prepared, they couldn't help but feel saddened.

"However, there are a few things that must be taken into account, and I still have some points to allocate." As the cheers subsided, Dumbledore continued, "First, in recognition of the bravery of Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ron Weasley, and Miss Daphne Greengrass in the dungeons, Gryffindor gets 100 points, and Slytherin gets 50!"

The two colleges erupted in cheers, while Rice frowned.

In his view, Daphne deserved a perfect score, given her contributions.

Those wretched Gryffindors!

After the cheers subsided, the children from both colleges realized that they seemed to have tied? This... did two colleges win the College Cup this year?

Then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Great Hall fell silent instantly: "Miss Hermione Granger, she is the first student in a century to achieve a perfect score in all her exams as a first-year student. In recognition of her diligence and intelligence, Ravenclaw receives ten points!"

Ravenclaw, who had been overtaken by Gryffindor and Slytherin, suddenly regained the lead and retained their championship.

Rice couldn't help but gasp: Dumbledore knew how to control the distribution of points, just right, not too much and not too little, rewarding the three who dared to take risks while maintaining the balance in his heart, quite a clever plan!

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, goodnight everyone!

The next update will be tonight~

(End of this chapter)