Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 117 The Trick of Fate

"After you left, Godric fell seriously ill, and shortly after recovering, he also left the school. Later, Helga wanted to find the two of you and travel the world, but he never returned, and now I'm all alone here."

Ravenclaw's tone was calm and gentle, but Rice sensed boundless sorrow and loneliness in it.

He suddenly remembered the night Hogwarts Castle was completed.

That day, the top of the last tower was also sealed, and the castle was completely completed, just waiting for the students who came from afar to enroll. The four of them gathered on the newly leveled lawn outside the castle, looking at the fruit of their hard work.

"I feel like we could add something more, maybe a tower in the middle?" Helga had some ideas about the castle's structure.

"But what's the point of designing the atrium then? The tower would take up too much space, and if it floats in the air, it would also affect the lighting in the courtyard." Salazar rejected Hufflepuff's proposal outright.

He felt that the castle design was already close to perfect and there was no need to add anything unnecessary.

"Stop this! I'm exhausted these days," Godric complained, having been the one doing all the heavy lifting. Whenever others had ideas, he was usually the one to get the materials. Even with magical assistance, it was still a laborious and time-consuming task.

So when he heard that Hufflepuff was going to change the castle's structure again, he was genuinely annoyed.

Ravenclaw nodded silently; she also thought adding a tower in the middle of the castle would be terribly ugly—although Salazar's concept of a floating tower was very cool, it didn't change the fact that it was ugly.

"Alright then." Seeing that her suggestion was met with unanimous opposition, Hufflepuff didn't insist any further.

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Gryffindor stretched and then suddenly said, "I must say, this castle is quite magnificent."

This was unanimously agreed upon by the other three. From a distance, Hogwarts Castle resembled a giant dragon coiled on the cliff face, overlooking the surrounding forests and lakes.

"This is our school!" Hufflepuff proudly puffed out his chest.

"This will be the best magic school in all of Britain, all of Europe, and even the world." Salazar was filled with great ambition and determined to build Hogwarts into the world's top magic school.

"That might take decades of effort." Hufflepuff smiled. She believed that although Hogwarts had just been built and didn't even have a single student yet, only time would stop it from becoming the world's top magic school.

After all, this is where the four of them personally teach! What other group could be more outstanding than the four of them?

"When that time comes, I'll pack my bags, roll up my bedding, and travel the world—whether I go west or east, I'll decide by flipping a coin," Rowena was already envisioning her retirement.

"That's good. Remember to leave your collection of books behind." Slytherin laughed. "I'm too lazy to move. I'll just stay here and teach students. It's quite nice—I've already used up my lifetime's travel quota!"

"Indeed, it's time to enjoy life!" Gryffindor echoed his old friend.

"Then I'll have to seriously study cooking magic, lest you guys say I only know a few dishes." Hufflepuff's voice came from the side.

"Then you'll use your skills to keep Rowena chained up in the castle!"

……

The memory abruptly ended, and Rice's mind returned to reality, followed by endless感慨: the woman who initially wanted to travel the world, free and like the wind, chose to lock herself in the dungeon, while the guys who wanted to stay in the school to teach and nurture people all left.

Fate played a cruel joke on them.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Rice sighed.

Ravenclaw stood there quietly watching him, seemingly accustomed to the hardships of life here.

"The seal here needs to be guarded."

"Why not let the students help? Barrow and Adrian are both very good kids—Isn't Helena out traveling? You can call her back. Although she's not as smart as you, she can still be of help." Rowena's words puzzled Rice. He remembered that when he left the school, although some shady characters had infiltrated the castle, the majority of the students were still excellent and should have been able to share the burden with her.

Mentioning Barrow, Rice suddenly recalled the ghost she had seen during the Sorting Ceremony. He wasn't a ghost that was always active, wandering around the castle, so Rice had never had a chance to have a proper chat with him—more importantly, it seemed there wasn't much to talk about even if she did find him. Why would he bother with some random little wizard if she didn't reveal her own identity?

Barrow, who died young, couldn't really help Rowena, but weren't there others? Like her daughter.

Ravenclaw fell silent again.

These were things she found difficult to say, but then she thought about it again and felt relieved: so many years have passed, what is there that can't be said?

"I have something to tell you."

Rice nodded—his pupils dilated a few seconds later.

"Helena escaped with my crown."

"They ran away?! And they even stole your crown?"

"Yes," Ravenclaw said, indicating to Salazar that he hadn't misheard.

"Ungrateful wretch!!!" Rice was truly enraged this time. "If it weren't for you, she would have starved to death long ago, and this is how she treats you!"

He really wanted to launch a sweeping attack on his bloodline, but he ultimately held back. It was this very topic that had caused him to fall out with his friends, ultimately leading to that fight. Now he felt there was no need to bring it up again.

"Don't blame her. She has her own difficulties. I know she's always wanted to be smarter and more famous than me. She... she just desperately wants to step out of my shadow. You know, she's always been under a lot of pressure." Ravenclaw rarely said so much, hoping that Rice wouldn't blame Helena too much.

"You shouldn't have kept it from us. At the very least, we could have helped you find the tiara. That thing really shouldn't be left out there; it's too dangerous." Rice shook his head. He also found it difficult to judge Ravenclaw's family affairs. But not reporting the loss of the tiara was clearly Ravenclaw's fault.

Ronai's crown, like his wand, was made from the remains of that god, and losing control of it would pose a great risk.

“I added a spell to it, so it's safe. I thought Helena would eventually come back.” Ravenclaw sighed, his expression becoming even more complicated. “Then something happened at the school, and I was badly injured. I knew that boy Barrow had always liked her, so I sent him to find Helena. But the next news I received about them was news of their deaths. Barrow killed Helena and then committed suicide.”

Rice: Huh? ???

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.

This is the second update. Goodnight everyone! The next update will be at the usual time tonight.

(End of this chapter)