Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 122 I don't think the Sorting Hat has the guts.

"So why can't I borrow these books to read during the summer vacation?"

Having found nothing, Rice was about to leave when he overheard Hermione arguing with Mrs. Pings.

"These are the library's regulations, Miss Granger. Please put these books back." Mrs. Pince's voice sounded icy.

This librarian had an obsessive love for books. She adored the library's collection and therefore vehemently disliked the young wizards who borrowed books, as each turn of the pages seemed to damage her beloved collection. She believed the ideal state of a library was one where shelves were overflowing with books and desks were completely empty.

So, counterintuitively, Hermione, who loves spending time in the library and reads a lot, is not well-liked by Mrs. Pince.

She was very strict with the rules for the young wizards who borrowed books, and would carefully check the condition of the books upon return. Hermione's attempt to borrow a book for two months was almost unacceptable to her.

"But--"

"No buts, the maximum time students can borrow books is one month."

"Then I'll have the owl mail the book back before it expires."

"The library is closed during the summer holidays, and books are not allowed to be taken off campus. Books must be returned in person by the borrower. Miss Granger, you can find these books at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley."

Hermione: "..."

After rejecting all of Hermione's excuses, Mrs. Pince strode away as if she had won a battle, leaving Hermione alone with a dark face as she returned the large stack of books in her arms to their original place.

Rice clicked his tongue: he believed that Pince's ideas went against the original intentions of the four of them when they established the library.

Back then, the four of them, with Ravenclaw as the main force, donated a large number of books, which formed the basic framework of the Hogwarts Library. Over the past thousand years, the school's teachers and students have worked together to accumulate the collection, which is why the Hogwarts Library now has the largest collection in Europe.

Books are meant to be read, not displayed on shelves as decorations. If these books were to pile up in a library and no one were to borrow them, Rice would truly feel sorry for them.

However, although Rice disliked Mrs. Pince, he also admitted that she was not entirely without reason.

As the school grows and expands, it's normal for the rules to become more comprehensive and stricter. Mrs. Pince's actions are all based on school rules, while Hermione's side is in the wrong. Unreasonable rules cannot justify her making others break them for her; she can write to Dumbledore and ask him to amend the school rules.

However, after careful consideration, Rice didn't mind helping Hermione out.

"Lend me some parchment," he said to Hermione as he approached her.

Hermione didn't understand his intention, but she still took out a stack of parchment and gave it to him. With a wave of his hand, the parchment transformed into the shape of the books in Hermione's arms.

"You can take them now, just remember to return them after school starts." Rice placed the counterfeit books on a table next to him.

"But..." Hermione hesitated.

"It's a shameful waste for books to sit untouched on the shelves—they're not dangerous books, nor are they rare or unique copies. Feel free to borrow them. Remember to write a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore later and ask him to change the school's rules regarding book borrowing."

Looking at the large stack of books in her hands, Hermione's desire for books overcame her awe of school rules, and she decided to listen to Rice and take the books home, returning them after the start of the new school year.

……

Even though the young wizards were unwilling, the last day of the school year still arrived.

The students transferred their clothes from their wardrobes into their suitcases and then headed to Hogsmeade Station. From there, they would catch their return train back to London to begin their summer holidays.

"Magic is prohibited during summer vacation?" After placing his luggage on the luggage rack, Rice sat down and looked at the notice that had been sent to them an hour earlier.

However, the title of the notice made it hard for him to stay calm.

When did it become a violation for wizards to use magic?! That's absurd!

On second thought, this was a necessary but unfortunate measure to conceal the existence of the magical world. Children seem more likely to expose its existence than adults, but adults aren't exactly reliable either.

Recalling the "amusing stories" of wizards playing tricks on Muggles that he had read in the newspapers, Rice felt a chill run down his spine at the implementation of the Act of Secrecy.

The key that shrinks a little bit every day until it disappears, the teapot that bites your nose, the lawnmower that runs wildly when you press a switch... It's a miracle that the magical world has kept this a secret until now.

"Theoretically, underage wizards are not allowed to cast spells outside of school, but in reality, this rule isn't that strong—if you cast spells in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, or other wizarding communities, the Ministry of Magic won't bother you at all." Daphne, sitting opposite Rice, completely disregarded the notice: "You can also cast spells freely in the manors of magical families; the Ministry of Magic assumes that adult wizards can fulfill their obligations under the Statute of Secrecy."

At this point, a thought struck her: "How about coming to my family's manor for a summer vacation? There's no magic ban there, and you'll need to take good care of Astoria's potions. You should have collected some of last year's Amulet Fruit by now."

Rice was somewhat tempted; it didn't really matter to him where he spent his summer vacation.

"My father should also have some potion ingredients stored in his vault..." she said casually.

Rice has now decided to visit Greengrass Estate during the holidays.

"But don't use magic in those Muggle neighborhoods," Daphne quickly added, worried that Rice might not take the message seriously.

"The Ministry of Magic will detect it as soon as you use magic. Dad says it's because underage wizards have tracking threads attached to them."

"Oh?" Rice perked up this time.

He desperately wanted to know if there were any traces on him. Logically, there shouldn't be, since he wasn't even considered a member of the modern magical world, and he had never realized that a tracking spell had been cast on him. But perhaps there were exceptions...

Do you know what "tracking threads" are?

Daphne shook her head: "I only know that wizards under the age of seventeen will be detected if they cast spells outside Hogwarts. As for the principle of the trail, that's a secret of the magical world—if you're really curious, I can ask around for you, but all underage wizards who have attended Hogwarts have it, and you should be no exception."

Daphne knew that Rice had been living a near-secluded life, but she believed that Rice would not be an exception.

Upon hearing Daphne's words, Rice suddenly felt that these clues were similar to school acceptance letters, and that the principles behind them were likely the same.

Inside Hogwarts Castle lies a book called the Book of Admission, the very document that determines Hogwarts' student admissions. It's a "magical artifact" he and three close friends created for this purpose. It contains a spell that covers the entire British Isles, capable of detecting newborn wizards through magical fluctuations, identifying their names and addresses, and generating an admission list based on age. He himself had tricked the Book of Admission by releasing magical signals, allowing his name to appear on the new student list.

Rice felt that the large-scale group magic of the Silk Threads was probably similar to the Book of Admission.

But could those novices really make magical items of this caliber? — The Act on Reasonable Restraint of Underage Wizards was enacted in 1875, and Rice did not believe that wizards at that time were capable of making magical items of the caliber of the Book of Licensure.

Wait a minute, I attended Hogwarts...

If that's the case, there seems to be a shortcut—why not just attach a tracking thread to all the new students arriving at Hogwarts? That wouldn't be a super-wide-range detection spell, but rather fall under the category of contract magic.

Imbuing young wizards with contract magic, allowing the Ministry of Magic to receive location feedback when they cast spells, is much simpler than monitoring magical fluctuations across the entire British Isles—the specifics may vary, but the general principle should be the same.

What is something that all the little wizards have done? The answer instantly popped into Rice's mind.

All freshmen have worn the Sorting Hat and participated in the Sorting process.

He could ask the Sorting Hat for confirmation when he had time in the future—it was normal for him not to be able to detect the presence of the Sorting Hat, and he didn't believe the Sorting Hat would dare to tamper with 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.

Update delivered. The second update will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)