Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 133 New Semester, New Look

"Be careful, and when you get to school, learn to get along well with your roommates, no matter which house you're in—even if you go to Gryffindor, it doesn't matter. Our ancestor, Adrian Dragonheart, was known as the 'most Gryffindor Slytherin'!" Mr. Henry squatted down and straightened his youngest daughter's collar.

Mr. Henry's words made Rice, who was standing to the side, frown: So you're quite proud of yourself?

Mrs. Greengrass was nagging Daphne to maintain her good grades, remember to adjust her clothes according to the weather, and take good care of her sister, etc., which made Daphne look impatient.

"You don't need to worry about the secret society for now. Just focus on running your shop and living your life well. If you feel unwell on the night of the full moon, be sure to contact me immediately." When it came to Rice's side, the roles of adults and "children" seemed to have been reversed.

He didn't assign Lupert any specific tasks, just told her to survive, and of course, to contact him immediately if she encountered anything unusual or accidentally obtained any information.

Rice really hoped that Lupert and Valentina, the two werewolves, could be reborn after the transformation.

The train whistle blew, the group said their goodbyes in a hurry, the children boarded the train, and the parents stood on the platform watching the train gradually disappear into the distance. The new semester had begun.

"May I sit here?" The carriage door was pushed open, and a somewhat unexpected person appeared at the doorway.

He wore a blue robe, the same color as his eyes, which were adorned with forget-me-nots. His pointed wizard hat was askew, but cleverly, it didn't mess up his stylish curls.

"I ran into a few fans on the way, who kept asking me for autographs and to tell them the story of how I defeated the female ghost in Bane, so I arrived a little late. As a result, there were no empty compartments on the bus—can I sit here?" He had a bright smile on his face, revealing a set of beautiful, white teeth.

"Mr. Lockhart?!" Daphne, Astoria, and Hermione were all taken aback. Hermione couldn't help but stand up and exclaim the name of the newcomer.

The rather flamboyant man in front of you is none other than Gilderoy Lockhart, Hogwarts' newly hired Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year.

"What a coincidence!" Lockhart's smile brightened even more. "I've run into another fan of mine. The wizarding world is practically a small village!"

To be honest, the box where Rice and the others were located wasn't particularly suitable, because including Rice, there were already four young wizards here, and with Lockhart squeezing in, it undoubtedly became a bit crowded.

However, given Hermione's ecstatic expression and her status as a professor at Lockhart School, Rice clearly couldn't kick him out.

As for Lockhart's reason for wanting to squeeze onto the train, it was naturally because he saw the two Greengrass daughters. His first choice was Harry; if he shared a carriage with Harry, he could make several more newspaper headlines. However, the problem was that he couldn't find Potter's carriage after searching around, so he had to settle for sitting with the Greengrass sisters.

In his opinion, there was no harm in chatting with them. Mrs. Greengrass's generosity had left a very deep impression on him at the time—she was the one who arranged for the publication of his first few books.

Talk to the two little Greengrasss a bit more; you might just get more gold coins.

While Lockhart was considering how to exploit the Greengrass family's gold coins, Rice was also quite excited. He really wanted to chat with Lockhart, this adventurer, and he believed that Lockhart could bring him some surprises.

Last year's Professor Quirrell lecture was too abstract; hopefully this year's Professor Lockhart can give the students a proper refresher course.

"How could you, how could you—" Hermione rummaged through her backpack, her words incoherent.

"Coming to teach at Hogwarts?" Lockhart finished Hermione's sentence. "The reasons are complicated. First, there are many of my fans at the school, and I think this would be a great opportunity to get up close and personal with them. Second, it's because of Harry Potter. I believe that I, Gilderoy Lockhart, a third-class Sergeant in the Order of Merlin, an honorary member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, and a five-time winner of Wizarding Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, will definitely create a wonderful spark with the boy who lived!"

Rice: ...

Lockhart's way of introducing himself reminded him of the Middle Ages, when some Muggle lords also liked to add a bunch of honorary titles before their names.

Hermione pulled out a stack of textbooks and took them to Lockhart, asking him to sign them.

Lockhart didn't refuse, and immediately took out a brightly colored quill pen, signing his name on each book with swift, flowing strokes.

Throughout the rest of the journey, Lockhart kept bragging about his adventures, and Astoria and Hermione listened intently, their eyes shining, occasionally asking him questions.

Daphne was getting a little sleepy. She felt that Lockhart's story was just so-so, and she could probably do it too—for example, banishing werewolves. Although she couldn't use the Restore Humanity Charm, she could kill werewolves!

Rice frowned. No matter how he listened to Lockhart's account of his experiences, it felt awkward, vague, and ambiguous.

"Speaking of which, Professor Lockhart, in your book 'Wandering with a Werewolf'—" Rice was quite moved by the story in the book, because he had actually spent some time with a werewolf, and the Restoration Charm mentioned in the story also made him feel very familiar with it.

"Ah! That was my experience in Armenia. It's a beautiful little country. The Muggles there look cold on the outside, but they're actually very warm. After chatting for a bit and getting to know each other, they'll invite you to their house and serve you a bowl of pita bread and a pot of steaming stew... I'm telling you, Armenian halaburi cheese with freshly baked bread is absolutely amazing!" Lockhart's mouth was immediately opened, and he began to talk endlessly about how he helped a village in Armenia get rid of werewolves and how he wandered around with that werewolf.

Rice listened with great interest, almost forgetting what he was going to ask.

"Oh, by the way, did you cast a restoration spell on that werewolf afterward?"

Lockhart waved his hand dismissively: "Of course not, child. A good magician only strives for success once. Carelessness during an adventure can cost you your life. You only get one chance!"

Rice was taken aback. The Restore to Human Form spell required the caster to reapply the spell after a period of time, so he quickly asked, "When was the last time you encountered that werewolf? He remained in human form the whole time and never transformed?"

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 at midnight tonight~

(End of this chapter)