Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 147 I command you as the heir to Slytherin!

Rita Skeeter's article was like a drop of water thrown into a pan of boiling oil, instantly igniting the British wizarding world. Countless emails flooded the Daily Prophet's editorial office and Hogwarts Hospital, some supporting Lockhart and others denouncing him as a fraud. A significant proportion of these were shouting letters.

Mrs. Pomfrey of the university hospital once forbade Lockhart from receiving mail and asked Professor McGonagall to make a soundproof box so that any letters addressed to Lockhart would be stuffed directly into the box to avoid disturbing others.

Gradually, the voices of the wizarding world became unified: whether they supported Lockhart or opposed him, they all hoped that he would go to the Ministry of Magic on the night of the next full moon and, in the presence of Ministry officials, cast a Restoration Charm on a werewolf.

Doesn't that solve the problem?

Seeing the public outcry, Mr. Henry stepped forward and added fuel to the fire, saying that he asked the Ministry of Magic to prepare another werewolf, because he had contacted a reliable potion maker and successfully concocted a wolfsbane slow-release potion, and now he was also able to cast the Restoration Charm.

He could use the spells with Mr. Lockhart and let the experts compare the differences between the two spells.

Mr. Lockhart, you surely wouldn't refuse such a deal that benefits the Ministry of Magic and ordinary wizards, would you?

This incident went completely beyond the circle, and even wizards from other countries heard about the magical restoration charm and the conflicting accounts of the two wizards, Henry and Lockhart.

Seeing that the letters, like snowflakes, were heading towards the Ministry of Magic, Minister Fudge made a decisive move and announced that the Ministry would provide Henry and Lockhart with two werewolves on the night of the next full moon, so that the two could show off their skills.

Lockhart was now completely in a precarious position.

Lying in his hospital bed, he began to panic. Then, in a moment of desperation, he came up with a solution that was hardly a solution: after all, he was still hospitalized, so wasn't it normal for his condition to worsen? If his condition worsened, how could he go to the Ministry of Magic?

After Lockhart came up with this idea, he felt like kissing himself twice.

What a brilliant idea!

Then he sent a letter to the Daily Prophet, indicating that he would definitely keep the appointment.

Of course, when that day comes, Lockhart believes his condition will very sensibly worsen.

……

While students from other houses were discussing the Restoration Charm, Lockhart, and the Ministry of Magic's pact, the young wizards of Slytherin were being led astray: Draco Malfoy was going to join the Slytherin Quidditch team as the Seeker, and his father, Lucius Malfoy, had prepared a Nimbus 2001 for every player on the team!

When Malfoy placed the seven brand-new, gleaming Nimbus 2001 flying broomsticks in the center of the common room, almost all the young Slytherin wizards were dazzled.

"The latest model, it just came out last month," Malfoy exclaimed, his eyes involuntarily glancing at Daphne and her sister Astoria sitting in the corner. "It's much faster than the Nimbus 2000 series. Ha! Compared to it, the Sweeper series brooms are only good for sweeping the floor!"

Daphne frowned: she regretted studying spatial magic in the lounge; she should have gone to the library, it was just too noisy here.

As for why she didn't go to the secret room, it was because her younger sister was always following her around like a shadow, and she really didn't dare to take her to a place like the secret room without Rice's permission.

She closed her notebook, sighed, and stood up from her seat.

Seeing that her sister was about to leave, Astoria quickly packed her things and followed behind her.

As the Greengrass sisters walked past the row of Nimbus 2001, Astoria's attention was drawn to the beautiful brooms. She asked in her sweet voice, "Sister, with these brooms, wouldn't we be guaranteed to beat Gryffindor and the other houses?"

Malfoy's eyes lit up: Yes, that's a great topic!

He tightened his collar, ready to agree with Astoria at any moment.

Hearing her sister's words, Daphne frowned even more. She ruffled Astoria's hair and then said to her earnestly, "Having superior equipment doesn't guarantee victory. In Quidditch, the human factor is more important, especially the Seeker."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Malfoy, instantly breaking him down: What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm not as good as that Potter?

"Astora, you must study hard. Money can buy status and superficial respect, but it can never buy genuine respect. If your virtue does not match your position, the backlash in the future will be even more severe."

After he said that, the entire common room fell silent, and Malfoy's face turned ashen.

Everyone present knew that Malfoy's selection to the team and becoming a Seeker was inseparable from the seven brooms, but Daphne was the first person to dare to expose this fact in public.

But she really has the right to say such things! Half of her confidence comes from her surname, and the other half comes from the earth-shattering thing she did at the end of last semester.

After saying this, Daphne and her sister left the common room. Once they were gone, Marcus, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, patted Malfoy, whose face was ashen, on the shoulder and said that next time they played Gryffindor, they could teach them a lesson and win back everything they had lost that day.

"Daphne will definitely change her opinion of you then," Marcus said.

Malfoy nodded with a gloomy face. He decided to teach Gryffindor a lesson and turn his image around with a glorious victory!

The outside world's turmoil was irrelevant to Rice. Having essentially achieved his goal of removing Lockhart from his position as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor after Rita Skeeter's interview that day, Rice returned to his chamber, single-mindedly contemplating various new potions.

He was interested in many projects, one of which was researching a magic potion to cure Astoria's illness.

After waving his wand and disposing of the wasted potion in the cauldron, Rice sighed: This task was very difficult and a challenge for him as well.

Rice decided to take a step back and focus on stabilizing Astoria's symptoms to prevent her condition from worsening.

Suddenly, a faint sound echoed in the air above the secret chamber:

Come, wake up, and obey my commands...

[As the heir to Slytherin!]

Rice: ? ? ?

What's going on?

Who is summoning my Serpent King?

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.

Here's the second update. Goodnight everyone!

The next update will be at the same time as before.

o((==))o

(End of this chapter)