Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 156 Rice's Unexpected Gain

"Rice, there's going to be an experiment on the Restore to Human Form Charm tonight at the Quidditch pitch!" Daphne said, her eyes sparkling as she stared intently at Rice, her face resting on the table.

"Yes, it was mentioned in the newspaper," Rice replied casually to Daphne without even looking up.

Seeing that Rice didn't respond, Daphne had no choice but to bite the bullet and reveal her own intentions: she wanted to see the experiment, which would definitely be a rare and wonderful event, and it would be a real shame to miss it.

"Then go ahead." Rice looked up, slightly puzzled: if a child likes to join in the fun, let her go; he wouldn't stop her.

"There's a curfew at school, so the checks will definitely be extra strict today. Some upperclassmen said the professors might even check the dorms..." Daphne looked at Rice pitifully.

"Don't you know the Disillusionment Charm? And are you sure Professor Snape would check the girls' dorms?!" Rice was speechless: checking dorms? How could this Slytherin student even think of that? He never imagined such a thing.

Daphne closed her mouth, but her little face visibly puffed up.

Seeing that Daphne was showing signs of turning into a pufferfish, Rice scratched his head. He understood perfectly: Daphne wanted to go with him to see the experiment of the Restore to Human Form Charm.

For Rice, tonight's experiment was like a chicken rib—tasteless but not worth throwing away. Going or not going was a dilemma, but he preferred not to go because it was really boring.

"Wizards from all over the world will be here tonight. What if someone kidnaps me?" Daphne was silent for a while before finally finding an excuse that she thought was somewhat plausible.

Rice glanced at her: What kind of human trafficker could beat you? Don't be ridiculous.

But Daphne is right. Hogwarts is bound to be a mixed bag tonight, and it's necessary for her to go and keep things in order.

Let's give Daphne a way out! But we'll have to see if she can handle it, since children who stay up too late won't grow tall.

"So, how's your static field practice going? If you can maintain it for more than a minute, I'll take you to the court to see an experiment tonight—with me here, you won't be afraid of curfews or human traffickers anymore, right?"

Rice observed that Daphne's static field could only last for about 55 seconds at most. If she could practice the spell's duration to one minute before sunset, he would take her there.

Daphne's expression turned serious: This is an extremely serious challenge!

She silently took out the cigarette case and pointed it at it with her wand—

Static field, activated!

Time passed second by second, and beads of sweat gradually began to appear on Daphne's forehead.

"56, 57..." Rice silently kept track of time, then was surprised to find that Daphne was actually going to last a minute!

However, judging from her appearance, she had already reached her limit.

"...59, 60!"

Just one minute later, Daphne abruptly ended the spell: she had already performed beyond her usual level, and even if she were to do it again, she might not be able to do it.

Rice covered his forehead: Just how much does this guy want to play?! He's even unleashing his full potential just to get to the Quidditch pitch.

Keeping his promise, Rice brought Daphne to the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. To prevent the professors from discovering them, Rice even cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and Daphne.

"Don't worry, even Dumbledore won't be able to spot us in the crowd." Rice led Daphne to a corner of the stadium stands.

It wasn't time yet, and the visiting wizards hadn't entered the school, so they were free to choose their seats. However, to avoid attracting attention, Rice deliberately chose a quiet corner.

"If you can't see or hear clearly, I also have corresponding auxiliary spells."

Daphne shook her head; she didn't need those.

The time for entry arrived quickly, and the visiting wizards entered the school one after another in Thestrals carriages. This was Dumbledore's arrangement; he had remobilized the Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest and sent them to Hogsmeade. Wizards from all over the world would first gather in Hogsmeade village before taking Thestrals carriages to Hogwarts.

Wizards from all over the world gradually filled the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts.

Even though Rice and Daphne had chosen a corner seat in the audience, three wizards with rather unusual attire still arrived: the male wizard at the front wore a linen wizard's robe that was now extremely rare; behind him was an old man with curly hair, whose robe was so old it resembled the costume of a theatrical troupe. Walking at the back was a beautiful female wizard, with a well-proportioned figure and exceptional poise, her every movement like that of an ancient Greek sculpture.

After taking his seat, the sorcerer in hemp robes looked around and then said to his companions, "There's no one else here."

Rice smiled. His disguise magic wasn't so easy to see through.

To his surprise, he was speaking to his companions in Latin.

These three people are really strange.

He squeezed Daphne's hand, signaling her to be quiet; he wanted to observe these three strange people carefully.

……

When Fudge returned to Hogwarts, he was also taken aback by the crowd: he hadn't expected so many people to come here.

The Hogwarts Quidditch pitch was practically like the World Cup finals venue, packed with wizards from all over the world. Fudge immediately recognized wizards from six or seven different countries.

"French, American, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and even various private organizations." Fudge counted on his fingers the countries of origin of the wizards who had come and couldn't help but marvel: This experiment is truly famous all over the world now.

However, someone is probably going to become famous in reverse, Fukichi thought gleefully.

Cornelius Fudge, who had served as Minister of Magic for several years, was not intimidated by the large number of guests. He pushed through the crowd, walked to the commentary booth at the stadium, took out his wand, pointed to his throat, and said, "Loud voice!"

The next moment, his voice echoed throughout the stadium: "Ladies and gentlemen..."

Clearly, the British Minister of Magic's lengthy opening remarks failed to pique the interest of the wizards present. Many wizards completely ignored Fudge and continued chatting amongst themselves.

The same goes for the odd trio in the corner.

"Have you heard? This spell was actually invented by that Salazar. Ha, that's all modern wizards are capable of, living off the legacy left by their ancestors. The decline of the magical world is obvious to all. Humans, whether Muggles or wizards, are like sheep without a shepherd once they lose the favor of the gods." The wizard in the linen robe smiled, but if you looked directly into his eyes, you would find that there was not a trace of emotion in his dark pupils.

Upon hearing what he said, Reston immediately became interested: It seems there has been an unexpected gain today?

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.

It's a little late, but here's the first update! Check out the second update tomorrow morning!

Fun illustrations for each chapter—If Harry Potter were 19th-century Russian style, it would be like Malfoy.

(End of this chapter)