Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 189 Riddle's Confusion

After Neville left, the house-elf who had been waiting nearby approached. He first bowed deeply to Leth, his nose almost touching the kitchen floor, and then asked respectfully, "Honorable sir, how may I help you?"

Behind him, hundreds of house-elves were gathered around a long table, clearing away the dishes and leftovers that had been removed from the restaurant.

"I missed the Halloween dinner and wanted to grab something to eat here. Anything will do," Rice explained his purpose.

"Oh! That's such a pity! Would you mind waiting a moment?" After receiving a "no problem" reply, the house-elf bowed to Rice again, then turned and ran away. As he passed the dining table, several elves stopped what they were doing and rushed into the food preparation area to help him.

A shank of veal was taken out, and the elves deftly cut it into several pieces, coated them in flour, and pan-fried them over low heat. Once the meat changed color, they poured whiskey into the pan to heat it up. While making these preparations, they also prepared the sauces, side dishes, and stews for the meal.

Of course, the enthusiastic elves didn't just prepare one dish; they also brought out lamb's tongue and a pork tenderloin. And while Rice waited, they brought him a plate of dessert and a pot of pumpkin juice so he wouldn't have to wait hungry.

Rice initially wanted to tell them to stop and not be so extravagant, as he was in a hurry. However, after seeing the elves' cooking techniques and the aroma emanating from the ingredients, Rice changed his mind.

Maybe Daphne isn't full either, so I should bring her some more food back.

After a while, the house-elves came running over carrying a large three-tiered lunchbox.

"Braised veal shank, lamb tongue with mushroom sauce and oyster mushrooms, and tenderloin with Cumberland sauce. Happy Halloween, sir!"

Rice carried the heavy lunchbox out of the kitchen, and for a moment, he felt a pang of envy for the young wizards at Hufflepuff School—modern wizards eat so much better than they did back then.

While the founders of the time had access to very rare animals, rarity did not equate to deliciousness; the peacock, favored by medieval nobles, is a prime example. More importantly, the scarcity of spices and the underdeveloped breeding techniques meant that the quality of food generally lagged behind that of modern times.

As Rice passed by the auditorium, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Hungry, so hungry... I need to eat, now! Kill, kill—"

Suddenly, Rice heard a cold, menacing voice. He froze for a moment, then stopped in his tracks. After confirming that no one was around, he immediately shouted in a snake-like voice, "Snake King, what are you doing?"

The cold, icy voice vanished instantly, as if someone had grabbed it by the neck.

A few seconds later, the basilisk's voice came through the wall: "Hungry, looking for food. Rats, small, fast, not enough to eat."

Rice glanced at the bags and packages of food he had hauled from the kitchen and felt that he didn't really have the right to criticize the basilisk.

"Okay, be careful not to let anyone else see you, and don't hurt anyone." After thinking for a moment, Rice gave the basilisk a few more instructions, "I'll go to the Forbidden Forest later and find you some food."

Rice bears at least half the responsibility for the basilisk's activity.

Normally, the basilisk is in a dormant state, consuming little energy, and thus remains secluded in its chamber, oblivious to the world. However, in the past two years, he has awakened it far too frequently, even inflicting a severe injury on it. Furthermore, Rice hasn't fed it on time. This has caused the basilisk to enter an unusually hungry state, actively venturing out of its chamber to forage for food, almost completely wiping out the easily caught rats in the castle. The remaining rats, through the survival of the fittest mechanism, have become considerably more cunning and harder to catch, plunging the basilisk into a vicious cycle.

Fortunately, it finally made Rice aware of its predicament and resolved the food crisis.

Just as the basilisk was satisfied and preparing to return to the secret chamber, and Rice was preparing to return to the lounge, another voice came to their ears from afar.

I, the heir of Slytherin, beseech the Serpent King to obey my commands.

Basilisk: ?

Rice: ?

Rice immediately thought of Weasley, who had previously tried to awaken and control the basilisk. Now, she was back with her wicked intentions, trying to control her own basilisk.

However, considering the Weasley family's traditions, Rice felt that she was likely bewitched by something, perhaps a monk from the Secret Order, or an evil spirit or dark creature she had encountered somewhere. Of course, various dark wizards who seemed to grow back like mushrooms after being cut off were also highly suspicious.

Since she was being threatened within the boundaries of Hogwarts, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Rice decided to act decisively and resolve Ginny's problem.

"You, go talk to that guy, then take him to the secret room," Rice ordered the basilisk directly.

He needed the basilisk to help him resolve some thorny issues, such as calming the emotions of the mastermind controlling Ginny's mind and then bringing it to him. The basilisk was like bait on his hook, only this bait was a bit too large.

The basilisk, which had intended to go straight back to its secret chamber for a good night's sleep, reluctantly swam toward the source of the sound.

Tom Riddell was now in a state of confusion.

During the summer vacation, he spent his time "chatting" with Ginny and gradually gained control of her soul. Once he could control Ginny's body, he couldn't wait to perform the incantation to awaken the snake king. Then, something incredible happened: the snake king, who had obediently followed his orders decades ago, now refused to obey his commands.

Riddle was completely baffled.

Before he could figure out why, his actions were interrupted by two people, forcing him to go into hiding. To make matters worse, since that conversation, Ginny seemed to have developed some curiosity about the boy named Rice, and even a sliver of trust.

Fortunately, he was more skillful and used his silver tongue to persuade Ginny to give up the idea of ​​talking to Rice and instead focus more on him.

Thanks to Ginny's tireless efforts, Riddle's strength recovered rapidly. He was now able to actively control Ginny's body and even make himself visible near the diary.

Along with Riddle's restored strength, his confidence also returned. Taking advantage of the end of the Halloween dinner, he regained control of Ginny's body. He planned to summon the Serpent King again, and if the summoning failed, he would directly enter the Chamber of Secrets to confront the Serpent King and demand why he had broken his promise to Slytherin.

But today his luck seems to have turned around, as the Snake King has responded to his call!

Although the tone was cold and the emotions were full of resentment, responding was better than ignoring them!

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.

The second update is here!

The next update will be at midnight!

The three dishes mentioned in this chapter are illustrated with pictures:

Talkative Lamb's Tongue with Mushroom Sauce and Oyster Mushrooms

(End of this chapter)