Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 191 You think you know more about Slytherin than I do?

Riddle smiled at Leslie. Immediately, Ginny, who was possessed by him, lay stiffly on the ground, her face turning deathly pale.

"Hey, what if you hurt the child if you do that?" Rice frowned as he heard the dull thud of Ginny falling onto the marble floor.

This was the first thing Riddle heard Rice say after he materialized his own form.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"I didn't expect you to still have the mind to care about others at a time like this, Rice." Riddle was surrounded by a strange, misty glow, a bizarre smile on his face. "Aren't you curious about where you are?"

Rice: ...

I know where I am better than you do.

Seeing that Rice didn't respond, Riddle was rebuffed, which made him quite unhappy.

"Aren't you curious about why I brought you here? And my identity? And... why little Ginny turned out like this?" Riddle found Rice's calmness, or rather numbness, boring.

Offering him to the Snake King like this seems too dull. I originally wanted to have a serious talk with Rice about those topics—such a grand ideal that I've never shared with anyone before!

Riddle had a strong urge to confide. In his view, inheriting such a great cause yet having to keep it all bottled up inside was a form of torture.

"If I absolutely have to ask a question, I'd like to know who you are." Rice twisted his wrist a couple of times, as if the blood circulation was impaired due to being bound for too long.

"My name is Tom Riddle," Riddle said, stating his name.

When Riddle introduced himself, he didn't expect Rice to recognize him. He already knew from his conversation with Ginny that his name wouldn't be widely known in later generations.

That's normal. Tom Riddle didn't do much of anything memorable, and besides, the person who took over the school was Albus Dumbledore. It would be a miracle if he could promote himself.

To Riddle's surprise, when Rhys Lint across from him heard his name, a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes—he had clearly heard of him before!

Rice was genuinely surprised to hear Riddle's name, as she had only heard it from Helena that evening.

He really wanted to say: Why is it always you?

Tom Riddle is Voldemort, so he was involved in last year's Philosopher's Stone heist, this year's Ginny possession incident, and the tiara incident decades ago.

Such a tenacious ability to cause trouble surpasses even the most mischievous Gryffindors.

"You've heard of my name?" Now it was Riddle's turn to be curious.

Rice nodded heavily.

"You've gotten yourself into quite a mess!" Rice said with considerable admiration. "More trouble than any Gryffindor I've ever met."

These words seemed to pierce Riddle's heart, and he angrily retorted, "Nonsense! I am the one who inherited Salazar Slytherin's noble cause, the true heir to Slytherin! How dare you insult me ​​like this?!"

Rice: ? ? ?

He felt numb.

If he absolutely had to choose an heir, he felt it should at least be either Adrian or Barrow, right? You, a nobody from a thousand years in the future, dare to try and mess with me?

He was so angry he laughed.

"You are not the heir to Slytherin—you don't even have the Slytherin name, and as far as I know, there is no wizarding family with the Riddle name." He bluntly exposed Riddle's attempt to glorify himself.

Rice's words immediately enraged Riddle.

Lies don't hurt, but the truth often has a powerful effect. What Rice said hit Riddle right where it hurt the most.

His face immediately darkened.

"Riddle..." Tom's face twitched as he forced out a few words through clenched teeth: "Indeed, ha! My stupid Muggle father is a stain on me, I admit that, but I have Salazar Slytherin's blood flowing through my veins, passed down to me through his daughter!"

"You don't."

"Yes! I am a descendant of the Gaunt family; my mother was a daughter of the Gaunt family!"

"Gaunt is Slytherin's adopted son; the Gaunt family isn't actually descended from Slytherin!"

"Bullshit! You think you know more about Slytherin than I do?! I'll prove it to you right now—proof that I'm a descendant of Slytherin!" Riddle was utterly enraged by Rice. He opened his mouth and roared, "Serpent King, swallow the offering I've made for you!"

Rice turned to the basilisk resting in the pipe in the wall and gave it an order: "Go back to sleep. Your mission is over. I'll bring you food tomorrow."

Riddle's eyes widened upon hearing Rice's parsnip-like accent.

"Are you a parsnip?" Then he immediately understood why he had encountered those strange occurrences after his recovery.

The man before him, Rice, had seized control of the Snake King before him and sealed off the original entrance to the secret chamber—how cunning! No wonder he made no comment on the scene inside the chamber.

Fortunately, he was more skilled and now had the upper hand. Riddle gripped his wand tightly and took two steps toward Ginny, who was lying on the ground, without making a sound.

"Being able to speak Parsley doesn't prove you're Slytherin's heir, nor does knowing the location of the Chamber of Secrets. There is no bloodline heir to Slytherin." Rice's tone was very calm, as if he were commenting on a stranger.

Although Riddle was currently somewhere between a ghost and a physical being, his face gradually turned red after Rice spoke, giving the impression of hot water being poured on raw shrimp.

Riddle felt a throbbing pain in his temples from anger. He wanted to rebuke Rice's insane ramblings, but he couldn't find any arguments to refute Rice.

Parsley isn't exclusive to Slytherins; many dark wizards speak it, such as the infamous Helbo. There's even a claim that Parsley, like Trollish and Mermaid languages, is a type of "foreign language" that can be learned.

"In Slytherin's time, any young wizard with sufficient talent would be granted the right to study in the Chamber of Secrets—you wouldn't have been allowed in the Chamber of Secrets in that era," Rice added, adding insult to injury as she explained the Chamber of Secrets to Riddle.

"Avada Kedavra!" Riddle, unable to bear it any longer, unleashed a killing curse at Rice, but the spell inexplicably vanished a few feet in front of him.

Riddle: !

"Compared to your future self, you are weaker now. In terms of magic, spell proficiency, and mentality, you are not as good as your future self in every aspect—but that's a good thing, it means you are improving, isn't it?" Rice's words never stopped, he was commenting on Riddle as if he were commenting on two oil paintings.

But Tom didn't have time to be angry now.

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~

(End of this chapter)