Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 192 Please, I beg you, don't mention any of Slytherin's great cause, okay?

Rice's truth was still hurtful, but Riddle had no time to be angry, because he was now lost in confusion and bewilderment: he didn't understand why his killing curse had failed. It felt like throwing an ice pick into a can of molten steel, which vaporized halfway through.

"You seem puzzled? Don't understand why your killing curse disappeared?" Rice's voice rang out at just the right moment.

Riddle put aside all other emotions at that moment, and nodded to Les.

He wanted to know how Rice had done it.

"The strength of a spell is related to emotions—you should know that, right?" Rice didn't hold back, and despite not liking Riddle, he still earnestly explained the Disintegration Spell he had just used to him.

Tom nodded again. He understood the relationship between curses and emotions. Without a strong and appropriate emotional boost, even a killing curse like the Killing Curse could only cause nosebleeds.

"But the carrier of a spell is ultimately magic. I hope you can understand that wizards either mobilize the magic within their bodies or utilize the magic in their environment, and then mix in emotions and various other auxiliary means to create all sorts of strange spells."

"If you still understand what I mean at this point, you should be able to understand the dissociation magic I just used."

Riddle, standing opposite Rice, looked surprised: "So you're saying you created a 'wall' in front of you with your magic and then forcibly disintegrated my Killing Curse?"

"Pretty much, but that would require me to know the spell you're using well enough, otherwise such a thin layer of magical barrier wouldn't have enough time to break down your spell—the Ironclad Charm and its prototype are more reliable than this."

"When did you..." Riddle couldn't help but mutter to himself: The boy in front of him clearly didn't have a wand, and even his hands were bound, yet he could still conjure a magical barrier in front of him. What was even more astonishing was that he hadn't noticed it at all!

"This is a difference in strength, and also a difference in knowledge. I've always felt that it's a huge mistake that the current magical world doesn't teach how magic works. You're so oblivious that you can't even feel the magical barrier I've created in front of you, which is practically visible to the naked eye." Rice channeled his magic to his eyes, and a pale blue "wall," less than an inch thick, appeared in front of him.

Riddle sighed; he felt the gap between himself and Rice.

"I never imagined that the magical world would make such amazing progress while I was in slumber. It's unbelievable."

Rice: ...

Riddle's words seemed to have cast a silent spell on him, rendering him speechless.

Tom Riddle glanced at Rice and decided to use another method to deal with him, a method that had always worked for him and was the strongest magic he had mastered in his childhood—language.

"Let's get to know each other again," Riddle said softly. "This is my real name, past, present, and future: Rhys Lint—"

He pulled Ginny's wand from his pocket, drew a few lines in the air, and wrote three glittering names: Tom Marvolo Riddle. Then he waved the wand, and the letters automatically switched places, becoming "I am Voldemort."

"You should have heard of this name, and of my struggle to carry on the legacy of Slytherin," Riddle said regretfully. "Unfortunately, according to Ginny, I failed."

But then he changed his tone, his words becoming seductive and provocative: "But now it's different. I've met you. It's fate—no, it's the spirit of the great Slytherin who brought us together."

"There is indeed a unique connection between us. You have been, are, and will be of great help to me in the future," Rice interjected during Riddle's "speech."

Upon hearing Rice's words, Riddle's spirits lifted: Great, he seems to have taken the bait!

Considering the other party's intricate relationship with Slytherin, Riddle decided to say things that people from Slytherin would like to hear.

Riddle didn't really have any "ideals." If he truly wanted to achieve the so-called "Slytherin cause," why would he have considered killing the pure-blood Ginny Weasley? From beginning to end, he was an opportunist, and his constant talk of "Slytherin's legacy" and "restoring the glory of pure-bloods" was nothing but a pretext.

His true nature is to speak human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts. In his eyes, Rice is a Slytherin person, so he naturally has to pick up the pure-blood doctrine.

"We can definitely achieve the great ideal that Slytherin could not!"

Listening to Riddle's words, Rice couldn't help but feel a little uneasy: Could it be that he's going to say that?

"Eliminate every Muggle-born wizard! Let Hogwarts be clean again!"

Rice: As expected.

At this moment, his expression was on the verge of being tense or unable to hold back.

I'm begging you, can you please stop using the Slytherin name to do this?

So embarrassing...

Although I opposed admitting students whose parents were not wizards, I treated them all the same once they were admitted. At most, I would monitor their words and pay attention to their thoughts.

You're something else, killing them all is acceptable.

Rice was at a loss for words.

Seeing that one sentence had greatly "shocked" Rice, Riddell nodded in satisfaction and then began his passionate speech.

Looking at the shimmering letters floating in mid-air, and listening to Riddle's eloquent words, Rice exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "Tom, you remind me of something, something I've seen before."

"Oh?" Although Riddle was somewhat annoyed by Rice's tone, he patiently put on his friendliest expression and asked, "Could you tell me what it is?"

"It is a kind of dark creature. There are many kinds of dark creatures, like mushrooms, and their numbers are so great that they cannot be killed off. But the demons are the most unique kind. They are like animals, but they can make the same sounds as humans, transform into a human-like appearance, and can also imitate human behavior."

But all of this is ultimately for the purpose of better hunting—hunting humans, wizards, magical creatures, and even their own kind. In their minds, language, skin, and mannerisms, like their claws, venom sacs, and magic, are all categorized as weapons.

Tom Riddle, you are a monster in the guise of a wizard. Your appearance, your mannerisms, and the words that flow from your tongue are all your "spells." The ropes binding Riddle snapped with a "crack," and he pointed at Riddle, or rather Voldemort, saying, "That's enough. Enough with the lecturing and preaching."

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 first update is here. The second update will be a little later, so please check it tomorrow morning!

Young Riddle

I'm so sad, I have to go to work again...

(End of this chapter)