Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 240 Ron: Harry, you feel like a stranger to me

The peaceful life at Hogwarts continued, and no one knew that a secondhand diary had been brought into the school by a red-haired freshman, who "almost" opened the Chamber of Secrets, sealed for a thousand years. Nor did anyone know the stories that unfolded in the dungeons and the Forbidden Forest.

Everything was so peaceful.

Astoria has fully recovered and is in excellent condition. The faint signs of illness on her face have completely disappeared, replaced by a youthful vitality that she couldn't have even if she ate a hundred magic stones.

That youthful aura would be the envy of even the world's top magicians: it is something that no amount of advanced immortality techniques can replicate. Rice might be able to replicate half of it, but as long as he retains a trace of his memories from a thousand years ago, he could never perfectly imitate that vitality.

Astoria took about a week to fully recover from the surgery; she was completely healed before Rice even had a chance to revise the potion formula he had designed for her.

On Sunday evening, Astoria and her sister excitedly went to the secret room, ready to listen to Rice's lesson.

"Now that you've broken free from the curse, why don't you try unleashing your magic?" Instead of teaching them spells or providing them with a potion recipe to practice with as usual, Rice had Astoria try releasing the magic within her first.

"Okay." Astoria did as she was told, and then she fell flat on her backside.

However, she didn't show any discouragement after falling; instead, her face lit up with joy because she could feel a very obvious difference: her magic output was incredibly smooth, without any sluggishness whatsoever. It was so smooth that she herself was a little unaccustomed to it, which caused her to fall.

She got up from the ground and resumed channeling her magic.

This time, she carefully controlled the amount of magic she released, and then floated steadily into the air. A few minutes later, she was flying freely in the sky, just like Daphne before her.

"Fantastic!" Rice applauded Astoria, and Daphne, standing beside her, also looked excited.

My sister has recovered! That's wonderful!

However, Daphne soon realized a problem: without the curse holding her back, her sister's strength would probably increase rapidly—would she be surpassed by her?

The thought of possibly being knocked away by her sister on the dueling stage made Daphne decide to focus her energy on learning spells.

Rice never expected that curing Astoria's illness would also have the added benefit of boosting Daphne's motivation to learn; it was a truly unexpected delight.

……

With the blood curse no longer binding her soul, Astoria's strength improved rapidly. By the time the date of the final exam appeared on the calendar, she was already able to fight Daphne to a standstill in the secret room.

As final exams approach—even if it's still a month away—the school becomes restless. The library, usually empty, becomes extremely crowded, with seats hard to find.

Gryffindor students are an exception; they have a very relaxed attitude towards exams. Most students cram in the week leading up to exams. Then, during final exam week, they arrange their study order according to the exam sequence—if Potions is on Monday, they study Potions on Sunday; if History of Magic and Transfiguration are on Tuesday, then Monday's Potions exam is followed by a dedicated study session for History of Magic and Transfiguration.

They also have a very mature theory: reviewing too early will cause you to forget what you've memorized, and then you'll have to memorize it all over again. It's better to put in some effort before the exam, and the "shelf life" of the knowledge will be enough until the bell rings to signal the end of the exam.

To be honest, this theory does have some flaws.

But there are always exceptions, like Harry, who is one of the very few people who has developed a study plan.

"Wait, bro, there's still a month until the final exams, and you've already made a study plan?!" Ron picked up the parchment in front of Harry, looking completely astonished.

Harry's actions felt foreign to him.

"Are you possessed by some evil spirit?" Ron made a scared expression, which, combined with his exaggerated body language, made him look particularly comical.

"Mainly because there's still a lot of Quidditch training ahead. Wood has practically risked his life to win the finals, so I just asked someone to make a review plan for me and borrowed a set of notes as well." Harry took out a set of neatly written and clearly organized notes from his bag.

"Can I borrow it?" Ron instinctively took the notebook and intended to make a copy.

He might not look at these notes until the exam starts, but he will definitely borrow them to make a copy; this behavior gives him a great sense of security.

"I'm going to the library to study for a bit, wanna come with me?" Harry glanced at the clock and realized it was time to go to the library to study. So he packed his bag and got ready to leave.

Before setting off, he asked Ron a question.

Ron: !

"Harry, you seem like such a stranger today!"

Ron, however, was somewhat tempted and was considering whether to go to the library with Harry.

"Ron, wanna play cards? We need one more!"

Just before Ron was about to make his decision, Jordan's voice came from the other end of the lounge. He was a good friend of Fred and George and often played with Ron and Harry.

Ron: ...

Between the library and playing cards, he chose playing cards.

With final exams still a month away, Ron felt like every pore on his body was refusing to study.

Harry went to the library alone. He was lucky today; the library wasn't completely full, and he found a seat in a corner.

After laying his textbooks and borrowed notes out on the table, Harry began his final exam review.

Harry was in a great mood today, completely immersed in the sea of ​​knowledge. When he came to his senses, it was already dark outside the window, and the library felt much emptier.

Harry stretched first, then glanced at the clock on the wall and realized there were less than fifteen minutes left before closing time. He began to pack up his textbooks and notes on the table, preparing to go back to his dormitory to wash up and go to bed.

To be honest, the sense of fulfillment and peace of mind that comes from studying hard all night is something that playing a hundred hands of cards can't bring—playing that stuff too much only brings emptiness and regret for wasting time. He can finally get a good night's sleep tonight.

Just then, Harry suddenly heard a familiar voice—the same voice he had heard before!

Run! Run!

This time the sound was very close, seemingly right above his head!

Harry immediately became excited.

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 of the day is here!

Don't wait for the second update; it might not be until tonight.

(End of this chapter)