Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 249 Rice: Am I supposed to just obediently go and take the exam?!

Daphne picked up Riddle's diary from the ground, too lazy to even flip through it, and went straight to the carcass of a giant eight-eyed spider nearby.

"This thing looks a bit like... an alchemical artifact mentioned in the book, which can only be destroyed in a special way." Hermione caught up and almost said something she shouldn't have, but thankfully she stopped herself in time and changed her words.

"I know." Daphne waved her hand, then shoved the diary hard into the fangs of the giant spider.

A bloodcurdling scream, inhuman in its dread, emanated from the diary, and large gushes of black blood gushed from where the fangs had pierced it. Along with the blood, billowing black smoke rose from the diary.

This process lasted for about ten seconds, and then everything returned to normal.

With the dust settled, Daphne, Astoria, Hermione, and Harry worked together to resolve the crisis in the Forbidden Forest.

"It's over. The monsters lurking among your people have been wiped out." Daphne walked past Aragog, clutching her still slightly smoking diary.

"Thank you, young and excellent child." Aragog tapped its large claws in respect, and sighed, "It's a pity that none of my descendants are as talented as you."

Being praised by a giant spider felt quite strange. Daphne shook her head, trying to suppress this odd feeling, and left the giant spider's nest with her three other friends.

Once the spider's nest was far behind them and the silhouette of Hogwarts Castle could be faintly seen in the distance, Daphne began to worry about Rice's safety. She was eager to know how he was doing.

At this moment, Rice is chatting with Ravenclaw.

"How about it? My apprentice is pretty good, isn't she? She handled everything very well—at first, I really thought she was going to set the spider's nest on fire." Rice looked pleased. In his opinion, Daphne and Astoria deserved a perfect score of 100 in tonight's assessment.

"Indeed," Ravenclaw's voice carried a hint of envy, "Granger still needs more experience, but the final monster was a bit too weak."

Rice shrugged: "There's nothing I can do. Who told you to make it so crazy? It could barely unleash its original magical power. And that last attack targeting the soul was extremely dangerous. If Nightmare hadn't been there, that Potter would have been in for a rough time."

"It seems the next teaching goal is to strengthen the children's spiritual defenses."

Rice sighed: "Royna, you know, there's no room for shortcuts at this level. The only right way is to study magic diligently and make your soul stronger."

"Can't you make a few magical items?"

"It's difficult..."

"I've accumulated some things here over the years, and maybe there's something in them that can help you."

"That might be possible."

In a few words, Rice and Ravenclaw reached an agreement—Ravenclaw would provide him with some special dark creature materials, and he would try to create defensive magical items on a mental level.

When they had finished talking, Rice jumped down from the tree, ready to return to the castle.

"You can't go back yet. Theoretically, you should still be inside the seal, fighting to the death with me." Ravenclaw's voice echoed softly, startling Rice.

"Oh, right! This..." Rice couldn't help but cover his forehead: he needed to find a place to spend the night.

However, it was only one night, and he dared not delay any longer. If he dragged down Daphne and Astoria's psychological defenses, it would backfire.

Who knows what they might do!

So, the next morning, when Daphne walked into the common room with dark circles under her eyes, she saw that familiar figure again.

Instantly, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Rice!!!" She ran over quickly, stood in front of him, and then stood still, too excited to know what to say.

Seeing Daphne's expression, Rice felt a pang of guilt.

Please forgive me, Daphne. I might not use that excuse again next time. However, this is a necessary step on the path to maturity for a wizard.

No one can guarantee that this won't happen in the future...

Study magic diligently, child!

That trace of guilt lasted only a second in Rice's mind before vanishing without a trace. He reached out his hand, smiling at Daphne—

"My package should be returned."

Rice's words immediately disrupted Daphne's emotions. His interruption caused the initial excitement in her heart to vanish without a trace.

Daphne rolled her eyes in annoyance, then took out the package that Rice had given her earlier from her bosom.

Watching Rice tie the package around her waist, Daphne felt an irrepressible curiosity rising within her—she even regretted not opening the package yesterday to see what was inside.

But she clearly wasn't in the mood yesterday, and today she's in the mood but has no opportunity.

"Guess?" Rice avoided answering Daphne's question.

Daphne: ...

"Could they be letters from those medieval wizards?" Daphne said jokingly.

"You got it right."

Daphne's expression immediately turned to utter astonishment: You really have a whole bunch of medieval wizard emails in your collection?!

"Don't believe me?" Rice raised an eyebrow.

Daphne, of course, didn't believe it—she always thought that the so-called "letter from the ancient wizard" was just a pretext made up by Rice, how could it possibly exist?

"Want to make a bet?"

Rice's confident attitude made Daphne hesitate, but the bet Rice offered clouded her judgment.

"If I can't produce those letters, I can answer one of your questions—any question will do. If I can produce the letters, you'll have to do me a tiny favor." A cunning glint flashed in Rice's eyes.

He really needs his disciple's help right now!

"Any question is fine?" Daphne was drawn in like a fish on a hook.

"Of course, I swear on the honor of Slytherin that I will answer any question truthfully."

Daphne was immediately smitten.

She felt that Rice was just bluffing!

At this point, she had successfully convinced herself, to the point that no matter how she reasoned, she would arrive at the existing conclusion: Rice was caught in a dilemma, trapped by her, and could only use the so-called "bet" to appease herself and try to persuade herself to back down.

"I won't fall for that!" Daphne smiled confidently and accepted Rice's bet.

Then she stared in disbelief as Rice pulled a thick stack of parchment from the small package.

"Here, take a look. I have more here." After placing the first stack of parchment on the table, Rice took out a second stack from the package.

Daphne: !?

Undeterred, she picked up the parchment and examined it, discovering that it was indeed a letter written in Latin by an ancient wizard!

"I lost. Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Daphne's eyes were vacant, and her face was ashen, like a fresh fish that had been pulled ashore and given up struggling.

Rice whispered his request.

Daphne's eyes widened in surprise: You call helping you cheat on the exam a trivial matter?!

Rice laughed heartily: "What else can I do? Should I just obediently go and take the exam?"

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.

First update delivered, second update tonight, wait for me to get off work~

(End of this chapter)