Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 254 Henry Greengrass's Unease

"Rice, you—" After parting ways with Ron, Daphne couldn't wait to ask Rice what he was thinking.

She wanted to know why Rice insisted on spending money to buy Ron's mouse.

If it were her, the first thing she would have thought of upon learning that Ron's pet was a mouse would not have been to buy it. Instead, she would have tried to recall whether Ron had touched any of her belongings and secretly reminded herself never to take food from Ron again.

Astoria also wanted to know why, so she stood quietly to the side and observed the mouse.

After looking it over, Astoria didn't find anything unusual. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She chose to use the method Rice had taught her: to observe the rat from the perspective of its magical flow. Then she immediately noticed something was wrong.

The magical energy emanating from this rat is far too strong!

Astoria immediately understood why Rice wanted to buy the mouse; it was indeed very unusual.

Seeing the curious look in Daphne's eyes, Rice sighed and interrupted her.

"Daphne, when you encounter problems, think things through, observe things carefully, and apply what you've learned to your life."

Rice's words puzzled Daphne, and it took her a while to understand. After doing the same thing as her sister, Daphne also discovered the extraordinary magic within Banban.

Daphne: !

He heard every word the three said, but he didn't understand a single one. He raised his head and looked at the three with his small, black bean-like eyes, trying to find something from their expressions.

Then he saw Rice's eyes, those dark pupils that reminded him of an old friend, bringing him a sense of familiarity that he loathed.

He involuntarily shuddered and looked away.

Seeing Banban looking up at her, Rice's lips curled into a slight smile: "Alright, let's put our new pet in a cage and keep it at your place for now, okay, Daphne?"

"Of course, that suits me perfectly," Daphne readily agreed.

Banban felt a surge of joy: he could now infiltrate the Greengrass family!

The slight unpleasantness that had just occurred to him was instantly banished to the winds. Although his body was at King's Cross Station, his mind had already flown to Greengrass Manor.

Just as he was feeling incredibly light, he suddenly felt a tremendous force coming from his tail, and then his body felt light as he was lifted up.

After the initial panic, Scabbers regained his composure—as a mouse, he was all too familiar with this situation; the little wizard named Rice had grabbed his tail and lifted him up.

He struggled symbolically for a couple of moments before being stuffed into the cage Rice conjured up at will.

Once inside, Banban realized something was wrong: wasn't the cage a bit too small? He couldn't even turn around, but it was too late for regrets. After he was shoved inside, Rice locked the cage door to ensure he couldn't escape. He even covered the cage with a black cloth, wrapping it up tightly so that not a single ray of light could get in.

Scabbers was thus sent to Greengrass Manor. Upon arrival, he did not gain the freedom he had anticipated, but was instead locked in a small, windowless room and placed under strict surveillance.

Forget about the Greengrass family having any contact with the outside world; they can't even see a ray of sunlight.

Feeling betrayed, Banban cursed inwardly, but it did nothing to change his situation. He began to miss Ron; at least with Ron, he could move freely.

After placing Scabbers under house arrest, Rice settled down at Greengrass Estate.

Daphne encountered some difficulty in persuading Mr. Henry, who was still a little worried about the children.

"Your sister is frail, and I'm a little worried about her running off like this. And Rice, he really..." Mr. Henry trailed off, his words trailing off.

He didn't know how to describe this "child".

Unlike the young Daphne and Astoria, Mr. Henry had long noticed that something was wrong with Rice.

He was too unusual. Whether it was the various treasures he carried, his extraordinary talent in potion-making, or the legacy of those ancient wizards, all of these things were incompatible with his identity.

Henry would bet his entire fortune that Les Lint was no ordinary kid; he had a big secret.

He had also asked someone to investigate Ras Lint, and was astonished to find that the child seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. His "distant cousin" Rupert could not possibly have any connection to him—she was a down-on-her-luck werewolf, and the Lint family was not among her relatives.

These things made Mr. Henry a little uneasy, but only a little. Because Les Lint had consistently shown his family such great kindness, to the point that Mr. Henry was somewhat puzzled: had his ancestors accumulated good karma? Why was Les Lint so willing to help him?

Initially, he only sold medicinal herbs to himself, but later he took over his daughter's treatment and reportedly taught her many ancient spells. In the end, he even entrusted her with a treasure like the "Slytherin Testament."

This is simply illogical. In other words, he's being a little too good.

Mr. Henry's unease largely stemmed from the fear of owing too many favors and not knowing how he would repay them. Sometimes, it even kept him awake at night.

Daphne, oblivious to her father's underlying emotions, dropped a bombshell when he continued to bring up her sister's health: "Dad, Astoria is cured!"

Henry: !!! !!! !!!

"What?" Henry thought there was something wrong with his ears until his eldest daughter repeated it.

He turned around abruptly and stared intently at his youngest daughter's face.

Indeed, her skin was rosier than he remembered, but he had initially assumed it was due to the potion Rice had concocted. He never dreamed that the illness could be cured!

Mr. Henry's first thought was: Could it be fake? Like that swindler Damocles?

He quickly dismissed the absurd idea. Although he couldn't cure his daughter's illness, he knew how to determine if she was fully recovered, and that Rice wouldn't stoop to such a low level to deceive them.

In other words, his youngest daughter has fully recovered?!

Thinking of this, an overwhelming joy filled his mind, bringing tears to his eyes.

Since discovering his daughter's problem, he has suffered more hardships than he had ever experienced in his life; the bitterness of it is truly indescribable.

"I'm going to see Rice," Mr. Henry decided.

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.

This is the second update; the next update will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)