Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 272 Hufflepuff: I Don't Like Sweets

"Muggles have come up with a lot of novel desserts and drinks, like this one." Rice waved his wand, filtering out all the coffee grounds from the cup he was handing to Hufflepuff to prevent them from affecting the taste.

"I've had this stuff before. It's really effective at energizing people. The first few times I took it, it was almost as effective as a magic potion." To Rice's surprise, Hufflepuff had actually drunk this magical Muggle drink.

"Hundreds of years ago, Abyssinian shepherds on the southern coast of the Mediterranean used to chew coffee berries to stay awake. I drank it a few times when I was traveling there—this drink was mostly used in religious places, as the locals believed that one had to overcome sleepiness to get closer to the gods." Hufflepuff also gave Rice a brief introduction to the origins of coffee.

"Okay," Rice shrugged, "but you've definitely never had those amazing desserts."

As he spoke, Rice took out a small box filled with all sorts of desserts he had prepared in advance—under the protection of magic, these sweets looked as fresh as if they had just come out of the oven.

Hufflepuff picked out a piece at random, put it in her mouth, and after only a couple of chews, her eyes widened.

"It's too sweet!!!" Hufflepuff didn't give the dessert provided by Rice a high rating because she felt it was too sweet and made her feel nauseous.

Compared to people in the 10th century, modern people eat food that is far too sweet.

"You'll get used to it," Rice said casually.

"I think we should reduce the sugar content by at least half." Hufflepuff still felt the flavor was too strong.

After exchanging opinions on the dessert, the two felt a bit tired and prepared to return to their hotel to rest. Before heading back to their room, Rice remembered something and pulled out an antique-looking magic wand from his pocket.

"Helga, do you remember this wand?" Rice handed Hufflepuff the wand she had bought from Ollivanders wand shop.

"Oh?" Hufflepuff took the wand, glanced at it, and long-forgotten memories surfaced in his mind.

"It must have been tough for you to find the descendant of that wand maker."

"His descendants are still making wands, and they've become some of the most outstanding wand makers in the wizarding world." Rice gave a brief account of the Ollivander family's story, which Hufflepuff listened to with nods of approval.

"So what's written on their signboard might be true?" Hufflepuff stared at the wand in his hand and suddenly felt a sense of historical weight—it was inscribed with wand-making techniques passed down for thousands of years, the culmination of the wisdom of dozens of wand makers.

"It's very possible that their family has a verifiable history of wand making that spans a thousand years, or even longer." Rice used his own and his friends' personal experiences to prove the history of the Ollivander family.

"However, Ollivanders are a bit stuck in their ways now. They only use three types of cores to make their staffs. While this is stable, it lacks variety, just like the current magical world."

They all strive for an 80% score for everyone, unlike ancient wizards where some could get 100% while others could only get 60%.

After returning the wand to Hufflepuff, Rhys went back to her room to sleep, while Hufflepuff stayed in the hallway, getting used to her "new" wand. Although she had reached a point where she didn't really need a wand anymore, she still carried one with her every day out of habit; a wizard without a wand was incomplete.

I must say, the Ollivander family's craftsmanship is truly excellent; the wand felt perfectly natural in her hands, very comfortable to use.

……

Two days later, after another period of trouble, the four returned to London.

Even as he walked out of the airport, Hufflepuff's face still held a look of shock: How could Muggles have developed to this extent in a thousand years?!

On the plane, she wondered who possessed magic. Even the old viper would have a hard time creating a similar alchemical artifact, one that could comfortably carry hundreds of people for thousands of miles and even provide meals?

She had asked Rice about it on the plane, and the answer she received was: it's difficult, it will take a long time, and even if it is made, it will only be an imitation of the works of Muggles.

Ask him to create something original, and he'd never even imagine such a creation. If you gave him the same task, someone who'd never seen an airplane, he'd most likely end up making a flying house.

Even more outrageous is that these alchemical creations can be mass-produced by Muggles. Hufflepuff was completely stunned when he saw a dozen similar creations on the airport tarmac.

The development of Muggles had a huge impact on her.

"We are far behind in terms of transportation," Hufflepuff remarked sincerely after learning that modern wizards still travel by flying broomsticks.

"Not really, we also have things like Portkeys and FlooNets, but they haven't formed a complete system yet." Rice explained these two novel inventions invented by the wizards to his friend in detail.

"These all seem to have been invented a hundred years ago. What has happened in the magical world in the last hundred years? Why can't we see any progress at all?" Hufflepuff immediately grasped the key point: from Salazar's description, she discovered that the development of the magical world seemed to have stagnated?

These words made Rice frown: Helga was right. A hundred years ago, the magical and non-magical worlds weren't actually that far apart; the truly groundbreaking inventions were born in the last hundred years.

"Perhaps the influence of the Secret Law caused wizards to miss out on a great era of development." Ultimately, he could only blame it all on the Secret Law.

"Perhaps we should do something."

"That makes sense. Let's go back and ask Rowena."

The two reached a consensus in a very short time.

"By the way, do you have a place to stay during this time? Why don't you settle in at my place for now?" Rice had his eye on Hufflepuff. He was thinking of bringing this wizard, who was skilled in food magic, to his family's dessert shop.

Hufflepuff naturally had no objections: she didn't have the money of a modern wizard and needed a way to make money and a place to stay, so being able to freeload off her old friend's place was naturally a great thing.

The two immediately parted ways with Daphne and Astoria, and headed straight for Diagon Alley.

Upon entering Diagon Alley, Hufflepuff wasn't dazzled by the bustling alley; the first thing she did was write a job application to the current headmaster of Hogwarts.

"You're really impatient," Rice couldn't help but remark.

He thought Helga was wasting her time, but to his astonishment, less than ten minutes after the letter was sent, the owl brought back a reply—which included an interview invitation!

"Salazar, do you know where Rupert's Dessert Shop is? Albus Dumbledore invited me for an interview there."

Rice: ...

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.

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(End of this chapter)