Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 273 Hufflepuff's Interview

"That's the place I told you about." Rice scratched his head, his mind racing: Why did Dumbledore choose Rupert's Pastry Shop as the interview location? Did he sense something was wrong? What's even stranger is that he replied to this letter way too quickly?

From receiving the letter, writing a reply, to sending it back, it took less than ten minutes in total. Even if the owls used in the magical world have magical powers, this speed is abnormally fast.

When asked about the interview time and learned that it was right now, Rice immediately understood: Dumbledore was in Diagon Alley right now, and that owl probably saw Dumbledore's iconic white beard as soon as it flew up.

"Want to come to the dessert shop with me?" After learning that the dessert shop was the place Rice had mentioned, Helga invited Rice to go there with her and, incidentally, observe her job interview.

"Okay, I'll lead the way." Rice took the lead and led Hufflepuff toward Lupert's Dessert Shop.

On the way, he noticed that Hufflepuff's eyes kept glancing at the shop windows along the street.

"Unbelievable, isn't it? The magic world has become so prosperous. In our time, there were no such bustling magic streets."

Hufflepuff nodded, but a sense of unease also arose in his heart: the thriving magical world and the stagnant, or even regressing, level of magic created a strong sense of disconnect.

After thinking it over, she concluded that this was due to the Secrets Act—under the control of the Secrets Act, although the settlements where wizards lived were not affected much, the "markets" needed for shopping were greatly impacted.

Helga felt that perhaps all of Britain's magical markets had converged in this area, resulting in an abnormal and unhealthy prosperity. The little magical shops that could be found in every corner of every town in their time had probably all disappeared.

"How did you come up with the idea of ​​opening a dessert shop?" The conversation quickly turned to Rice's shop.

Hufflepuff was quite surprised to learn that Salazar had sponsored a dessert shop, because the old snake was good at and liked potion making, while he himself preferred food magic.

So how did this guy get involved with the dessert shop? Did he add some ingredients to the desserts to make customers dependent on them?

Rice had no idea what Hufflepuff was thinking. If he had known, he would have been furious and cursed: "Why doesn't he just focus on opening a potions shop? What kind of logic is this pointless nonsense?"

He only gave the werewolf he took in some start-up capital; opening a dessert shop was her choice.

"It wasn't my idea to drive it." Rice told Lupert's story to Hufflepuff. After listening, she stared at him with a very strange look.

"What's wrong?" Rice noticed Helga's strange gaze.

"You've really changed. Back then, you would have killed that werewolf without hesitation, instead of sparing her life, going to great lengths to heal her with spells, and even giving her money—it's unbelievable. Are you really my old friend Salazar Slytherin?"

Rice rubbed his hands together; he had thought about this question before and had a definite answer.

"Because Godric and I proved that killing cannot solve the werewolf problem. But your and Rowena's spells can." Rice told Helga about the magical world's promotion of the Human Restore Charm.

"The werewolf race may become extinct within this century."

Helga: !

"I never imagined that spell could have such a powerful effect," Helga exclaimed, finding it truly incredible.

A small act of kindness she and her friend performed years ago actually led to the eradication of the infamous disease of wolfism. She had initially thought Salazar and Godric's approach would have been more effective, but she was simply reluctant to do it.

The location of Lupert's Dessert Shop wasn't remote, and the two quickly arrived outside.

The dessert shop has been doing very well over the past year. Lupert even used some of his funds to expand the shop, building a small courtyard next to it where customers can enjoy their freshly purchased desserts.

Dumbledore sat in the courtyard waiting for "Ms. White." Several plates of desserts and a large cup of ice cream were piled in front of him, which made Helga, who walked into the courtyard, stare in astonishment.

"Ms. Smith White, right? Please have a seat!" Dumbledore recognized Hufflepuff at a glance as the girl who had applied for the job, and warmly invited her to sit down and chat.

He also spotted Rice, who had brought Ms. White there, but he didn't pay much attention, as Dumbledore knew the shop was owned by a relative of Rice's. His presence there was perfectly normal, so Dumbledore simply greeted Rice and wished him a pleasant holiday.

"Would you like some dessert? I've heard about the dessert shop that opened in Diagon Alley, but I've never had time to try it. Today I finally have some free time—and then I received your job application. What a coincidence!" He produced two empty plates and two sets of cutlery, handing one set to Hufflepuff and keeping one for himself.

"Try it! This shop specializes in 'Muggle desserts,' which are unlike any other sweets you'll find elsewhere. They have a unique flavor," Dumbledore enthusiastically recommended to Helga, highlighting the shop's signature dessert.

Dumbledore was in a really good mood after eating some novel desserts today.

This enthusiasm and joy were passed on to Hufflepuff, who was touched by Dumbledore's emotions. Even though she wasn't very interested in desserts, she still picked up a round, flaky pastry and put it in her mouth to taste it—this dessert called cream puff was quite good and not as cloyingly sweet as she had imagined.

Dumbledore offered her dessert, and Helga, not wanting to be left out, took out two glasses and served Dumbledore a glass of wine-flavored water.

"Incredible food magic!" Dumbledore was amazed by Hufflepuff's magic. After taking a small sip of the drink she provided, he couldn't help but cheer for her.

"It's just a trick of the trade; what's in the glasses is essentially still water." Helga waved her hand, and the wine in the two glasses returned to its original state of clear water.

Dumbledore's expression became even more interesting. He had just thought that Lady White was using some kind of food magic to summon wine stored elsewhere into the glass. But now, after her explanation, Dumbledore realized that he had never heard of or seen such a spell before.

Now, he became very interested in Ms. White and wanted to have a serious talk with her.

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.

Update delivered on time!!!

The next update will be a little later, probably in the morning.

(End of this chapter)