Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 284 Returning to the Countryside Like a Rotten Chessman

After Rice and Helga, one after the other, had dealt with the Dementors who came to search the Hogwarts Express as easily as mowing grass, the train started up again, and the lights in the compartments and corridors returned to normal.

Rice rushed back to the private room before his vision returned.

"What exactly happened outside?"

"There was a really loud explosion just now."

As soon as Rice returned to the private room, she was surrounded by Daphne and Astoria, who looked somewhat pale. The two of them chattered on and on, eager to know what had happened outside.

Rice didn't answer their questions immediately. Instead, he looked at Neville, whose face was deathly pale, and asked him how he was doing.

"I feel okay, but I just couldn't help thinking about some... terrible things." Neville wiped the cold sweat from his face, his voice revealing a hint of weakness.

Astoria glanced at Neville: she had felt something similar just now, though not as severely as Neville. But if the chill had lasted longer, things would have been different.

The girl was absolutely certain that Rice had solved the source of the cold; he was always so reliable.

"How about you? Are you alright?" After inquiring about Neville's condition, Rice turned his gaze to Astoria.

"Yes, no problem." Astoria nodded, suppressing the slight discomfort that had just surged in her heart, and appeared full of energy.

"That's good." Rice sat back down in her seat.

"What about me? What about me? Don't you need to ask about my situation?" Daphne saw that the other two had been asked, but she had been skipped, so she immediately chose to ask herself.

Rice glanced at her but didn't say anything—this girl was as healthy as a fire dragon. The Sorting Hat's sorting system must be flawed; why was someone like Daphne sorted into Slytherin?!

He silently took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, broke it in half, and gave it to the three of them.

"Sweets can help you get rid of negative emotions; it's a preference etched into our souls."

"So what was that outside just now?" Chocolate couldn't shut Daphne up, nor could it extinguish her curiosity.

"A creature called a Dementor. Don't worry, I've already dealt with them."

Upon hearing the word "Dementor," the three young wizards in the carriage simultaneously looked up.

Rice: ?

"You all seem to know what this thing is?"

"They are guards from the wizarding prison Azkaban," Rice got the answer from Astoria.

Rice thought about it and concluded that their appearance must be related to Sirius Black.

Perhaps the Ministry of Magic's idea is good. If we were in each other's shoes, Rice would also support using Dementors to search the Hogwarts Train, but only under the supervision of Ministry of Magic officials, not as it was just now.

Even dogs need to be leashed when walking them, how dare you let a dark creature act alone?! What's in your head? You could sell your brand new brain to a potion maker.

Fifteen minutes after the train restarted, it arrived at Hogsmeade Station.

When the train finally came to a stop, a chaotic and noisy commotion erupted in the corridor outside the carriages. The young wizards, in small groups, walked towards the platform with their pets.

The rain caused the outside temperature to plummet, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the platform. Water droplets pelted the students, quickly soaking their wizard robes. Hagrid called out to the first-year students as he did every year. His voice was extremely loud, echoing throughout the entire platform even without magical enhancement.

"You guys go ahead, I still have some things to take care of here." Seeing that there were fewer and fewer people in the corridor outside, Rice told the three little wizards to leave first, while he deliberately lagged behind.

He wanted to have a good talk with Hufflepuff on his way to school.

"I—" Daphne was about to say something when Astoria tugged at her sleeve and pulled her out of the carriage.

"Astoria, you—"

"Shh." Astoria glared at Daphne, took out two copper plates from her bosom, stuck them to her sister's ears, and put one on herself as well.

"What is this?" Daphne asked in a low voice as she saw Neville trying to stuff his toad into his clothes, oblivious to their little actions.

Astoria drew her wand and tapped the copper plates twice, activating the copper plates worn by the two of them.

"I came up with this little gadget during my vacation, and I just slipped one into Rice's hood when he wasn't looking. I've magically linked these three copper pieces together, so we can hear everything Rice is saying here."

Rice: ...

Astoria's voice rang out from inside his hood, making it clear to him.

He scratched his head and took the copper plate out of his hat.

I must say, the little girl's idea is quite good and very creative. The only drawback is that the sound from the copper plate is transmitted bidirectionally...

"Get off the carriage early, lest there be no Thestrals left to ride in."

Daphne, Astoria: ?!

The two of them froze on the spot.

"Astoria, you thing, how can Rice hear us talking?!" Daphne asked in exasperation.

"Yes," Rice's voice rang in their ears.

"This shouldn't be the effect in the design!" Astoria's mind went blank; she really didn't know where things had gone wrong.

She could only remove the copper plate and close it before fleeing the train car like a whirlwind. She wouldn't have the face to see Rice again anytime soon.

After the children got off the train, Rice slowly walked out of the carriage and saw Hufflepuff taking shelter from the rain under the eaves of a building on the almost deserted platform.

"Shall we go?"

Hufflepuff walked over, and the raindrops slid off her as if they were falling on a film of oil, leaving not even the hem of her clothes wet. Rhys glanced up at the sky, activated his magic, and created a thin film of water above their heads, completely blocking out the raindrops.

Hufflepuff didn't rush off to Hogwarts with Rice. Instead, she stood there, carefully observing the scenery around Hogsmeade Station.

"What a change! Everything around here is familiar except for the outlines of the mountains," Hufflepuff exclaimed after taking in the surrounding scenery.

At this moment, perhaps only the old man who could resonate with her is the one who could only rotten wood.

Others watch a game of chess and decades pass by unnoticed, but she took a risk and was transported a thousand years into the future.

Hufflepuff clenched his fist.

Rice remained completely unfazed: "It's raining now, so the advantage is on my side!"

"This village was founded by your student, Hanges, right? He opened a tavern here." Rice remembered something and started complaining to Hufflepuff.

"Yes, and then we often had to go out of the castle in the middle of the night to catch those students who had sneaked out to drink." Hufflepuff also recalled the stories of his wits and courage with the students over the years.

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)