Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 285 Is Albus Dumbledore really a Gryffindor?

"Good news! Now, lower-year students from Hogwarts are not allowed to enter Hogsmeade Village. Students in their third year and above can only enter on Hogsmeade Open Days with a form signed by their guardian. Also, the alcohol control here is much stricter." Rice shared some good news with his old friend.

"The new principal is capable, but these rules and regulations can only restrain the well-behaved children; they can't stop the troublemakers."

"They're like Pippi Longstocking, and we teachers have to learn to accept them." Rice had long since come to terms with it.

Let them be! Just don't cause any population changes at the school.

On the way to the castle, Hufflepuff took the opportunity to observe the shops around Hogsmeade Village and found that it was not much less charming than Diagon Alley, and even more lively.

"The only pure wizarding settlement in all of Britain, as described in the book, truly lives up to its reputation," Hufflepuff remarked. However, her admiration wasn't limited to the prosperity of Hogsmeade; it also extended to the profound impact the Statute of Secrecy had on wizards.

"Do you think that if we had gritted our teeth and not implemented the policy of separating wizards and Muggles back then, would the modern magical world and the non-magical world have already merged together?" She couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

Rice shook his head.

"We didn't experience that era firsthand, so we can't make decisions for them. I think that since the wizards back then could reach a consensus and push for the implementation of this law, it shows that the existence of the Law of Secrecy has its rationale—you could change your words slightly to: if Godric and his three companions hadn't overthrown the gods, would we still be in a theocratic age now, and would wizards even have a status above Muggles?"

Rice's example was so vivid that Helga was speechless.

"You're right. Let's go, hurry up, I have to attend the Sorting Ceremony later." Hufflepuff noticed that the two seemed to be far behind the main group, so he quickly quickened his pace.

When they arrived at the location where the Thestrals were parked, fortunately there was still another carriage parked there. The two quickly ran over, opened the door, and got in.

As soon as the door closed, the carriage stumbled and set off.

Hufflepuff rolled down the car window, stuck his head out, and began to admire the scenery along the way.

A cool breeze blew in through the window, along with the sound of Hufflepuff.

"To be honest, Salazar, I'm actually a little nervous."

"First of all, please call me Rice. Secondly, what are you so nervous about?"

"After all, a thousand years have passed." Hufflepuff was unusually unsure of himself. "I'm afraid of teaching children outdated knowledge, and besides, what I'm good at isn't exactly Defense Against the Dark Arts..."

Rice: ...

"Shall I tell you about your exes?" Rice decided to share Quirrell and Lockhart's stories with Hufflepuff to give her old friend a boost of confidence.

After listening to Rice's examples, Helga remained silent for a few seconds before posing a profound question: With a professor like this, can one really learn useful knowledge?

Hearing about the bizarre stories of her former professors, she suddenly felt confident. No matter how badly she performed, could she be worse than a boastful fraud or a rote learner? As for Lupin, he was indeed a good teacher, but his lectures had nothing to do with black magic, did they? He was clearly teaching students how to deal with magical creatures…

Then Helga remembered her old friend Salazar's attitude towards dark magic, and it suddenly dawned on her: there is no such thing as Defense Against the Dark Arts. The magic you use to defeat a dark wizard is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even if you use a high kick to knock them unconscious, that still falls under the category of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Upon realizing this, Helga immediately understood.

Although she didn't quite understand why her old friend had suddenly become so confident, Rice was still happy for her: Helga, you need to be more confident. You should be the best professor in the last ten years, no, the last hundred years, without a doubt.

"Do you know anything about Albus?" After gaining confidence from Rice, Hufflepuff steered the conversation toward her soon-to-be boss.

Rice silently took out a picture of Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog from the bag and handed it over.

"He is a Gryffindor with very high prestige in the modern wizarding world."

"I didn't expect you to have developed a new hobby after all these years." Hufflepuff teased Salazar about his "little hobby" while looking at the introduction of Dumbledore on the card.

The Hogwarts headmaster's defeat of the dark wizard and the discovery of the dragon's blood's uses were all insignificant to her; only a sentence at the end caught her eye.

"Remarkably successful in alchemy? What did he do to be described like that?"

"I'm not sure, but the person mentioned earlier successfully created the Philosopher's Stone, so he might have found a new use for it?"

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Hufflepuff was genuinely surprised this time; she never imagined that someone could actually create such a legendary alchemical artifact.

"I got my hands on one last year. If you want some, I'll share some with you later—I gave half to Rowena before, but you can ask her for some first," Rice said in a boastful tone.

Hufflepuff: !

"Give me a little, and I'll forgive you for bringing me here." Hufflepuff Chorales held out his palm.

Rice blinked, quickly reached into the bag, pulled out a magic stone the size of a thumbnail, and placed it in Helga's palm.

"It's a deal." He closed Helga's five fingers together, as if afraid she would change her mind.

Hufflepuff struggled to articulate his feelings: you could say Salazar was stingy, since he did indeed give him a Philosopher's Stone, but his actions were hardly "generous"...

Oh well, I wasn't really going to blame him anyway. I got a Philosopher's Stone for free, what a steal!

Just then, the Thestrals carriage pulled the two of them closer to the main gate of Hogwarts.

Hufflepuff's expression changed instantly, because she could see from a distance that two Dementors were standing on either side of Hogwarts' magnificent cast-iron gates!

Helga: !!!

"Why are there dark creatures outside the school?!" Her face contorted in shock.

"These are the guards of the wizarding prison..." Rice said with a gloomy face, introducing the Dementors who were used as jailers by the Ministry of Magic to Hufflepuff.

"So the so-called 'Ministry of Magic' sent dark creatures to surround Hogwarts? Can I understand it that way?" Hufflepuff's voice was tinged with anger.

Rice nodded, thinking it was highly likely that Helga was right.

Hufflepuff took a deep breath, then turned to Rice: "Is that Albus Dumbledore really a Gryffindor?"

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)