Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 29 Want to learn? I'll teach you!

"Is that a Boggart?" After Rice dealt with the strange fog, Daphne's heart, which had been in her throat, settled back into her stomach.

Now she was interested in finding out the true nature of this strange fog.

Judging from its features, Daphne felt it resembled the Boggart mentioned in her father's bedtime stories.

Upon hearing this, Rice was so angry with Daphne that he almost reincarnated.

"It wasn't a Boggart at all!!!" Rice immediately retorted. He couldn't accept this statement at all. A Boggart could become the thing people feared most in their hearts. If the monster just now was really a Boggart, wouldn't that mean he was most afraid of Godric Gryffindor?!

"It's called a lust demon." Rice gave Daphne a proper explanation of what a lust demon is.

After holding the Desire Demon, which had turned into a bead, in his hand and rubbing it for a while, Rice regained his composure.

He took out a crystal bottle from his pocket, scraped a small fragment from the bead and put it into the bottle, then sealed the bottle opening with sealing wax. The fragment, once inside the crystal bottle, immediately "sublimated," filling the bottle instantly with white mist.

While Rice was doing these things, Daphne stood silently to the side, watching him intently.

The image of Rice standing in front of her and swiftly eliminating the lust demon was deeply imprinted in her mind, stirring her emotions and leaving her unable to calm down for a long time.

Powerful and mysterious—that was Daphne's impression of Rice.

She would bet her family name on it that Rice was no ordinary student, and his status as a first-year student was most likely a facade. As for his true identity, Daphne believed that he would tell her on his own after spending more time with him.

She won't ask questions until the time is right.

"These dark creatures are quite dangerous, but their bodies are versatile magical ingredients. For example, lust demons can help wizards read other people's memories, and they can also be used to make potions. I know of more than a dozen potions that use them." After taking the samples, Rice began to explain the uses of lust demons to Daphne.

"Wait, you just said that dark creatures cannot be killed, but it—the lust demon—can be used to make potions. So if we make it into a potion, can't we kill it?" Daphne's eyes gleamed, as if she had discovered a new continent.

From Daphne's overjoyed expression, Rice saw the innocence and purity of a child.

He laughed.

"It's the right idea, but it can only be eliminated in theory; it's impossible to do in practice."

Before Daphne could ask why, Rice waved the crystal bottle in front of her face.

"It's only this big now because I compressed it tens of thousands of times with magic. You see, it started to revert to its original size as soon as it got into the bottle. If I let it expand, it probably wouldn't fit in the entire corridor."

How many potions do you think you'd need to kill this lust demon?

Daphne was stunned.

"Fortunately, we just need to lock it up, and it won't run away and harm people."

After taking a few steps forward, Rice stopped in front of a stone wall. He wiped the wall with his left hand, and a small room without windows appeared out of thin air.

Daphne: ?!

"I told you this is a dungeon," Rice shrugged. "Isn't it normal for dungeons to have cells?"

He placed the bead, which was formed from the demon of desire, into the room, and with a wave of his hand, the wall closed, leaving no trace.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Daphne would never have believed that there was a dark and gloomy little prison cell here.

The obstacle has been overcome. Shall we proceed deeper into the dark corridor? Daphne looked into the depths of the corridor, her face filled with anticipation.

The monster called the Desire Demon had just appeared before her eyes; she had never even heard of its legends before tonight, yet now she had seen it in person. Daphne's curiosity was ignited; she wanted to know what other wondrous creatures awaited them deeper within.

Because Rice gave her an excessive amount of confidence, she ignored the risks of the expedition.

Unlike Daphne, Rice, who was responsible for the physical labor in the expedition, was far from optimistic.

Encountering a lust demon upon entering is not a good sign. Based on his experience, Rice judged that the dungeon's seal was probably damaged in several places, and some out-of-control monsters had destroyed the seals of other monsters as well—it would be quite difficult for a lust demon to break free of its seal on its own.

Given my current state, venturing into such a place would be risky, especially with a child with me. Such an action would be too Gryffindor-like and extremely unwise.

After a brief moment of consideration, Rice made a decision: return the way he came, make thorough preparations, and then venture deeper into the dungeon to eliminate the monsters and reinforce the seal.

"Are we going back already?" Daphne couldn't help but feel a little disappointed after hearing Rice's decision.

"It's getting late, and we have class tomorrow."

Rice's words only made Daphne feel a wave of exhaustion wash over her, and all she wanted to do was go back to her soft bed in her dorm room and rest.

Before leaving, Rice pulled out his wand, pointed it at the wall, and began to chant a spell.

"Protect all, detect obstacles, warn of breaches..." After casting six or seven spells in a row, Rice stopped. The seal against the lust demon was now complete.

"Wait, is this the seal you mentioned?" Daphne noticed that the seal Rhys had placed seemed different from the seal she remembered.

"Yeah, otherwise what did you think a seal looked like? A magic circle emitting blue light? I just wanted to trap this dark creature in this cell. A few spells will be enough to deal with the lust demon."

Compared to the way we came, the journey back seemed quite long.

Daphne was exhausted halfway there and could only lean against the wall to recover her strength.

Rice sighed and turned to Daphne.

"You don't need to carry me, I can manage on my own." Daphne's eyes showed a determined look.

Rice: Huh?

What are you thinking about?

"Light as a feather!" He cast a spell on Daphne.

This spell is a derivative of the Levitation Charm, which first-year students at Hogwarts learn. It creates buoyancy under a person, making walking easier, especially when climbing hills.

He could also forcibly restore Daphne's strength with a spell, but this would lead to overexertion, essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Rice was not inclined to use this method.

Daphne suddenly felt her feet were light, the lead weight on her legs had disappeared, and climbing uphill was no longer difficult.

"That's amazing!" she exclaimed from the bottom of her heart.

The two, one after the other, returned to the common room, led by Rice. Perhaps because it was the opening ceremony, they did not encounter any professors on night patrol or castle gatekeepers along the way.

In the common room, Rice said goodbye to Daphne and wished her good night and sweet dreams.

"Wait a minute!" Daphne couldn't help but call out to Rice as he walked toward the boys' dormitory.

"What's wrong?" Rice turned around and looked at her calmly.

"The spells you used today..." Daphne hesitated to speak. These spells looked very profound, and she had never heard of most of them before. They were likely secret magic passed down in someone's family. Would it be too presumptuous of her to ask to learn their spells so readily?

"Want to learn?"

Daphne took a deep breath and then nodded.

"Sure, I'll teach you," Rice readily agreed.

Daphne met his requirements for taking on a student, being a student of Slytherin House. As the founder of Slytherin House, Rice believed it was only natural for him to teach her some practical spells.

Once she finishes her studies, she can help me with odd jobs like reinforcing the seal. Why not?

Thank you again and again to Mingyue for the generous donation! Thank you so much for your support!

It's getting warmer! Love you.

(づ￣3￣)づ

(End of this chapter)