Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 292 Helga: What kind of adorable little creatures have appeared in the Forbidden Forest?

Helga's applause pulled the students out of their thoughts.

"Mr. Lint is right. To resist dark magic, you need to understand it—otherwise, it'll look like this." Hufflepuff crouched down and pulled a cage of rats from under the podium.

Seeing the cage full of lively mice, Rice raised an eyebrow: "See, not all mice have the same fate. Some 'mice' can lie comfortably in their cages, sleeping soundly every day under the influence of the potion, while others become teaching material for the old witch."

Upon seeing the cage of large rats, Daphne subtly shrank back.

Hufflepuff didn't show any disgust towards the rats in the cage—this was nothing! She used to roast field mice, and they tasted pretty good.

She drew her wand and tapped the cage lightly, and the cage door sprang open.

Daphne shrank back a little further, trying to keep as much distance as possible from the podium.

The rats in the cage seemed to sense the air of freedom and suddenly became lively, but Hufflepuff wouldn't let them have their way. She used a levitation charm to take a fat, large rat out of the cage and then closed the cage door to prevent the experimental subject she had painstakingly collected from escaping.

"Watch closely..." Hufflepuff poked the rat's body with the tip of his wand, then threw it to the ground.

Upon discovering that it had regained its freedom, the mouse did not hesitate at all and ran straight to the classroom door.

The students in the classroom immediately erupted in chaos. The girls quickly pulled their feet back onto their chairs, and a few even jumped onto the desks. Some boys quietly lifted their feet off the ground, while others pulled out their magic wands, ready to "bring the escaped rat to justice."

"Let it run," Hufflepuff stopped the students who were about to cast spells.

The mouse had only run a few steps when something strange happened to its body; its already round body swelled up like a balloon.

The surrounding students' expressions changed drastically, vaguely anticipating a bad scene. Many of them slightly stood up, ready to run to the side if things went wrong.

Then Hufflepuff intervened, using a petrification charm to freeze the rat as it tried to escape towards the door. She then used a summoning charm to return the rat to the podium.

"You're right, this rat will explode in a few more steps—now I ask you, does any of you know how to deal with this spell?"

The young wizards below the stage fell silent. They didn't even know what spell Professor White had used, so how could they possibly break it?

"This is today's assignment: find out by any means what spell I used and how to break it." Hufflepuff still had a warm smile on his face. "Next class, I will randomly select a student to try to break my spell."

Rhys, sitting in the audience, smiled. He naturally knew what spell Helga was using.

This spell is extremely vicious. Once a person under its influence moves, their body will involuntarily swell. The even more terrifying flow of magical energy also counts as "movement." Therefore, a wizard who does not understand this spell and blindly uses the antidote in a panic will only hasten their own death.

As for why Rice is so familiar with this spell... well, it's because he invented it. The one Hufflepuff uses is actually a weakened version.

The full version of this spell requires the use of a potion. Sprinkle the potion on the person affected, and as they explode and die, they will transform into a cloud of poisonous mist. Anyone who inhales this mist will also be cursed, triggering a terrifying chain reaction. The curse will continue to spread until the effects of the potion wear off.

This spell is particularly effective at eradicating belief in false Norse gods.

Rice had intended to further modify the potion, allowing it to multiply within the host's body to greatly extend its effective duration. However, his three old friends intervened and stopped him. Furthermore, the potion's ingredients were hard to find, so Rice abandoned his plan to improve the spell.

The young wizards below the stage diligently wrote down the assignments Professor White had given them on parchment. Rice looked at them with pity; finding the spell among various records wouldn't be easy.

Next, Hufflepuff took the mice out of the cage one by one and showed the students various curses—most of which were invented by Rice and Rowena. By the time the bell rang, the mice in the cage were all used up, and there wasn't a single mouse corpse left in the classroom.

"Alright, that concludes today's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. This class demonstrated a little bit of dark magic. Next class, I'll demonstrate how to defend against dark magic. get out of class dismissed! Don't forget your homework; I'll be checking it next class!"

With Helga's command, the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the school year came to an end. The young wizards filed out, engaging in heated discussions with their friends about the proposal Rice had put forward in class that Professor White had endorsed.

How should we view black magic?

This topic, like a stone thrown into a pond, has stirred up ripples and is destined to spark a deeper discussion.

However, the person who started the whole thing didn't take the impending storm to heart at all. After class, Hufflepuff didn't rush to lunch, but instead walked out of Hogwarts Castle with a basket on his shoulder.

She planned to take a stroll through the Forbidden Forest to see what the differences were between the Forbidden Forest a thousand years later and a thousand years ago, and whether any new cute little creatures had appeared.

Helga walked briskly into the Forbidden Forest. She encountered Professor Lupin and his assistant Hagrid along the way, greeted them warmly, and then politely declined their offer to travel with her.

For Helga, despite the many changes that have taken place in the Forbidden Forest over the past millennium, entering it is still as easy as taking a stroll in her back garden.

She soon ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest and encountered a group of unicorns in a forest clearing.

It was a unicorn family consisting of a male unicorn, three female unicorns, and two cubs.

Hufflepuff's eyes lit up when he saw the unicorns: Great, I'm in luck today! I never expected that there would still be unicorns in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts. This is really quite rare.

Upon seeing a stranger approaching, the male unicorn snorted loudly, warning the approaching Hufflepuff, but the Hufflepuff paid no heed.

She completely ignored the unicorn's warning and walked towards a female unicorn with a bulging belly.

Seeing that the warnings were ineffective, the male beast decided to teach the intruder a lesson and make a hole in her. But as soon as it was about to take a step, it found that its limbs were already stuck in the mud.

"The old viper's magic is quite useful." Hufflepuff walked over to the female beast, reached out and touched her belly, then smiled with satisfaction.

"Please let me borrow some breast milk. Don't worry, we'll make it up to you." She squatted down.

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.

This is the second update. Tomorrow's update will be at midnight.

(End of this chapter)