Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 331 Helga: Such a perfect doll would cost at least three thousand Galleons.

"How could you do this?!"

"Why is seventeen the age limit?"

Astoria and Daphne protested together. There was no way they'd be seventeen when the Triwizard Tournament was held next year! Wouldn't that mean the tournament would have nothing to do with them? They were already third-year students and couldn't possibly wait until the next Triwizard Tournament.

Rice also found the requirement that warriors must be at least seventeen years old completely unacceptable.

Because of this condition, neither he nor Rowena's students could participate in the championship. The students not getting the experience was a minor issue; losing the championship to the other two schools was a major problem.

Rice had been studying at Hogwarts for several years, and he knew the level of the sixth and seventh year students well—most of them couldn't even beat Daphne, a second-year student, and the only outstanding one had already graduated.

In other words, Rice looks down on the current upperclassmen at Hogwarts.

Although Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are likely to be similar in character, things can change once they stop teaching students they themselves have trained.

It's better to be safe than sorry; he couldn't accept the Three Kingdoms Cup being snatched away by the other two schools right before his eyes. If that happened, Helga would lose face too. How could the two of them face Rowena underground then?

"The Ministry of Magic and the three participating schools also have their concerns. They worry that the difficulty of the project is too high and that it may cause injury or death to the participating students, so they set the age limit at seventeen years and older," Mr. Henry explained to the three of them, but this explanation obviously failed to convince Rice.

A thousand years ago, things were different; death was a frequent occurrence for them. On the issue of life and death, Lesby's threshold for understanding modern wizards was far higher, and the concerns of the Ministry of Magic and the schools were not convincing factors.

"This rule isn't good; the age requirement should be relaxed a bit." Rice glanced at Mr. Henry, hoping he could play a role in this regard.

He added, "Besides, it's a bit stingy to only send one warrior from a school."

Rice's mind opened up at this point: Yes, why be bound by the old rules of the Three Kingdoms tournament? There can be more than one Warrior, and schools don't necessarily have to be the "Big Three".

"Since we're going to hold a competition, let's make it big and get all the world's top magic schools involved. We should also have more students participating so everyone can see the young talents in the magic world today—of course, this is just my personal idea." Rice shared his idea with Mr. Henry, who was dumbfounded.

Isn't this going too far? But clearly, Lord Slytherin has his own ideas, and he can't very well contradict him directly.

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Henry could only tell Rice that he couldn't say much about the matter and could only try his best to persuade her.

Rice sighed. If it really was like the original Three Kingdoms Tournament, it would just be an exhibition match in the end, nothing special. It didn't matter whether Daphne and the others participated or not; going would just be a waste of their time.

Daphne and Astoria didn't hear much of the latter part of their father's conversation with Rice, as they were completely absorbed in the scene Rice was describing.

Defeating elites selected from magic schools around the world in front of the entire school's faculty and students sounds incredibly cool.

While Rice and Henry were discussing the Triwizard Tournament that might be held next school year, Helga was in the classroom doing business with officials from the Ministry of Magic.

"How long can the automated combat doll you mentioned be used?"

"With regular maintenance and upkeep, it can last for over a hundred years without any problems," Hufflepuff replied with great confidence.

To be honest, she felt her puppet could last a thousand years, but the wizards in front of her certainly wouldn't believe her, so she was modest.

However, even a hundred years is a staggering number.

This is for a hundred years, a century! Literally, a puppet can be passed down through three generations; the grandson may be gone, but the puppet remains.

The Ministry of Magic officials sitting below the stage exchanged bewildered glances, instinctively wondering if Professor White was exaggerating.

Helga could tell from the expressions on everyone's faces that they had doubts about what she was saying, so she waved her hand and generously announced that the dolls would be guaranteed for fifty years, and would be replaced or replaced under non-human-caused damage.

Officials: ...

It’s a bit impolite to say this, but you don’t look like you’d live to be fifty.

However, since she dared to say that, she must be very confident in the quality of the doll.

The officials weren't really concerned about whether Professor White's doll could actually last for a hundred years, as long as it didn't cause any large-scale quality problems before they retired.

"You just said that the puppets you showed in class weren't the limit of what you could make? You can make puppets with more complex functions and greater power?" another middle-aged witch with a square chin asked curiously.

"Yes, the dolls we made in class just now were just teaching tools I made on the spot. If I made them seriously, I would definitely be able to create more exquisite dolls."

"How strong is the doll in combat?" In the middle-aged witch's opinion, the doll's combat strength demonstrated in class was already formidable. If the official version's combat strength could be further enhanced, that would be truly astonishing.

"I don't think their combat capabilities are inferior to those of the Aurors."

Helga's words caused an uproar in the audience.

Aurors are the Ministry of Magic's elite fighting force and a vital means of maintaining peace; each Auror is a precious asset to the Ministry. And this professor actually claims that the puppets she created possess fighting capabilities comparable to Aurors?!

"This answer is amazing—you mean you can create combat dolls that have been used for over a century and whose combat power rivals that of an Auror? These dolls can fight automatically without human control?" The middle-aged witch repeated the performance parameters of the doll described by Helga in an incredulous tone.

"Of course," Helga said calmly.

In her eyes, there wasn't much difference between modern Aurors and ordinary wizards. The only difference was that the former had more combat experience and could probably withstand one more spell from her.

All the wizards present fell silent.

They had to consider a question: Was the old woman in front of them just talking nonsense? But judging from her performance in class, it didn't seem so unrealistic.

"Alright, how much would one of these dolls cost?" Lucius Malfoy finally broke the silence.

Helga noticed something amiss from the crowd's reactions, so she answered without hesitation, "Three thousand Galleons, that's the starting price."

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.

First update delivered. Second update at midnight.

(End of this chapter)