Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 356 The Boat of Friendship Capsizes So Easily

After hearing Salazar's idea, Helga thought he was a genius. She quickly took out alchemy materials and got to work with Salazar.

The two had a clear division of labor: prioritize making alchemical items that they were good at, and then work together to solve the rest.

This busy period lasted for several hours.

As an accessory to a mass-produced doll, Rice shouldn't have needed to put too much effort into it. However, since Helga was going to show this doll to the officials of the Ministry of Magic, he had no choice but to be more serious.

Rice didn't finish the first set of alchemy tools until the sun was setting.

This set of tools functions similarly to the necklaces and bracelets that Rice gave to Daphne and Astoria, except that they are not comparable in quality; one of their tools is equivalent to a whole set of components on a doll.

After inserting three ugly cubes into the doll's body, the doll now possesses the ability to cast a defensive spell and an offensive spell every day, and to produce a powerful explosion after suffering devastating damage.

Hufflepuff also did her part: she installed functions for the doll to clean the floor, prepare tableware, and make simple breakfasts.

"It can even peel potatoes," Helga said with a strange sense of pride.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

Rice immediately concealed himself. Once Salazar had disappeared, Helga cleared his throat and said to the people outside, "Come in."

The door opened, and Cedric walked in, wearing a Hufflepuff team jersey and soaked in sweat.

"Teacher, team practice is over..." He rubbed his messy hair a little embarrassedly and told Helga that he had come to help.

Helga raised an eyebrow: So they really went to training? She thought her students didn't want to be called in to do chores.

In fact, Cedric really didn't want to do chores; he didn't want to interrupt his upcoming Quidditch practice. But as practice ended, priorities shifted, and he rushed to the teacher's office immediately.

"It's alright, I've already finished grading the assignments." Helga poured Cedric a cup of hot tea. "Have something to drink; training must have exhausted you."

Rice, standing in the corner, curled her lip: I was the one who made the changes!

"Ah, I see! I'm sorry, I had already made plans with the team, so it's not convenient to change the time." Cedric took the teacup, still feeling guilty about what he had done: his teacher had imparted such valuable knowledge to him, yet he couldn't share his teacher's burdens.

Cedric's performance made Helga, the "unscrupulous mentor" who was about to exploit his student, feel a little guilty: What a good student! Salazar should suffer a bit more in the future!

"Prioritize Quidditch training; I can find someone else to grade the homework," Helga said intently. "Let's beat the other teams and win the College Cup!"

In Helga's eyes, every honor belonging to Hufflepuff School is invaluable.

"Good!" Cedric's fighting spirit ignited; he felt this year was Hufflepuff's most promising year yet. In the previous matches, they had defeated Gryffindor. If they maintained their form, beating Ravenclaw and Slytherin wasn't out of the question.

"Professor, are these the dolls you're providing for the Ministry of Magic?" After discussing the training topic, Cedric noticed the dolls next to the office and the various materials and parts on the table.

"Yes," Helga said proudly, introducing her doll. She added, "Hogwarts will definitely create a special teaching position in the future to repair and replace the dolls' parts for the Ministry of Magic. If you're interested, I can teach you that. I'm sure the salary will be extremely good. Of course, it would be great if you wanted to go out and gain experience for two years before coming back."

In order to keep a talent like Cedric at Hogwarts, Helga tried every possible method and finally came up with this idea: since the maintenance of the Ministry of Magic's puppets required Hogwarts to provide personnel, why couldn't this person be a student from her own lineage? The funding that the Ministry of Magic sends every year is not a small amount.

The teacher's words moved Cedric. Although the Diggory family was a wizarding family, they were by no means as wealthy as pure-blood families; they could only be considered middle-class. A stable, well-paid job was still very attractive to Cedric.

More importantly, he could stay at Hogwarts! Cedric felt he could seriously consider his teacher's suggestion.

After that, he exchanged a few more pleasantries with Hufflepuff and then prepared to leave.

Before Cedric left, Helga, as always, instructed him not to mention her existence to outsiders, and that outside this office, she was still Professor Smith White.

Once the office door closed, Rice appeared.

"Surprisingly, you actually revealed your true identity to this student." Rice gave Helga a meaningful look.

Hufflepuff was incredibly kind to her student, even revealing her true identity, showing the utmost trust she had.

"I'm not like you guys, hiding things from your students, especially some of you who make them do hard labor and don't even reveal their true identities to them."

Rice looked at Helga calmly, he had his own plans. When the time was right, he would confront the Greengrass sisters.

He didn't want to argue with Helga about the children's education anymore, so he turned his attention to the unfinished doll.

"Let's keep working, we still have a lot of work to do."

For the next three days, aside from attending more important classes, Rice spent the rest of his time in the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office.

Thanks to his and Helga's efforts, an automated combat automaton was successfully created.

Although Rice didn't know the Aurors' skill level, he felt that they were unlikely to be a match for this puppet. As for how many Aurors it could defeat, that would have to be determined through practice.

"Alright, I've finished correcting your homework and made the doll for you, Helga. It's time for an equal exchange." Rice stared at Helga, implying that it was time for her to "deliver" (i.e., give her the goods).

Helga understood that if she continued to push Rice to do it, she would have a hard time extricating herself once he got the plan. So she simply handed over her teaching experience to Rice.

Seeing that Helga did not continue to assign tasks, Rice's expression softened considerably.

After Helga handed over the parchment filled with her thoughts and the crystal bottle containing her memories of that day, Rice couldn't wait to start reading.

After reading Helga's reflections, Rice had only one thought: Helga Hufflepuff, our friendship is over!

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.

The first update is here!

The second update will be released later.

(End of this chapter)