Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 366 Rice: If I wanted, I could work twenty-four hours a day.

"It's nothing valuable, just some little trinkets I made myself." Rice said this, but the pride in his voice was completely undisguised.

Helga became even more curious.

"What's inside?"

Rice didn't keep them in suspense and told Helga directly that he had made an automatic crucible and an automatic cutting machine. The former could effectively control the temperature and achieve automatic stirring, while the latter could pre-process the raw materials for potions according to the user's requirements. They were two very practical little gadgets. With them, the difficulty of potion making would be reduced by at least 50%.

"Impressive! No wonder you're skilled at making potions!" After listening to Salazar's introduction, even Helga had to admit that Salazar had indeed created a very useful and useful item this time.

Unlike the teardrop brooch, it doesn't possess earth-shattering power, but it can significantly reduce the workload of apothecaries and potion makers in the potion-making field, thereby effectively improving their skills.

With this device, the success rate of potion making will be greatly increased.

"Just send it to Diggory. I'll tell him it's from the heir of Slytherin," Helga helped Rice make the decision.

Rice nodded, while also praising Helga's collection of potion ingredients. Some of the plants she gave were truly extremely rare. For example, the compass grass, which was believed to have gone extinct in ancient Roman times, was actually produced by Helga in a complete, dried specimen, which was outrageous—the time when this thing was believed to be extinct was a full seven centuries different from the time when Rice and his three companions were active. Heaven knows where Helga got it from.

Just as the two were praising each other, the sound of heels clicking on the ground came from the dormitory entrance. Rice turned around and saw two pretty girls walking out.

Daphne and Astoria both chose to wear the gowns and high heels that Professor White had given them. Both gowns were silver-green off-the-shoulder, but one was predominantly silver and the other predominantly green.

Rice noticed that both of them had small white feathers decorating their waists, which, combined with their high heels, made them appear even taller.

"How about it? My taste is pretty good, isn't it?" Helga said smugly from the fireplace.

"This is amazing! It's incredible that an ancient relic from a thousand years ago can still keep up with modern fashion trends!"

call--

A shower of sparks landed on Rice's face, covering the front of his sweater with soot. As Rice frantically cleaned himself up, Daphne and Astoria walked up behind him.

"Ta-da~ Merry Christmas!" Daphne said in a lively tone.

Astoria stood beside her, smiling. "How about we go to the auditorium for some dessert? Christmas wouldn't be complete without Christmas pudding and cake, would it?"

Although he already knew that modern Christmas pudding and the culinary disasters of the Middle Ages were completely different things, Klein still couldn't help but shudder—he wasn't really into the so-called Christmas pudding.

Christmas pudding in his time was a mixture of hard bread, mutton fat, dried fruit, monastery stout, and all sorts of bizarre spices, perfectly illustrating what it means for one plus one to be less than two.

The ingredients for Christmas pudding, taken individually, aren't unacceptable, but combined, they're quite disgusting. Just imagine: the pungent smell of mutton fat mixed with the sweetness of dried fruit, and the occasional pebble in the hard bread...

In any case, the psychological trauma that Christmas pudding inflicted on Rice could not be erased even a thousand years later.

Modern Christmas puddings still cling to those traditional "dregs," but at least they've replaced mutton fat with butter, removed the pebbles and sawdust from the bread, and added large amounts of sugar, rum, eggs, flour, and lemon.

"Fine, go if you want—and besides, aren't you two cold? I suggest you change your clothes if you're going out." Rice's gaze swept over the girls' exposed skin without any particular thought, only that they must be cold.

"Would you like some sausages and black tea? There will also be roasted potatoes later." Rice noticed that his breakfast was almost ready, so he warmly invited Daphne and Astoria to have breakfast with him in the lounge.

It was then that Daphne noticed a human face in the fire.

"Professor White?!"

"Good morning, Miss Greengrass. This dress seems to fit you quite well."

Daphne quickly recovered from her initial panic and sincerely thanked Professor White. After her sister finished thanking him, Astoria also stepped forward to express her gratitude to Professor White.

The two then stepped aside, staring intently at Professor White's face, formed from embers in the fireplace. They had heard of the FlooNet's capabilities, but this was the first time they had ever seen anything like it.

After chatting with Rice for a while, Helga asked the question she had already prepared: Would you like to come to my office for a while?

Upon hearing Helga's words, Rice instinctively wanted to refuse, but looking at the new clothes on Daphne and Astoria, and thinking of the precious potion ingredients in the gifts, he couldn't refuse.

"You guys eat first, remember to leave some for me—don't forget there are still potatoes roasting in the ashes. Wait until they're fully cooked, then cut them open and eat them with butter, they're very delicious." After giving a few quick instructions, Rice sprinkled a small handful of Floo Powder into the fire, then stepped into the fireplace.

The next second, he and Professor White's face disappeared together.

Daphne and Astoria, who remained in the common room, exchanged glances and then made a decision: they were going to join the fun in Professor White's office!

After flying out of the fireplace in Hufflepuff's office, Rice turned to Helga, who was standing beside him, and reminded her to make sure everything was handled properly.

If it's discovered that someone has illegally built a Filo network on campus, it will likely cause another uproar.

"No problem." Hufflepuff agreed readily, severing the connection between the two fireplaces with a wave of her wand, and then invited Rice to her desk.

Looking at the parts and tools on the table, Rice couldn't help but sigh: if he wanted to, he could work 24 hours a day, but why did he have to work so hard?

"We should leave something behind for the wizarding world, shouldn't we? We left Hogwarts before, and now I want to leave some automatons—and incidentally, earn Hogwarts a long-term meal ticket."

Listening to Helga's words, Rice had a flash of inspiration; he seemed to have grasped a key point.

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.

Here's the second update. My writing efficiency was exceptionally high tonight, perhaps because of 521?

(End of this chapter)