Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 381 The Dangerous Time Converter

"Miss Granger, could you explain why you weren't absent from this morning's Defense Against the Dark Arts session?" Rice asked with a playful smile. "Could it be that you've also mastered the method of making automata and successfully fooled Professor White, who made his fortune making automata?"

Hermione remained silent.

Rice's facts left her no room for rebuttal.

After a moment, and after a fierce internal struggle, she told Rice that she could tell him the truth, on the condition that Rice swear to keep what he saw and heard that day a secret.

Rice paused for a moment, an unpleasant memory flooding her mind.

Could it be that thing...?

Rice's pupils dilated slightly for a moment at the thought of that possibility.

Hermione didn't notice the change in Rice's expression. She reached into her collar and pulled out a long, thin gold necklace with a glittering mini gold timer hanging from it.

Rice: !

It really is this piece of junk!

"Why do you have this?" Rice asked in surprise.

How has the modern magical world become so open that it would even allow a third-year student to use such a dangerous thing?

"You actually know what this is?" Hermione was even more surprised than Rice.

She had thought that few people would know about such magical items, which required numerous applications from school professors to borrow, but to her surprise, Rice recognized them at a glance.

Rice curled his lip: How could he not recognize this thing? Although he was wearing a gold chain, he knew the timer at the end of the chain all too well.

He not only knew what it was, but also who made it.

Rowena Ravenclaw.

She was the one who ultimately brought the Time-Turner to its full potential, and also the first to abuse it, leaving a very deep impression on Salazar and his companions.

"The Time-Turner, it was mentioned in the book." A hint of seriousness flashed in Rhys's eyes. He looked at Hermione and asked in a calm yet curious tone, "What do you do with it?"

Hermione didn't notice anything unusual about Rice; she was just surprised that he even knew about such obscure things.

"It's just for attending classes..." Hermione shrugged, indicating that she wanted to take every class, which resulted in her schedule being...

Rice: ...

"You're using a time converter for this?" he couldn't help but ask.

Hermione's use of the Time-Turner feels like the application of time-stopping abilities in some strange comics. Some people can transcend worlds with the ability to stop time, while others can only transcend worlds...

The little girl actually just obediently used the Time-Turner to go to class. Now Rice understood why the school and the Ministry of Magic had allowed Hermione to use the Time-Turner.

She is the type of person for this product.

Even if Fred were as studious as George and Hermione (a possibility that is zero), Professor McGonagall would never allow the two of them to access the Time-Turner; she probably wouldn't even want to tell them that such a thing exists.

"Otherwise what?" Hermione asked, puzzled. "I only applied for this thing because my schedule was too full. Honestly, it's such a hassle. I can't let my past self see it, and I have to find a way to keep it from showing up in front of my friends. Luckily, I've been fortunate enough that no one has noticed—Rice was the first one."

Rice was speechless: Weren't the students at Ravenclaw a little too aloof? It was a bit ridiculous that Hermione had managed to stay like this for half a semester without being exposed.

While inwardly criticizing Ravenclaw's school rules, Rice kept saying perfunctorily, "Indeed, it's a good way to resolve schedule conflicts."

Rice didn't dare let Hermione think too much. It would be terrible if she found a "new way" to play with the Time-Turner like her teacher did. Once in a while, that would be enough.

"I'd better advise Hermione to return the Time-Turner at the end of this semester," Rhys thought. At first, Rowena only wanted to use the Time-Turner to find time for reading and studying magic, but it gradually got out of control.

At her most insane, she even attempted to achieve immortality using a time converter, causing countless troubles for Rice and the other two.

However, they didn't blame her, since no magician could resist the allure of time magic. But this realm was like the golden apple in the Garden of Eden, incredibly tempting on the surface, but actually containing a deadly poison.

Even Helga, wasn't she transported a thousand years into the future by a time magic accident? In the face of time magic, wizards are like puppets, manipulated at will.

"But I'm starting to feel like I can't keep going either," Hermione suddenly said out of the blue.

"Um?"

"I'm so tired... I'm really so tired. I have to take twelve classes at the same time..." Hermione's eyes gradually lost their sparkle, and endless fatigue appeared in her eyes.

Rice thought for a moment and put the energy potion back into his sleeve—this stuff only treats the symptoms, not the root cause; the energy it generates is just a "loan" that must eventually be repaid.

"A mature wizard should learn to skip classes. Some classes are simply unnecessary." Rice gave himself an example. In his opinion, the most important classes that cannot be missed are Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Herbalism is also a minor one—but generally speaking, if you do well in Potions, you will have a good grasp of Herbalism as well.

As for the remaining classes, they are all in a state of optional attendance, especially divination and Muggle studies.

It's not that these two courses are unimportant, but divination relies too much on talent, and the curriculum for Muggle studies has major problems.

Rice actually values ​​Muggle research very much, and he is currently immersing himself in studying Muggle knowledge, devoting almost all his energy to it.

If he were to write the syllabus for a Muggle Studies course, he would definitely drastically revise the course materials and make it a required course.

In fact, if he wanted to stay at Hogwarts as Rice after graduation, he would prefer to stay as a professor of Muggle Studies rather than a professor of Potions—of course, he would still have to fight for the position of Head of Slytherin, and if necessary, he could let Severus become Headmaster and make room for him.

Anyway, he won't become the principal—Helga is still alive, and Rowena is still lucid! He'd have to be crazy to become the principal.

While Rice's thoughts wandered, Hermione was deep in thought.

After a long pause, she sighed and agreed with Rice's suggestion.

"I really don't think divination and Muggle studies are necessary courses..."

"Then be bold and talk to Professor Flitwick. After dropping those two courses, your schedule will probably return to normal, and the pressure will be much less."

"A third of the school year is already over, is it really possible to drop the course?" Hermione looked at Rice with suspicion.

"Of course you can." Rice was extremely keen for Hermione to drop the unnecessary and useless courses so that she could return the Time-Turner.

Before she discovers the correct way to use the time converter, make her hand over this dangerous little thing.

"Okay, you have a point." Hermione was convinced by Rice.

She strode quickly out of the library. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Rice felt that her steps were much lighter as she walked out.

"You know, right? She has that thing."

"I know." A figure emerged from the bookshelf opposite Rice; it was Rowena Ravenclaw, using the alias Spite.

"Aren't you afraid she'll repeat the same mistake?" Rice's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"I'm not afraid." Rowena looked completely nonchalant, as if she had Rice completely under her thumb.

"If she can figure out the ingenious use of the time converter, then I will point out the limits of what she can do." Rowena remained calm.

"I certainly won't come out to clean up this mess, you're welcome to try." Rice sneered.

Do you really think Hermione is my student? There's no such thing as an unlimited safety net.

"Making good use of the time converter can be very beneficial. You can gain several extra hours every day out of thin air. If you're bold enough, you can have forty-eight, seventy-two, or even ninety-six hours in a day..."

"And then cause a huge mess, wasting several days to fix it, right?" Rice interrupted Rowena without any politeness.

"No one can guarantee that the time converter won't break, especially if you use it repeatedly to return to the same point in time," Rice pointed out the time converter's fatal weakness.

Rowena had learned this the hard way before, and the time-twisters that the Ministry of Magic still had were all ancient relics. Who knew when they would suddenly break down, especially when the user was a wizard like Rice.

It's like a very large person riding in an old, dilapidated helicopter—it might be convenient, but what if an accident happens...?

"It's not too late to catch up now. Go out and find Granger and borrow the converter from her. You need it, Salazar," Rowena said quietly from the side.

"Don't call my name outside." As for the topic of borrowing the Time-Turner from Hermione, Rice avoided the subject.

It's like Pandora's box; once opened, it can't be closed.

Rice felt it best to avoid using the time converter if possible. He wasn't willing to bet on whether he would become addicted to using it.

Wizards like them find it hard to resist the temptation of having twice or even several times more time each day.

Hermione realized that the reason she was so tired was that she hadn't found the real way to use the time converter. She was only moving forward one or two hours each time, and only rewinding time two or three times at most at the same point in time. The real way to use it was to rewind twelve to twenty-four hours at a time, and then repeatedly rewind time, and then allocate the extra time reasonably, using part for rest and the other part for research and study.

This is the real way to use a time converter!

It allows users to master a new spell, or become proficient in concocting a new potion, or even finish reading a book in a very short time.

"I actually have one left in my private classroom. Do you need it?" Rowena whispered to Rice.

Rice didn't answer. He decided that if Rowena really brought that thing to him, he would destroy it with a spell immediately.

The corner of the library returned to tranquility.

A little while later, Hermione returned with light steps—her neck was empty, clearly she had returned the Time-Turner.

"Professor Flitwick agreed to help me drop those two courses!" Hermione's tone was filled with barely suppressed relief and joy.

When the time converter was removed from her neck, she felt as if a tremendous burden had been lifted.

"Congratulations." Rice smiled, but didn't mention a word about his conversation with Rowena.

"Let's read a book." Rice took out a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica from his backpack and began browsing it with great interest. Hermione sat down opposite him and also took out a book she had just borrowed from the library and started reading.

Rice flips through books very quickly. He skims through most of the content, only reading carefully and repeatedly the parts that interest him.

While browsing through encyclopedias, he was also considering the possibility of establishing an intranet within Hogwarts.

"That's impossible." After Rice tentatively discussed the possibility of establishing the Internet with Hermione, Hermione immediately rejected Rice's idea.

"No electronic devices are allowed on Hogwarts campus," Hermione quoted from "Hogwarts: A History of the School."

"Oh? Why?" Rice asked curiously. When they set up various defensive magic around the school back then, they never considered electronic devices—such things simply didn't exist at that time.

Hermione: ...

She was stumped by Rice's question.

In the end, all they could do was stammer that the electronic devices would malfunction on campus.

"So this is the masterpiece of a certain school principal? Based on the timeline of electronic devices, it must be one of the last two or three generations?"

Hermione couldn't answer at all, but Rice felt that her guess made perfect sense.

They have a significant advantage in exploring the answer to this question because Dumbledore has lived far too long! He graduated from Hogwarts at the end of the 19th century and then became the headmaster of Hogwarts in the mid-20th century, coinciding with the great development of electronic devices.

If it were a headmaster who set up magic around the school to interfere with electronic devices, then even if it wasn't Dumbledore who did it, he would most likely have known about it.

Rice decided to send Helga to investigate.

Acting on his impulse, he left the library and went straight to Helga's office.

"Electronic device interference?" Helga's face showed a hint of confusion. "First of all, what is electronic device?"

Helga's question made Rice gasp.

He then had to patiently explain to Helga what electronic devices are, which inevitably involved popular science concepts such as electricity, and Helga nodded repeatedly as she listened.

"Muggles have come up with quite a few new and interesting things over the years." Even Helga had to admit that the area outside of Hogwarts had become really unfamiliar.

"So hurry up and go find out from Dumbledore. I'm very curious—this is very important for establishing the Hogwarts intranet."

What is the Internet?

Rice: ...

He even had the urge to drink Polyjuice Potion, transform into Helga, and ask Dumbledore for advice.

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.

Update is here!

(End of this chapter)