Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 382 Because I am the evil Salazar Slytherin

After suppressing his strange thoughts, Rice patiently explained to Helga what the Internet was.

After hearing Rice's explanation, Helga formed a very direct impression of the internet: "So, the school's owls are going to be out of a job?"

Rice: ?

"No, that's only within the school. Students still have to rely on owls to send letters home and for their families to send them things back, at least for now." Rice wouldn't take too big a step at once. He planned to try it out within Hogwarts first—if he could replicate the internet.

He will gradually extend his network to wizarding households once it is running smoothly at Hogwarts.

As for the name of this network, Rice decided to call it the "Magic Network"—the Magic Net. However, all of this was just his idea; he hadn't even drawn a sketch yet.

"So what's the use of this 'net'?" Helga was a little confused, wondering what Salazarfeld wanted to do with all that effort he put into creating this "net".

"It makes it easier to transmit information. For example, if I want to ask you to verify some information with Dumbledore today, I won't have to go to your office in the first place if we have the internet. You won't have to go to Dumbledore to find out the truth either. The other conveniences are countless."

"Oh? So you mean I want you to make dolls for me, and I can just send you a message?" Helga immediately grasped the key point.

Rice shut his mouth.

For a fleeting moment, Helga dampened much of his desire to create a magic network.

Of course, the naive Rice didn't know that there was such a thing as "reading without replying".

After making a half-joking remark with Rice, Helga left her room and headed to Dumbledore's office.

Honey toffee.

With a command, Helga entered Dumbledore's "territory".

"Please have a seat, Professor White. Would you like some tea or sweets?" Dumbledore was somewhat surprised to see that the visitor was Smith White. He quickly pulled out a chair for Helga and summoned a pot of hot tea and a dish of sweets.

"Although I don't know much about health preservation, my intuition tells me that an old person shouldn't eat so much sugar." Helga couldn't help but complain about Dumbledore's taste.

From the office password to the candies he served to his guests, it was clear that the principal had a sweet tooth.

Helga couldn't help but think of an old friend, except that guy was in much better physical condition than Dumbledore; even if Helga and Dumbledore were combined, they couldn't outlive that old man.

"I'm over a hundred years old, I can eat whatever I want!" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Besides, sweets can make people happy."

"A familiar excuse." Helga couldn't help but chuckle.

It's really interesting that these two guys have such a strange resonance in this area.

"So, is there something you need?" Dumbledore changed the subject abruptly.

"There is indeed something I'd like to ask," Helga told Dumbledore about how electronic devices were being interfered with around Hogwarts.

"Was this a defensive spell cast by some headmaster later? We Muggles back then didn't invent such novelties."

Dumbledore shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

"You read it in 'A History of the School,' right? This wasn't a deliberate arrangement by the school; it's based on experience. Through long-term observation, people discovered that electronic devices malfunction once they enter the grounds of Hogwarts."

"That's getting interesting," Helga replied thoughtfully.

"Is it magic?"

"That's hard to say, but it's probably true. Other magic schools also have this phenomenon, but they don't have founders who can compare to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore was just as puzzled as Rhys and Helga, but over the years, through observation, he came to a conclusion: magic affects the electricity in electronic devices.

"How did you come up with such a question?" After giving his own answer, it was Dumbledore's turn to ask.

Helga tried to explain the internet, which Salazar had introduced her to, to Dumbledore. However, the information became much more ambiguous after she passed it on. Dumbledore didn't quite understand what she was talking about either, only knowing that it seemed to be a novel gadget used by Muggles for high-speed information transmission.

"What a novel concept," Dumbledore remarked. "It seems I really should suggest that the Ministry of Magic update its Muggle Studies textbooks."

He also had a vague feeling that the Muggle world seemed to have undergone earth-shattering changes, but Dumbledore didn't take this "small matter" to heart, because Voldemort was always like a sharp fishbone stuck in his throat.

Compared to Voldemort, what are the Muggles' little inventions?

Voldemort was like a leaf stuck to Dumbledore's eyes, leaving him no time to look at anything else.

"Actually, besides the Internet, I have another consideration, regarding the school's secrecy," Helga added after describing the Internet to Dumbledore.

The Muggle expulsion spells and a series of concealment spells surrounding Hogwarts largely rely on a series of spells set up by the four founders when they established the school. Later headmasters and professors may have added some of their own designs to this system, but the overall structure remains the same as their original setup.

Helga has already verified that those protective magic arrays are not much different from those from a thousand years ago.

To use building a house as an example, Salazar and his three companions were the ones who laid the foundation, built the load-bearing walls, erected the roof beams, and put up the pillars. The successors were simply the ones who added things like opening a skylight in the roof or putting up wallpaper on the walls.

At the beginning of the school's establishment, the four founders never considered the issue of electronic devices.

Although the wizarding world was lucky that magic could disable electronic devices, this was not a long-term solution. No one could guarantee that Muggles wouldn't invent more powerful detection devices, nor could anyone guarantee that they wouldn't discover the existence of Hogwarts through such devices.

This time, Dumbledore fell completely silent.

"Perhaps we should further upgrade the school's protective magic," Helga concluded.

"Hmm." A thoughtful look flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.

Professor White is right. After so many years, Hogwarts' defensive magic should be updated.

"Take your time to think it over. I'll head back now, and we can discuss it again when we have the chance." Helga felt that her mission had been accomplished and her goal achieved, so she went straight back to her office.

Back in her office, Helga found Salazar engrossed in a book.

Looking at her old friend, who was sometimes frowning and sometimes sighing, Helga couldn't help but feel an intense thirst for knowledge: it was the first time she had ever seen such complex changes in expression on her old friend's face.

"What are you looking at so intently?" Helga sat down opposite her old friend.

"An encyclopedia, a gift from Rowena's students." Rice handed over the book.

"I suggest you take a good look at this; it will help you understand the Muggle world—it's much better than our Muggle Studies textbook."

Helga took the book and discovered that Salazar was researching something called "artificial satellites".

"Man-made...satellites? Muggles can actually make such things and even send them into space? That's incredible." Helga had a new understanding of the development of Muggles.

It's hard for humans to suppress their desire to explore the stars; this has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Helga had also gazed at the stars, pondering what the depths of the universe, which had brought magic to the world, truly looked like. How could she not be astonished that Muggles had taken the first step in exploring the cosmos before her?

"More than that..." Rice seemed hesitant to speak, his heart filled with worry, for he knew more about satellites than Helga did.

This is not just about exploring the universe; Helga has overestimated the selflessness of the Muggles.

The book says that satellites can see buildings on the ground, and it even includes a photo of a building from a satellite perspective.

This gave Rice a little Muggle shock.

After learning this new knowledge, Reston felt a prickling sensation on his back, as if there really was an eye coldly scanning the earth, sky, and ocean from hundreds of miles away in space.

The presence of modern Muggles made him uneasy. They might not have discovered the magical world yet, but with the help of satellites, it was only a matter of time.

No one knows what fate awaits the wizards after their exposure.

Rice suppressed his complicated emotions and instead asked Helga if she had received any information from Dumbledore.

After sharing Dumbledore's retelling and speculation with her old friend, Helga looked at Rice, wanting to hear his opinion.

"Dumbledore is insightful, and I also tend to think that magic is interfering with the Muggles' electronic devices," Rice expressed his support for Dumbledore.

"But he also lacked vision, completely ignoring the development of Muggles and watching the wizarding world stagnate." After expressing his agreement, he then expressed his dissatisfaction with Dumbledore.

"He's old after all, and he's never experienced a life like yours," Helga said, unusually defending Dumbledore. "For Dumbledore, the most important person was actually that dark wizard, Voldemort."

Upon hearing that name, Rice let out a heavy snort.

This thing is like a cockroach; it's disgusting to look at but impossible to kill completely.

"And since magic can interfere with electronic devices, that's good news after all. We don't have to worry about Hogwarts being discovered by Muggles for the time being." Even now, Helga still feels that the wizarding world cannot be exposed to Muggles—their attitude towards wizards is unknown, and their strength is overwhelming, so they must be treated with utmost caution.

Like a lone wolf that has wandered into a lion's territory, they must be cautious in every action they take.

Helga thought his words would cheer Salazar up, but to his surprise, Salazar shook his head.

"It can only interfere with electronic devices, right?" He casually picked up a quill pen from Helga's desk and turned it, along with its casing, into a spear thrower.

He then swung his spear with all his might, and it flew out of the window, grazing the body of a raven in the sky.

Ignoring the cawing of ravens outside the window, Rice stared at Helga and said, word by word, "Purely mechanical things will not be affected."

Don't underestimate pure machinery. Bows and crossbows are machines, as are firearms and cannons.

"Isn't there a Muggle expulsion spell—"

"So what's the range of this spell?" Rice interrupted Helga directly. "What if we observe it from outside its range using mechanical devices? Muggle technology should be able to do that, right?"

Helga frowned.

These problems wouldn't have been problems a thousand years ago—someone who could discover Hogwarts from dozens of miles away couldn't possibly be a Muggle—but they are problems in modern times.

"And those satellites, they can take pictures from the sky—if you don't believe me, turn to the next page of that book."

Helga did as she was told, and when she turned to the next page, her expression changed immediately: the book included a satellite photo of Constantinople.

"Satellites are electronic devices too..." Helga said dryly, feeling a dryness in her mouth.

The technology of Muggles was somewhat beyond her expectations.

Taking photos of the ground from hundreds of miles above the earth's surface—who is the wizard? Can a wizard really do this?

Helga felt that after expanding his domain, he could indeed sense the terrain and landforms of a very large area. But apart from himself, the old viper, and the old raven, which wizard could do that?

"It uses optical equipment. The book says it uses cameras and spectrometers and other random things to measure the visible and infrared radiation on the Earth's surface, providing high-resolution images and spectral information of the Earth's surface."

Helga felt she could understand each word individually, but when put together, it was very confusing.

Rice became increasingly agitated as she spoke, and she slammed her hand on the table, telling her old friend that she really needed to catch up on her studies.

"This is light, not electricity. I don't think our magical interference will be effective. Maybe the Hogwarts photos are already in some institution's vault, and they just haven't noticed anything unusual yet."

Helga: !!!

Her old friend's words left her mind blank.

Fragments of knowledge floated through Rice's mind, eventually connecting into a line, and he felt he had found a solution to the problem.

"There's a meteor shower in January, and the meteorites are made of rock and ice crystals. That's perfect," Rice said with a slight smile. "Helga, our domain is powerful enough to interfere with meteorites in Earth's atmosphere and guide their trajectories. This way, we can destroy all of the Muggle satellites in one fell swoop—and Hogwarts won't be exposed. It's a race against time to preemptively eliminate any means by which the Muggles might observe Hogwarts."

Helga stared wide-eyed in astonishment at her old friend's line of thinking.

"What do you think? If possible, let's act together—" Rice felt he needed his old friend's help.

"Salazar, wait a minute!" Helga called out, silencing Salazar.

"Your way of doing things is too Gryffindor."

Such a simple sentence immediately drew Rice's attention away from the satellite.

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 here!

Wishing everyone the best of luck in the college entrance examination!

Heart

(`)

Attached is a satellite photo from the 90s—back then, the resolution had already reached 30 meters.

(End of this chapter)