Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 396 Rice: I feel like this is cheating...

field!

In Cedric's mind, this was a very sacred ability, and he was quite surprised that it would appear in a seemingly ordinary doll.

However, considering that it was something from the teacher's cabinet, he felt relieved. Once it was associated with the ancient name Hufflepuff, everything seemed to make sense.

However, recalling the fierce, blood-red light in the doll's eyes, Cedric felt it was unlikely to be one of his teacher's possessions. If he had to choose, it was more like a prisoner his teacher had kept under his control.

Thinking of this, Cedric couldn't help but complain about his teacher: "Teacher, your way of storing such a deadly thing is too perfunctory!"

But then Cedric thought about it again and realized something.

The teacher's abilities are extraordinary; what place could be safer than her office? This monster would probably be safer in her office than in the lowest vault of Gringotts, right?

Unfortunately, she encountered a group of students with excessive curiosity. Cedric didn't pin the blame on Daphne, because he knew very well that he also wanted to know what was in the cabinet; Daphne was simply doing what everyone present wanted to do.

Moreover, perhaps in the teacher's eyes, this doll is nothing special, which is why she casually placed it in the cabinet without setting up any complicated protective spells.

Helga had taught Cedric about the strengths and weaknesses of different domains and their relationships of restraint, so Cedric understood that the doll in front of him, whose domain was related to earth, was nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter in front of his teacher.

However, for Helga, the doll was meat on the chopping block, but for Cedric and the others, this guy was an undisputed formidable enemy.

Cedric could feel himself losing control of the clay—the puppet's ability to manipulate clay was superior to his own.

"Daphne, help me!" His teacher had told him before that Daphne had also stepped into the realm of knowledge, so Cedric did not hesitate and asked Daphne for help directly.

Daphne hummed in agreement, squatted down, and plunged her lava-covered hand into the ground.

She also began to expand her magma domain with all her might, and together with Cedric, she once again suppressed the puppet.

The two sides were deadlocked, and the situation reached a stalemate.

However, neither Daphne nor Cedric possessed true domains; they were merely "pseudo-domains." Compared to true domains, pseudo-domains had far less endurance.

So about fifteen minutes later, both Daphne and Cedric had beads of sweat on their faces.

Astoria and Hermione were anxiously pacing around, but they couldn't help.

The clash between realms is beyond the reach of ordinary spells; if either of their spells is mishandled, it could even aid the enemy. As for the brooch given to her by Rice, Astoria wouldn't dare use it until the very last moment.

Yes, they can cast a spell on Daphne or Cedric from behind, which can indeed help the puppet achieve victory more quickly.

Cedric's act of smashing the doll into the ground inadvertently helped it.

Seeing that her companions were showing signs of being outmatched, Hermione grew increasingly anxious. Then a thought flashed through her mind: they were both exhausted, so wouldn't it be better if they just rested?

This might seem like a pointless statement, but it takes on a different meaning when considered within Hermione's domain.

After figuring it out, Hermione activated her domain and brought Daphne and the other two inside.

Daphne: ?

Cedric: ?

The two were struggling with the puppet when they were suddenly moved, leaving them feeling astonished as if they had punched a cotton ball.

"You can rest and recuperate in my domain first, and then go and fight that monster. Anyway, time is almost frozen in my domain compared to the outside world." Hermione quickly explained her strategy to the two of them and handed them two energy potions.

"Great!" Daphne's face lit up with joy.

She never expected Granger's domain to be used in this way. When Rice mentioned Hermione's library domain before, she was a little dismissive.

Cedric silently opened the potion bottle and drank the energy potion inside in one gulp.

"What about me? Is there anything I can do?" Astoria looked at Hermione hopefully, hoping to get some "task" to do. She felt that ever since she entered the Forbidden Forest, she had been watching the whole thing from the sidelines, with no sense of participation whatsoever.

This stumped Hermione.

She didn't know what to do with Astoria; she couldn't just leave her here reading a book, could she?

"Speaking of which, what's it like to compete between different domains?" Hermione changed the subject.

Although she is the only one among the four who possesses a complete domain, her domain is a functional domain, not an elemental one, and the interplay between domains is something completely foreign to her.

"It's a bit like two people each holding a bucket of paint, vying to cover a field. First, they fight over the empty spaces that aren't covered by paint, and then they start erasing each other's paint once those spaces are gone. Whoever covers the field with their own paint first wins," Cedric thought for a moment and gave a rather vivid answer.

Daphne added from the side, "In a contest between domains, the side with the advantage can easily snowball and win."

"Then what about you and that monster—" Hermione asked urgently.

"If Cedric and I work together, we can gain a slight advantage..." Daphne trailed off, stopping mid-sentence.

"Let me put it this way, you can think of the doll's paint bucket as having an unlimited amount of paint, while Daphne and I have a limited amount of paint in our buckets. So even if we can gain a slight advantage, we will definitely lose in the long run. Luckily, we have Granger's domain, otherwise the two of us could only last for three minutes at most."

"We can recover our magic here, then go out and continue the standoff with the puppets until Rice arrives," Daphne suggested, offering what seemed to be the most practical solution at the moment.

"Huh?!" Hermione suddenly thought of a very serious problem. Would pulling Daphne and the others into her own domain cause the situation they had painstakingly maintained to collapse?

A fine layer of sweat suddenly appeared on her forehead.

"No, that won't happen. Even if Daphne and I disappear, our remaining power will continue to fight the dolls, though the rate of corruption will be much faster." Cedric reassured Hermione after learning of her concerns.

Cedric was even more relieved to learn that while he was there for an hour, only a second had passed outside.

While the three were having a heated discussion about combat modes between different domains, Astoria listened quietly from the sidelines.

Hermione's attitude taught her a lesson: without a domain, you are nothing, only an observer, and completely unable to help.

She longs to have her own space!

But as she listened to the rest, Astoria narrowed her eyes: she seemed to have thought of a way to break the deadlock.

"Granger, you should be able to control who enters your domain, right?" Astoria asked abruptly.

"Of course." Hermione didn't understand her intention and simply nodded.

"Then why not try pulling the puppet into your domain? According to what 'Paint' said before, this place should already be occupied by your color. Sister and Cedric can take advantage of the gap when it's pulled in to turn the tide a little." Astoria felt that Hermione could use her domain advantage to hold off the puppet, buy Cedric and the others some time, and interfere with the puppet's actions by repeatedly pulling it into her domain.

The doll's disappearance time is merely a bonus, because even if Hermione could hold off the other side for an hour, it would only amount to a mere second from the outside. The key lies in the "stiffness" the doll experiences after entering and exiting the domain. Hermione won't explain the characteristics of her domain to the doll, nor will she tell it when she will pull it in or put it back, which naturally causes it significant interference.

Upon hearing Astoria's idea, Cedric's first reaction was to object, because it was too dangerous. But Hermione thought she could give it a try.

Her confidence did not stem from Astoria's statement that "this place has been taken over by her own color," but rather from the phantom of Rice within the domain.

Thanks to her persistent efforts, Rice's phantom is now able to communicate with the outside world and make physical contact.

In other words, Rice's phantom already possesses combat capabilities!

This is Hermione's greatest asset.

The reason the four of them were in such a sorry state was because Rice was trapped. If he were here, the puppet would definitely not be a match for Rice, who possesses a complete domain.

The naive Hermione didn't think of one question: why would Rice, who possessed a complete domain, be trapped by a curse for so long?

She is now focusing all her attention on the upcoming plan.

After some communication, she sent Cedric and Daphne out of the area, while Astoria was left here to help her control the puppets.

The moment Cedric and the others disappeared, the doll was brought in.

The doll was taken aback when it suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar place.

Before it could react, Astoria unleashed a barrage of attacks, even releasing attack spells from her magical artifacts to maximize her value.

The sudden turn of events and a series of attacks stunned the puppet, putting it at a complete disadvantage.

Taking advantage of the moment, Hermione silently recited Rice's name in her mind. Soon, Rice appeared at the table behind the bookshelf.

"The library is really lively today." Phantom Rice smiled, drew his wand, and began to fight the puppet.

His spell was much more sophisticated than Astoria's, and it completely suppressed the puppet.

Only then did the doll realize what was happening and try to expand its own domain within Hermione's domain.

But since this was Hermione's territory, the development of the puppet realm was much slower, initially only causing some more gravel to appear on the library floor.

"Oh? It actually possesses a domain, that's truly remarkable." Upon seeing this, Phantom Rice couldn't help but praise the puppet before him.

While the phantom Rass suppressed the puppet, Hermione tried to summon Astoria's phantom as well.

Although saying this hurt her feelings, Hermione felt that even a small mosquito was still a piece of meat, and even if Astoria's phantom was weak, it could still provide some restraint.

To her slight surprise, the attempt to summon the phantom of Astoria failed.

Hermione glanced at Astoria casting a spell on a doll not far in front of her and realized something: as long as the real Astoria was in her domain, she couldn't summon her phantom.

As the doll's domain gradually expanded, Astoria and Phantom Rice were gradually overwhelmed by it.

As the fight went on, a bold idea popped into Astoria's mind.

"Huh? If this phantom is Rice from Hermione's memories, can this phantom control Rice's domain?"

She thought she could give it a try.

Just now, in the Forbidden Forest, she dared not freely activate Rice's Domain, fearing it would cause too much of a stir. But within Hermione's Domain, these worries no longer existed.

Even if we take a step back and assume there are still dolls here to "clean up the mess" for them, right?

Astoria grasped her citrine brooch and activated the fragment of the domain that belonged exclusively to Rice inside.

The moment the water droplet appeared, Phantom Rice turned his head, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. The next second, he took over the domain's control.

"You've been a great help." He said this softly, and the water sphere, which was originally only half a person's height, expanded rapidly.

In less than a minute, Hermione's library was filled with a misty fog.

Doll: ?!

It wasn't surprised for long, because the pitiful amount of sand it had just created had been completely wiped away by the mist from Phantom Rice.

Countless tiny droplets of water seeped into the puppet's joints and crevices. The puppet, which had been operating smoothly, suddenly stopped working.

After several loud explosions, the key component responsible for the puppet's operation was destroyed by Phantom Rice.

Astoria and Hermione stared in disbelief at what was happening before them, even forgetting to shut their mouths.

After quickly eliminating the puppet's domain and destroying its central control point, Phantom Rice's body had become almost transparent.

It goes without saying that it won't last much longer.

The phantom first glanced at Hermione and Astoria, a slight smile playing on its lips, as if to say, "You little ones still need more practice," before its gaze locked onto the last trace of blood in the doll's eyes.

The next instant, the crimson color began to burn fiercely, and then, like fireworks, it shone brightly for a moment before completely disappearing.

The doll was completely destroyed by Phantom Rice and has been reduced to its original state of being just parts.

Before disappearing, the phantom began to absorb the domain.

After a burst of white mist, the Phantom Rice disappeared, leaving only a beautiful yellow crystal on the ground.

Astoria and Hermione both fell silent.

The intention was to distract the enemy, but they ended up killing them instead!

Granger, your expertise in this field is simply phenomenal!

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 delivered, thank you!

(End of this chapter)