Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 397 Rice: Is it my fault that I'm too strong?

When Hermione and Astoria returned with the dolls reduced to parts, everyone present was stunned.

This includes Rice, who was hiding not far away and using magic to spy on the situation.

The puppet was so lively just now, everyone thought there was going to be a fierce battle, but it disappeared in an instant, and no one knows what happened.

Rice arrived at the scene quickly.

When he arrived at the scene of the battle, Daphne and Cedric were still clueless, but Rice quickly figured out why the doll had been defeated.

His power remains on the puppet. In other words, the puppet was defeated by "him".

As the question setter and examiner, Rice could not possibly help the candidates cheat in this exam, but the phantom Rice summoned by Hermione's domain could.

Before the exam, Rice had assessed the Phantom's combat power, but he believed that the Phantom would not cause too much interference to the puppet, because the Phantom was unlikely to summon its own domain.

Surprisingly, the children had quite a broad perspective, actually coming up with the idea of ​​releasing the domain within the brooch and then having the phantom control this small, incomplete domain.

Although the illusion's duration is limited and the domain within the brooch is only incomplete, it is still something that a puppet cannot match.

After all, the esoteric monks who provided the raw materials were quite weak. If they had used a master like Capricorn, they might have been able to hold on. But that level of strength seemed a bit too high.

Sigh, being the one who sets the questions is really too difficult.

"I'm here—oh, it seems you've already solved the problem." Rice was quite the actor; when he arrived at the scene, there were even a few fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Rice, you're here!" Seeing Rice appear unharmed, Daphne's face lit up with a genuine smile of happiness.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" she asked, looking at Rice with concern.

"I'm alright, I was just held up by that spell for a while. You guys are pretty quick!" Rice changed the subject back to the dolls.

Everyone turned their attention to Hermione, who then took the opportunity to explain what had just happened in her domain.

"Speaking of which, we were able to handle the doll so efficiently thanks to your help, Rice." She said this at the end, half seriously and half jokingly.

These words elicited different thoughts from the four young wizards.

Daphne and Astoria thought this was perfectly reasonable. In their view, if Rice hadn't been trapped by the sand sphere, the puppet would have been dealt with long before it even entered the Forbidden Forest. His entrapment wasn't due to a lack of strength, but rather because he was trying to save Daphne, and Daphne had held him back.

Cedric was extremely shocked. He had thought that Rice was Daphne's follower and possibly one of Slytherin's heirs—although three heirs appearing at once seemed like a lot, there didn't seem to be a rule that there could only be one, and Helga hadn't told him much about Rice.

It turns out that he was actually the strongest of the three. According to Miss Granger's description, he was 90% certain that Rice also possessed a fully realized elemental domain.

How did he do that? He's only in third grade! He couldn't have brought his cultivation from his past life, could he?!

Sometimes, the truth is hidden in absurd ideas. For a fleeting moment, Cedric grasped Slytherin's greatest secret, but he quickly dismissed the ridiculous notion.

Hermione glanced at Rice with a strange look; to her, things did seem a bit odd.

Rice's phantom form, combined with the incomplete domain carried by Astoria, could easily defeat the puppet. Rice's real body is even stronger than the phantom, so why was he trapped in that sand sphere for so long?

Could Rice be deliberately stalling for time? This thought flashed through Hermione's little mind.

But the idea was quickly dismissed by Hermione because Rice had no motive for it.

Why would he do this? And what benefit would it bring him? Rice should not be doubted until these two questions are answered.

"That's wonderful. Although I couldn't make it in time, I'm fighting alongside you in another way." Rice had a genuine smile on his face, as if he was truly happy about it.

The young wizards were unaware of the true thoughts beneath Rice's outward appearance; they genuinely believed Rice's words.

"Alright, it's time to go back to Professor White's office." Rice's gaze swept over the doll on the ground, a hint of barely perceptible annoyance flashing in his eyes.

Was this final exam a success or a failure?

To call it a failure is unfair, but the illusion was also part of Hermione's strength, and she defeated the puppet through her own power. It's also difficult for Klein to definitively say the trial was a success.

The children won too easily. Daphne and Cedric fought with all their might for less than fifteen minutes, while Astoria did little more than use her wits, which was different from their initial plan.

However, everyone's performance was commendable, especially Astoria's strategic vision, which impressed Rice.

"Perhaps it would be better to arrange trials separately in the future?" Rice began to summarize and reflect. He even had the urge to send them out to hunt down the esoteric monks.

The group quickly tidied up the mannequin fragments on the ground and then returned to Professor White's office.

"Why would Professor White keep something like this here?" Back in her office, Daphne finally began to voice her doubts.

Everyone remained silent, except for Rice, who glanced at her and suggested that she go directly to ask Professor White.

"This..." Daphne belatedly realized that she seemed to have messed up.

The evil doll in the closet was indeed the professor's secret, but it clearly didn't seem to be the secret Professor White had mentioned. Wouldn't I be punished for doing this?

"What should I do, Rice?! I don't want to be locked up!" Daphne was starting to panic. She turned to Rice for help, hoping to get his assistance.

"It's not a big problem, you won't be put in solitary confinement." Daphne's reaction made Rice feel a little relieved: the Gryffindor smell on this child was finally not so strong.

From his observation, Gryffindor students didn't seem to be that afraid of solitary confinement. Although they frequently violated school rules, they were quite open about accepting punishment.

Daphne's reaction is typical Slytherin practice—preparing beforehand to minimize or reduce punishment. Of course, a true Slytherin would never put themselves in that situation.

Although Rice looked down on the Malfoys, he agreed with a saying about the Malfoy family: you will never see a member of the Malfoy family at a crime scene, even if the wand used in the crime is covered with their fingerprints.

Daphne still needs more guidance from herself.

Thinking this, Rice glanced at Astoria. He was quite satisfied with this student.

He was quite certain that Astoria was also curious about the things in the wardrobe, but she was able to remove herself from them and get herself clean.

"Are you sure you won't be put in solitary confinement?" Rice's words relieved Daphne, but she was also a little confused: looking back, her actions didn't seem so acceptable.

"I don't think this is a very serious issue." Of course, Rice couldn't say that he and Helga would love to use the Imperius Curse to make you open the cabinet, so he could only start looking for various reasons.

"If this thing were truly dangerous or important, Professor White certainly wouldn't have stored it like this. When Diggory became interested in the cabinet, she would have explained the implications. The fact that Professor White didn't say anything means it's not a big problem."

"But you just said we should destroy it at all costs?" Hermione remembered what Rice had said earlier.

Rice: ...

Having been hit by a boomerang, he tried to smooth things over, saying some nonsense like "it's not a big problem, but we still can't let it escape," and finally managed to fool Hermione.

"And what's next?" Astoria asked Rice.

"Keep making parts, what else can you do? Daphne, if you make a few more parts, Professor White will let you off the hook."

Rice's words inspired Daphne's work motivation, and in the following period of time, her speed in making doll parts was almost as fast as Rice's when she was not holding back.

This broadened Rice's horizons, making him marvel at how people can do things they wouldn't normally do when pushed to the limit.

Helga returned just before lunchtime.

The Ministry of Magic invited her to have dinner with them, but she politely declined.

She was eagerly anticipating the trial's outcome. Her own Cedric should have played a crucial role, right? Driven by this thought, Helga rushed back without stopping.

As soon as Helga entered the office, her gaze fell upon the doll that had been broken into pieces. She felt a surge of joy: the children hadn't disappointed her; they had actually found the doll!

What she feared most was returning to the office to find all four children obediently huddled in their seats making parts, which would render all her hard work futile.

Of course, she left Salazar there in case this happened.

When it really comes to the final moment, Salazar will definitely take matters into his own hands and open the cabinet door himself. The subsequent plot development is that he will be ambushed and killed by the puppet, and then the other four people present will have to clean up the mess for him.

This was a last resort, as it was far too different from Salazar's usual public persona.

Overwhelmed by joy, Helga failed to notice the complex expression in Salazar's eyes; she was still basking in the happiness of her successful plan.

Seeing Professor White enter and stare at the fragments of the doll without saying a word, Daphne became extremely nervous.

Under immense psychological pressure, she took the initiative to apologize to Professor White, explaining that her excessive curiosity had led her to accidentally damage the professor's belongings.

Helga then realized what had happened and quickly comforted Daphne, saying it was her fault for forgetting to remind them not to open the closet door, and that it was good that they weren't hurt.

Seeing that Professor White had no intention of punishing her, Daphne breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, you've all worked so hard. Go and enjoy your holiday—Digory and Lint, stay behind." Helga seemed a little guilty about her mistake, telling the students to go back and rest, and exempting them from their work.

As for Cedric and Rice, who were left behind, they were naturally there to help her repair the dolls.

After repairing the doll, Cedric was sent away by Helga with an excuse, while Rice wisely stayed.

"How was it?" As soon as Cedric walked away, Helga couldn't wait to ask about the children's performance.

Rice shared the story with his old friend with a complicated expression, watching as Helga's face turned from sunny to stormy.

"You've really grown some nerve, Salazar!" Helga said through gritted teeth. "You think you're so tough!"

Rice: ...

This isn't my problem. Is it my fault that I'm too strong?

"Miss Granger's strength has exceeded our expectations. Rowena will probably be very happy," he said in a complicated tone.

Now, Helga felt even worse.

Her subconscious told her that Granger was growing up in her field, and Cedric was probably no match for her.

Sigh, I should have brought her to my own academy back then!

It's all Salazar's fault!

If he had spoken highly of Hufflepuff House to Hermione when they first met, she probably wouldn't have gone to Ravenclaw.

Rice rolled his eyes. He could tell at a glance that Helga was trying to shift the blame.

He wasn't going to put up with her and walked straight out of her office. He was in such a hurry that he even forgot to ask about the progress of the multi-team competition plan.

Not long after leaving Helga's office, Rice ran into Neville, who looked much paler but whose face was beaming with joy.

"Rice!" Upon seeing Rice, Neville immediately called out to him and told him some good news: he had revived the compass plant that Rice had given him!

"Oh? Impressive!" Rice was also taken aback.

When he gave the compass grass to Neville, he didn't really believe he could revive it. As time went by, his attention to Neville diminished, and eventually he completely forgot about him.

I never expected him to give me such a surprise today!

"Look!" Without saying much, Neville took out a pot of lush, vibrant compass grass.

"That's amazing..." Rice didn't know what to say, so he could only say that Neville was a good guy.

"You've worked so hard, I don't know how to thank you enough." Rice was already considering what reward to give Neville.

The secrets of magic flow? Helga's food magic? Or Godric's training methods?

However, Neville mustered his courage and made a small request—he hoped that the compass plant could remain with him for a while longer.

"I want to try breeding some," he said, looking at Rice with pleading eyes, afraid of being rejected.

In Rice's view, this doesn't even qualify as a reward!

Cultivating the compass plant was no easy task. If it were so easy to grow, how could the Romans have allowed it to become extinct?

Rice readily agreed to Neville's request.

"That's awesome!" Neville was so excited that he almost jumped up and nearly knocked the compass plant out of his hand.

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.

It's a bit late, but here's the update!

(End of this chapter)