Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 423 Rowena Aries's Return to Familiar Places

"How was it? Wasn't it a novel experience?" Rowena's voice came from behind Aries' head.

This feeling was indeed extremely novel. Aries felt as if she had grown a pair of eyes on the back of her head, and could see everything behind her clearly. However, when she actually touched the back of her head, it was still covered with hair, and no human face suddenly appeared.

The strange feeling, like having a tumor growing on your body, that you initially expected, did not appear at all; Rowena Ravenclaw's soul merged perfectly into your own.

This is exactly what Rowena wanted.

"Let's go, let's embrace true freedom," Rowena said.

"Mmm!" Aries nodded excitedly.

She moved with lightning speed and quickly arrived at the seal of the dungeon.

Upon reaching the entrance to the seal, both Aries and Rowena within her tensed up. Aries sought guidance from Lady Ravenclaw, but Rowena remained unresponsive, as if in a deep slumber.

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Aries followed Rice's example and placed his hand on the stone wall formed by the seal.

A miraculous thing happened: Aries, who was entering Hogwarts for the first time today, and even as a prisoner, actually gained access to the most secret and confidential areas of Hogwarts.

After they emerged from the seal, Rowena's voice rang out again.

"I've taken care of everything, including your identity. Trust me, nothing will go wrong in a place like this."

"Then please don't suddenly go silent, or I'll panic," Aries said with a wry smile.

"I'm even more nervous than you!" Rowena thought to herself. She knew very well what kind of backup plan she had left behind back then. If the restriction had detected her presence just now, her escape plan would have been ruined again.

"You should choose a new name. You can't keep having people call you Aries," Rowena cleverly changed the subject.

Aries thought Rowena's words made sense. After considering it for a moment, she decided to call herself "Arius" to show that she had been reborn.

Rowena: ...

It's like a potato renaming itself a potato, but she can accept it.

"Are you really alright? Aren't you going to lose a lot of fighting power by giving up your physical body?" Aries suddenly asked as they walked towards the ground.

She was a little uneasy, not because the Ravenclaw possessing her body would cause her any harm, but because she was genuinely worried that if anything happened, Lady Ravenclaw would be able to protect her.

Of course, Rowena understood her little scheme and was speechless for a moment.

"Don't worry, your body is more than enough for me to use. After all, your domain and mine are very similar."

Simply put, Aries has excellent physical attributes, but their skill level is too low to unleash the full potential of those attributes. This is the exact opposite of the situation when Rice first awakened.

"Oh, okay." Aries nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he understood.

"There's something else that's puzzling me too. I saw two girls carrying fragments of their domains with them. Why is that Rice so bold as to share his domain with outsiders? Isn't he afraid of losing his combat power?" With a new accessory on him, Aries simply poured out all his doubts.

She actually regarded Rowena as a teacher who could answer her questions and resolve her doubts.

"Your combat power will indeed decrease, but not in the way you imagine," Rowena explained to her.

Aries might assume their combat power will decrease proportionally, but in reality, it will only decrease by a fixed amount. For someone like Aries with a combat power of only ten, losing four points is a 40% reduction.

"But Rice's combat strength is probably a thousand or ten thousand, so that little bit of impact on him is really nothing."

Aries: ...

Although it was a bit disheartening, the confusion in my heart was finally resolved.

The two "people" chatted as they arrived at the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

Looking around, Aries had to admit that Hogwarts truly had the heritage of an ancient school with a history spanning thousands of years. Even a random oil painting on the wall might be hundreds of years old.

Rowena fell into a long silence.

The place is so different from what she remembers.

The Hogwarts of the past didn't have so many oil paintings or these fancy suits of armor.

Of course, calling these suits of armor flashy wouldn't be an exaggeration. With Rowena's discerning eye, she naturally saw through the true purpose hidden within them.

"Let's go, let's take a walk around the campus first," Rowena instructed.

"Is this... really okay?" Aries hesitated slightly. She was worried about running into the castle's management and getting into trouble.

"No problem, I'll take care of anything for you. The most important thing right now is that I need to find a job for you at Hogwarts."

"Huh?" Rowena's words surprised Aries. She didn't expect this ancient monk to be so kind, even willing to help with her own work.

"I actually have another account at Gringotts, with some savings in it..."

Although she no longer had a head as commonly perceived, Rowena still felt a headache coming on. Somewhat exasperated, she told Aries, "Hogwarts is much safer than other places! Working here means you won't be bothered by Voldemort or the Secret Order!"

Aries then realized what Ravenclaw's true intention was.

Rowena was starting to regret her decision; she wanted to protest against the injustice she had suffered at the hands of fate.

Why would someone with a similar domain be so stubborn? Shouldn't this kind of personality awaken the fire or earth elements?

If fate had a personality, it would surely respond: for the realm of Aries does not awaken on its own, but is inherited from the divine remains.

After reaching an agreement with Ms. Ravenclaw, Aries stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor.

Leaning against the stair railing, Aries curiously observed the moving stairs below and above, and mused to himself, "Why would Hogwarts set up such magic on the stairs? I really can't figure it out. Is it some kind of student prank?"

Rowena said in a completely indifferent tone, "I did it."

Aries: ?!

"Why do they do this? These staircases are making me dizzy; someone new here would definitely get lost!"

Ravenclaw's tone carried a hint of pride: "That's the effect I wanted. This will cause a lot of trouble for those who invade the castle."

Aries shut his mouth and fell into thought.

"But this makes no sense—I mean, an intruder who has found the school's location and broken through the outer protective magic should be very familiar with the castle's structure, right? How could they be distracted by something as trivial as a staircase changing direction? And besides, would such a small trick really have any effect on a wizard with a domain?"

Now it was Rowena's turn to think.

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 update. Get some rest, everyone.

(End of this chapter)