Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 426 Rice: It seems like it's still not too late to jump out of the car.

The train moved forward steadily, while Rice rested his chin on his hand, gazing blankly at the scenery outside the window.

Outside the window stretched an endless grassland, and further away, a river flowed—a scene of peaceful and idyllic pastoral beauty. Yet, for some reason, Rice felt a sense of unease.

This ominous feeling had been with him for a while, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of his unease.

Since he had nothing else to do on the train, Rice decided to take a good look at his own heart. He began to review his memories, trying to find the source of the strangeness within them.

He closed his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

He flipped through his memories like pages of a photo album, and then Rice stopped in front of one memory: a crystal ball that shimmered with red light.

"Royna Ravenclaw..." Rice found the source of his unease.

The crystal ball phone call was shrouded in mystery. First, how did Rowena, trapped in the dungeon, know that the Daily Prophet had mistaken her for the new Dark Lord? Aries hadn't even had a chance to read that day's paper before being brought to Hogwarts. So theoretically, Rowena shouldn't have known about it, unless Helga visited her in the dungeon afterward with a fresh copy of the Daily Prophet, but the probability of that happening was extremely low.

Rice knew what this meant, but he simply didn't want to confront the answer.

"Hogwarts is about to have a turbulent year," Rice couldn't help but remark.

"Um?"

"What?"

The Greengrass sisters, who were huddled in the corner of the carriage, instantly woke up.

"Many things will happen at Hogwarts in the new year, and many new challenges will arise... Are you ready?" Rice's voice echoed in the carriage.

"Of course!" Daphne replied excitedly. She had just been worried that the next school year would be too boring and she wouldn't have anything to improve in her field. Now that she heard from Rice that there would be "big changes" next semester, how could she not be excited?

Astoria, though more composed, nodded with confidence.

She has already possessed the power of a domain, and now she is terrifyingly strong!

"Is that so? That's wonderful." Rice stopped talking, but deep down he asked himself a question: Was he ready? Rowena Ravenclaw's challenge was waiting for him at Hogwarts, not far away.

He can still jump out of the car now.

wow-

Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open, and two red-haired youths squeezed in one after the other.

"Fred, George, what are you doing here?" Rice was a little curious about the purpose of their visit, but he still moved closer to the window to make room for them.

"I'll tell you a shocking secret—"

"Fred and I are no longer going to Hogwarts starting this semester!"

The three people in the carriage all looked up at Fred and George.

"May I know the reason? Although Hogwarts does not prohibit students from dropping out, such cases are extremely rare." Rice's expression became unusually serious.

This is a student dropping out, so he needs to find out the reason. After all, he can be considered one of the school's founders, and he has an obligation to improve the school's shortcomings.

Rice believed that human observational abilities have limits. A person can organize and manage things in front of them meticulously, but there are always blind spots in their perspective, and filth and unpleasantness will fester in the shadows. At this time, sincere advice becomes extremely valuable; it can be the best cleaning agent, sweeping away all the grime.

In theory, students can graduate from Hogwarts and make their own way in the world after passing the OWL exams, but in reality, very few students do so. Almost everyone stays at Hogwarts for the full seven years, experiencing the trials of NEWT before graduating. Only a small number choose to drop out early due to involvement in major cases, such as Hagrid and Newt. Fred and George clearly don't belong to this category—despite their penchant for pranks, they are actually quite sensible, making minor mistakes frequently rather than major ones.

This is also why Rice wanted to figure out why the two of them dropped out of school.

"It's a 'leave of absence' rather than a 'withdrawal'," Fred corrected Rice first. "George and I are just temporarily taking a break from school, for a period of... at least a year, at most indefinitely."

"Oh?" Rice's eyes flashed with approval.

Unlike dropping out of school, what Fred and George are doing now is quite in line with Rice's teaching philosophy.

Unlike ordinary teachers, Rice firmly believes that "students need practical experience." In other words, it's about "the unity of knowledge and action"—students need to learn knowledge in school, but even more importantly, they need to hone their skills in applying that knowledge in society. This is why he tries to prepare Daphne and the others for practical experience every academic year.

Fred and George's behavior of stopping halfway through their schooling to gain experience is quite in line with Rice's aesthetic.

"It's a joke shop, isn't it?" Astoria, standing nearby, guessed the reason why Fred and George decided to drop out of school.

"That's right!" Fred snapped his fingers. "George and I can't wait another day!"

Ever since the day he raised enough money from Astoria, he and George had been in a state of constant anxiety.

Their original plan was to stay at Hogwarts for another two years, saving money and building a reputation for their products. But the unexpected windfall disrupted their plans.

They simply couldn't resist the temptation of owning their own joke shop.

So they secretly sent a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore, requesting a year's leave of absence to start a business in Hogsmeade Village. Of course, in the letter, they specifically mentioned that if Dumbledore disagreed, they would obediently go back to school and please don't tell their parents.

Even though he had a mountain of letters to reply to, Dumbledore still made time to send a reply to the Weasleys, and kept his promise not to tell them.

After communicating with each other, Dumbledore agreed to Fred and George's leave of absence applications, and the reply arrived just as the Hogwarts Express was about to depart.

"That's wonderful," Rice said with a genuine smile. "I hope your business thrives."

Fred and George chuckled.

"However, opening a shop in Hogsmeade would mean facing quite a few clear competitors." Astoria was thinking further ahead, already considering the problems and challenges the two of them would face.

Indeed, Hogsmeade already has a shop that has been in business for many years, specializing in prank products, namely the Joko Joke Shop.

Fred and George chose to open their shop in Hogsmeade, so Joko's Joke Shop was simply unavoidable.

Newly sprouted saplings struggle to thrive in the shade of a large tree. People are creatures of habit; why would customers accustomed to Joko's joke shop shop come to Fred George's? Not to mention other students, even Fred and George are regulars at this store!

Astoria only needed a moment's thought to understand the formidable challenges Fred and George faced, challenges she had never considered before.

"Of course." Fred's expression remained relaxed. "I know Joko's products very well. Our stuff is more interesting, and more importantly, we still have two trump cards up our sleeves."

"What's your trump card?" Daphne asked curiously.

"It'll be a secret for now," Fred said, keeping everyone in suspense.

"You'll find out eventually," George said, making a face at the three of them.

After informing Rice and the other two of their important decision, Fred led George out of the private room. It was already lunchtime.

Rice gave Astoria a look, and the girl took out the ingredients she had prepared in advance.

She brought a whole piece of beef!

The food box was enchanted, maintaining the perfect temperature inside to keep the beef at its freshest. The lid was lifted, a puff of steam escaped, and a piece of beef with snowflake-like marbling appeared before the three.

Daphne then brought out a bunch of fresh bread, along with accompanying jams, butter, and other similar items.

Rice brought out several bottles of chilled juice and a baking tray. He didn't bring charcoal; Daphne was enough.

Daphne clapped her hands, and a small ball of lava appeared. After tossing the lava into the box beneath the baking pan, Daphne pouted: "I never thought domain power could be used like this..."

Rice glanced at her and told her that this was also a form of training, a practice to precisely control the power of one's domain, while simultaneously slicing the beef into three-millimeter-thick slices. After rubbing some ground black pepper and salt onto the slices and then applying some oil, Rice laid them out on a baking sheet.

The aroma of oil immediately wafted out.

"Add some onions and sprinkle some soy sauce in. Daphne, watch the heat." Rice instructed the two girls as he spread beef slices on the grill.

The three of them were busy having a great time in the small private room.

The roasted meat was ready quickly. The heat brought out all the fat within the meat, dramatically enhancing its aroma. The smoke from the roasting, guided by magic, drifted out the windows, leaving the carriage surprisingly clean and fresh.

With such delicious food, the snacks on the cart become almost unnecessary.

The saleswoman was stunned when she opened the compartment door; she hadn't expected students to have a barbecue on the train. However, since the school and the Ministry of Magic hadn't prohibited it, the saleswoman didn't say much, only reminding the three young wizards to be careful and not to set the train on fire.

The happy days passed in the blink of an eye, the sun gradually set, and Hogwarts was just around the corner.

Before they arrived at their destination, Hermione found them and brought them some news: she had heard that Hogwarts would be holding a very mysterious big event this year.

"Have you heard the rumors?" Hermione had come to confirm the truth of the matter with Rice and the Greengrass sisters. In her eyes, all three of them were incredibly resourceful, and the information obtained from them would certainly be the most accurate.

"Absolutely not." Daphne and Astoria shook their heads simultaneously, while Rice didn't respond to Hermione's words.

Hermione narrowed her eyes: Rice's attitude already spoke volumes.

"I understand. See you at school."

She left in a hurry—the final stop was approaching, and she needed to quickly change into her wizard robes.

"So what's the big deal?" Even Daphne realized what was going on; Rice clearly knew something they didn't.

There was no point in hiding it now, so Rice briefly told the two about the upcoming Hogwarts event.

"Hogwarts is about to host an unprecedented competition, one that will be held worldwide. You all need to perform well and not embarrass Hogwarts." Rice's tone was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

The coming year would be the moment of enlightenment at Hogwarts, a moment he had waited far too long for. The time had finally come to see if the seeds sown a thousand years ago would bear sweet fruit.

According to the procedure he and Helga had previously agreed upon, each house would send one or two students to represent their school in the competition, striving for honor. A world ranking would be created, with each ranking awarding points, which would then be used to determine the final rankings of the various schools. This system gave Hogwarts a significant advantage. After all, in Rice's view, Hogwarts sweeping the top three spots was practically a sure thing.

He'll cheer on the lovely Daphne and Astoria. Let them wash away Slytherin's bad reputation and promote the true "Slytherin spirit"!

Daphne was just as excited as Rice; she couldn't wait to show off her skills to young wizards all over the world.

Astoria, however, keenly noticed that Rice's choice of words was strange. He used "you all," which might mean that he didn't intend to participate in the game.

Rice didn't go into too much detail about the match, only telling Daphne and Astoria that Dumbledore would explain the details at the opening banquet.

This made both of them a little distracted.

Daphne and Astoria weren't the only ones distracted. Although the news was supposed to be kept secret, the truth couldn't be hidden forever. By the time the students arrived at the Hogwarts Great Hall, the rumor of a "mega-event" being held this year was practically common knowledge.

This resulted in an extremely strange atmosphere during the first half of the opening ceremony. Everyone was in a state of near-distraction, waiting for Dumbledore to step forward and break through this barrier.

After the Sorting Ceremony, Dumbledore indeed stood up, and everyone present fell silent, staring expectantly at the white-haired old headmaster.

"It seems everyone's well-informed. But before we make that announcement, let's give a warm round of applause to our new professor, Ms. Arius!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a gust of wind swept through the auditorium. The students instinctively bent over and covered their robes with their hands to avoid having anything blown away.

When the storm subsided, everyone noticed a beautiful young woman sitting on the teachers' table. She had an Eastern European face and a pair of sharp, eagle-like eyes.

Upon hearing the name "Aries," Rice had a bad feeling. A gust of wind blew, and he suddenly understood everything.

That woman has arrived.

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, goodnight everyone~

(End of this chapter)