Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 428 The New Functions of the Sorting Hat and the Selection of Candidates

"Headmaster Dumbledore, let's have dinner while we conduct the selections. These two things don't conflict!" Cedric's voice came from the long table at Hufflepuff House.

He was greeted with cheers before he even finished speaking, clearly indicating that he had the support of many people.

Seeing that the students below the stage had no intention of waiting until the next day, Dumbledore went along with their wishes. However, he did not begin the selection immediately, but instead took out a fist-sized crystal ball from his pocket, which was filled with white mist.

"I must thank Professor White once again. To make the selection results more convincing, she not only modified the Sorting Hat, but also thoughtfully made a magical crystal ball for us, which can display the strength of the magic within each person." As he spoke, as if to testify for Professor White, Dumbledore drew his wand and pressed it against the crystal ball.

The mist inside the crystal ball suddenly turned red, then shifted to gold, and finally became as dazzling as the sun, so bright that the students in the front row couldn't help but close their eyes.

"Minerva, you try it." Dumbledore handed the crystal ball to Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall did as instructed, and the crystal ball's luster immediately dimmed considerably.

If the crystal ball was like a small sun in Dumbledore's hands, then in Professor McGonagall's hands, the light intensity was at most that of a high-powered incandescent light bulb.

Professor McGonagall smiled sheepishly and handed the crystal ball to Professor Sprout beside her—she couldn't let her be so embarrassed alone; she needed someone to share the experience with her!

After touching the tip of Professor Sprout's staff, the smoke inside the crystal ball turned a yellowish-brown color, with a brightness similar to that of Professor McGonagall.

Professor Sprout pondered for a moment, then placed the crystal ball in front of the newly hired Professor Arius. She wanted to take this opportunity to assess her new colleague's abilities.

"Hopefully it's not someone like Lockhart," Professor Sprout thought to himself.

Rowena understood Sprout's meaning, and with a slight smile, she placed her index finger on the crystal ball.

The crystal ball did not react.

Rowena raised an eyebrow, while Helga, standing beside her, said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Tone it down."

"It really has exceeded the detection limit." Rowena realized this and began to suppress his own magic. After a short while, the crystal ball turned blue, radiating a light no less intense than Dumbledore's at that moment.

A gasp of "Wow!" rang out from the audience. While magical power doesn't literally represent one's entire strength, it does tell a story. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout are good examples.

The new Professor Arius is actually on par with Headmaster Dumbledore in terms of total magical power; he's a truly powerful wizard!

"Thank you, but please stop, or Madam Pomfrey will have to prepare eye drops for everyone." Dumbledore joked, taking the crystal ball from Rowena.

"Let us begin our meal! Students of each house, come forward one by one—" Dumbledore announced in a loud voice.

Suddenly, the golden plates and goblets in front of everyone were filled with food and drinks. The students walked to the faculty seats in order of their seating, put on their Sorting Hats as if they were attending a Sorting Ceremony, and used their wands to hold the magic crystal ball.

It's clear that the students' magical power is directly related to their age; the older the student, the brighter the light emitted from the crystal ball. Some students already possess magical power reminiscent of their professors.

However, the Sorting Hat doesn't entirely rely on the light from the crystal ball to give scores, and some people's scores can be surprisingly high or low.

The students came forward in order: first Gryffindor, then Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and finally Slytherin.

Rice took a closer look and found that, as expected, students like Hermione and Cedric had achieved remarkably high scores—98 and 99 respectively—making their selection a certainty.

To his surprise, Neville's score was also quite good, a full 87 points. As long as a large number of high-scoring students do not emerge from Slytherin, his chances of being selected are very high.

"It's unbelievable that Diggory's score is lower than Granger's. Sister, how many points do you think you can get?" Astoria asked softly.

In Astoria's view, it was somewhat surprising that Diggory, who possessed an elemental domain, scored lower than Hermione. This could be because Cedric hadn't fully awakened his domain, or it could be that the Sorting Hat included the phantom Rais within Hermione's domain.

"One hundred points!" Daphne said with great confidence.

Rice remained silent. The crystal ball Helga had created didn't alarm him. He had clearly seen Rowena's reaction when she first touched it; obviously, the crystal ball's display capabilities had a limit. As long as the magic power he channeled into it was strong enough, it would freeze and stop displaying anything.

Of course, he wouldn't use such a conspicuous method. He would find a way to restrain his magic power, making his magic strength no different from that of an ordinary student.

But he was still somewhat uneasy, because so many unexpected things had happened. Rowena's return, the Sorting Hat's alterations, and this so-called magic crystal ball...

Why are there so many things I don't know? This is not a good sign.

Rice had a sudden idea.

While everyone's attention was focused on the food and the selection ceremony, he quietly stood up.

"Rice, you—?" Daphne turned to look at Rice.

"I'm going to the restroom, I'll be right back. You two, don't make a sound." Rice's expression was gentle, and she seemed calm and composed.

"Oh, oh." Daphne nodded, and then Rice disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Entering the washroom, Rice quickly retrieved several bottles and jars and began concocting a potion. To be on the safe side, he needed to take the potion to completely suppress the intensity of his magical power.

For a wizard, concealing the strength of their magic is extremely difficult, because no one would actually do it. If Helga's crystal ball were exceptionally sharp, even with Rice's abilities, he might still be caught off guard, but with the aid of potions, things are different.

This potion from Rice is essentially a poison. After drinking it, Rice will enter a weakened state, and his magical power will naturally decrease.

Even if Helga made her crystal ball extremely precise, she wouldn't be able to detect the problem.

Of course, the best strategy is not to participate in the selection ceremony at all, which is why Rice is in this restroom.

After drinking the potion, Rice waited quietly in the restroom, and even cast a spell to transmit the sounds from the adjacent auditorium.

The auditorium was in a mess, but Rice didn't care.

Alright, the thirteen contestants have been selected. Everyone, it's time to go back to sleep!

Rhys heard Dumbledore announce the end of the performance, and a smile appeared on his face—

Reina, I won this battle!

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.

Second update is here! Goodnight, muah~

(End of this chapter)